It Happened In Paris (Evie Dexter)

by Molly Hopkins

[Leah]

I’m a bit of a sucker for new Chick Lit authors and I think it’s always amazing when I discover the debut authors for each new year that comes. Molly Hopkins is one such an author, and I was instantly intrigued when I saw It Happened In Paris on Amazon. It sounded brilliant and I was even more excited to read it when I saw the jaw-droppingly good book cover. So you can probably imagine my delight when my mailman brought me a copy of the novel. I rued the fact I was already reading a book and that I still had a few books to finish before I could get to it, but come Good Friday, I had cleared my books backlog and the first book on my list? It Happened In Paris.

I loved It Happened In Paris. It’s rare these days that a Chick Lit book blows me away, it seems to happen less and less because it’s gotten to the point where I’ve read so many Chick Lit books that it takes a lot to impress me but It Happened In Paris is one such book. I loved the plot, the writing, the characters, and I truly didn’t want to put the book down for even a moment. But do you know what I really loved? More than anything? The fact that Evie and Rob get together before page 100. I’m a sucker for romance, and it kills me that when I’m reading a Chick Lit novel the coming together of the two main characters doesn’t happen until the end of the book, as they spend the first x amount of pages arguing and fighting. But Evie and Rob hit it off immediately and are in bed together 9 hours after meeting. It was total whirlwind stuff and I lapped it up. Sure, an inevitable stumbling block did eventually come their way, but I loved that it didn’t take until the final page for them to get together.

I thought the plot itself was inspired and I continually found myself laughing as Evie tried to turn herself into tour guide extraordinaire when her only knowledge of Paris, where she’s being a tour guide, comes from a guide book. Sure it was a bit untenable, particularly since there’s a passport debacle where I did think “Can that really happen?” but to be honest I was too caught up in the story to care too much about whether it was real enough or not. The book moves along at quite a pace, there’s always something happening and I loved all of the Parisian descriptions. Personally, I’m not a fan of Paris – I don’t like French people so the thought of visiting Paris doesn’t really appeal to me – but I thought Molly Hopkins described Paris beautifully and it actually made me forget about my dislike of the French and I found myself actually wanting to visit Paris and see all the sights.

I adored Evie. She’s just completely larger than life, and I loved how she blagged herself the job as a tour guide. I thought she was so fun and so full of life, and she made me smile. She carries the book brilliantly, I’m not joking and her personality just keeps you reading. I’d just like to say now that I have a huge crush on Rob. He sounds amazing, and although he has a few issues, I’d forgive him. He and Evie get on so well, making it so easy to be into their relationship despite how quickly it all happens. Lulu, Evie’s best mate, is also rather larger than life, and I just thought she was incredibly amusing. She’s prone to ranting about the men in her life and loves a drink, but she’s also such a sweet and brilliant friend (when she’s not drunk and slurring). I thought the supporting characters were brilliant, too, from the coach trippers Evie and Rob look after, to the Greek family who own a bar opposite Evie’s flat. The Greek’s in particular are hilarious! And they totally deserve their own spin-off. It would be laugh-a-minute stuff.

It Happened In Paris is told from Evie’s perspective, which works brilliant and as I’ve already remarked, she carries the book beautifully. The obstacle Evie and Rob have to navigate, wasn’t entirely a surprise mainly because I am incapable of not reading synopses so like a div, I went and read the synopsis for It Happened In Venice the sequel and, er, inadvertently spoiled it for myself. I didn’t see how their relationship would survive or carry on, and I was interested to see how it was going to be resolved. I’m thoroughly looking forward to It Happened In Venice, and I’m very much hoping it carries on the same way. What really made me love It Happened In Paris so much was indeed the romance between Evie and Rob, so I’m cautiously hopeful the sequel won’t screw all of the good work of this book up. I’m looking forward to being with Evie, Rob, Lulu and co. again and, really, March 2012 cannot come around soon enough for me. I’d hugely recommend It Happened In Paris, I loved it and it’s one of my favourite reads of 2011.