Review: Moonlight Over Paris by Jennifer Robson

Source: Review copy from William Morrow
Rating: ★★★★☆

She would go somewhere…she wasn’t sure where, but it would be somewhere else, somewhere new where no one cared about her disappointments and failures. And she would…she wasn’t sure what she would do, not yet.

But she was certain of one thing. If she survived, she would live.

(from Moonlight Over Paris)

Quick summary: Moonlight Over Paris is the third installment in a series of sorts that takes readers from World War I Europe and beyond, but it is a standalone novel. This time, Jennifer Robson tells the story of Lady Helena Montagu-Douglas-Parr, who has been shunned by society in the years since her broken engagement to Lord Cumberland. After nearly dying from scarlet fever, Helena decides that she wants to really live. Nearing 30 and giving up on ever having a husband and family, Helena convinces her parents that a year living in Paris with her aunt Agnes and going to art school is just what she needs. It is 1924, and the bohemian lifestyle and the salons of Paris suit Helena, who is just Ellie Parr to her friends. Things become more complicated when she meets American journalist Sam Howard, who sees her as more than just a wealthy Englishwoman from an aristocratic family. Helena’s life changes just as chaotically as the post-war society, and she is forced to consider who she is and what she wants if she is to be a modern woman.

Why I wanted to read it: I loved Robson’s previous novels, Somewhere in France and After the War Is Over. Both made my “best of” lists in the years they were published!

What I liked: Robson is a fantastic writer with the ability to place readers in whatever historical period she writes about. In Moonlight Over Paris, she makes the Lost Generation come to life, and readers get to meet the Hemingways, Sylvia Beach, and Gertrude Stein, among others. Most of all, I love how Robson focuses on the changes to society in the World War I and post-war era, particularly in regards to women. One of the most memorable parts of the novel is the conversation between Helena and her aunt, in which her aunt tells her that she has a choice as a modern woman; she can stay friends with a man or become his lover, but the most important thing is that she chooses happiness. I really liked Helena in that she just wanted to be normal, not a “Lady,” and while part of that was about escaping the gossip back in London, she wasn’t above cleaning out a dirty space to make an art studio.

What I disliked: While I enjoyed following Helena as she forged a new life, there were a few spots in the novel where I wondered when the pace was going to pick up.

Final thoughts: Moonlight Over Paris is a beautifully written novel about art, love, and learning how to truly live for oneself. Robson has created an intriguing character in Helena, a woman who lived by society’s rules for too long, and her spirit nearly paid the price. I’m looking forward to seeing what Robson writes next!

Thanks to TLC Book Tours for having me on the tour for Moonlight Over Paris. To follow the tour, click here.

Disclosure: I received Moonlight Over Paris from William Morrow for review.

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