Review: The Art of French Kissing

Summary: 30-year-old Emma Adams is in desperate need of a change. Her fiancé just dumped her and she's lost her job at a top record label. So when her old friend Poppy offers her a chance to move to Paris and manage hot international pop star Guillaume Riche, she jumps at the opportunity.
Once in Paris, Poppy is determined to help her get over her ex. And Guillaume is determined to make her job very difficult! In between her clients wild antics (including stripping down at the top of the Eiffel Tower!) and all the blind dates Poppy has lined up, Emma has to deal with the pesky—but cute—reporter trying to ruin Guillaume's career. How will she handle all the pressure—and still master the "art" of French kissing? - hatchette book group usa

I'm on a little Chick Lit reading binge lately. About 10 years ago I couldn't get enought of this type of book about single women; but I have to admit, since I got married and had kids, that I haven't read a lot of them. After reading some in the past few weeks, I have been pleasantly surprised how much better they are now. The latest one that I really enjoyed is THE ART OF FRENCH KISSING by Kristin Harmel.

Ms. Harmel has done a great job of making so many of her characters likeable, especially the main character Emma. After losing what seems like everything -- her fiance, her home, and her job -- she sets off to Paris to visit a friend from college. I found myself a little envious of Emma and her ability to just pick up and jet off to Paris (I never would have had the guts); and I loved how she "found" herself in this amazing city. Many of the supporting characters were also very likeable especially her love interest Gabe. Emma's client Guillaume provided a lot of the humor in the book with his crazy antics. While I felt that the ending was fairly predictable (as well as the relationship between Gabe and Guillaume), it didn't matter one bit to me because it was the ending I was rooting for - I wanted her to end up with her true love.

The descriptions of Paris were wonderful, and now I'm dying to go visit sometime. I could tell that the author (who lived there herself for awhile) definitely believes that Paris is the City of Love. The details were so vivid that I could almost see the quaint bars and restaurants that Emma visited. Ms. Harmel even has a section at the end of the book where she describes "Five Places You Must Visit on Your Next Trip to Paris."

Although I would consider this book to be about finding Monsieur Right, it was a lot more than that too. In the "About the Author" section at the end of the book, Ms. Harmel has wonderful advice for the reader, "You don't need to go to Paris like Emma and me to become a better version of you. You simply need to open your mind, to step out of your comfort zone, and to believe you can do anything you set your mind to." I think that pretty much sums up what this book was really about! THE ART OF FRENCH KISSING will be available on February 25th.

Also reviewed at:
A Girl Walks Into a Bookstore...