We'll Never Have Paris

Paris, je t'aime

by Adriana Anders

Jules aka "World's most annoying laugher"
It's Christmas Eve, one of my last nights in Paris, and I get stuck in a tiny elevator with the insufferable, grumpy Welshman from downstairs. I'm wearing nothing but my skimpy PJs and totally inappropriate spike heels. Oh, and the light's gone out.
What could possibly go wrong?
Colin aka "Ebenezer McGrumpypants"
She's the neighbor from hell. Loud, brash, and American, with the body of a pin-up and the laugh of a wild hyena. My only wish is that she'll move out and be done with Paris forever. Fate, apparently, has other ideas because tonight of all nights, when the city's shut down and half the population's gone, who should I get stuck with in what has to be Paris's tiniest lift? You guessed it. Her.
Only, now that we've gotten up close and personal, everything's changed. Suddenly, the problem isn't getting rid of her anymore. It's finding a way to keep her...forever. "I adored this book! It's charming, emotional, and so, so hot. I'm shocked Jules and Colin didn't set my e-reader on fire!" —Serena Bell, USA Today bestselling author of the Wilder Adventure series "We'll Never Have Paris is spicy and sweet, just like the best Christmas cookies. I loved Jules and Colin separately, and together, they were incendiary. If you can't decamp to a Parisian apartment with a hot, grumpy neighbor tomorrow, this book is the next best thing." —Emma Barry, author of Chick Magnet

Genres: Romance, Novella, Holiday, Contemporary Romance, Christmas, Enemies To Lovers, Contemporary

204 pages, Paperback

First published September 29, 2023

About the author

Adriana Anders is author of the Survival Instincts, Love at Last, and Blank Canvas series. Her debut, Under Her Skin, was a Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2017 and double recipient of the HOLT Medallion award, and Loving the Secret Billionaire was a Romance Writers of America 2019 Rita® Award Finalist. Her books have been featured in Entertainment Weekly, Oprah Mag, Bustle, USA Today Happy Ever After, and Book Riot. Today, she resides with her husband and two small children on the coast of France, where she writes the gritty, emotional love stories of her heart.

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Reviews

[sil ♡ the book voyagers · Rating 5 out of 5]

SOOO GOOOOD ⸜(｡˃ ᵕ ˂ )⸝♡ This book reminded me of Walk of Shame by Lauren Layne and I LOVE THAT BOOK. So I was really excited to start this. Also it's a grumpy/sunshine romance, so you bet I wanted to read it more because of that.

It takes place in Paris and we have our two protagonists who constantly argue. They live in the same building and she is one floor above him, so whenever she laughs, walks around, or listens to music, HE HEARS IT. And he's tired of it lmao. He is grumpy and brooding and doesn't like her loud self. BUT HE DOES THO!!! He just doesn't know how to come to terms to the want he has for her and how much she fits with him.

Then one day they get stuck inside an elevator and the rest, as they said, is history. Everything changes from that point on and it's so good. The romance is amazing. If you love heroes who are so enamored by the heroine, get this. He is ready to settle down, drop on one knee, declare his undying love for her since day one. SHE IS IT FOR HIM!!!! It's a nice little novella of 160+ pages so it's a quick read. I highly recommend it to everyone!!!

[Paige · Rating 4 out of 5]

Steamy little novella about a, uh, very joyeux Noël, much of which takes places in a Parisian elevator.

[♥ℳelody · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.74 stars



Perfect cozy holiday novella. Just what I was looking for and needed to end the year with. A grumpy Welsh man with a jaded heart and a sunshiny sweet American curvy heroine who live in the same apartment building in Paris and hate each other but get stuck in their tiny elevator lift on Christmas Eve. Colin and Jules were cute. And the body positivity and praise kink in this was nicely done. That nod to Love Actually was sweet. I recommend this for those who love wanderlust romances!

ETA: Ok after reading the bonus epilogue I just have to say Ms. Anders is in need of an editor or a good one at least. The amount of typos in just 20 pages is hard to miss. I noticed this in the initial story too, for some reason she tends to skip over her words a lot and it's really obvious especially during intimate scenes and dialogue. Important words are missing or repeated at odd times so it reads like mistakes. Her writing is a bit hiccupy because of that.

[Martina · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5⭐

I really enjoyed this book, it is a good romance with good MCs, but some things put me down, which is why I'm not giving this 4 stars (I'm vowing this year not to use them easily 🙈)

Disclaimer: I went into this expecting a New Year's Eve story, but it was a Christmas Eve story... I must have confused this plot with some other before downloading it, BUT OKAY.

The main tropes:
- grumpy/sunshine
- forced proximity (stuck in the elevator)
- neighbours

What I loved:
The premise, the banter, the thin walls thing, everything that happens in the elevator on Christmas Eve's 🩷, the scene following the elevator.
What I didn't like:
The MMC sudden transformation on Christmas. It was too much.
I get that this is a novella and everything goes fast and you can't have a great character arc, BUT.... he just became a different man, lost all his dark aura, and his grumpiness and suddenly became a sweet sunshine elf. I needed more coherence.

Leaving aside those elements, I do suggest reading this because the author could give a good love story, spiciness and deep characters with important backstories in less than 200 pages.

[Mel · Rating 5 out of 5]

A perfect little filthy as f*ck novella set during Christmas in Paris. Joyeux Noël indeed. Jules and Colin are neighbors, she lives directly above him and they annoy the hell out of each other…until they get stuck in the old-timey lift in their building on Christmas Eve and when the power goes out, well, the chemistry between them is more than enough generate its own electricity. This was delightfully sexy and filthy (that Colin is bossy and has quite the dirty mouth). Both of these people have some sad backstories - Jules lost her mom in a car accident when she was very young and then her dad basically remarried and had more kids and ignored her. And Colin lost his brother and has felt a lot of guilt related to that. But these two broken people find healing in each other’s arms as well as a sense of belonging in this sexy, soft, charming and strangely cozy little novella.

Content warnings: dead mom off page in the past, parental abandonment, dead brother off page in the past

[GigiReads · Rating 4 out of 5]

Grumpy sunshine in the City of Lights. I'm a sucker for anything set in France so I was immediately drawn to this one. Throw in a grumpy Scrooge-y pub owner and a sunshine fmc running from her past and I was all in. Novellas always leave me wanting more but this one left me satisfied even with the short page count. Sweet, sexy and perfect holiday vibes.

⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
🔥🔥/5

Tropes
Forced proximity
Grump sunshine

[Jen's Quick & Dirty Reviews · Rating 5 out of 5]

✔️ Dual POV (Jules x Colin)
✔️ Set in Paris
✔️ Open-door contemporary romance (4/5 🌶️)
✔️ Tropes: Forced proximity, grumpy/sunshine

Colin is a cranky bartender in a British-style pub in Paris. Jules is an American skipping from city to city. She’s too loud and happy. He’s too withdrawn and grumpy. They get caught in an elevator on Christmas Eve. It’s incredibly sexy and feels like a much larger book than just a novella. Would recommend reading every holiday!

[jessica]

dnf @ 2% - not to self: do not pick up adriana anders in the future. writing is juvenile.

[Bethany]

dnf @ 12%

This man was such a frat boy and honestly so misogynistic, being in his head was torture. idk I just don’t like men that refer to women as ‘birds’.

[gabymck · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was on my radar because Paris. However, Paris is not shown/displayed as much (due to length of book), a bit more at the end. It was a good recovery. I enjoyed reading the French phrases here and there.
I enjoyed the love story. Not complicated. Very steamy. Well purposed.

[Serial Romance Librarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked it. It was fun! The h got on my nerves a bit and the H should’ve pulled his head out of his tush sooner. I wasn’t sold on the instalove once they were in forced proximity, but it was a fun read.

[Naiara Chiquetto · Rating 5 out of 5]

(Arc review)

Jules and Colin are neighbors in a building - an old one in Paris with very thin walls - and they've been at each other's throats ever since they first met. Mainly because Jules is a ray of sunshine and Colin is a grumpy mess. 😅

For months, their interactions have been limited to Colin complaining about everything Jules does and one finding the other delicious. Because that's actually Colin's main problem. For a grumpy guy who wants to be left alone, Jules comes too close to being the girl of his dreams - and she haunts all of his.😏

That is, until the building's tiny, ancient elevator takes action one freezing night and traps the two of them inside for a few hours.

What an enthralling story, this book will have you hooked from the very first page. This was such a fun and cute read, but it also dealt with very sensitive issues in a very light-hearted way.

Notice that the story takes place at Christmas, and we have all the power of the Christmas spirit acting on Colin 😂😂. But also on Jules. Although a self-confident and intelligent ray of sunshine, she's running away from a lot of issues and those hours stuck in the elevator are going to force her to face them.

The 🌶️ is mouth-watering, as Adriana does it so well and we always love it. Colin may even become kinder and gentler for Jules, but that doesn't apply to s3x, thank goodness. Vanilla is for ice cream, right ladies?

And the fact that our guy is a Welsh rugby player, with body and accent to match, doesn't hurt, does it?

I love it.

[Tiara · Rating 5 out of 5]

5++++ stars. Get this in your eye holes!

[justinejustreads · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5/5

I really wish this were longer than a novella with more conversations and more intimate scenes. I dont usually feel that way about holiday books but I loved the tension in this book. I loved the grumpy Welsh man and the sunshiney Californian. I really enjoyed the sudden forced proximity and baring of souls, and this is a perfect holiday read. I definitely recommend it to people looking to get in the Christmas spirit. I have found you can never go wrong with Adriana Anders' books. She always writes the sexiest scenes, and these characters had great chemistry! I hope we see them again in future books!

Thanks to the author for the ARC.

[‎⋰˚☆ alo ₊˚✧ · Rating 4 out of 5]

lo que sucede con estas novelas cortas es que como puñeta confian en los hombres tan rapido porque yo no puedo PERO aqui siempre terminan bien so who fucking cares <3 he was down so bad like sex with her truly changed him like empezó a creer en christmas y todo HAJAJAJAJJAJA 😭 y ERA UN wELSH RUGBY PLAYERRRRRRR (slayed)

[L. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ngl was about to roll my eyes once or twice but overall so cute.

[Grace · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was fine, but tbh I expected to like this a bit more based on how much I liked Whiteout.

[Kimberly Carrington-Fox · Rating 1 out of 5]

Mñeeeeeeee. Tal vez no haya sido lo más oportuno leer en abril un relato que ocurre en Navidad pero creo que en cualquier fecha del año me habría parecido igual de tonto. Dos vecinos que se odian se quedan atrapados en um ascensor y el odio va a ser que no es tanto... El principal problema no es eso sino que la autora decide condensarnos en un relato una novela romántica entera y, mira, el que mucho abarca, poco aprieta. Mñe total

[Eva · Rating 1 out of 5]

For me unfortunately only a 1,5 star read! I was so excited to read this book but I think I had different expectations of the book. I liked the author and some of her writing, but unfortunately the story wasn't it for me at all and neither were the characters.

[Charlie · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars!

[Cardyn Brooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a sunshine versus grumpy face-off (sound-off?) in which both Jules and Colin emerge victorious.

[Salpy KS · Rating 3 out of 5]

I mean, ok, this was cute. The sex scenes were hot. The romance was insanely fast, but it’s a novella so I guess it has to be? If anything, this made me want to read more by this author!

[Natalie Bee · Rating 4 out of 5]

ebook, KU - 4/5.

[Jacque · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very cute book! Opposites attract neighbor romance between a sunshine American & a grumpy Welshman set in Paris over the holidays💕 in my opinion the romance was a little to quick to be entirely believable, esp considering they had like a “we’re gonna be together forever/let’s get married for your green card” moment after 1-2 days max, HOWEVER it was very horny and very hot but also whimsical and magical so I suspended my disbelief lol
Probably a 3.5 overall, great holiday novella🙌🏼

Content notes: Jules and Colin are both white people in their 30s? And presumably cis/str8. Colin is welsh and owns a pub in Paris, and Jules essentially travels around the world picking up random jobs. There is on page sex & alcohol consumption, mention of parental death due to car crash, familial estrangement/feelings of neglect, and sibling death @work. Also they get stuck in an elevator. I think that’s it!

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars. Review to come

[Katie (Romance Novel Quotes)]

This was fine? Christmas Eve enemies to lovers/forced proximity—he’s Welsh, she’s American; she’s tiny, he’s, uh, not and they’re stuck in an old elevator in their apartment building in Paris. The feels-to-spice ratio wasn’t quite right for me, though. I got that he’d always thought she was hot, but he goes on and on about how annoying her laugh/voice is on phone calls he can hear through the walls, and I guess I just didn’t buy that they’d be banging on the floor of an elevator after 20 minutes. And now that I’m typing this it’s clear to me that I’ve overthought this steamy little novella. 😂 Still, I wish I’d just read A Christmas Gone Perfectly Wrong again instead. 💜🎄

[Cait · Rating 4 out of 5]

Joyeux Noël one and all!

[Cheri · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars

This is a quick and steamy holiday read perfect to whet your appetite for the upcoming season. At first, it seems like a grumpy/sunshine story, but there’s more to it than that. Colin is grumpy, but he’s extra grumpy with Jules because, from the very first moment they meet, he knows she’s going to mess with his world. He is infatuated with her, but he’s just not ready for what being with her would entail. While he’s caught checking her out and inwardly scowling at himself for being a creep, Jules misconstrues the situation and thinks Colin is disgusted by her. Not a very auspicious beginning for these two. Due to his contrary nature and her stubborn streak, things don’t get better. These two get on each other’s nerves like nothing else.

I’m going to warn you, some moments in this book get very claustrophobic. Yet I got through them and I’m extremely claustrophobic. As confining and fear-inducing as it was at times, I love the intimacy of them getting stuck on the lift. It was by turns hot and touching. The chemistry between these two was there the whole time, being stuck on the lift gave them permission to give into their desires and admit to themselves there was something there.

Keep in mind this is less than 200 pages so there is insta-love. I, for one, enjoy a good insta-love story. This one worked for me and was a lot of fun.

**I received an ARC of this book courtesy of the author. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and given freely**

[Hijinx Abound · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fantastic Christmasy novella.
Jules doesn’t stay anywhere long. She roams around the world from place to place and just b to job, without ever putting down any roots. She knows everything is transient.
Colin doesn’t dream anymore. He runs the pub his brother wanted and keeps his distance from everyone else. Especially his delicious temporary upstairs neighbor.
On Christmas Eve, she goes to take out some rotten cheese in non winter apparel. Hes just st closed the pub and they get stuck in the lift.
When the lights go out, the attraction heats up.
Adriana knows how to write a sex scene. This book is a quick, sexy read with holiday spirit.

[Debra Giuffrida · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this as an ARC.
It was too short! Wanted more! Enjoyed the HEA storyline but found Colin’s turn around was too quick. Would have liked a bit more give and take and more scenes besides the kitchen counter.
And the time jump was a disappointment because I would have liked more before the year jump.
Adriana never fails in her clear concise writing and I have enjoyed everything she has written.