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Beautiful Nights
A respected professor begins a secret affair with her son’s girlfriend one summer on the Brittany coast in this intense, poetic novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Little Paris Bookshop.
Claire is one of Paris’s most esteemed behavioral biologists, with an enviable career and family, but she has become increasingly frustrated by the stasis of her marriage, including her husband’s unremarked-upon affairs, and feels caged by the obligations she took on too early in life.
As she and her family prepare for their annual holiday to the Brittany coast, her son Nico comes to her with a can his new girlfriend Julie join them for the summer? Nico feels certain this is the next step in merging their lives together, but Julie wonders if this man is really her path or if her passions—for performance, for intimacy, for a bigger life—will mean there’s not a real future for them.
What Julie and Claire don’t realize is that they share a secret—they’ve met before, in a compromising moment whose implications will color their relationship from the moment it’s revealed. Both Julie and Claire are at a crossroads, each waiting for something that will set her on fire inside—the rush of life, colors, courage. Under the blazing Brittany sun, by the silence of the sea and in the raging of a nighttime thunderstorm, they will ignite and never be the same again.
Sensual, provocative, and probing, Nina George’s Beautiful Nights explores femininity in all its facets and stages. It is a story of becoming who you were meant to be by breaking apart the things you've always known.
Claire is one of Paris’s most esteemed behavioral biologists, with an enviable career and family, but she has become increasingly frustrated by the stasis of her marriage, including her husband’s unremarked-upon affairs, and feels caged by the obligations she took on too early in life.
As she and her family prepare for their annual holiday to the Brittany coast, her son Nico comes to her with a can his new girlfriend Julie join them for the summer? Nico feels certain this is the next step in merging their lives together, but Julie wonders if this man is really her path or if her passions—for performance, for intimacy, for a bigger life—will mean there’s not a real future for them.
What Julie and Claire don’t realize is that they share a secret—they’ve met before, in a compromising moment whose implications will color their relationship from the moment it’s revealed. Both Julie and Claire are at a crossroads, each waiting for something that will set her on fire inside—the rush of life, colors, courage. Under the blazing Brittany sun, by the silence of the sea and in the raging of a nighttime thunderstorm, they will ignite and never be the same again.
Sensual, provocative, and probing, Nina George’s Beautiful Nights explores femininity in all its facets and stages. It is a story of becoming who you were meant to be by breaking apart the things you've always known.
288 pages, Hardcover
First published July 29, 2025
37 people are currently reading
5032 people want to read
About the author
Nina George
72 books2,345 followersENG (for German Bio please scroll down).
Born 1973 in Bielefeld, Germany, Nina George is a prize-winning and bestselling author (“Das Lavendelzimmer” – “The Little Paris Bookshop”) and freelance journalist since 1992, who has published 26 books (novels, mysteries and non-fiction) as well as over hundred short stories and more than 600 columns. George has worked as a cop reporter, columnist and managing editor for a wide range of publications, including Hamburger Abendblatt, Die Welt, Der Hamburger, “politik und kultur” as well as TV Movie and Federwelt. Georges writes also under three pen-names, for ex “Jean Bagnol”, a double-andronym for provence-based mystery novels.
In 2012 and 2013 she won the DeLiA and the Glauser-Prize. In 2013 she had her first bestselling book “Das Lavendelzimmer”, translated in 27 langues and sold more than 500.000 copies.
In November 2011, Nina George established the “JA zum Urheberrecht” (YES on Author’s Rights) initiative, which supports the rights of authors, artists and entertainers and is dedicated to resolving issues within the literary community as well as establishing fair and practical rights-license models for the web-distribution. 14 writers’ associations and 27 publishing partners have since joined the JA…-Initiative. George supports the “Initiative Urheberrecht” (Author’s Rights Initiative—www.urheber.info) as well as the “gib 8 aufs Wort”-campaign of the VG Wort.
In August 2014 George initiated the Amazon-protest in Germany www.fairer-buchmarkt.de, where overs 2000 germanspeaking authors – Nobelprizewinnig Elfriede Jelinek or Bestsellingauthor Nele Neuhaus – sign an open letter to Jeff Bezos and Amazon, protesting against the banned-book-methods of the giant retailer in the Hachette/Bonnier-dispute.
In 2015 George is the founder of the Initiative Fairer Buchmarkt e.V., which supports questions of law in daily business of authors – for ex in contracts, fees or author’s rights and e-Business.
George is Member to PEN, Das Syndikat (association of German-language crime writers), the Association of German Authors (VS), the Hamburg Authors’ Association (HAV), BücherFrauen (Women in Publishing), the IACW/AIEP (International Association of Crime Writers), the GEDOK (Association of female artists in Germany), PRO QUOTE and Lean In. Nina George sits on the board of the Three Seas Writers’ and Translaters’ Council (TSWTC), whose members come from 16 different countries.
Nina George teaches writing at Literaturbüro Unna, Alsterdamm Kunstschule, Wilhelmsburger Honigfabrik, where she coaches young people, adults and professional authors.
George also moderates (bilingual) readings and works as a speaker.
www.nina-george.com
find me also on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/NinaGeorge.S...
www.ninageorge.de
DE
Die mehrfach ausgezeichnete Publizistin Nina George, geboren 1973, veröffentlichte bisher 23 Romane, Krimis, Science-Thriller sowie ca. 88 Kurzgeschichten und über 500 Kolumnen.
Ihr Pseudonym Anne West gehört zu den erfolgreichsten deutschsprachigen Erotika-Autorinnen.
Für ihren Roman Die Mondspielerin wurde George mit der DeLiA 2011, dem Literaturpreis für den besten Liebesroman des Jahres, ausgezeichnet. Mit dem Wendekrimi Das Licht von Dahme war George 2010 für den Friedrich-Glauser-Preis nominiert. Sie gewann ihn 2012 mit dem in Nigeria angesiedeltem Fußballkrimi „Das Spiel ihres Lebens“.
George gründete 2011 die Initiative „JA zum Urheberrecht“, mit der sie sich aktiv für die Rechte aller Kreativarbeiter und Kulturschaffenden gegen die Mentalität der Gratiskultur im Internet einsetzt.
Sie ist Mitglied im Syndikat, den Mörderischen Schwestern sowie des Verbands deutscher Schriftsteller.
Nina George lebt im Hamburger Grindelviertel.
Born 1973 in Bielefeld, Germany, Nina George is a prize-winning and bestselling author (“Das Lavendelzimmer” – “The Little Paris Bookshop”) and freelance journalist since 1992, who has published 26 books (novels, mysteries and non-fiction) as well as over hundred short stories and more than 600 columns. George has worked as a cop reporter, columnist and managing editor for a wide range of publications, including Hamburger Abendblatt, Die Welt, Der Hamburger, “politik und kultur” as well as TV Movie and Federwelt. Georges writes also under three pen-names, for ex “Jean Bagnol”, a double-andronym for provence-based mystery novels.
In 2012 and 2013 she won the DeLiA and the Glauser-Prize. In 2013 she had her first bestselling book “Das Lavendelzimmer”, translated in 27 langues and sold more than 500.000 copies.
In November 2011, Nina George established the “JA zum Urheberrecht” (YES on Author’s Rights) initiative, which supports the rights of authors, artists and entertainers and is dedicated to resolving issues within the literary community as well as establishing fair and practical rights-license models for the web-distribution. 14 writers’ associations and 27 publishing partners have since joined the JA…-Initiative. George supports the “Initiative Urheberrecht” (Author’s Rights Initiative—www.urheber.info) as well as the “gib 8 aufs Wort”-campaign of the VG Wort.
In August 2014 George initiated the Amazon-protest in Germany www.fairer-buchmarkt.de, where overs 2000 germanspeaking authors – Nobelprizewinnig Elfriede Jelinek or Bestsellingauthor Nele Neuhaus – sign an open letter to Jeff Bezos and Amazon, protesting against the banned-book-methods of the giant retailer in the Hachette/Bonnier-dispute.
In 2015 George is the founder of the Initiative Fairer Buchmarkt e.V., which supports questions of law in daily business of authors – for ex in contracts, fees or author’s rights and e-Business.
George is Member to PEN, Das Syndikat (association of German-language crime writers), the Association of German Authors (VS), the Hamburg Authors’ Association (HAV), BücherFrauen (Women in Publishing), the IACW/AIEP (International Association of Crime Writers), the GEDOK (Association of female artists in Germany), PRO QUOTE and Lean In. Nina George sits on the board of the Three Seas Writers’ and Translaters’ Council (TSWTC), whose members come from 16 different countries.
Nina George teaches writing at Literaturbüro Unna, Alsterdamm Kunstschule, Wilhelmsburger Honigfabrik, where she coaches young people, adults and professional authors.
George also moderates (bilingual) readings and works as a speaker.
www.nina-george.com
find me also on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/NinaGeorge.S...
www.ninageorge.de
DE
Die mehrfach ausgezeichnete Publizistin Nina George, geboren 1973, veröffentlichte bisher 23 Romane, Krimis, Science-Thriller sowie ca. 88 Kurzgeschichten und über 500 Kolumnen.
Ihr Pseudonym Anne West gehört zu den erfolgreichsten deutschsprachigen Erotika-Autorinnen.
Für ihren Roman Die Mondspielerin wurde George mit der DeLiA 2011, dem Literaturpreis für den besten Liebesroman des Jahres, ausgezeichnet. Mit dem Wendekrimi Das Licht von Dahme war George 2010 für den Friedrich-Glauser-Preis nominiert. Sie gewann ihn 2012 mit dem in Nigeria angesiedeltem Fußballkrimi „Das Spiel ihres Lebens“.
George gründete 2011 die Initiative „JA zum Urheberrecht“, mit der sie sich aktiv für die Rechte aller Kreativarbeiter und Kulturschaffenden gegen die Mentalität der Gratiskultur im Internet einsetzt.
Sie ist Mitglied im Syndikat, den Mörderischen Schwestern sowie des Verbands deutscher Schriftsteller.
Nina George lebt im Hamburger Grindelviertel.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 95 reviews
June 29, 2025
3.5 Stars- Beautiful Nights is an intense and poetic novel, set on the coast in France, that explores the complexities of desire, self-discovery, and forbidden connections.
The story centers on Claire, a behavioral biologist whose seemingly perfect life has begun to feel like a cage. Frustrated by a stagnant marriage and her husband's quiet infidelities, Claire grapples with a sense of unfulfilled longing. Her annual summer holiday to Brittany takes an unexpected turn when her son, Nico, brings along his new girlfriend, Julie. Julie is herself at a crossroads, questioning if her relationship with Nico aligns with what she wants out of life.
I enjoyed the setting and the message about self discovery. I also loved that women were advocating what was best for themselves. However this book did not always flow for me. It was translated so there were some passages that didn't mean as much to me. For example there was talk about using vous instead of tu when addressing characters. I loved Nina George's other novel, "The Little French Bistro," so I was expecting this to be similar but it couldn't be more different.
Beautiful Nights is ultimately a powerful story about becoming who you are truly meant to be. For me though I just wanted more to the story and the ending left me a little unsettled.
Thank you to Ballantine Books and NetGalley for this ARC.
The story centers on Claire, a behavioral biologist whose seemingly perfect life has begun to feel like a cage. Frustrated by a stagnant marriage and her husband's quiet infidelities, Claire grapples with a sense of unfulfilled longing. Her annual summer holiday to Brittany takes an unexpected turn when her son, Nico, brings along his new girlfriend, Julie. Julie is herself at a crossroads, questioning if her relationship with Nico aligns with what she wants out of life.
I enjoyed the setting and the message about self discovery. I also loved that women were advocating what was best for themselves. However this book did not always flow for me. It was translated so there were some passages that didn't mean as much to me. For example there was talk about using vous instead of tu when addressing characters. I loved Nina George's other novel, "The Little French Bistro," so I was expecting this to be similar but it couldn't be more different.
Beautiful Nights is ultimately a powerful story about becoming who you are truly meant to be. For me though I just wanted more to the story and the ending left me a little unsettled.
Thank you to Ballantine Books and NetGalley for this ARC.
April 30, 2025
Wow. This was such a strong and beautiful book about what it is to be a woman and how life affects us - physically, emotionally, sexually, spiritually. Reading this book my thought was I wish I could read this book at 20 and again at 40 and again at 60 because it’s so spot on to what we do to ourselves as we grow. It was so deep, so honest and so pure! kudos to Nina George on this amazing novel.
July 25, 2025
Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for an advanced reader copy of Beautiful Nights by Nina George in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.
Beautiful Nights is a literary fiction novel told in a lyrical style. The novel features a middle aged woman in the midst of an identity crisis. Claire, a respected French behavioral biology professor, feels that she has sacrificed herself for so much of her life that she has lost who she is. She finds an instant connection during a chance meeting with Julie, who Claire sees as a younger version of herself. She wants to encourage Julie to live a full life as her authentic self and not get locked into a life that is chosen for her. The story becomes complicated when Julie turns out to be the girlfriend of Claire’s son. She joins the family on an extended holiday in Brittany and develops an unmistakable bond with Claire. “I only need to look at Claire to know, to almost know, who I am and who I could be.”
This was a raw, thought provoking exploration of femininity in its many stages and going after the life you really want. The writing style, although beautiful, was a bit heavy handed for me. There is a slow build as it explores infidelity, bisexuality, what it’s like to be a middle aged woman and the expectations put on women in our society. “If you always keep your feet on the ground, and your head down, your eyes down, how can you truly live?” Claire is a cold, complex character that I had trouble identifying with as she blows up her life in order to have the one she always wanted. But I appreciated that she took the time to explore her true passions. “I want to know where I can go when I’m the sole leader and follower - of myself.” While not a quick read, readers who appreciate detailed character studies that explore identity, relationships, and femininity will find a lot to enjoy about this novel. 3.5/5⭐️
Beautiful Nights is a literary fiction novel told in a lyrical style. The novel features a middle aged woman in the midst of an identity crisis. Claire, a respected French behavioral biology professor, feels that she has sacrificed herself for so much of her life that she has lost who she is. She finds an instant connection during a chance meeting with Julie, who Claire sees as a younger version of herself. She wants to encourage Julie to live a full life as her authentic self and not get locked into a life that is chosen for her. The story becomes complicated when Julie turns out to be the girlfriend of Claire’s son. She joins the family on an extended holiday in Brittany and develops an unmistakable bond with Claire. “I only need to look at Claire to know, to almost know, who I am and who I could be.”
This was a raw, thought provoking exploration of femininity in its many stages and going after the life you really want. The writing style, although beautiful, was a bit heavy handed for me. There is a slow build as it explores infidelity, bisexuality, what it’s like to be a middle aged woman and the expectations put on women in our society. “If you always keep your feet on the ground, and your head down, your eyes down, how can you truly live?” Claire is a cold, complex character that I had trouble identifying with as she blows up her life in order to have the one she always wanted. But I appreciated that she took the time to explore her true passions. “I want to know where I can go when I’m the sole leader and follower - of myself.” While not a quick read, readers who appreciate detailed character studies that explore identity, relationships, and femininity will find a lot to enjoy about this novel. 3.5/5⭐️
October 1, 2025
Crossroads and the choices we made… and continue to make, what a great topic and told so well. Loved it.
May 24, 2025
Know Thyself. This famous Greek inscription is the basis for this book which explores the deep introspection of a married couple.
Claire and Gilles had been together for over 20 years. They seemed pretty happy with their careers in Paris and they were proud parents of a 22-year-old son, Nicholas. Yet, there was so much they didn’t know about each other. When they met Julie, their son’s new girlfriend, they all decided to go to a resort for the summer in beautiful Brittany, France. That’s where hidden secrets were about to bend all the rules.
An eight-week vacation is a great luxury at a place with stunning ocean views, great bottles of wine and delicious food. However, I didn’t care for Claire. She seemed like a cold controlling professor. Her husband, however, was charming and fun. They were both kind of stuck in their relationship.
Watch out as this story has revelations that you won’t expect. It comes fast like waves in the sea and moves forward at a pace that is quick and upsetting at times. It feels like a lot of emotions were transposed into this book about what it’s like being a woman and the fears many have opening their hearts. There were parts that were fascinating about the characteristics of genders.
I would have liked to predict the ending but I didn’t. It was beautifully written with Author Notes that revealed more about her process and personal approach.
My thanks to Ballantine Books and NetGalley for allowing me to read a copy of this advanced book with an expected release date of July 29, 2025.
Claire and Gilles had been together for over 20 years. They seemed pretty happy with their careers in Paris and they were proud parents of a 22-year-old son, Nicholas. Yet, there was so much they didn’t know about each other. When they met Julie, their son’s new girlfriend, they all decided to go to a resort for the summer in beautiful Brittany, France. That’s where hidden secrets were about to bend all the rules.
An eight-week vacation is a great luxury at a place with stunning ocean views, great bottles of wine and delicious food. However, I didn’t care for Claire. She seemed like a cold controlling professor. Her husband, however, was charming and fun. They were both kind of stuck in their relationship.
Watch out as this story has revelations that you won’t expect. It comes fast like waves in the sea and moves forward at a pace that is quick and upsetting at times. It feels like a lot of emotions were transposed into this book about what it’s like being a woman and the fears many have opening their hearts. There were parts that were fascinating about the characteristics of genders.
I would have liked to predict the ending but I didn’t. It was beautifully written with Author Notes that revealed more about her process and personal approach.
My thanks to Ballantine Books and NetGalley for allowing me to read a copy of this advanced book with an expected release date of July 29, 2025.
August 4, 2025
I have read other books by Nina George, but this latest just never captured my interest. Wrong book, wrong time or wrong reader.
June 6, 2025
Beautiful Nights by Nina George is a sensual, lyrical novel about self-discovery, desire, and the complexities of being a woman. Set on the Brittany coast, it follows Claire, a respected behavioral biologist stuck in a lifeless marriage, and Julie, her son’s young girlfriend, as they each confront turning points in their lives. A shared secret between them creates tension and forces both women to question the lives they’ve built.
I was drawn in by the lush setting and the promise of emotional depth. The writing is undeniably beautiful—rich, poetic, and layered with insight about the female experience at every stage of life. The author tackles difficult topics like infidelity, bisexuality, mental health, and emotional neglect with sensitivity and honesty.
But I had mixed feelings. While the prose was lovely, at times it felt too wordy and heavy-handed. Much was explained outright instead of letting me draw my own conclusions. I also found Claire cold and difficult to connect with, though I appreciated the vulnerability beneath her exterior. The pacing was slow, and it took a while for the story to really unfold. Still, once it did, the revelations came quickly and packed an emotional punch.
This isn’t a light read—it’s introspective, raw, and thought-provoking. If you enjoy books that explore identity, relationships, and the ways we shape (and reshape) our lives as women, you’ll likely find a lot to appreciate here. It left me thinking long after I turned the last page.
My thanks to Ballantine Books and NetGalley for providing an advance copy.
I was drawn in by the lush setting and the promise of emotional depth. The writing is undeniably beautiful—rich, poetic, and layered with insight about the female experience at every stage of life. The author tackles difficult topics like infidelity, bisexuality, mental health, and emotional neglect with sensitivity and honesty.
But I had mixed feelings. While the prose was lovely, at times it felt too wordy and heavy-handed. Much was explained outright instead of letting me draw my own conclusions. I also found Claire cold and difficult to connect with, though I appreciated the vulnerability beneath her exterior. The pacing was slow, and it took a while for the story to really unfold. Still, once it did, the revelations came quickly and packed an emotional punch.
This isn’t a light read—it’s introspective, raw, and thought-provoking. If you enjoy books that explore identity, relationships, and the ways we shape (and reshape) our lives as women, you’ll likely find a lot to appreciate here. It left me thinking long after I turned the last page.
My thanks to Ballantine Books and NetGalley for providing an advance copy.
September 30, 2025
BARK BARK BARK BARK BARK. LESBIAN LONGING OFF THE CHARTS. TRANS MASC ELEMENTS. SPIRITUAL AWAKENINGS. THE ATLANTIC OCEAN AND FOSSILS! Dreamy beach descriptions that make me quite literally fall in love with being alive… I AM BESIDE MYSELF. A woman falling in love with her son’s fiancé?? YES YES YES!
September 12, 2025
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
2 stars cause I still finished it and I only give 1 star to really terrible books, but I just didn't like this one. There is straight up no way anyone in real life acts like the people in this book- the characters were all so self-centered and the situation was super unrealistic. Both Claire and Julie made choices that were just unfathomable to me (lusting after your son's girlfriend?!?) and they lacked any depth at all despite talking nonstop in a cringey "deep" way. It felt like watching a more boring version of the White Lotus, just rich people doing insane things and thinking they are super wise and important.
Honestly though if you like Call Me By Your Name (I did not at all, sorry) then you might like this because it has a similar vibe to me. Set in the summer on a sleepy French seaside, with a forbidden age-difference queer romance, family drama, pretentiousness galore- you get it. Some might also find the writing lyrical or beautiful- I am not one of those people but maybe you are!
2 stars cause I still finished it and I only give 1 star to really terrible books, but I just didn't like this one. There is straight up no way anyone in real life acts like the people in this book- the characters were all so self-centered and the situation was super unrealistic. Both Claire and Julie made choices that were just unfathomable to me (lusting after your son's girlfriend?!?) and they lacked any depth at all despite talking nonstop in a cringey "deep" way. It felt like watching a more boring version of the White Lotus, just rich people doing insane things and thinking they are super wise and important.
Honestly though if you like Call Me By Your Name (I did not at all, sorry) then you might like this because it has a similar vibe to me. Set in the summer on a sleepy French seaside, with a forbidden age-difference queer romance, family drama, pretentiousness galore- you get it. Some might also find the writing lyrical or beautiful- I am not one of those people but maybe you are!
July 7, 2025
This was a hard book for me to read. I almost gave up reading it. When I finished the book I was glad I read the entire book. I decided that it is really a love story. As we go through life the love in our marriage changes. The main character in the book was a very successful person however there were things that she never got to accomplished. She finally achieved happiness and was at peace with herself.
August 21, 2025
Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC of Beautiful Nights.
I have to say I don’t think the blurb about the book is really accurate. The affair isn’t really an affair and there really isn’t much to it. This story is about this 45 year old woman who has put herself on hold to take on many traditional roles. She is having a bit of midlife crisis. But she has hardened herself against the world and herself. I know someone like this who, after getting married and having kids decided she needed something more for herself. She went back to school when her kids did. Got a degree, made friends, and while not forgetting her family, she made more of a life that she wanted for herself. Moms often lose themselves when the biggest focus is on everyone else around them. It’s easy to get lost when there’s babies all over!
“How many women is a woman?
And how many years ebb away until a woman finds her true self? And will time still have a place by then for the person she truly is, for her plans, her ideas, the wealth of her abilities—or is it already bricked in with all her day-to-day activities and obligations? With little chance of escaping the daily grind, that jailer of the inwardly free but effectively shackled woman who cleans, works, cooks, shops, organizes? An eternal Sisiphyna?”
The writing was beautiful and lyrical. The setting was gorgeous. I recommend this one!
I have to say I don’t think the blurb about the book is really accurate. The affair isn’t really an affair and there really isn’t much to it. This story is about this 45 year old woman who has put herself on hold to take on many traditional roles. She is having a bit of midlife crisis. But she has hardened herself against the world and herself. I know someone like this who, after getting married and having kids decided she needed something more for herself. She went back to school when her kids did. Got a degree, made friends, and while not forgetting her family, she made more of a life that she wanted for herself. Moms often lose themselves when the biggest focus is on everyone else around them. It’s easy to get lost when there’s babies all over!
“How many women is a woman?
And how many years ebb away until a woman finds her true self? And will time still have a place by then for the person she truly is, for her plans, her ideas, the wealth of her abilities—or is it already bricked in with all her day-to-day activities and obligations? With little chance of escaping the daily grind, that jailer of the inwardly free but effectively shackled woman who cleans, works, cooks, shops, organizes? An eternal Sisiphyna?”
The writing was beautiful and lyrical. The setting was gorgeous. I recommend this one!
August 12, 2025
(I received an advance copy as part of a Goodreads giveaway, thanks author + their team)
Beautiful prose and complex characters. I love complicated, imperfect queer representation, and the dynamics and relationships between characters kept me interested. It felt a bit pretentious, but overall a good book that I looked forward to keep reading.
Beautiful prose and complex characters. I love complicated, imperfect queer representation, and the dynamics and relationships between characters kept me interested. It felt a bit pretentious, but overall a good book that I looked forward to keep reading.
October 21, 2025
3.8/5 rounded up. I would expect this book would rate higher but maybe because it takes place in France and the writer is German. So unless you read it in German, it was translated.
I would describe this book in one word - Poigniant.
The description of the book is perfect:
(Beautiful Nights) explores femininity in all its facets and stages. It is the story of exploring who you were meant to be by breaking apart what you’ve always known.
It’s about Claire and her family. And her journey to self discovery to find happiness.
I would describe this book in one word - Poigniant.
The description of the book is perfect:
(Beautiful Nights) explores femininity in all its facets and stages. It is the story of exploring who you were meant to be by breaking apart what you’ve always known.
It’s about Claire and her family. And her journey to self discovery to find happiness.
Read
September 18, 2025DNF @ 32%. Just not enjoying the writing and don't feel compelled to push through.
August 5, 2025
Whew. This novel made me feel things I can’t even name; not bad things, just....things. The kind that linger in your chest like a quiet hum long after the final page. Nina George knows how to write longing, and in Beautiful Nights, she doesn’t just write it - she breathes it into every scene. 🌙✨
One line that completely gutted me in the best way:
“Fear always hides what's most important. The thing we shrink from is what really defines us.”
I had to stop and just sit with that for a minute. How often do we turn away from what matters most because we’re scared? This book reminded me that growth—and even joy—often starts right where we feel most afraid. 💭
Claire’s yearning for something more - beyond the titles, beyond the marriage, beyond the rules - was painfully relatable. And Julie’s uncertainty, that feeling of being on the edge of a life that might not be hers? It hit close to home. Watching the two of them circle around each other, drawn together by this electric mix of curiosity and unspoken history... it was delicate and raw and so human. 💫
Their connection? Complicated. Honest. Beautiful. It asked questions we don’t always know how to answer: about love, identity, aging, womanhood, freedom. And it didn’t try to fix or simplify any of it. It just let them be.
One line that completely gutted me in the best way:
“Fear always hides what's most important. The thing we shrink from is what really defines us.”
I had to stop and just sit with that for a minute. How often do we turn away from what matters most because we’re scared? This book reminded me that growth—and even joy—often starts right where we feel most afraid. 💭
Claire’s yearning for something more - beyond the titles, beyond the marriage, beyond the rules - was painfully relatable. And Julie’s uncertainty, that feeling of being on the edge of a life that might not be hers? It hit close to home. Watching the two of them circle around each other, drawn together by this electric mix of curiosity and unspoken history... it was delicate and raw and so human. 💫
Their connection? Complicated. Honest. Beautiful. It asked questions we don’t always know how to answer: about love, identity, aging, womanhood, freedom. And it didn’t try to fix or simplify any of it. It just let them be.
October 15, 2025
I abandoned this book about 40 pages in due to its truly insufferable writing. My wife inexplicably stuck with it and informed me of what I missed. Almost threw up in my mouth hearing the summary. Keep this shit VERY far away from me ❤️
August 10, 2025
I received an ARC of Beautiful Nights from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review.
This is the story of a 40-something successful woman who is struggling with getting older, feeling unattractive, and irrelevant. Her husband has affairs; she has one-night stands with anonymous men. They've grown apart and sleep in separate bedrooms. It isn't until she meets her grown son's 19 year old girlfriend that she realizes how unsatisfactory her life is. Translated impeccably from French, the gorgeous narrative is mostly introspective and moody. The setting at the sea in Brittany, the French countryside, and the descriptions of the food and drink--oh, do they drink!-- made me want to pack my bags and go. But it's Claire's journey, her need to be free to be herself, that will appeal to women of a certain age. I didn't expect to enjoy this book as much as I did, but the author nails what it's like to be a woman in a man's world.
This is the story of a 40-something successful woman who is struggling with getting older, feeling unattractive, and irrelevant. Her husband has affairs; she has one-night stands with anonymous men. They've grown apart and sleep in separate bedrooms. It isn't until she meets her grown son's 19 year old girlfriend that she realizes how unsatisfactory her life is. Translated impeccably from French, the gorgeous narrative is mostly introspective and moody. The setting at the sea in Brittany, the French countryside, and the descriptions of the food and drink--oh, do they drink!-- made me want to pack my bags and go. But it's Claire's journey, her need to be free to be herself, that will appeal to women of a certain age. I didn't expect to enjoy this book as much as I did, but the author nails what it's like to be a woman in a man's world.
August 7, 2025
I seem to be reading a lot of fiction about women entering perimenopause and basically loosing their mind. 🤔 Beautiful Nights is a beautiful trip to France in the summer with a morally gray main character just entering midlife. Aside from the audacity what she does, it’s an absolutely beautiful story of finding oneself.
September 24, 2025
French woman loses her favorite rock, starts spiraling.
This book was aggressively French. Within the first few chapters I had to check to see if it was a translated work, or if the author was French, but no, the author is German and it was written originally in English (at least as far as I could tell). I felt like I was expected to know and understand the streets of Paris at certain points. I'm all for atmospheric settings, but that's not how I would describe this.
The writing style felt similarly to Claire, our main protagonist; that is to say, cold and detached. I kept waiting to get invested in the story, in her, in Julie the second protagonist, and it never happened. While one person may say the writing is poetic, I would call it clunky. When I like a writing style, I feel like I'm being taken on a tandem bike ride, not having to do much work to flow with the story. This book felt like I was trudging through marsh. I almost DNF'ed so many times because it felt like a chore. I will say that it got better in the second half of the book, but not enough to have me saying that I enjoyed my time reading this.
I often had difficulty telling who was talking, which took me out of the story (not that I was much in it, I guess). There was also an excessive use of italics, primarily in the first half of the novel. Every inner thought was italicized. Entire paragraphs, at times. Julie kept referring to herself in her inner monologue as "Beauchamp" and I was under the impression that it was some French term of endearment. We find out at the end of the book it's her last name. Not a big deal, just something that threw me off.
I also kept having whiplash, wondering if the book was queer or not. My initial reading of the summary had me under the impression that this was a sapphic age gap romantic story at it's core. Though queerness and finding oneself does become a theme, I would not say my original interpretation of the story was correct. Maybe that's my fault, but every summary I've seen of this book is so different than the last. It seems like no one can decide what this book is about. And that's understandable, since I did not feel like this book had a great sense of identity; though, neither did Claire.
Claire's sudden fascination with Julie wasn't very well explained or thought out, in my opinion. I wish that their first meeting had been just a little more fleshed out, to explain why Claire is drawn to her. Claire's feelings towards the younger girl were also all over the place. Was she jealous of her? Did she see her as her younger self? Did she want her TO herself? Claire didn't know, and neither did I.
The ending also left me unsatisfied. I'm not sure what my preferred ending would've been, but it seemed disjointed, out of character, and confusing. So many questions were unanswered, questions I won't ask here to avoid spoilers.
If you asked me what this book is about, I would have a hard time giving an answer, just like I had a hard time coming up with a rating, and didn't know how I wanted to write this review.
So why did I power through, you may ask? If I didn't enjoy this book, and am normally so pro-DNF, why did I finish reading this chore of a book? A few simple reasons, the primary one being that I was hoping it would turn out to be gay after all (I won't spoil if it is or isn't). I also needed another literary fiction book under my belt for my book club this month, and this was a short read, coming in at under-300 pages (though it felt like more, I won't lie). Are those good reasons? In the wise words of Forks High's Valedictorian Jessica Stanley, "who the hell knows?"
Anyway, thanks to NetGalley and Random House - Ballantine for the eARC of this book. 2.25 stars, feeling generous.
This book was aggressively French. Within the first few chapters I had to check to see if it was a translated work, or if the author was French, but no, the author is German and it was written originally in English (at least as far as I could tell). I felt like I was expected to know and understand the streets of Paris at certain points. I'm all for atmospheric settings, but that's not how I would describe this.
The writing style felt similarly to Claire, our main protagonist; that is to say, cold and detached. I kept waiting to get invested in the story, in her, in Julie the second protagonist, and it never happened. While one person may say the writing is poetic, I would call it clunky. When I like a writing style, I feel like I'm being taken on a tandem bike ride, not having to do much work to flow with the story. This book felt like I was trudging through marsh. I almost DNF'ed so many times because it felt like a chore. I will say that it got better in the second half of the book, but not enough to have me saying that I enjoyed my time reading this.
I often had difficulty telling who was talking, which took me out of the story (not that I was much in it, I guess). There was also an excessive use of italics, primarily in the first half of the novel. Every inner thought was italicized. Entire paragraphs, at times. Julie kept referring to herself in her inner monologue as "Beauchamp" and I was under the impression that it was some French term of endearment. We find out at the end of the book it's her last name. Not a big deal, just something that threw me off.
I also kept having whiplash, wondering if the book was queer or not. My initial reading of the summary had me under the impression that this was a sapphic age gap romantic story at it's core. Though queerness and finding oneself does become a theme, I would not say my original interpretation of the story was correct. Maybe that's my fault, but every summary I've seen of this book is so different than the last. It seems like no one can decide what this book is about. And that's understandable, since I did not feel like this book had a great sense of identity; though, neither did Claire.
Claire's sudden fascination with Julie wasn't very well explained or thought out, in my opinion. I wish that their first meeting had been just a little more fleshed out, to explain why Claire is drawn to her. Claire's feelings towards the younger girl were also all over the place. Was she jealous of her? Did she see her as her younger self? Did she want her TO herself? Claire didn't know, and neither did I.
The ending also left me unsatisfied. I'm not sure what my preferred ending would've been, but it seemed disjointed, out of character, and confusing. So many questions were unanswered, questions I won't ask here to avoid spoilers.
If you asked me what this book is about, I would have a hard time giving an answer, just like I had a hard time coming up with a rating, and didn't know how I wanted to write this review.
So why did I power through, you may ask? If I didn't enjoy this book, and am normally so pro-DNF, why did I finish reading this chore of a book? A few simple reasons, the primary one being that I was hoping it would turn out to be gay after all (I won't spoil if it is or isn't). I also needed another literary fiction book under my belt for my book club this month, and this was a short read, coming in at under-300 pages (though it felt like more, I won't lie). Are those good reasons? In the wise words of Forks High's Valedictorian Jessica Stanley, "who the hell knows?"
Anyway, thanks to NetGalley and Random House - Ballantine for the eARC of this book. 2.25 stars, feeling generous.
September 13, 2025
Beautiful Nights is the story of Claire, a middle aged, (if we still think the mid-forties are middle aged,) esteemed professor of human behavior in Paris. From the outside, Claire has success, a happy marriage, a grown son and a good life. Internally though, she is trapped, by expectations, achievements, status and the very things that are supposed to make her happy. She is aware of her husband’s many affairs, and her answer is not to confront him, but to lose her inhibitions in one-night stands where she doesn’t even know the name of her partner.
Her grandmother, Jeanne, has left a large vacation home on the coast of Breton to Claire, and as they have every year of her marriage, the family travels there for the summer holidays. The only difference is that this year, Claire’s son brings along his 19-year-old girlfriend, Julie, who he wants to marry.
Julie is another very well-developed character, trapped in a world of working menial jobs to get by when what she really wants is to sing, which she never does in public. Clair and Julie’s relationship is strained at first, but after Claire teaches Julie to swim, they recognize kindred spirits in one another and pursue a relationship that gives each of them the courage to seek her true happiness.
The writing is gorgeous, and it made me wish I spoke French so I could read it in the original. The sentiments of femininity and the place of women in the world reminded me of 1899 novel by Kate Chopin, The Awakening, condemned at first for its depiction of female sexuality. Both heroines want more… fulfillment, expression of their own opinions and desires in a male dominated world, and acceptance of their sexuality. While Edna, in The Awakening, walks into the sea and never returns, Claire swims so far out she might be expected to be lost, but using her own strength, returns, to claim what she desires. While Edna pursues men, Claire’s object is Julie. The development of their passion, and the differences between them create a sensitive story of the choices, given time, space, and freedom, maturity lets Claire, and women for that matter, develop healthy and balanced lives.
I loved the writing, particularly the descriptions and, as a swimmer, the sea. I found the story to drag a bit though, with repetition and changing viewpoints that detracted from its strength. I’d recommend this book for mature readers who are not disturbed or embarrassed by same sex relationships, and who can appreciate the confused thoughts of a woman in this age.
Thanks to NetGalley and Random House/Ballantine for the review copy of Beautiful Nights. The book was published July 25, 2025.
Her grandmother, Jeanne, has left a large vacation home on the coast of Breton to Claire, and as they have every year of her marriage, the family travels there for the summer holidays. The only difference is that this year, Claire’s son brings along his 19-year-old girlfriend, Julie, who he wants to marry.
Julie is another very well-developed character, trapped in a world of working menial jobs to get by when what she really wants is to sing, which she never does in public. Clair and Julie’s relationship is strained at first, but after Claire teaches Julie to swim, they recognize kindred spirits in one another and pursue a relationship that gives each of them the courage to seek her true happiness.
The writing is gorgeous, and it made me wish I spoke French so I could read it in the original. The sentiments of femininity and the place of women in the world reminded me of 1899 novel by Kate Chopin, The Awakening, condemned at first for its depiction of female sexuality. Both heroines want more… fulfillment, expression of their own opinions and desires in a male dominated world, and acceptance of their sexuality. While Edna, in The Awakening, walks into the sea and never returns, Claire swims so far out she might be expected to be lost, but using her own strength, returns, to claim what she desires. While Edna pursues men, Claire’s object is Julie. The development of their passion, and the differences between them create a sensitive story of the choices, given time, space, and freedom, maturity lets Claire, and women for that matter, develop healthy and balanced lives.
I loved the writing, particularly the descriptions and, as a swimmer, the sea. I found the story to drag a bit though, with repetition and changing viewpoints that detracted from its strength. I’d recommend this book for mature readers who are not disturbed or embarrassed by same sex relationships, and who can appreciate the confused thoughts of a woman in this age.
Thanks to NetGalley and Random House/Ballantine for the review copy of Beautiful Nights. The book was published July 25, 2025.
August 1, 2025
📜Quick Summary: What happens when you are at a crossroad in your life? Claire, a married woman, is cheating on her husband. She knows of his affairs as well, but yet, still they’re together. When her family vacations to the Brittany coast, her son Nico brings his girlfriend Julie, someone Claire has had a run in with before. Will the women find what they want? Will this six week trip be exactly what each woman needs?
❣️Initial Feels: Cheating novels are not my favorite type of topic to read about, so I am hoping that it turns around.
👀Trigger Warnings: cheating
🌶️Spice Level: 🌶️
📖Read if you want: discovery of finding yourself, motherhood, entering middle aged discovery, character driven story
🗨️Thoughtful Words: “It’s a privelege to know you’re losing someone. That way you can remember the moment.”
“We’re never ready for life and do it anyway.”
“Whereas time and the world go on forever, you strive for completion, and usually you don’t make it in time. We all drop out of the stream of life unfinished.”
“Love is a true miracle, but it can also be the worst prison.”
💡Final Sentiments: This piece of literary fiction was well written, but I fear it will be either a huge hit or a huge miss for many readers. This story is finding who you are, after you have given your life to someone else…your children, your husband, your family, or career. I think if I picked this up on a cozy night, and not at the beach, I may have been more into it. It didn’t keep pulling me in, which is what I was hoping for. As a mom myself, some of the questions Claire asked herself resonated deeply…and then at other times, I was asking myself, What is she thinking!? How is she behaving that way with someone in a situation that will ultimately affect her son!? Although the coastal setting is perfect for a beachy read, the content is heavy and thought provoking.
🌟Overall Rating: 3.5 stars
🔉Special thanks to Nina George, Ballantine Books, and NetGalley for this arc of Beautiful Nights.
📘Grab yourself a copy on July 29, 2025!
❣️Initial Feels: Cheating novels are not my favorite type of topic to read about, so I am hoping that it turns around.
👀Trigger Warnings: cheating
🌶️Spice Level: 🌶️
📖Read if you want: discovery of finding yourself, motherhood, entering middle aged discovery, character driven story
🗨️Thoughtful Words: “It’s a privelege to know you’re losing someone. That way you can remember the moment.”
“We’re never ready for life and do it anyway.”
“Whereas time and the world go on forever, you strive for completion, and usually you don’t make it in time. We all drop out of the stream of life unfinished.”
“Love is a true miracle, but it can also be the worst prison.”
💡Final Sentiments: This piece of literary fiction was well written, but I fear it will be either a huge hit or a huge miss for many readers. This story is finding who you are, after you have given your life to someone else…your children, your husband, your family, or career. I think if I picked this up on a cozy night, and not at the beach, I may have been more into it. It didn’t keep pulling me in, which is what I was hoping for. As a mom myself, some of the questions Claire asked herself resonated deeply…and then at other times, I was asking myself, What is she thinking!? How is she behaving that way with someone in a situation that will ultimately affect her son!? Although the coastal setting is perfect for a beachy read, the content is heavy and thought provoking.
🌟Overall Rating: 3.5 stars
🔉Special thanks to Nina George, Ballantine Books, and NetGalley for this arc of Beautiful Nights.
📘Grab yourself a copy on July 29, 2025!
December 17, 2025
Thank you to Goodreads, the author and publisher for a copy of this book.
The book is beautifully written, with detailed imagery, from the thoughtfully furnished family home to a summer holiday getaway, and enriched by French culture and cuisine.
The lead female character is introspective and complex. While she is seemingly forgiving of her husband’s indiscretions, she is also searching for the fulfillment that he fails to bring to their marriage.
As a parent I found it hard to grasp that she chooses to fulfill her relationship void by focusing on her attraction to an eighteen year old. She shows no regard for the impact to her son, who is also the same age and the girl’s boyfriend.
Also going from swim teacher and mentor then crossing the line to lover feels wrong in my opinion. While the writing is romantic and sensual, this downplays the underlying premise which made me uncomfortable. However I did continue to the end of the book out of curiosity to find out where the relationship ended, as I assumed it wouldn’t last long given the situation and age difference.
The author does a great job of covering the fears, desires and reflections of a woman approaching middle age, transitioning to a new stage of her life.
To be honest, the cover did not compel me to read the book. But the muted blue color well represented the theme of water and swimming, the relaxed comfort of the relationship, and the blue feeling of unrequited love and longing.
The book is beautifully written, with detailed imagery, from the thoughtfully furnished family home to a summer holiday getaway, and enriched by French culture and cuisine.
The lead female character is introspective and complex. While she is seemingly forgiving of her husband’s indiscretions, she is also searching for the fulfillment that he fails to bring to their marriage.
As a parent I found it hard to grasp that she chooses to fulfill her relationship void by focusing on her attraction to an eighteen year old. She shows no regard for the impact to her son, who is also the same age and the girl’s boyfriend.
Also going from swim teacher and mentor then crossing the line to lover feels wrong in my opinion. While the writing is romantic and sensual, this downplays the underlying premise which made me uncomfortable. However I did continue to the end of the book out of curiosity to find out where the relationship ended, as I assumed it wouldn’t last long given the situation and age difference.
The author does a great job of covering the fears, desires and reflections of a woman approaching middle age, transitioning to a new stage of her life.
To be honest, the cover did not compel me to read the book. But the muted blue color well represented the theme of water and swimming, the relaxed comfort of the relationship, and the blue feeling of unrequited love and longing.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 18, 2025
Beautiful Nights
By Nina George
Claire Cousteau – Madame le Professeur – is a middle-aged, buttoned up behavioral biologist, who is married to Gilles, a composer of music who works under contract composing scores for films. They share a 22 year old son, Nicolas, who is just spreading his wings as he enters adulthood. They seem like the perfect family, but there is an undercurrent of unhappiness that is growing through the years.
The story begins as Claire is leaving a hotel room where she has just had a sexual encounter with a strange man. As she is leaving the hotel, she has an awkward meeting with a young hotel maid, who will play a large part in Claire's family vacation in Bretagne.
This is a story about love and togetherness – but also about one party submerging hopes and desires in order for the other party to fulfill theirs. It is a story of what goes wrong when couples fail to communicate. Ultimately, it reinforces the adage that, until you love and accept yourself, you cannot truly love another.
Everyone in this book – both the middle-aged and the young – must come to a recognition of who they really are, both the good and the bad, and what they have done to hurt those they love. This is a message that we should all take to heart.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC.
By Nina George
Claire Cousteau – Madame le Professeur – is a middle-aged, buttoned up behavioral biologist, who is married to Gilles, a composer of music who works under contract composing scores for films. They share a 22 year old son, Nicolas, who is just spreading his wings as he enters adulthood. They seem like the perfect family, but there is an undercurrent of unhappiness that is growing through the years.
The story begins as Claire is leaving a hotel room where she has just had a sexual encounter with a strange man. As she is leaving the hotel, she has an awkward meeting with a young hotel maid, who will play a large part in Claire's family vacation in Bretagne.
This is a story about love and togetherness – but also about one party submerging hopes and desires in order for the other party to fulfill theirs. It is a story of what goes wrong when couples fail to communicate. Ultimately, it reinforces the adage that, until you love and accept yourself, you cannot truly love another.
Everyone in this book – both the middle-aged and the young – must come to a recognition of who they really are, both the good and the bad, and what they have done to hurt those they love. This is a message that we should all take to heart.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC.
September 9, 2025
At heart this is a character study of a very complicated woman. The third child born to a dysfunctional mother by three different men, Claire Cousteau realized early on that she needed to be forthright and clear-headed in her decisions, as well as those made for her half-siblings. She always tried to do the right thing, but she learned to show no emotion. Her mother was committed when she was ten, and she went to live with her paternal grandmother, a published author, in a refurbished fishing cottage on the Breton coast. Her grandmother died years ago, but her family has used the cottage for summer vacations ever since. Beautiful Nights starts in a second-rate hotel in Paris. Tired of her husband's affairs, Claire has met a man for anonymous sex and is leaving the hotel when she runs into Julie, a young cleaning woman. They have a brief conversation, think nothing of it and go on their way. Later, when having dinner, their son confesses he has asked someone over and would like to invite her to spend the summer with them at Breton. Of course, that person turns out to be ... Julie. Author Nina George has the writing chops to turn this into a tour de force about relationships - what we expect from them, as well as the emotions we all bring to the union. Translated from the original German by Sharon Howe.
June 9, 2025
I received an electronic ARC from Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine through NetGalley.
A rare miss for me by Nina George. The empowerment of women is an important part of literature but this book bogged down and didn't allow characters to grow until almost the end. George used the sea and other known devices to help readers see who her characters. Sadly, they were still fairly flat and seemed content to stay behind their expected roles. Readers can see that this started for Claire as a young child as she needed to be practical and find a way for her two older siblings and herself to survive. Typical start to this plotline - missing dads, mentally struggling mother, and it wove through the rest of the novel. Though I considered DNF several times, I'm glad I finished it. The ending offers hints of growth for all of the characters. The main two women seem to have found their way and Claire reconnects with her husband, Gilles, though readers will need to decide for themselves if they choose to start again with their marriage or head in separate directions.
A rare miss for me by Nina George. The empowerment of women is an important part of literature but this book bogged down and didn't allow characters to grow until almost the end. George used the sea and other known devices to help readers see who her characters. Sadly, they were still fairly flat and seemed content to stay behind their expected roles. Readers can see that this started for Claire as a young child as she needed to be practical and find a way for her two older siblings and herself to survive. Typical start to this plotline - missing dads, mentally struggling mother, and it wove through the rest of the novel. Though I considered DNF several times, I'm glad I finished it. The ending offers hints of growth for all of the characters. The main two women seem to have found their way and Claire reconnects with her husband, Gilles, though readers will need to decide for themselves if they choose to start again with their marriage or head in separate directions.
July 5, 2025
Claire is a respected biologist, is married to Gilles, has a son Nicolas, she has everything most people want in life and yet she is unfulfilled. She sleeps with men just to feel something. She is clinical and cold even with her own family. Each year, the family goes to Brittany to spend the summer by the sea, this year Nico is bringing along his girlfriend Julie. Julie works at the hotel where Claire was engaging in one of her affairs. The trip has tensions, secrets and unspoken resentments just below the surface of fun in the sun. But when Claire has an attraction to Julie, the summer goes off the rails.
The author has an elegant way of writing and I was enjoying the story when Claire was supporting Julie to get over her fear of not being able to swim and to encourage her but when it changes to them having a sexual relationship with each other, I lost interest. I can't fathom a young adult woman leaving her boyfriend for an older woman. It didn't ring true for me. It is a well written story, I'm just meh about the relationship.
The author has an elegant way of writing and I was enjoying the story when Claire was supporting Julie to get over her fear of not being able to swim and to encourage her but when it changes to them having a sexual relationship with each other, I lost interest. I can't fathom a young adult woman leaving her boyfriend for an older woman. It didn't ring true for me. It is a well written story, I'm just meh about the relationship.
July 27, 2025
2.5 rounded down
______
When Claire, a behavioral biologist living in Paris, and her family take their annual trip to the Brittany coast, she’s stunned to find an emotional connection with her son’s new girlfriend, Julie. In search of their true selves, the women spend the summer discovering what they want out of life, and ultimately, themselves.
______
This is a great example of judging a book by its cover. I couldn't wait to dive into this one. The cover is beautiful, the setting is stunning - all I wanted to do was put myself and my family on the next flight to Paris. But Beautiful Nights ultimately let me down.
Overall, the vibes are perfect for a beachy summer read because most of the book takes place on the coast, but I felt that it was anticlimactic. The pacing is extremely slow, and the book is filled mostly with the two main characters’ inner thoughts.
Introspective and thought-provoking, the writing is beautiful, but a huge miss for me.
Thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.
______
When Claire, a behavioral biologist living in Paris, and her family take their annual trip to the Brittany coast, she’s stunned to find an emotional connection with her son’s new girlfriend, Julie. In search of their true selves, the women spend the summer discovering what they want out of life, and ultimately, themselves.
______
This is a great example of judging a book by its cover. I couldn't wait to dive into this one. The cover is beautiful, the setting is stunning - all I wanted to do was put myself and my family on the next flight to Paris. But Beautiful Nights ultimately let me down.
Overall, the vibes are perfect for a beachy summer read because most of the book takes place on the coast, but I felt that it was anticlimactic. The pacing is extremely slow, and the book is filled mostly with the two main characters’ inner thoughts.
Introspective and thought-provoking, the writing is beautiful, but a huge miss for me.
Thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.
July 30, 2025
I had difficulty reading this book as I had to keep remembering it was taking place in France and the sensibilities were different than I am used to. A literary exploration of the life and feelings of Claire, a professor of ,basically, human emotions, although she is seen as cold and unfeeling. We meet her as she embarks on an afternoon assignation with a stranger. We slowly learn about her life and how she feels about herself.
Her husband is a composer and has had many affairs which she has overlooked.
Enter Juliette, the girlfriend of Nicolas, Claire 's son, another woman trying to find herself.
The ocean in Breton where the family spends their summer plays a large part in the book.
The reason this was a difficult read for me is that I am not a very introspective person and I just wanted Claire to confront her husband.
I did like the ending.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the EARC. This is my honest opinion. For those who enjoy literary fiction from a woman's point of view I am sure they will enjoy this book.
Her husband is a composer and has had many affairs which she has overlooked.
Enter Juliette, the girlfriend of Nicolas, Claire 's son, another woman trying to find herself.
The ocean in Breton where the family spends their summer plays a large part in the book.
The reason this was a difficult read for me is that I am not a very introspective person and I just wanted Claire to confront her husband.
I did like the ending.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the EARC. This is my honest opinion. For those who enjoy literary fiction from a woman's point of view I am sure they will enjoy this book.
August 18, 2025
Beautiful Nights by Nina George is a lyrical and evocative novel that explores themes of self-discovery, passion, and the courage to embrace change through the interconnected lives of two women: Claire and Julie.
Claire, a respected behavioral biologist trapped in a seemingly perfect but ultimately stagnant marriage, finds herself increasingly frustrated by her husband's infidelities and the feeling of a life unlived. Meanwhile, Julie, her son's girlfriend, is at a crossroads, questioning her relationship and yearning for a bigger, more vibrant life.
A shared secret, a chance encounter in Paris, binds them together, setting the stage for a summer spent on the picturesque Brittany coast. Against the backdrop of the sea and the sun, their hidden desires ignite, challenging both women to confront societal expectations and their own suppressed truths.
George's prose is sensual and atmospheric, crafting a poignant and reflective story about femininity in its various stages and the profound beauty that emerges when we dare to break apart the familiar in pursuit of an authentic self.
Claire, a respected behavioral biologist trapped in a seemingly perfect but ultimately stagnant marriage, finds herself increasingly frustrated by her husband's infidelities and the feeling of a life unlived. Meanwhile, Julie, her son's girlfriend, is at a crossroads, questioning her relationship and yearning for a bigger, more vibrant life.
A shared secret, a chance encounter in Paris, binds them together, setting the stage for a summer spent on the picturesque Brittany coast. Against the backdrop of the sea and the sun, their hidden desires ignite, challenging both women to confront societal expectations and their own suppressed truths.
George's prose is sensual and atmospheric, crafting a poignant and reflective story about femininity in its various stages and the profound beauty that emerges when we dare to break apart the familiar in pursuit of an authentic self.
October 18, 2025
I really enjoyed this intricate and well-written novel about a biology professor who is going through a bit of a midlife crisis and finds herself after a series of events that affect her marriage and family.
It is a translation, and some sentences were a bit clunky, but not to the point of ruining the overall effect.
It is a bit easier to accept the romance in the book that comes with a big age gap - if only because the relationship does not last, with both sides realizing how unrealistic it is long-term. Is it a bit hypocritical to find a love story between two women, one 18 and the other 40, romantic and daring? Probably. I would not feel the same about a 40-year-old man having a bit of a summer romance with his son's 18-year-old girlfriend. Nor would it ring the same if the story were about two men, in my opinion. In any case, I found it lovely and romantic.
Thank you, NetGalley and Ballantine Books, for sharing an advanced reader's copy in exchange for my honest review.
It is a translation, and some sentences were a bit clunky, but not to the point of ruining the overall effect.
It is a bit easier to accept the romance in the book that comes with a big age gap - if only because the relationship does not last, with both sides realizing how unrealistic it is long-term. Is it a bit hypocritical to find a love story between two women, one 18 and the other 40, romantic and daring? Probably. I would not feel the same about a 40-year-old man having a bit of a summer romance with his son's 18-year-old girlfriend. Nor would it ring the same if the story were about two men, in my opinion. In any case, I found it lovely and romantic.
Thank you, NetGalley and Ballantine Books, for sharing an advanced reader's copy in exchange for my honest review.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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