One Morning in Paris

by Keziah Shepherd

Emily has a history of being seduced by charming men and her relationships are doomed to failure. But when asked to go to bed with charming artist. Daniel Levine, she hesitates. Can she do things differently this time?

144 pages, Paperback

First published December 7, 2013

About the author

Born in Bradford in 1968, Keziah Shepherd grew up in Yorkshire and was much inspired by the Bronte sisters, whose moorland world was a back garden for her. She then studied English Literature at London University before training as an art teacher and setting off for Paris to teach art, do her writing and painting. it is in Paris that she has held most of her art exhibitions in galleries and her writing has been published in Ambit, Raw Vision and Metal among other publications.

Reviews

[Tracey Morait · Rating 3 out of 5]

One Morning in Paris: Why Can't Emily Forget Her Kiss in Paris has a promising premise, starting with a chance encounter in a Parisian cafe between Emily, who has moved from Paris to London, and the dashing Daniel Levine, who wants to get to know her better. Emily, however, is very reticent: she has been badly hurt in the past by men and we are then drawn into her poor experiences with boyfriend Roger back in England and the captivating and much older Professor Brunet. Roger’s betrayal leads her to run away to France where she finds work as an artist’s assistant. The book’s title refers to her first meeting with Daniel, but she doesn’t want to trust him and she does all she can to avoid his company, yet when she meets Professor Brunet, she’s willing to let herself succumb to his charm.

It is strongly hinted that Emily is an attractive, desirable young woman, who attracts the attention of many eligible young men, but there is one thing missing: a long-lasting meaningful and loving relationship.The main focus is on Emily’s strong desire to be loved by a man and with that she is presented as far too needy; this is how her character is defined. Although she hopes for romance, she lacks trust with any man who comes into her life as a potential boyfriend; her past has defined her present and future. She, along with the other main characters, appear one-dimensional. Daniel comes across almost as a stalker and Professor Brunet a dirty old man, out for what he can get, and in her desperation, Emily lets him have it.

The lack of character development is somewhat of a shame, as the story itself has promise. It just reads like a first draft, which leads to the other problem: the book’s formatting. Full-stops were missing at the end of sentences, especially at the end of dialogue, and paragraphs were not indented.

Not bad, but the book needs a bit more flesh on its bones in terms of character development and some input from an editor.

[Mitchell Waldman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Emily has been hurt over and over again by men, by her ex-Roger back in England, and once in Paris again and again finds herself in bad situations with the wrong men. She determines that all men want is a conquest, a sexual turn, and that's it. But a man named Daniel continues to pursue her after a first kiss, despite her high walls and beliefs that she is unworthy of love and that men are all predators. Will she let her walls down long enough to let Daniel in? Will they finally connect at a deeper level? An interesting tale of one woman's trials and tribulations in her search for love.

[Linda King · Rating 4 out of 5]

One Morning In Paris: Why can't Emily forget her kiss in Paris? is about a woman named Emily who has had her fair share of heartbreaks.

This rejection and emotional trauma means she is reluctant to start a new relationship. She then meets Daniel. Her heart is so closed off due to previous hurt that she questions his intentions. A chance meeting occurs that changes her life.

[Nic · Rating 4 out of 5]

Goodreads win
This was an interesting read. At times I could see people being able t9 relate to the main characters. It was a shprt read and pretty interesting. I would recommend it. I hope to see more from this author in the future.

[Betsy Myers · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received this book via Goodreads First Reads. This was a quick read and I was happy with the outcome. So many of us have gone through similar situations and it was nice to have someone else admit to the same issues in writing.