Saturday, July 23, 2011

REVIEW: The Paris Secret by Angela Henry



I read this book as a debt I had to Deea *lol*. Can you imagine this? I suggested her a series and she read it immediately, so I owed her one (as a matter of fact I owe her five, because the series had that many books).
In the beginning I wasn’t very excited, but after reading the first two chapters I realized I missed reading a story like this. It reminded me of The DaVinci Code which I read back in 2006 and of those awesome adventure video games I used to play in high school.
Meet Maya: half African American – the other half she doesn’t really know what it is herself – who grew up in foster care and never knew her real parents. When her stepmother dyed, her only chance to find out something about them dyed with her.
Maya is now a reference librarian at Capital College and newly dumped.
She embarks all alone on a trip to Paris , “The Town of Love”– one she must have shared with her 1 year boyfriend, before he left her to return to his ex-wife.  Out of remorse, the guy attached the 2 tickets for the voyage to the break-up e-mail, already paid. 
After weeping and feeling sorry for herself for two months, she decides to go to Paris after all and finds the strength to make fun of her situation: “And besides, who am I to stand in the way of two idiots in love? Heavy emphasis on the idiots part.”
Less than a day after arriving in Paris she is accused of a brutal murder, almost beaten to death by a psychopath in the Gardens of Versailles and saved by the hot, green eyed French journalist Simon Girard.
Simon spent the last two years in Hong Kong, recovering form his own heartbreak, but now he has to find out what happened to his brother, who was found dead in mysterious circumstances.
They decide to help each other, and in their search for answers, they find the existence of a secret society, hunt a missing crucifix that holds the key to eternal life and run one step ahead of a killer who’ll do anything to silence them both.
The book is beautifully written, it has many descriptions of Paris’ places and you’ll feel like you’re there as well. That’s how good they are!
I’d have loved to read more about Maya and Simon’s relationship and I felt that he confided too quickly in her…but this isn’t actually a romance novel, and the story is very fast paced. So this could not be a flaw after all, just my wish.
If you are a fan of adventure/mystery novels you'll love The Paris Secret.

Translation for my romanian readers:

 Am citit aceasta carte ca rasplata pentru Deea. Inchipuiti-va! Eu i-am sugerat o serie si ea a citit-o imediat, asa ca ii eram doatoare cu o carte (de fapt ii sunt datoare cu 5, pentru ca atatea carti avea seria :D).
La inceput nu am fost foarte entuziasmata, dar dupa ce am terminat primele doua capitole mi-am dat seama ca imi lipsea o poveste ca aceasta. Mi-a amintit de Codul lui Da Vinci,pe care l-am citit in 2006 si de acele superjocuri video de aventuri pe care le jucam in liceu :D
Faceti cunostinta cu Maya: pe jumatate afro-american - despre cealalta jumatate nici ea nu stie nimic - crescuta de parinti adoptivi. Nu si-a cunoscut parintii reali, singura sansa de a afla ceva despre ei disparand odata cu moartea mamei ei vitrege.
Maya este acum bibliotecar la Capital College si mai nou, parasita.
Pleaca de una singura intr-o calatoria la Paris, orasul indragostitilor - vacanta pe care ar fi trebuit sa o petreaca impreuna cu iubitul ei de un an, inainte ca acesta sa se intoarca la fosta lui sotie. Plin de remuscari, omul a atasat biletele voiajului, gata platite, e-mail-ului prin care se despartea de ea.
Dupa ce si-a plans de mila doua luni, Maya hotaraste sa plece totusi la Paris si gaseste puterea sa faca haz de necaz: "Pana la urma cine sunt eu sa stau in calea a doi idioti indragostiti? Cu accent grav pe idioti."
La nicio zi de cand a ajuns in Paris, este acuzata de o crima odioasa, aproape omorata in bataie de un psihopat in Gradinile din Versailles si salvata de atragatorul jurnalist cu ochi verzi Simon Girard.
Simon si-a petrecut ultimii doi ani in Hung Kong, unde si-a revenit dupa propria tragedie sentimentala, dar acum trebuie sa afle ce s-a intamplat cu frate lui, care a fost gasit mort in circumstante misterioase. 
Cei doi decid sa se ajute reciproc si in cautarea de raspunsuri descopera existenta unei societati secrete, vaneaza un crucifix care poarta cheia catre viata vesnica si alearga cu un pas inaintea unui criminal care ar face orice sa-i reduca la tacere pe amandoi.
Cartea este scrisa foarte frumos, contine descrieri ale principalelor obiective turistice din Paris, care sunt atat de detaliate incat te poti imagina acolo. 
Mi-ar fi placut sa aflu mai multe despre relatia Mayei cu Simon si mi s-a parut ca el se increde in ea un pic cam repede...dar acesta nu este un roman de dragoste, iar actiunea se petrece foarte repede, deci pana la urma este doar dorinta mea, si nu o critica adusa cartii.
Daca sunteti fani ai romanelor mister/aventuri, cu siguranta veti fi captivati de The Paris Secret.



7 comments:

Deea said...

Haha you and Julia own me one for getting me addicted to Dark Hunter too!:)) *just kidding*
I love your review, I like that you talked more about Maya and Simon. I kind of ignored them, I loved their adventure more. :))

andra lavander said...

chiar semana cu codul lui davinci

Larisa said...

Interesant, as vrea si eu sa aflu mai multe despre viata de bibliotecar dar si despre aventurile Mayei.

Palmaciu Elena said...

Mie cel mai mult îmi place coperta pare mai misterioasă.

Larisa said...

Coperta este intr-adevar superba, cu Turnul Eiffel pe timp de noapte...foarte frumoasa.

Unknown said...

Dupa ce ti-am citit recenzia mi-am dat seama ca The Paris Secret imbina doua dintre cartile mele preferate: Codul lui Da Vinci si Imbratisari la Paris.

Maria said...

Coperta este foarte frumoasa.Nu am citit nici Codul lui DaVinci asa ca am sa incep mai intai cu aia.

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