Sometimes taking a chance means crossing an ocean… what bad news Maddox is. To make me laugh. To be there for me no matter what. To prevent me from getting my heart crushed.
Even if that means flying to Paris.
And showing me exactly what I’ve been missing.
I want to take a chance. But how can I risk losing my best friend?
A friends to lovers romance that will leave you breathless
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•℘•*´`*• 4.5 STAR REVIEW •*´`*•℘•
Very rarely do I dive into unchartered waters, and by this I mean books by unknown (to me) authors. I decided to venture out of my safe zone after reading a promising blurb, from a debut novel, and I’m so very happy I did! I loved everything about French Kiss, a sweet, slow burn Standalone.
This Friends-To-Lovers romance is beautifully written, starring two well-developed main characters, Josh and Hannah both of who were smart, funny, and entertaining. It included some very important secondary characters that were crucial to the story. Set in Paris, the amazing and descriptive writing made it seem as if the City of Lights was another main character in the story; inviting us along for the ride, joining Josh and Hannah at the little cafés mentioned while savoring the garlicy escargots or ‘pains aux raisins’ so lovingly described. This story was an unexpected treat!
“It’s a forever feeling. I love you. I am one thousand percent, head over heels in love with you.”
Hannah Stein and Josh Weitz were young med students and met their first year of residency and immediately hit it off. From the beginning Hannah had put Josh in the friend zone, she had always been attracted to bad boys and he was an honestly nice guy. Hannah was certain there was no attraction between them, instead they became best friends, and they both dated other people before graduating.
“Josh immediately became one of my favorite people. More than that. He kept me honest, he kept me pointed in the right direction. My true north.”
The one person who caught her eye was a fellow student, Maddox, a handsome flirt and player, who dated a long string of beautiful women. Maddox later roomed with Josh, and he considered Hannah and Josh his best friends. Strangely, months before they graduated, Maddox began to spend hours talking to Hannah on the phone, late at night. He seemed to insinuate she could be the one for him. Or so Hannah thought.
After graduation the three of them decided to travel separately to Europe for a month long vacation, a much needed break after the hectic years spent in med school. Maddox made plans to meet Hannah in Paris, making her believe he wanted a chance with her. And so Hannah decided to meet him there, unsure and a little bit excited, Hannah was looking forward to seeing him. She shouldn’t have trusted Maddox.
“Of all the people to feel comfortable following an uncertain road with, Josh was it.”
Josh was waiting for Hannah when she showed up at the agreed upon time and place. Sometimes the person you were meant to be with has been under your nose the entire time!
“I want to make you melt with desire and fall so hard for me that you forget your name. I want you in every possible way.”
“I was still processing everything, wanting to make sure I committed every word to memory, because he’d articulated things no one had ever felt about me. Things I’d only imagined in my fantasies. Things I always dreamed someone would say.”
I loved the relationship between Josh and Hannah. I kept wanting to shake her throughout the book when she kept saying she wasn’t attracted to him because it was obvious they were absolutely perfect for each other. I did not understand why she would want someone so temporary kind Maddox when Josh was someone you hooked and hung onto forever. This was such a sweet friends to lovers romance in the city of love.
**I did receive a free advanced readers copy of this book from Stacy Travis and Social Butterfly PR in exchange for a fair and honest review **
If I didn’t know this was a debut author, I wouldn’t have thought this was the first book from Stacy Travis! I was very quickly lost in this story. Hannah, Josh and friends all met in their residency. I felt like I was living it with them. The long days, hard work and lack of time for friends, but despite being able to see each other often, they did make time for their group of friends. At the end of residency, they had a little time before they each started their new careers. Hannah wanted to go to Europe. However, life still threw her a curve ball. The guy that had been her closest friend, was the one that had been there for her. And soon, their relationship shifted. I so enjoy a good friends-to-lovers read and this one was fun to get lost in. I was all in for this read and I look forward to future books from this author!
This is a debut from this author, and I will certainly be looking out for her work in the future. Josh and Hannah as both studying to become doctors but are they ready to take the next step from friends / lovers? No spoiler: this is well worth reading. This is a sweet romance story which had me intrigued and hooked throughout, and I recommend for all.
Why are we so blind to love when it’s right in front of us?
This author is new to me and with this novel she has won me over and for sure will keep reding her next books.
Her writing is easy to connect and understand.
I loved Hannah and Josh’s relationship, it is adorable to see them interact, the connection they have is what most of us are looking for. Hannah is dazzled by a mirage, and is very lucky that when she realizes Josh is there to support her as he always has.
To be honest, there’s parts when I just want to slap Hannah for keep going for Maddox when is so obvious (at least for me, LOL) that she belongs with Josh.
“I wanted to stay right there with him in our little envelope of space on the back of the boat. It wasn’t about finding solace over a broken heart. It wasn’t about Maddox at all. Instead I was fully invested in feelings for Josh that I didn’t even know I had. Because I was so busy avoiding the bad boy in my life I’d completely overlooked the good one.”
This is one of those stories that I love to read, best friends to boyfriends, it’s so touching to read Josh with Hannah, I loved them.
I’ll be watching what this author writes because I’m definitely keep reading it and recommending it.
une très jolie histoire entre deux personnages qui se découvrent petit à petit, le début est un peu lent le temps que tout se mette en place mais le voyage à Paris est magnifique ! Une très jolie lecture !
French Kiss a great debut novel, I really enjoyed this well written romance with wonderful characters and I have to say Stacy Travis brought Paris to life for me with her wonderful descriptions of the city of love.
Hannah and Josh are best friends and like all friends Hannah is quick to let Josh know she has fallen for Maddox who happens to be Josh’s roommate. Hannah may have put Maddox up on a pedestal but he is not the man she thinks he is and it’s her best friend to who ultimately comes to her rescue…..
A friends to lovers romance that will remind you that sometimes we miss what’s right before our eyes and it’s always our best friends who have our best interests at heart.
I will certainly be looking out for future works by this talented author.
4 Star review French Kiss by Stacy Travis
Stacy Travis is a new author to me and I found French Kiss to be well written and descriptive with the author certainly brought Paris to life for me.
Hannah and Josh met by accident and quickly became best friends. However it is Maddox, Josh’s roommate who Hannah falls for.
Sadly Maddox is not the man that Hannah thinks he is and when he disappoints her, it is Josh who is there to pick up the pieces. This is a friends to lovers story that was sweetly romantic. It is a story which will challenge you to look inside yourself to realize that sometimes you can’t see the wood for the trees and that’s what happens for Hannah and Josh.
Friends-to-Lovers is one of my favorite troupes and French Kiss is perfect! Josh and Hannah’s story is so sweet! I loved everything about this book! FIVE STARS!!
French Kiss was a fun friends-to-lovers romance with lots of twists and angst thrown in too. Type-A personality and medical resident, Hannah, has her life all planned out and thinks she has learned her lesson when it comes to dating bad boys. But she easily falls under the spell of her fellow doctor friend, Maddox, even planning a romantic meet-up in Paris. And bad boys too often show their true colors. Josh, who had been by her side throughout their residency, is there for her when she needs a friend the most and Hannah finally finds herself seeing him in a new light.
The author’s love for Paris really comes alive as Hannah and Josh travel through the city. Her depiction of the city and various sites made me feel as if I was in the city myself. French Kiss was an entertaining and quick read. A fun escape!
I was provided with a free copy of this book. This is my honest review.
This is an adorable novel.
Girl meets hot guy and obsesses over what could be. Hot guy is an utter disappointment. Girl realizes her perfect guy was the one she least expected.
Sounds like a common story but this one seems so different. The author’s love for Paris shines through and really helps you become immersed in the atmosphere of it all.
You dont just fall in love with the characters in this one.
You fall in love with the place.
*I recieved this novel for free in exchange for an honest review by way of Voracious Readers Only *
Hannah knows gorgeous, cocky men are not for her. So why does she fall for yet another? Why can’t she fall for her friend, Josh, Maddox’s roomate, Maddox to whom she’s so attracted even though she shouldn’t be?
Perhaps she just might do that, though, when Josh comes to tell her Maddox isn’t showing up for what could have been something great, her friend that she wishes she could fall for instead of undependable Maddox who obviously isn’t into her.
I gotta be honest and say that my favorite part of this book isn’t the romance or the two leads, it’s the descriptions of Paris. The romance, while sweet, didn’t really hold my interest because Hannah continually said she wasn’t attracted to Josh, didn’t think he was attracted. Then boom, she was falling in love with him. Um…no. Her character was really frustrating, and kept me from enjoying what was supposed to be the main story. But because the story was sweet and the descriptions were awesome, I’d say 3 stars is fair.
I was really interested in reading this book after checking out the blurb. It didn’t quite match what I expected, though.
I thought Hannah would have more of an attraction to Josh from the beginning, but she repeatedly mentions she doesn’t think he’s attractive and he is only her friend. A lot of the first half of the book also covers the flirting and crush she has on Josh’s friend and roommate Maddox.
Maddox honestly came across as less than genuine from the beginning. Hannah allowing him to jerk her around a bit and expecting something different was frustrating. When she finally starts to see Josh in a different light it felt like an abrupt change. I wish there had been more build up between them. Also, because it happened so late in the story I felt like I didn’t get to see as much of them together as I hoped.
The author’s descriptions of Hannah’s travel and of Paris in particular were fabulous. I kept wanting to write things down to visit if I ever go back again. You can tell she has extensive knowledge of and a love for the city.
Thank you to the author for providing an ARC for an honest review.
Overall Review: 1/2
Many years ago, I found this indie romantic comedy set in Los Angeles on Netflix. It had one of my favorite character actresses in it, Sara Rue. As I was watching her character seek out love in her beloved Los Angeles, I noted that the true love affair of this movie wasn’t the one between her and the hero of the story. Instead, the love relationship of this movie was her character and the city of Los Angeles. Many of LA’s little known treasures were highlighted in this movie, and the city became a character as prominent as Sara Rue’s character. It actually made the movie more charming to me, and as a Southern California girl, it made me both nostalgic and proud of my proximity to a diverse, eclectic city rife with possibility.
As I was reading debut author’s Stacy Travis’s new book, French Kiss, I recalled the movie I’ve just described because, like this rom-com, Travis’s book is more than a friends-to-lovers romance. It is a love affair with the City of Lights and Love; the true romance resides in her heroine’s love affair with Paris. In some ways, this enhances the story, as it underscores the heroine, Hannah’s, falling into love with her best friend, Josh. These two love affairs feel simultaneous and create the power behind the story.
However, it is also the limitation of Travis’s story. She makes it clear in her bio that Paris is HER city, and it’s clear how much she adores it in her apt descriptions of this beautiful city. Since I had visited Paris last summer, as she took her reader through its streets and iconic places, I could remember vividly the beauty and history of this place. Yet, it also detracted from fully developing the romance of her hero and heroine. While I love that Hannah finally sees Josh’s strengths and falls for him, she does this as she falls for the city of Paris, and the common problem of the friends-to-lovers trope is glaring.
(Be aware of potential spoilers.)
First of all, before I move into some of my issues with the story, let me be clear. This is a good start for Stacy Travis. She has an adeptness at storytelling in her ability to set her scene and develop chemistry between her characters easily. That she can take us from wanting Hannah to indulge in Maddox, the playboy of this romance, to rooting for her to fall for Josh illustrates her dexterity in moving our emotions.
However, one of the glaring issues with this book is its point of view. I believe the story would have been stronger as a dual point-of-view story. Everything is written from Hannah’s point of view. It isn’t until later in the story as Josh and Hannah begin to fall for each other that we get any hint that Josh has feelings for her. As this is a romance, you can surmise it early on, but without Josh’s point of view, I think Travis missed out on an opportunity to build more tension in her story. She needed a stronger story arc. Maddox and Hannah’s confusing limbo was more annoying than acceptable. I would have only endorsed their coupling IF it was casual. Therefore, Travis spends more time building their illusory chemistry than building Hannah and Josh’s. While I readily accepted it, it felt a bit disingenuous. Constructing Josh’s point of view would have gone further to enhance the eventual chemistry and coupling between these two.
With the friends-to-lovers trope, which so many readers struggle with, you need it to be believable. Readers already grapple with believability with this trope because it makes one question why they were friends in the first place. I think Travis, to a certain degree, mutes this issue with believability in her detailed journey through Paris. For this reader, I found myself skimming those details to get to Josh and Hannah’s story. It would have been a stronger story had the focus been greater on them than their trip through Paris.
Now, it isn’t lost on me that Paris is used as a metaphor for their developing relationship. As Hannah falls in love with Paris, a city she had no intention of visiting, after being spurned by Maddox, she also falls in love with Josh. They are two unlikely sources of love for a heroine whose life has been planned and prescriptive. In losing herself to love, Hannah is anyone of us who has struggled to let go of control and just live. Stacy Travis’s French Kiss is a reminder to embrace love, no matter where you find it because it will ultimately set you free.
I like a good friends to lovers story, really I do, but there was no emotion in this book. I felt like it didn’t flow right and there was a lot of filler. Josh and Hannah met when they were assigned together during their residency. Throughout the three years, there wasn’t a whole lot written about them. It was always about Hannah and someone else. Then all of a sudden they meet up in Paris and are in love? Throughout their time there, I felt like I was reading a travel guide book instead of a love story. This just was not my favorite book to read.