Author: Tessa Lunney
ISBN: 9781460755778
RRP: $29.99
Publication Date: 21/05/2018
Publisher: Harper Collins
Copy: Courtesy of the Publisher
April in Paris, 1921 is the first in a series about Kiki Button, and the first in a series is always special. If you love it you just know that there is more in store for you.
Katherine King Button served as a nurse in the Great War and after the horrors she witnessed has vowed that her days of taking orders are over. Two year back home in Australia and her parents demand she marries. She flees her parents expectations for the freedom to be herself in Paris.
Paris in 1921 is the city of liberté, where Katherine becomes Kiki as she parties with anyone whose anyone and takes the opportunity create a new woman. She begins modelling for local artists, and while sitting for Pablo Picasso she is given the job of finding his wife’s mysteriously missing portrait.
She can’t completely escape her time in the war and is drawn back in for another mission, one that sees he whom she adores at stake.
Kiki has one week to use her knowledge of Paris to save herself and the man she adores. Lucky she has a lifestyle of whisky and parties, to go with her determination and wit. But will it be enough?
This one definitely sounds like it will be entertaining, I can’t wait to see what our readers have to say.
April in Paris, 1921 is published by Harper Collins and is available now through Angus & Robertson Bookworld, Booktopia and where all good books are sold.
Thanks to Harper Collins 15 of our Beauty and Lace Members are already reading April in Paris, 1921 and you can read what they thought in the comments below. Please be aware there may be spoilers.
I devour books, vampires and supernatural creatures are my genre of choice but over the past couple of years, I have broadened my horizons considerably. In a nutshell – I love to write! I love interacting with a diverse range of artists to bring you interviews. Perhaps we were perfect before – I LOVE WORDS!
April in Paris, 1921 is the first novel of Australian author Ms Tessa Lunney. The story begins with Australian Katherine King Button, the daughter of wealthy parents who is being pressured to marry, procreate and be the dutiful daughter. Katherine has served through the Great War as a nurse and vows never to take orders again. She flees Australia and her family constraints for a life of freedom and friendship in Paris. From here Katherine King Button becomes known as Kiki and enjoys a very interesting life encompassing much love, friendship, socialising and promiscuity.
I have to hand it to Ms Lunney for the research and detail that has found its way into this book. From quoting Keats, to writing code and the detailed conversations between Fox and Vixen, Ms Lunney has a gift for keeping the reader enthralled.
There were a few moments when I wondered how this story was all going to fit together. The first half of the book is dedicated to building the characters, of which there are quite a few, and to setting the scene. Then there we learn of two investigations running side by side, to find the rogue agent and locate a painting, and all within the space of one week. This timeline I found difficult to believe. Tom and Bertie repeatedly travelled from abroad to visit Paris; whenever Kiki needed them they could drop everything and visit, sometimes for a few days at a time. I’m not sure how all this story could happen within a week.
The book overall was enjoyable and leads well to a series of Kiki Button Mysteries. I admire Ms Lunney for the dedication she has given to this novel and wish her every success with this series. Thank you, Beauty & Lace Book Club and Harper Collins, for the opportunity to read this intriguing novel.
Kiki (aka Katherine King Button) has fled to Paris from Australia to escape her parents orders of marriage and the horrors of being a nurse during the war to forget and lose herself by becoming a gossip reporter for her friends newspaper.
Kiki was also a spy during the war completing missions for a man named Fox but this was never described very well plus, although there were the war references throughout the book there was never much detail put into them which I thought would have helped give the book a little more depth and clarity. I got confused with the story-line of her also becoming a model for the famous Picasso who then asks her to find one of his missing paintings. This I found a bit much. My thoughts were the days didn’t seem to flow well, the characters were fun but also a little difficult to like and the clues she receives as part of becoming a spy again were so confusing I just had no idea what was going on! It annoyed me that so much seemed to be left unsaid and that everyone spoke in riddles a lot of the time. I never understood the relationship between Kiki and her ‘spymaster’ as well?
All in all, I am glad I got to read the book as enjoy reading/trying out other genre’s that I normally wouldn’t get too but I don’t think I will be reading the next book in this series as I found I struggled too much trying to follow the story-line.
A huge thank you as always to Beauty and Lace and to Harper Collins Publishers for the opportunity to read this book.
I really expected to love this book and was left feeling a little bit flat by the end. While Kiki is a fun character, who has charm, wit and adventure at heart, the writing style was overly busy and I feel like it was competing with the main character. There are lots of overly wordy passages, which I guess show the poetic background of the author, but I found it frustrating in a novel. The way in which the setting is described is clever and transports the reader to far away places and I enjoyed the historical elements to the book. Not a bad read, I just didn’t love it like I thought I might.
Thank you to Harper Collins Publishing and Beauty and Lace for the opportunity to review.
An intriguing book from the word go.
Complex stories and characters that had me wanting to keep reading. I always enjoy a book set in Paris and this did not disappoint.
Kiki is a fun character and I really enjoyed her development throughout the novel.
At times I felt overwhelmed by the story, but I persisted and really was glad I did. It is definitely a book I will re-read and I feel I will most likely enjoy it more the second time round.
This was a book I definitely wouldn’t have purchased, but I’m glad to have read. The cover was a bit blah and twee and I thought that it was something completely different to what was inside.
Loved the Australian protagonist Katherine Button aka Kiki, what a great name (!) and the scenes were all deliciously laid out for consumption. She’s glamorous, she’s gorgeous and she’s on a mission to have fun! She gets involved in all kinds of mysteries and really, she’s a character you want to have to shop, chat and gossip with (as that’s really one of her main aims in life), and generally have fun with.
The book itself held my attention and was a very easy read.
Thank you Beauty & Lace for the opportunity to read.