Emma's Review: The Paris Girl by Natalie Meg Evans

Reviewed by Emma Crowley

Paris, 1920s. Tatiana Vytenis has worked hard to leave her past behind. Once a ruined Russian princess in hiding, she is now a sought-after model and engaged to Gérard de Sainte-Vierge – a handsome, if occasionally overbearing, aristocrat. With the Sainte-Vierge heirloom ruby sparkling on her finger, Tatiana feels as though she should be happy. Not long ago she was penniless and now she’s about to become a marquise.

But fate still has a final hand to play. One night in a bohemian café in Montparnasse, Tatiana discovers she’s been the unknowing plaything of the Sainte-Vierge family. Hidden beneath their genteel exteriors, Gerard and his brother have a secret darker side, and her darling fiancé will gladly ruin Tatiana’s life to save his own reputation.

As Tatiana’s situation becomes ever more desperate, she crosses paths with an unlikely guardian angel. Serious, dark-haired Regan Dortmeyer is an American in Paris – a war photographer running from his own hard knocks in Hell’s Kitchen, New York. He’s no fancy French nobleman, but Regan has seen the lengths to which a wicked man like Gerard will go. As the consequences of her disastrous engagement threaten to swallow Tatiana up, he might be the only one who can save her now…

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Many thanks to Bookouture via NetGalley for my copy of The Paris Girl to review and to Sharon for having my review on the blog.

I was several chapters in to Natalie Meg Evans new book The Paris Girl, set in 1920's Paris, before I realised it was a continuation of sorts from her previous book The Secret Vow. It was only as the name of one of the characters husband was mentioned that it struck me as being familiar, then I went back and checked and I was right. Even if this had not been a follow on book I would have read it regardless because I have loved all the authors previous books. But I was even more eager to read it as The Secret Vow had ended on a real cliff hanger which definitely left room for a further story featuring the same characters. Said cliff hanger meant that closure needed to be found and I was keen to see how this would come about in this new story even if it would happen at all.

All that said you could easily read this as a standalone book as the story shifts more of a focus onto the youngest daughter Tatiana. You won't be missing out on what has previously happened as there is plenty of back story supplied to bring new readers up to date. But as I had already read about these characters I felt I had a real good understanding of where they are coming from, what they have been through and what was ahead for them. This is a heart wrenching love story with Tatiana at its centre and although I didn't think it was filled with as many twists and turns as the previous book it still held my attention throughout due to the complex nature of Tatiana and all the devestating hardships she was experiencing.

Paris, May 1922 and Princess Tatiana Vytenis and her family have been in exile from Russia for several years. They have attempted to make a new life for themselves with a modest degree of success on which they are continuing to build. Katya, another sister, is now married to Harry and has shares in the couture house - Maison Javier. Designing is her passion but she also harbours a deep longing to become a mother. She is haunted by her last days in Russia and the subsequent journey which saw her family eventually find a home in Paris. Their father is gone but Katya feels like her sister Vera could still be alive despite her last known whereabouts and what she might have endured. Katya takes more of a back seat in this book although there are some chapters told from herself and Harry's perspective which offer an insight as to what they are attempting to do. If successful the results of their journey could change everything.

Instead attention shifts to the youngest of the family, Tatiana, and honestly she was a character very hard to like at times. She came across as spoilt and selfish and that she expected the world to fall at her feet without experiencing much hardship. It's only as we delve further into the book that the reasons for her behaviour and the way she acts when it comes to matters of the heart make themselves much clearer. It was only then that I started to feel an ounce of sympathy for her. It's when she opened up about events of the past which changed the families lives forever that things became crystal clear. That here was a young woman scarred by events and things that had been said to her.

This resulted in Tatiana constantly searching for reassurance and love and when it wasn't being returned she went a bit off the rails and needed bringing back to her senses. Her past experiences meant she was fairly messed up emotionally. There were times where she showed a vulnerable side and just wanted someone to scoop her up into their arms and care for her, but when she was feeling stronger and her senses were more together she was a force to be reckoned with. She was definitely a character who had two very different sides to her personality and as the different sides emerged my opinion of her swayed back and forth.

Tatiana works as a mannequin at the house of Javier, in which her sister has a stake. She models all the latest looks from the new collections alongside several other girls. Her partner, Gerard de Sainte Vierge, has just proposed marriage and she has gladly accepted believing her fortunes will change and that becoming a French noble woman will absolve her of having to make something of her life on her own. No one seems overly enamoured with news of the engagement and her fellow models and best friend Constanza don't seem to be cheering her on at this match supposedly made in heaven. From the outset there was just something distinctly fishy about the whole thing. That Tatiana was so keen to get the marriage signed, sealed and delivered as soon as possible. But why? Why was Gerard acting so cold and aloof considering he had just made the biggest profession of love for Tatiana by placing the family ring on her finger despite protestations from his mother. I had my suspicions about certain characters and some elements of what I believed proved to be true where as with regard to others I was completely off track and was surprised at the eventual outcome with regard to certain strands of the story.

Perhaps the creepiest character of all was Armand, the brother of Gerard. Whenever he featured there was such a menacing, sinister and evil tone dripping from the pages. Tatiana felt very uneasy around him and she had good reason to. It was almost like he was a stalker, who knew all of her movements and kept pressing his 'love and attention' on her with the most disastrous of consequences which really set the tone for the remainder of the book. Tatiana's connection to the de Sainte Vierge family was the catalyst for all the themes being explored in the book. What she went through affected every aspect of her life and in some ways hardened her to certain things but then when that veneer slipped and we saw deep down to the real Tatiana that she was attempting to keep suppressed only then did an entirely new strand of the story opened up. Tatiana needed to seek revenge but in a dignified manner as she realised she was just a pawn in a much bigger game.

I loved how characters from the previous book made reappearances and this time around even featured more heavily. Úna McBride being one of them. She is attempting to make it big in writing and reporting on the fashion industry in Paris but has never really struck gold. She seemed to be a woman ahead of her time and I thought she really looked out for Tatiana when she placed herself in peril or just seemed to lose track of herself big time as Tatiana could be wild and unstable and very difficult to handle. Úna provides the introduction of American photographer Regan Dortmeyer, who is not long in the city and has been sent to capture The Eternal Romance of Paris for an American magazine. He too has his own history but I thought he was a brilliantly written character. The complete opposite to Gerard and perhaps a better fit for Tatiana even though they often rubbed each other up the wrong way.

I loved all the back and forth jibes that ensued and the reader could see sparks glowing between them. But there was a bigger picture to look at and various elements that needed to be quashed before new strings could be sewn back together. Towards the end the pace really began to pick up and fears grew for Tatiana becoming completely swallowed up in what she had unwittingly become embroiled with. It all boils down to the deep insecurities and lack of faith in herself that she has gone down this path. Will it be too late to save her? Can Regan and her friends rally round? Will Tatiana's family ever be whole again?

The Secret Vow slightly edges out The Paris Girl for me but I still really enjoyed Tatiana's story. It definitely needed to be told and still there are two questions I would really like the answers to so I hope there will be a continuation in the form of a short story because a full length book might be over stretching things slightly. The Paris Girl is well worth a read. It's packed full of tension, suspicion, unease and unrest and you'll soon readily lose yourself in discovering the truth behind so many façades. Tatiana will be a character you love to hate but ultimately she will win you over, just like her story did with me.

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