Dancing With Paris (A Paris Time Travel Romance) (2013) - Plot & Excerpts
Reviewed by AllisonBook provided by PublisherReview originally posted at Romancing the Book.Review: Ever gone somewhere you’ve never been before, but it’s familiar anyway? It can be a very creepy feeling. What if you were there, but not as the you of today, but as the you of a past life. That’s the premise of Dancing with Paris by Juliette Sobanet.The story opens with Claudia waiting at her grandmother’s dance studio for the French actor she’s fallen in love with. It’s past time to reveal her secret to him: she’s three months pregnant with a former lover’s child. This will make or break it with Édouard, but it’s the right thing to do. As she waits for him, a mysterious woman speaks to her, and hands her Claudia’s grandmother’s ruby pendant. She puts the pendant on and feels a spark of electricity. Édouard arrives, but before she has a chance to tell him, she sees a People magazine with his picture on the cover…and the newsflash that he’s engaged to an actress. Heartbroken, Claudia tries to get away from him, but feels a sharp pain in her stomach and faints.When she wakes up, Claudia finds herself backstage at a club, surrounded by people speaking French. Piecing things together, she realizes she’s in someone else’s body, an American dancer named Ruby, and she’s in a show in 1959 Paris! While she’s never been to Paris, and doesn’t speak French, she begins remembering bits and pieces of Ruby’s life. The worst part of all this, she’s no longer pregnant, and she’s a suspect in the murder of a fellow dancer named Gisèle.The mysterious woman from her grandmother’s dance studio shows up and tells Claudia she’s in one of her past lives, and there’s something very important she must do. Something so vital it will affect not only Ruby, but Claudia’s future history. As she searches for answers, she falls in love with Antoine, the brother of the murdered dancer.This story fascinated me on so many levels. First for the concept of past lives. Not only has Claudia been sent to her previous life as Ruby, but she retains her memories and identity as Claudia. So she’s really two people in one body. While I’ve not read a great deal on past lives or past life regression, I feel this author took the concept and added a great twist to it. I do like the idea of going back into the past in order to change the future.The author has a very strong voice, and I was drawn into the story from the very beginning. I felt as if I were in Paris, surrounded by the sights and sounds of the romantic city. The story is so well-written that I could see it playing out vividly in my mind, as if I were watching a movie. (And if this were to ever be made into a movie, I would definitely go see it!)The story is told from Claudia’s point of view in first person. It’s interesting to see her struggle and cope with the strange life she’s been thrust into, and then eventually come to embrace her life as Ruby.I don’t want to give away any part of the mystery or the way the story ends, so I’ll sum it up to say this is a must-read novel for several reasons: the past life concept, a beautiful love story, a mystery with twists and turns, and a very well-written story. This book was definitely a new premise for me. First, you have to feel for the heroine's situation... being such a goody goody and then making a mistake only to find out that you have gotten pregnant from said mistake and said mistake is married already?? That's got to be rough! THen falling and awakening in the past in a new body? I've never read that before. I've always secretly (though I guess not so secret anymore) wanted to be a professional dancer, so I love reading about dancers. Add the murder and mystery... you've got yourself a fantastic story! Will she be able to find out who did it and return to her own time?
What do You think about Dancing With Paris (A Paris Time Travel Romance) (2013)?
This was cute and enjoyable but a little forced and overtly meta (as opposed to wittily meta).
—Anodyx
A little time travel, a lot of suspense, and a wonderful romance. Excellent book!
—Olohiii
I good romantic novel, with Paris and time travel - what else could you ask for.
—cindy
