I'll See You in Paris: A Novel

Michelle Gable wowed me with A Paris Apartment so I knew I couldn’t miss her follow-up, which I assumed from the title would again be set in Paris. The novel does eventually move on to Paris, but not until it spends most of its delightful time in a crumbling English country estate with a sharp-tongued, flamboyant old woman tottering around with a gun, a menagerie of dogs and cats, and a maybe imaginary Polish handyman who lives in her barn.

Mrs. Spencer may or may not be the legendary beauty of a bygone era, Gladys Deacon/Duchess of Marlborough, now retired to the country and trying to run off greedy heirs and nosy relatives from interfering in her life. Pru is a young American hired by Mrs. Spencer’s relatives to help her (against her wishes) and Win is a writer who is convinced that Mrs. Spencer is in fact Lady Marlborough and is trying to write a story about her life. Mrs. Spencer lets Pru and Win into her home with great (and colorful) resistance and the two are never the same again.

“Trouble was, though Win Seton felt so bloody sure that she was Gladys Deacon, he forgot the most elemental thing about the duchess. Namely, that she lived only in half-truths and the best lighting, and, most important of all, the long-lost duchess of Marlborough never, ever played by the rules.”

As long the narrative focused on Mrs. Spencer – it was lively and entertaining. But as soon as it goes back to the present-day narrative of those looking back and trying to piece together the mysteries of the past, it loses a little of the momentum, mostly because the reader can pretty much figure out who is who much earlier than the modern-day character. Although, Gable does manage to pull one unpredictable surprise towards the end that I did not see coming.

The character of Mrs. Spencer, as Gable writes her, is one of the most entertaining spitfires I’ve ever encountered. Apparently, the real Duchess of Marlborough was a firecracker too, as the many lively quotes attributed to her clearly show.

Annie has never known who her father was. Her Mom Laurel has been evasive on this point for as long as she can remember. In fact Laurel her normally open and receptive Mom is evasive on a few things. For one, a mysterious blue book that Laurel treats specially and each time Annie asks about it, she underplays its importance, indicating it is just an old book.
And now they are headed to England for a mysterious business trip. One where Laurel says she has to sort out some legalities on an old family property.
But Annie has news, some Laurel is not as receptive as she had hoped for. But, there is time for the fruition of this news and the business trip seems a good time for them to talk. But, not before Annie has time to nab this blue book to see what the mystery is all about.

While in England Laurel is tied up in negotiations and Annie has time to read the blue book and is amazed that it is set in the very town of Banbury they are visiting. She has time to inquire with the locals on some of the particulars and finds a few receptive souls happy to fill her in on the details and sets about her own investigation of the story described in this book.

I can’t fill you in too much more without ruining the book. It is well worth reading. At times I felt it was a bit slow but it picks up in different spots. Within the book there are several timeframes and several voices.
The story starts out in the current day with Annie and her Mom Laurel. The timeframe of the writer is in the 1970s and the person the book is about and their exploits are in the 1930s. At some points the book is quoted. Some sections are typewritten interview pages. They are all in different fonts and clearly indicated. I struggled with the book quoted sections as they were in a smaller taller font and hard to read on the paper they were printed on. I could read them but it was harder to. Old eyes I guess. Overall the story was interesting and captivating.

What was the intrigue and what was the secret about the book Annie always wanted to read but never did?

Why was her mother so evasive about that book​, The Missing Duchess,​ and who was the Duchess of Marlborough?

Why did she and her mother really go to London?

Would the book and their trip to London reveal secrets in Annie's life?

​We follow Annie in present day and Pru, Win, and The Duchess (Mrs. Spencer) in the not so distant past.

Annie meets a British citizen who knew The Duchess, Pru​, and Win. Pru is the caregiver for the feisty Duchess. Win is the author who wrote the book about The Duchess who claims she really isn't a Duchess. Getting the story for his book was difficult for Win because The Duchess kept her life under wraps.

Annie gets the low down about all three characters from a British citizen, Gus, and she also trespasses into the house The Duchess lived in.

I enjoyed Annie's trips into the the house. I always love finding secrets and finding treasures from the past.

I enjoyed the back and forth in time and the "real time" story from Pru, The Duchess, and Win.

The characters in I'LL SEE YOU IN PARIS were quirky and fun. I loved The Duchess...she was a character.

I like this quote that was inside the book:

"Let us be grateful to the people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom." Marcel Proust

I'LL SEE YOU IN PARIS was very light and enjoyable with memorable characters and was well researched. I love the cover and the revelations at the end.

I do have to say the book was a bit confusing at times, but it is oh so good and so very creative.

ENJOY!! 4/5

This book was given to me free of charge and without compensation by the publisher in return for an honest review.

Based on the real life of Gladys Spencer-Churchill, the Duchess of Marlborough, whose life is well worth reading about. Mrs. Spencer is such a firecracker, often proclaiming she "was well informed, she'd slept with eleven prime ministers and most kings." I loved reading about her and her journey in life, her love for spaniels, art and books. I found myself laughing at times from her sarcasm. Although much of this book is about Mrs. Spencer, there is also a very beautiful love story between Win (the man writing Mrs. Spencer's biography) and Pru (the american girl hired to take care of Mrs. Spencer.) The book tells a story in the present and the past and keeps you guessing. What I thought the story was about in the beginning turned out to be only a fraction of the whole story. Wow, I loved Michelle Gable's writing and her ability to tell an interesting story. A funny line from the book: "The man had all the empathy of a lab rat. There wasn't a situation he couldn't make more awkward." When Pru describes Win and his inability to express his feelings. Another part of the book I loved "Almost immediately after Gladys and Sunny's wedding, the duke became a royal pain in the arse. He grew so quarrelsome Gladys took to bringing a revolver to the dinner table just to keep him in line." That really shows how Mrs. Spencer never pulled any punches and she always got her point across. What a fascinating woman. This book has history, art, romance, family, friendships and comedy... I loved all of it! This is a must read!

I voluntarily reviewed this advanced readers copy of this book I got from Netgalley, and it was overall four stars for me.

[...]

When Annie arrives at England and starts to unravel the mysteries of the duchess, she also starts a crazy ride to her own past.
Gus was an attractive character from the start; he had so much Intel on the background of the Duchess story, that you couldn’t stop trying to guess if it was really him.
Till half of the book, I found myself getting bored by the slow pace and the frequent change from present to past, that’s why it took me a while to get into the book, the characters intrigued me but nothing really happened.
The second half of the book, turned into a thrilling mystery tale, where you couldn’t wait to turn to the next page.
Overall, what captured me about this story was the fact that it showed us, that it’s never too late for love and that if it was strong and real many years ago, there’s still a chance that you can go back to it!
It also amazed me, how much Pru changed, from the story of the Duchess to Annie’s mom that we first meet in the book, she was strong willed and fun, when Win described her I imagined her as a book worm but also a dreamer, nothing like Laurel.

An unbelievable amount of swearing and a sex scene detracted from what could have been a fantastic book. The premise was interesting and the writing style was engrossing; just too bad the aforementioned content existed. I can handle some language but this was way over the top, to the point of being seemingly gratuitous.

I finished the book only so I could find out how everything wrapped up. Some plot points were obvious, while others kept me guessing till the end. Quick read, thankfully, so I can move on to better things.

I read Michelle's first book, The Paris Apartment, and loved the story and truly got carried away and invested in the characters and the real life story the fictional book was based on. When I stumbled upon, "I'll See You In Paris", I couldn't wait to read it! Now that I am finished I feel the same way about her second novel as I did the first.
I will say I did think the book started a bit slow but around the middle and especially toward the end I couldn't put it down and the story line really developed some new layers, or I rather the layers the author was building started to unfold and the novel became very exciting.
If you are looking to read this book or are currently reading it I would suggest that if you find it a bit slow to read to not give up on it, you will hopefully really enjoy some surprise twist and turns at the end.
I really enjoy Michelle's style of writing by taking actual people/events and turning them into an intriguing tale.

This was one mesmerizing book! Travels back and forth in time between a few decades, as a young woman named Anna, coming of age, travels to England with her lawyer mother, Laurel, so that supposedly, Laurel can take care of some legal business which, unbeknownst to Anna, involves their family history. Laurel is extremely busy while in England, giving Anna plenty of time to explore the lovely hamlet in which they temporarily reside. Anna picks up a book, "The Last Duchess: A Novel," at a quaint English bookstore, then stops at a pub to read it. There, she meets an interesting older fellow, a regular at the pub, rather too old for Anna, but this gentleman questions Anna about the book she has chosen. What follows is a fascinating story, as Gus, the older gentleman, who resembles a disheveled movie star, slowly gives Anna the story behind the story she is reading. He doles it out in pieces, very slowly, each time they meet at the pub. Anna is intrigued and motivated to find out the secrets behind the story and know who the last Duchess really was. The reader is taken along with Anna into the past and is treated to quotes from the greatest English and American classics, Hemingway, Hardy, Gertrude Stein, to name a few. The repartees are wonderful and often ridiculous, the story is charming, and the mystery is, well, a mystery. This is a great read for those who cherish English literature as well as a magical, fanciful yarn. The writing is stupendous by an author who is obviously a master of her genre and has a genius' imagination. I highly recommend this book to those who enjoy a good love story full of suspense, comedy and tragedy, and I will not give away whether or not the story has a happy ending. You'll have to read the book to find out. And by the way, in case I have not mentioned it, the story ends in Paris. Where else would a book with the title, "I'll See You in Paris" end?

This is a silly book. Too bad, because the premise was a really interesting one. In the hands of someone other than a hack, it could have been a riveting tale. But, this woman laughed all the way to the bank to be paid for writing this drivel. The plot is clunky and inane, the characters are cartoonish and bland, relationships are not developed and make no sense. I tried but couldn't find a single likable person in the book--and the women are especially dopy unless they are just unpleasant. One character, "Pru" was too stupid to put on shoes and a coat and didn't realize the fact until she and her companion were halfway to the bar they intended to visit--in the cold weather no less. The dialogue tries to be witty, and is instead dim-witted at best, and the writer makes no attempt to really create a compelling sense of time and place (set alternately in the early part of the 20th century, during the Vietnam era, and then shortly after 9/11). And, full disclosure, I listened to most of an unabridged book on cd version, and the narrator of the book was a complete match for the book---AWFUL.

Michelle Gable Author has written this book in a very intelligent, charming and page turning way. It will make you curious about what will happen next. You would be engrossed with the way the story flows and characters interaction.
I Loved it and highly recommend to all the readers.

Although many reviews blast this as not as good as her first novel, I'd offer that this book is still above average and worth your time. Her research and depiction of Gladys Spencer has me requesting the source material book she recommends in her author's notes. Although I am primarily a fiction reader when I read for pleasure, this book has me curious regarding where fiction ends and fact begins. It is not the page-turner her first book was, I'll agree, but don't forgo reading it because of that--it's still a good read.

Laurel and her daughter Anna take a trip from their home in Virginia to Banbury in England to sell a property that Laurel owns there. Before leaving Anna finds a book in her mother's study about the Duchess of Marlborough and takes it with her to read. In a pub while her mother is busy she meets Gus and her tells her the story of the Duchess

While listening to this Anna starts to realise that her mother is involved in this story and decides to find out more about her heritage which takes her to Paris

A great story which is a mixture of fact and fiction, blending in the different timelines and making it into a very enjoyable read

I picked up this book because of the Churchill name found in the synopsis. I also got the recorded version to entertain me in the car. What a disappointment! Perhaps it was the girly rendition of the narrator or the lack of substance, but I could only make it halfway through the book. I don't really care about the angst of the immature and unformed feminine psyche which was the basis of the book. I asked myself, "Am I listening to an episode of Scooby Doo?" Some good ideas just don't hatch and this was one of them. I'd avoid this bad egg.

As ‘Historical Fiction’ this book does not measure up.

It purports to tell the tale of the mysterious Gladys Spencer-Churchill.

Chapters alternate between 2001 and 1973 with copious amounts of dialogue which usually drives a story along, but in this case just drags on and on because it is all so frivolous and meaningless. I admit I was forced to skip pages due to boredom.

There is a huge amount of information on Google about Gladys Spencer-Churchill and I found it all more interesting, entertaining and informative than this book.

The author’s previous book “A Paris Apartment” was a much more enjoyable read.

I loved the premise of this book - - telling the story of three generations of women. The transitions between women and between times were well done and not confusing; but the stories of the women seemed a bit uneven to me. Just when I was getting interested, the story switched gears to a different woman and time.

The book was well written and fairly enjoyable to read - just not a WOW book for me.

This story is told by Anna, who travels to England with her mother on a business trip so her mother can sell some property that she owns, that Anna knows nothing about. Before they leave, Anna picks up an old book that is with her mother's things, and begins reading it and brings it with her to England, where she meets an old man in a pub, who knows of the book that she is reading there and Annie begins to learn the true story behind the book. Through the book, and the stories she is told, and a bit of trespassing, Anna learns the story, which she finally figures out, long after the reader knows, of her mother. I received this book free to review from Netgalley.

An intelligent, well-composed novel. Gable has a masterful way with words and has turned out another enjoyable Paris-themed read. I liked the mysterious thread throughout regarding the mom, the duchess, and the pub pal, Gus. And the resolution took me by surprise.
It was a tad slow to progress at first and towards the middle, a slow-burner, but it definitely picked up. I will always make a point to read Gable.

I did receive this book in a Goodreads giveaway and was thrilled to read and review.

As the story unfolds, this reader pretty much thought she had it all figured out. In fact I was pretty sure of myself. Only to be shown up by the author. I'll See You in Paris is part mystery, part romance and part historical fiction all blended well together for a compelling read. It is also a finding yourself novel for both Annie and Laurel. The characters in this book are richly drawn and fun to see them partake of this journey. Plus you can't really go wrong with the countryside of England and Paris.

The story of Laurel and her daughter Annabelle didn’t grab me too much at first. Laurel is absent for most of the present day storyline, set in 2001. The old book Annabelle discovers and the story she learns in England was much more enticing. This narrative, set in 1973 starring Pru, Win and Mrs. Spencer (could she be the Duchess?) and the story of the Duchess of Marlborough herself (which is set back in the gilded age earlier in the century) was much more compelling and page turning. Although the story quickly became pretty transparent, I was curious enough to be rewarded with a fairly good ending.

Michele Gable is one gutsy writer. Her latest, I'LL SEE YOU IN PARIS, has a complex, compelling interwoven story line that manages to seamlessly move between two stories without ever becoming confusing or dropping off in pace. The tension in the story steadily rises and there was a twist near the end that I certainly didn't see coming, but which made an already satisfying story even more memorable. I can't wait for Gable's next book.

This novel is cute. The prose, the dialogue, the characters, all are endlessly, relentlessly cute; no respite for the irritated reader.. I had been hoping for a reasonably well-written piece of light fiction. After trudging along to 300, I couldn't force myself to read another page. Nor did I turn to the end to see how the story was resolved; I didn't care.

I really enjoyed the story. It includes 3 generations of women and entwined their lives with mystery and romance. I was disappointed with the occasional foul language. It could have been eliminated and not changed the story except to make it more acceptable. Just a pet peeve of mine!

Loosely based on the real life of Gladys Spencer-Churchill, the Duchess of Marlborough, I'll See You in Paris is both a mystery and a love story. The story had great premise, but the execution was only so-so - still a decent read, and I would recommend it for those who like historical chick-lit.

*I received an ARC from Netgalley, the review is my own, honest opinion*

I found this surprisingly enjoyable. It's not the type of historical fiction I ordinarily enjoy, but the lead character was truly likeagle and I found myself enjoying all 88 chapters. Definitely recommended.

I thought this book sounded good and I was looking forward to reading it. I'll See You In Paris wasn't an easy read for me. This book moves slowly without grabbing the reader and keeping them in the story. This is based on a real person and parts of the book are interesting, but the storyline goes back and forth and some parts of the book move very slowly.

Unfortunately I couldn't get all the way through this book, it just did not hold my attention and it was hard to keep reading for this reader, so I think this story is a matter of taste and I just didn't get into it.

Michelle Gable Author has written this book in a very intelligent, charming and page turning way. It will make you curious about what will happen next. You would be engrossed with the way the story flows and characters interaction.
I Loved it and highly recommend to all the readers.

Loosely based on the real life of Gladys Spencer-Churchill, the Duchess of Marlborough, I'll See You in Paris is both a mystery and a love story. The story had great premise, but the execution was only so-so - still a decent read, and I would recommend it for those who like historical chick-lit.

*I received an ARC from Netgalley, the review is my own, honest opinion*

I found this surprisingly enjoyable. It's not the type of historical fiction I ordinarily enjoy, but the lead character was truly likeagle and I found myself enjoying all 88 chapters. Definitely recommended.

I thought this book sounded good and I was looking forward to reading it. I'll See You In Paris wasn't an easy read for me. This book moves slowly without grabbing the reader and keeping them in the story. This is based on a real person and parts of the book are interesting, but the storyline goes back and forth and some parts of the book move very slowly.

Unfortunately I couldn't get all the way through this book, it just did not hold my attention and it was hard to keep reading for this reader, so I think this story is a matter of taste and I just didn't get into it.

This novel tells a story through three time periods: 2001, the 1960s, and the turn of the 20th century. Unfortunately, the earliest story is the only one of any interest. The prose of the more modern story lines is fairly lacklustre, and I was unable to connect with the characters. I understand that the author has written another very popular novel set in Paris and perhaps I will seek out that work.

Michelle Gable did a masterful job of weaving together three story lines into a fascenating tale. A mysterious book and a delapidated house are a few of the unique characters in this novel. Pru quickly became my favorite and I loved her story. Highly recommend. A special thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley.

What caught my attention about this book is that one of the protagonists is Gladys Deacon Spenser Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough. She is an intriguing character and it takes a couple of Google clicks to become mesmerized about her life. Having a piece of fiction to read that brings Gladys to life (even though she is in her late 90s during the period that book takes place), I felt compelled to get the book.

I found book to be disappointing. Story alternates between 1970s and 2001. It puts together Vietnam War and modern day war in Afganistan. All characters lives intersect around these events. But the story telling is dull. It is sort of popular fiction that one would read on the beach, only the problem is that this book is coming out in February. Sort of love novel, this book comes in time for Valentine's day but Is it just as unremarkable as the Valentine's Day itself.

I was annoyed that book uses multiple fonts, (at least 4) and each one of the chapters is so short as if one wrote down casual conversations while riding on the morning taint o work. There are several quotes worth mentioning (Proust for example), but the book was just too superficial for me. It was a torture to read 400+ pages of mundane writing.