The Paris Effect

A great story with a completely likable protagonist, who makes you laugh and makes your feel her sorrow. An excellent depiction of modern-day Paris, that has you feeling like you are there. Twist and turns of plot make this a lot of fun.

My wife said, "You should read this book." I said, "It's a chick book." She said, ""Read it." I read it. Surprise, I enjoyed it. Probably would have given it five stars if I were a chick. Hey, a guy has to be able to rebel a little. Seriously, very well written, excellent pacing. Characters that compel you to keep reading. Don't tell my wife, but I will probably read the serial.

Well, that was unexpected. And Delightful! At one point I was so engaged I forgot to eat lunch. I adored Amy's food based descriptions: "I follow her into a light-filled room with honey-gold parquet floors and butter-pat yellow silk wallpaper. Heavy clove-dark beams stripe the high white ceiling. French vanilla lace curtains boarder the three tall windows facing the street". I also loved the very real descriptions of the modern Paris - not a romantic "City of Lights" nostalgia but a gritty, unpredictable metropolis. Trash, puddles of pee, opportunists preying on tourists, difficult cab drivers, kind strangers, thieves, vomit, challenging hotel locations, the wonders of the Metro. Burns paints a very realistic picture of a first time experience in this amazing city.

But what really grabbed me was the smooth way Amy's obsession with food is conveyed. I think KSR Burns really hit the mark with her Rules which highlight the insideous mind game dieting plays on a huge segment of the modern American society.

If you're looking for a delightful page-turning novel with depth of character and thought provoking themes, I highly recommend Rules for the Perpetual Diet.

Fast moving, snappy dialogue, unusual story line. You can't help but to like the slightly daffy heroine while hoping she will soon get her act together. The Burns(ing) question: is the author's description of the catacombs based on personal experience?

Just finished this book. Loved it! I usually read cozy mysteries, &
this wasn't a mystery, per se. Although there were mysterious aspects. Wondering what would happen next. It was also funny, sad, insightful, &
full of diet tips. ?
I loved the "perpetual" diet rules. Many of which, I have heard & implemented over my life. Not constantly however, like Amy seems to. Thus, I am not thin like her. Wish I had her discipline.

I read there is sequel on the way, I hope we don't have to wait too long...., I need to know what happens to Amy!
Read this book!!

"Rules for the Perpetual Diet" was a fun, fast-paced read with characters that were interesting if not always believable (which was half the fun). Anyone who has had issues with food and how it can pretty much run your life will be able to relate to Amy the main character. As the book progresses you learn more about the source of her issues, which makes the story more interesting - a bit sad, but ultimately it makes her more likeable and sympathetic. I like they way the author kept a sense of playfulness & humor in the story. Characters change and evolve throughout the book which is why I was up at 3:00 am finishing it, just to see how it ended! Fun read. The dieting tips were helpful too.

Not what I expected. Had no interest in reading about her "relationship" with her now deceased friend, Kat. There was enough mention of their sexual feelings that this should have been mentioned in the store's review. I'm not a prude but its not my kind of book. Sorry.

This book combines humor with real life. The main character, Amy, takes you on a journey of self-empowerment while running into all kinds of characters in Paris. I loved reading it, some of the lines made me laugh out loud while giving me common sense rules for taking on a diet.

I have just devoured this very amusing, fast-paced, well-written tale over the holidays, punctuated by my large (in numbers, not physique) family decimating a great deal of festive food at long, regular sittings. Amy’s Rules were ringing in my ears, enabling me to consume with moderation – even abstain once or twice! Some of the rules (as promised) are just weird – Amy might change her mind about Picky Eaters (#17) if she was a parent. Some are sound (#13. Never eat processed food). Some are impossible (#14. Don’t eat in front of the television…) and some are worrying (#10. Hang mirrors everywhere).

Book Groups – Listen Up! KSR Burns says she wrote this with you in mind. I predict you’ll very much enjoy reading and discussing the rare combination of plot (and its rapid twists and turns); characters (like Amy) who are not one dimensionally all black or white but a mixture of issues, like most of us; remarkably clear scene setting (she really took me to Paris); variety of themes and issues to discuss (bereavement, eating disorders, sexuality...) and some loose ends for debate (who really wants a perfect wrap up?). There are so many things about the complex Amy and her adventures I'm eager to discuss.

A very unusual, enjoyable novel with several original dimensions to pique the imagination. I was turning the pages rapidly - not always sure of what I was hoping for. I like that very much.
Congratulations, KSR Burns. Get on with the promised sequel! I’m anxiously awaiting what’s next for Amy.

I didn't find a single appealing character in this book. Our "hero" Amy lives a life of subterfuge and secrets from her husband. Instead of leveling with him and telling him she needs space and is going to Paris for a week while he is on a trip, she lies and pretends to be home. She needs the deception. When she loses her cell phone, she doesn't buy a new one, but leaves him frantic, wondering what happened to her.
The part about Margaret the fairy godmother is just stupid. Amy just happens to run into a rich, lonely English- speaking woman whose own daughter went missing: someone who wants to "adopt", coddle and nurture her (and supply her with her missing daughter's designer clothes, all which happen to fit Amy perfectly. Uh huh).And the "friend of the heart" Kat sounds like a master manipulator. So at the end we have Amy returning to a woman who lied to her, drugged her and kidnapped her, and will control her the same way her "friend" did. And the obsession with food was annoying.

Have to give it to the author – this turned out to be an unexpected read. I had no idea what was going to happen next and certainly not how it ended up.
Amy suffers geographicals. She thinks that if she changes her location, her circumstances, anything – then everything will be okay. Amy has a lot going on in her head. Aside from food addictions, I believe she’s depressed and grieving over her best friend’s death. What she doesn’t see is the life she’s leading is slipping away.
What was meant to be a journey of self discovery, living life and savouring every moment, turns out to be a crazy journey of lies, bewilderment and heartbreak. There are some giggle worthy moments as well as heart-racing, heart-wrenching moments. At times, I was confused as to how she got herself into the predicaments she did.
I liked the authors style of writing and enjoyed the diary like story telling. There is a happy ever after just not in the way I have seen before.
I was given a free copy of this book for my honest opinion.

I enjoyed reading The Paris Effect. I found the writing smooth and easy to read. I was able to immerse myself in the story and follow Amy, the main character, on her journey through Paris and into herself. The Paris scenes captivated. I'd love to visit someday.

Where it frustrated me a little was with the characters in general and Amy's character in particular. I disliked Amy and couldn't get on board with even minor decisions she made, which made it difficult to not just empathize with her but to even sympathize with her. I prefer a character I enjoy hanging out with.

At first, I sympathized with her husband, though he was never around. Then I grew to dislike him, too. And with a friend like Kat, Amy certainly doesn't need enemies. Kat's influence on Amy continues beyond the grave. If you enjoy reading about maladjusted people, these characters will put the fun in dysfunctional for you.

K.S.R. Burns has a highly readable writing style, which kept me scrolling the screen and motivated me to find out what happens next. I've already read the sequel and would be interested in reading more from K.S.R. Burns.

The protagonist is one of the most unlikable main characters I've come across in a long, long time.

***SPOILERS AHEAD***

***SPOILERS AHEAD***

***SPOILERS AHEAD***

Apologies for the spoilers in advance, but I gotta rant, people.

Amy flails through life taking what she wants from other people without worrying about the consequences. She's engaged in an emotional affair with her best friend during her entire marriage, yet somehow her husband is a terrible person because he won't welcome her back with open arms after finding out the depth of her lies. It's obvious that her best friend is in love with her (no one is that clueless), but Amy expects the friendship part of her relationship with this person to continue the way it always has--minus the sex except for a few slip-ups--even when Amy dates other people and gets married. She marries someone who clearly has some traditional values (c'mon, he marries her after only three months of knowing her because she's pregnant) but feels suffocated because her husband, at the age of thirty-six, is itching to start a family. Somehow the idea of just talking to her husband about how she feels doesn't occur to her.

This book ends with a contrived cliffhanger. My guess is Amy is going to go back to Paris and stay with Margaret. So what if Margaret is deranged and possibly drugged the tea. Why stop making poor life choices now?

I never met such an unlikable character as the lead in this book. Her sidekick Kat seemed delightful. I doubt they would be friends in real life though as the lead character is a judgmental, codependent, frightened of life control freak who is a neurotically obsessed with not eating and is a stay at home but unethical, lying, passive aggressive, helicopter wife. Fat is like the worst thing you can be to this woman but actually even the obese character at the library where she volunteers seems more fun than this gal. I read the first bit of it and then quit. I feel sorry for the Parisians if this uptight bitch is coming to visit. I feel frightened and sad if there are this many woman that actually identify with this character.

This story features a young woman who has lost her best friend to cancer, and as she is coming to terms with the loss she recalls those conversations they had which she had considered ‘tongue-in-cheek’. A plan to make a trip to Paris is a big deal when you live in the US.
When the enormity of her friend’s passing hits home, Amy finds that life really is what you make it, and hers sucks in many ways. A couple of years of marriage has left her with nagging doubts.
Amy’s husband is the steady, bread-winner, go-getter on the outside, but what really makes him tick? How would he react at the realisation that his young wife has flown to Europe; apparently alone?
The story is told from Amy’s point of view and as the tale unfolds and her straightforward trip becomes an unusual adventure, she discovers her life is not what it seemed. The characters she meets in Paris introduce her to a different world during her whirlwind visit.
At times funny, and occasionally dark, Amy’s experiences explore the relationships in her life and she realises many things are not what they seemed. An entertaining read.

I was expecting an enlightening book about a woman's experience after her best friend's death and realizing her dream of going to Paris. I felt very disappointed by the weird plot that got creepy in the last 1/4 of the book. There was no enlightenment, she met strange people and her life was filled with sadness from beginning to end. Her experience in Paris was no fun at all. I thought this would be heart rending but it was just depressing. The writing itself was not bad at all and the pace moved along quickly.

I received this book Librarything in exchange for a review. I wanted to like this book but it has so many disconnected themes running through it that it seems contrived.
The story is about a young married woman who is obsessed with a female friend and ex-lover as well as her diet rules. Bored with her life at home and grieving her friend's death, she finally makes a break with convention and heads off to Paris for a long-desired visit without her husband's knowledge. Her plans for the tour dissolve and she rocks from illness to touring to illegally spelunking the catacombs and being adopted by an elderly woman who wants her to stay as a substitute for her own daughter.
Her husband chases her to Paris, yet rejects her for leaving without his knowledge.
In the end she breaks with her past & marriage and returns to Paris with an unknown & romantic future before her. It's not clear from the book what her driving motivation is beyond wanting to go to Paris but after her adventures she's ready to start out on her own and stay in Paris.

Amy, the main character of The Paris Effect, has so much going on, it's no wonder that she dreams of escaping to Paris. Her best friend has just died; she has lost her job; she obsesses about losing weight; her marriage is mostly numb.
As her best friend went through rounds of chemotherapy, they came up with a plan, that they would take a trip to Paris. Over the years, they bought everything they needed, tucking them into specially purchased carry-on bags. When her friend died and her husband scheduled a 10-day business trip, Amy was suddenly presented with the possibility of that long-yearned-for trip. So she went.
I loved seeing Paris through Amy's eyes. Because she was sick with a bad cold, she slowly comes aware in Paris, discovering the joys and the difficulties too.
"I come to a complete stop in front of the large display window, my jaw dropping.
"Tarts. Ruby raspberry, golden lemon, amber apricot, emerald kiwi, garnet plum -- as tempting as unguarded platters of jewels.
"And cakes. Tall triple-layered white vanilla cakes and brown chocolate cakes, showcased like favorite children on fluted white porcelain pedestals.
"Also light-as-air cream puffs. Flakey layered napoleons. Perfectly piped meringues. Precisely molded madeleines. Plain puff pastries in the shapes of pinwheels and hearts, glistening with sugar."
I think you get the idea. Lots of details about the scrumptiousness of Paris.
I guarantee that Amy had a trip to Paris like no one else's. As people offer to help her, from those she meets on the plane to those she connects with in cafes, everyone seems to have a slightly sinister agenda. The reader is never sure if Amy is too trusting.
The novel definitely had high-tension and kept me reading quickly through to the end in just a day or so. I couldn't wait to find out what happened next.