Two new French romances

So I read this series out of order, but I don’t think that really matters. I haven’t been paying attention it seems, as Ms. Florand currently has two books out in her newest series, and I hadn’t realized she started one. I read some of her Amour et Chocolat series last year, which resulted in my loving some (The Chocolate Kiss and The Chocolate Touch) and wanting to burn others to the ground (The Chocolate Heart). So when Mrs. J. and Malin said the second in the series was fun I decided to start there and work my way backwards. I’ll review them in order though to attempt to keep confusion to a minimum.

All for You is the first Paris Nights book. It stars Celie, chef chocolatier for Dom Richard (bonus Dom and Jamie!), and Joss, her teenage crush who abandoned her for the Foreign Legion 5 years ago. Celie and Joss grew up in a rough part of town with no options, so Joss decides to make himself a man for Celie, without telling her. By leaving her Celie had to go build her own life, and she has. But Joss is now out, and is ready to start a life together. Celie has a lot of forgiving to do.

This one’s title says it all. Everything Joss does is always “All for You”. To the extreme. It’s a lot, and a bit much more than once. At least Celie agrees. She repeatedly tells him that everything would go so much smoother if he would include her in his decisions instead of treating her as a doll that he moves around. It got a little repetitive, but it was a harmless enough story that I didn’t mind too much. What I really did like was that Joss wasn’t the smartest. Unlike a lot of contemporary romances these days with the warrior, poet, billionaire who cooks like a dream, Joss’ best asset was and is his muscles. It was refreshing. All of this is to say 3 stars. Not particularly memorable, but bland enough to peacefully while away a few hours.

Chase Me is Violette, Celie’s friend and a Michelin star chef, and Chase, American Ranger? Seal? CIA? Extraordinaire. They meet because there’s a terrorist plot afoot in Paris, so Chase breaks into Violette’s kitchen to scope it out as it is a possible site for the US president to visit. There is a sexy meet cute that involves knife throwing and marriage proposals, and the romp rolls out from there.

This one was a lot of fun. The initial first scene is a quarter of the book, and hoo-ey was that a good set up. The rest never quite lives up to that level of fun, but overall it was entertaining. There’s less to say on this one, if you like, fun, sexy, lighthearted (mostly) stories that don’t make you think too hard? Then read this one. 4 stars.

Overall, I’ll keep trying out this series. Although I might wait for someone else to read them first so I can avoid when Ms. Florand goes a route I can’t stand.