REVIEW: Paris, My Sweet by Amy Thomas

This delicious book came recommended to me by Crystal at Raincoast Books for my Paris Month and, due to a shipping mix-up, she let me keep the second copy to give away on the blog! It’ll be part of my wrap-up post on Monday, so if you want a chance to win a copy of this yummy memoir, be sure to swing by on the 30th. 😉

Although this novel doesn’t include any photos, I definitely took enough of them on my trip to probably fill these pages with some yummy photos like this, this, this, this, this, this, this or this (which we made!)!

Amy Thomas’ memoir Paris, My Sweet has the subtitle “A Year in the City of Light (and Dark Chocolate)” and it doesn’t disappoint. This book is filled with mouthwatering descriptions of decadence between its covers. Chronicling her journey to the City of Light, each chapter features one of many iconic treats from macarons to madeleines, baba au rhums to carrot cake.  Thomas writes about her enviable luck at being temporarily transferred to Paris for work (on the Louis Vuitton account no less!) as she struggles with the very different lifestyle than her home in New York City. Her constant comfort was biking around the city and discovering all the decadent pastries that Paris was well known for. Thomas balances it out with a comparable list of equally treat-filled New York locations, one of which is Sweet Revenge (which I had the pleasure of enjoying while I was there during the holidays)

Thomas discusses life in the LV advertising world while having to maneuver this new city with the language & personality barriers while deciding if her dream of living in Paris is all its cracked up to be.  While the underlying story of her life as an expat in Paris drives the main “plot” of the memoir, it’s the desserts that feature centre stage. Although, after so many pages and chapters of scrumptious descriptions, it starts to feel a bit repetitive. So many moments, I wish she had included photos to further illustrate these French delicacies, but her descriptive words would suffice for now. I’m honestly not even that big a fan of sweets, but reading this book got me hungry and craving some sugar!

I don’t know which I would prefer: having read this book before I went to Paris so I could have looked for these places, or afterwards because the locations have more relevance to me now. I loved the mentions of places & things I had gone to see and try, such as Angelina’s famous chocolat chaud and the amazing French butter! (it’s so much better than the ones we have in North America for some reason!) My love of this beautiful city was held up on the same pedestal that Thomas seemingly had done as well, and I found myself relating to her in some similar ways as she describes in her memoir. While I still love Paris, I can now also see past the stunning awe of it all and appreciate it for what it is.. a beautiful historic city full of art, love, life and food!

Paris, My Sweet is a mouth-watering book of decadence that is perfect for lovers of sweet things or admirers of sweet things!

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ (4/5 stars)

Paris, My Sweet is currently available in stores.

Goodreads | Book Depository | Amazon

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.