La Vie, According to Rose
Summary:
A heartfelt novel about self-discovery, grief, and a once-in-a-lifetime chance to start over. Rose Zadeh pleases everyone, except herself. Memories of her late Iranian-immigrant father, who valued hard work and family, keep Rose in a dead-end job as a Silicon Valley copywriter, and tethered to her guilt-trippy mom and needy sisters. As much as it would disappoint her father, Rose needs an escape. Voilà! A mandated vacation gives her the chance. Three weeks on a long-dreamed-of trip to the City of Light. Instead of landing in a Parisian fairy tale, Rose falls under the spell of a charming and possibly dangerous expat and encounters an old family friend keeping a surprising secret. With the aid of a French self-help guru, Rose really believes she’s blossoming. Until an unwelcome reminder of home proves that finding herself will require more than a change of scenery. From Paris’s cobblestone streets to Provence’s sun-soaked hills, Rose embarks on a journey of adventure, betrayals, and even amour. For the first time, the directions she follows are up to her. (Summary and cover courtesy of goodreads.com)
Review:
This was a light-hearted read with a little bit of self-discovery in the process. The set-up is great, and I love how she ended up in France with a besties’ support. While at times the insecurities felt like a bit much, for the most part it highlighted her own parallel worlds: attentive daughter vs. wanting to be more independent, capable professional vs. appeasing her boss. The biggest issue for me was the instant connections between Rose, her adopted mentor, Kid, her Air B&B host, etc. Nonetheless, I always expect that accelerated tie from a modern romance that is clearly trying to get to the happy ending.
As an escape, this was a fun realistic view of France illustrating both the good and bad sides of Paris. Similarly for every step Rose learned something about herself, both good and bad. Many protagonists are portrayed as only having a single fatal flaw and Rose had a bit more nuance. I wish we had seen more of the Marco and Rose build up, but due to the double plot (romance + art element) the timeline was limited.
Rating: 3 stars!
Who should read it? Anyone looking for a mini escape romance, with a touch of substance, but without having to think too deeply.