Paris Time Capsule by Ella Carey

Hello again, readers! As promised, today's stop on the TLC book tour for Ella Carey's Paris Time Capsule includes both the guest post by Carey as well as my review of the book itself. Remember, though, that there is a giveaway over on the actual guest post so if you want to get your name in the hat to win a copy of Paris Time Capsule be sure to head over and check that out.

Cat Jordan is shocked to learn that she's inherited an apartment in Paris. Well, to be more accurate her grandmother was the actual willed inheritor, but Cat is her remaining heir so the inheritance is passed to her. 

Cat's grandmother was always a wild card and Cat knew the woman spent time in Paris before WWII, but she's never heard of Isabelle de Florian. The apartment in question was sealed and abandoned during the war but Isabelle passed on only recently. Why, then, would she have left everything to a friend she hadn't seen for seven decades? Why would her own family be passed over instead? Faced with these mysteries, the allure of a grand Belle Époque apartment, and the charm of the City of Lights, Cat soon finds herself utterly entranced by Paris and by de Florian's own grandson as well. 

As I mentioned in the previous post, Carey's debut is inspired by the actual and fairly recent story of an historic Paris apartment that was discovered after having been sealed and abandoned for over seven decades. And I do recall reading about the discovery when it happened. It's a story that intrigued me then and still does now, which is why I was so looking forward to reading Paris Time Capsule.

Cat's story is interesting and watching her develop as a character is wonderful. In the beginning, she's somewhat critical of her parents' relationship without quite realizing that she's headed in the same direction herself. The inheritance and the necessary spur of the moment trip to Paris are just the beginning of her adventure and her chance to do something quite different with her life. Whether she does or not is only part of the story - and apparently Paris Time Capsule is just the first of a series in progress as well, which means even if I did want to give anything away, which I don't, there's likely more to come anyway.

I should point out that per Carey's author's note the majority of the story is of her own imaginings. The real apartment, Marthe de Florian, and the painter Boldini are real and provided the first kernel of inspiration, but the rest is all Carey - and France. And even though I still wonder - as I'm sure most everyone does - what the real story about the de Florian apartment might be, Carey's tale is quite captivating!

To see more stops on the tour be sure to check out the official TLC tour page here.

For more on Ella Carey and her work, you can visit her website here. You can also like her on Facebook and follow her on Twitter.