Michelle Blanchard Ardillo

The Mysterious Bakery on Rue de Paris is my second book by Evie Woods, although I am a bit confused whether #2 is the chicken or the egg.

I loved her first (?) book, The Lost Bookshop. It was the perfect blend of a dual timeline, half contemporary and half historical, with a dash of magical realism thrown in.

A while back, I read Dear Edward by Ann Napolitano and loved it. Then came along Hello Beautiful, which the whole world loved, including Oprah who chose it for #100 of her book club choices. Then I was invited by the publisher to read Napolitano’s first book, Within Arm’s Reach, which was published well before Dear Edward, and was being reprinted due to Napolitano’s popularity. To be honest, I loved all three books, although I did see her writing and storytelling strengthen as she went from books 1 to 2 to 3. Perhaps this is the same thing happening here? I think so. I think it also explains the name Evie Gaughan in Goodreads as well.

Just like the word “bookshop” drew me in and urged me to request an ARC from NetGalley for The Lost Bookshop, the word “bakery” did the same thing. If reading is my first love, baking is surely my second, and eating baked goods is pretty high up there!

For a long time I had a not-so-secret ambition to own a small tea shop/used bookstore, where I would serve afternoon tea in the British style, while patrons shopped for books before and after their tea. I know Barnes & Noble has a similar situation in most of their stores, but I wanted something small and intimate for true book lovers who enjoyed partaking in the afternoon tea ritual.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Mysterious Bakery on Rue de Paris. It takes place in the village of Compiègne, which has great historical significance to both WWI and WWII. The real story of Compiègne is fascinating and worth a bit of research if you are not aware of it. Luckily I am married to a history buff who can fill in the blanks for me. While reading it, I could almost smell the freshly baked and still warm baguettes and croissants, the pain au chocolat, the tarte aux raisins, the rich dark roast coffee.

There is something else that stirred my senses in this book, the description of the long forgotten recipe for the best hot chocolate in the world, which is where the magical realism starts to waft through the story.

The main character, Edith (called Edie throughout the book, which constantly made me think of the author’s first name, Evie) is an Irish 29-year-old still grieving the loss of her mother to the horrible disease of cystic fibrosis. While her mom’s health deteriorated, she rightfully put her own plans and dreams for her life on hold to spend as much time with her parents as possible. But, once her mom had passed away, her wanderlust sprang to life and she applies for a job in Paris at a bakery as the assistant manager. Her lifelong dream has been to live in Paris, France, so she decides now is the time. There is some confusion when Edie realizes the job is not in Paris but on Rue de Paris in Compiègne, about an hour away. There still remains some confusion on my part as to why the position called for a person with native English skills, especially when the village of Compiègne is comprised of native French speaking residents. It is eventually explained near the end, but I did find that to be a weak plot point. Another small issue for me is that in several places the main character Edie refers to herself as “middle aged,” which I hardly think describes a 29-year-old, with life expectancy continuing to increase with today’s health care and science.

Evie Woods does a good job of blending history, romance (very low on the spicy level for those who need to know that), and coming of age albeit late in life. The main characters are well drawn and the minor characters add a nice balance to the plot. I really enjoyed this book, and will continue to be a fan of Evie Woods.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins/Harper 360 for the ARC. Feel free to send me ALL the books like this one!

Grabbing a warm baguette, an apricot pastry, a bit of cheese, and a half bottle of wine to take on a bike ride to the river for a picnic lunch, well…really, just sign me up. I’ll just grab my passport and head on out the door. Bravo, bien joué, Evie Woods, another 5-star read for me!