What do readers think of A Paris Apartment by Michelle Gable? Write your own review.

Paris in the late 1800's? during the Belle Epoque?, antique furniture and paintings, and journals from an apartment's original inhabitant. All of these things made A PARIS APARTMENT a book that will keep you glued to the pages.

Who wouldn't want to go to Paris? April was an art history major and an auctioneer. When her boss told her she would be going to Paris to put value on an apartment's contents that had been closed up for 70 years, she couldn't pass up the chance even though her marriage was a bit rocky.

When April found the journals of Marthe de Florian, they made the apartment’s contents even more valuable and the book quite enticing. The journals told about Marthe de Florian's life and her connection and relationships with artists and other famous people.

Famous people such as Victor Hugo and Giovanni Boldini were part of the book's intrigue. Marthe de Florian had quite a colorful life.

A PARIS APARTMENT was a bit rough getting started, but once the journals were found, they and the Parisian atmosphere ?drew you into the era and its living style.

?A PARIS APARTMENT is based on a real apartment and a real person. Ms. Gable did a great deal of research and weaves the story so masterfully that you don't even know it is history, but it definitely revealed a wonderful hidden part of Paris.

For a debut novel, the writing ?and storyline were marvelous. A PARIS APARTMENT has beautiful, descriptive writing, and the journals made it oh so good.

April’s rocky marriage seemed to be a side story, but the apartment, its contents, and the journals are historical aspects that I thoroughly enjoyed and what kept me reading.

The ending was marvelous as April met an eighty-seven-year-old family member of Marthe de Florian who fills in the gaps of Marthe’s life.

ENJOY, and don't give up too early. :) 4/5

This book was given to me free of charge and without compensation by the publisher in return for an honest review.

The story of Marthe de Florian is fascinating and certainly made me run to do some research about the apartment and Boldini, Marthe's lover. The author has clearly done her research about the history of the period and portrays the sumptuous elegance and extravaganza of Marthe's world convincingly. I was also introduced to the wonderful paintings of Boldini, with the lavish swish of the fabulous fabrics and the stylish people of his portraits.
It was also interesting to read about the world of top end auctions through the story of April Voigt. However, I found her an irritating, rather superficial person and it was difficult to care much about her dilemma with her failing marriage, especially as Troy was such a one dimensional character.
I wish the author had done as much research about modern day France and spoken French. I found the errors in the snippets of French distracting. For example, the solicitor, Luc, who is French would surely not use a masculine adjective when asking April if she is ready. Similarly, the term for having a drink was wrongly translated by April who was supposed to be fluent in French. Surely a good proofreader would pick up these mistakes.

I wanted to read this book, as I love Paris and all things French. I also thought the art/furniture appraiser/auction house piece would be interesting to read and learn about. I read the book and found it to be entertaining, although as a whole, it was a little light and frankly predictable to me. I knew the first time Luc was presented to us in the book that April would have an affair of some sort with him, and I doubt I was the only one. Also, I found the character Marthe to be a little over the top and therefore contrived. I enjoyed how the book took me to some of my favorite places in Paris. For a light summer read, it works, but I think comparisons with The Paris Wife are incorrect the two books are in different leagues.

i was fascinated by the premise of this book - a Paris apartment found that had been abandoned over 40 years previously. I recalled a recent news story about the same and discovered that this book was, indeed, based on fact.

Michelle Gable does a wonderful job of taking those facts and weaving them into two fictional stories - one focusing on April Vogt and taking place in present day and the other spinning the tale of Marthe, the original owner of the apartment. She creatively moves back and forth between the stories and time periods while linking the two women in many ways.

This is an engaging read and keeps the reading turning the pages. The time spent in the past - the Belle Époque - was some of the most fascinating time spent. One can hear the sounds and smell the smells of the Paris of the time. Recommend this for a brief escape into two other fascinating lives.

Michelle Gable's, A Paris Apartment, is an excellent read for anyone who loves art, history and romance. The novel takes you into the life of April Vogt, a furniture specialist. She is sent to Paris to appraise the furniture and belongings discovered in an apartment in Paris. The apartments contents are like discovering jewels of a treasure chest. The main character is very dynamic with many personal and professional issues that keeps the readers interested and waiting to see what happens next. A major find at the apartment are a collection of journal entries by the apartments last occupant that take the reader into the world of 19th century Paris. The novel explores the life of a French woman and her struggles to survive in Paris in a world controlled by men.
The novel is original and unlike anything I have previously read. I would definitely recommend this novel to anyone who has an interest in historical fiction and art history.

This book is the ideal book to read curled up before a fire in winter or lying in the sun at the beach in summer. Like Paris itself, it's funny and sad, demure and sexy and altogether delightful. The two main characters, one of which we meet through her diaries, written a hundred years before, and the other a modern woman, consumed by her career. Despite the many years between them, it becomes apparent that they are beset by the same romantic problems involving forgiveness and fidelity. How this is worked out during the appraisal of the apartment's contents forms.

One small annoyance is the use of the word "smirk" used too frequently through the book. Maybe the editor could fix this

The characters are connected by interests, history, love and a certain amount of 'je ne sais quoi'. The author presents April Vogt or 'Avril' living in the present day but reading a diary from a prior century in hopes of adding some provenance to each piece from the Paris apartment that eventually will be auctioned. She eventually becomes more involved in the personal journals than in the actual furniture. The reader will be introduced to French culture, art, food, verse, landmarks and romance. The story is enjoyable, a good read that will hold your interest while allowing your imagination to travel.

The premise of the book is a good one, mirroring an actual situation where a Paris apartment had been sealed up for many years with valuable treasures inside, is a good one. This was an enjoyable read, although at times the writing seemed a bit amateurish, and I certainly enjoyed the latter part of the book more than the first part. The author does a good job with the journal entries in transporting the reader to another time period.