Reviews with content warning for Infertility - The Paris Apartment

I finished this in just 2 days, which is pretty quick for me especially in the summer! It took a bit to get into the story but once I did, I did not want to put it down 🤭

I loved the switching POVs and getting to know the characters. At first it was a little difficult to keep track of everyone but it got easier over time! It also helped having such a large cast that I was constantly trying to guess the suspect.

Writing can be a little too much telling over showing at times. It was harder to get into compared to Foley’s other books. There are also quite a few pop culture/brand name dropping references which I don’t love, it’s a pet peeve of mine that will make the book feel dated in years to come😂

I only guessed one of the smaller reveals/twists. Absolutely shocked at the big reveals and watching the secrets come to light!! My jaw was on the floor, as always Foley has done it once again and continues to be one of my favorite thriller authors ❤️

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tdawgg07's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

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wickedgrumpy's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.25

...Yet another thriller that I did not enjoy. It was filled with characters that had one main facet which was being awful. Would not recommend.

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kccool12255's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

Alrighty, let's see if I remember anything from a book I read three months ago...

I kept seeing this book recommended EVERYWHERE, so I figured it was about time I actually READ it. And WOW, do I understand why this book has so much hype. It is ABSOLUTELY deserving of it. Though once again, I do wish I knew what I was getting myself into beforehand, as this book does fall in the same genre as "Then She Was Gone" and "I Invited Her In", but I guess that's a consequence of me not doing more research before I jump headfirst into a popular book. That's probably something I'm gonna start doing in the future, just to make sure I can properly prepare myself beforehand.

That being said, let's get into the review! (I'm unusually cheery today, and I'm not exactly sure what's caused it. Just roll with it, that's what I'm doing.)

The mystery aspect of this book was VERY well done. From the very beginning, you're fully immersed and invested in the story, and the characters are all very fleshed-out and well-developed. I really like how the author included POVs from each of the important characters, I feel like it added a lot of depth to the story and opened up a lot of entertaining stuff to read. The only character I wish Lucy Foley had done more with is the Concierge, because even though she has a sad backstory

and is Mimi's grandmother

, it felt like that was her entire character. She didn't really serve an overall purpose in the story, and I wish she had had a bigger role. I don't even think JESS figures out all that's been going on with her brother and the people in the apartments, but the reader gets to find out EVERYTHING, and BOY, is it juicy.

But that being said...did it have to be THIS juicy?

I could've been okay with Ben getting with Mimi, it felt like that was where the story was headed ANYHOW, and he was already into her and literally promised her that they would eventually get together, just not while she was drunk. And I understand the element of surprise and the subverting of expectations, but we could've done without the Ben-Sophie relationship. I mean, I'm being a little harsh, because that's not a BIG problem I have with this book. The relationship was fine (though a little icky, because Sophie's having an affair and these two have a SIZEABLE age gap), it was just a little GRAPHIC. But I will acknowledge and appreciate that level of the story I was OKAY with. It's ICKY, but it's relatively FINE. But while we're talking about Sophie, what was the point of her having an org*sm in the shower???? It felt really out of place, and I don't understand the point of including that scene if it adds nothing to the narrative. It just adds to the tone (BARELY), and that's not really what we should be trying to get at here. It's just an unnecessary and gross detail to add.

Let's get to the REAL juice, though. But before that, I do want to address something else I like. I think it's really funny how you can definitely tell that Lucy Foley is a fan of New Girl. Main character Jess feeling attraction to a guy named NIck Miller? Yeah, that was pretty spot-on. THEY EVEN ADDRESS IT IN THE ACTUAL STORY. And apparently, upon further research, some of the plotlines of the book match up with a specific episode of New Girl? But I have nothing to prove that, I'm just taking it from what the Internet says. But like, even THOUGH New Girl is its own thing and has its own Nick and Jess, I STILL WOULD'VE BEEN OKAY if these two had ended up together in THIS book. I feel like there was a genuine SPARK there

(this was of course before Nick reveals that he's a very closeted gay man, but in that case, why was it written like these two were genuinely attracted to each other???? If you're gonna write him to be gay, then why would there be any attraction or almost-kisses there? It just doesn't make sense to me.)

, and they could've been a GOOD couple. I would've even taken just them being together for a little while before Jess finds out about all the other stuff, and then they fall out.

MAKE HIM BI, AT LEAST. And I know his sexuality's not explicitly stated, but I feel like it's heavily implied that he's gay. If he's bi, at least that explains the initial attraction to Jess while he also likes men. Not that I support bi characters (don't hate them, but that's a topic for another day), but I feel like in the context of the NARRATIVE here, it just makes sense.

And maybe even get back together, who knows, but there was SOMETHING there.

Definitely something more than whatever Jess had with Theo, which by the way, WAS ALSO NOT FULLY FLESHED-OUT. THAT COULD'VE BEEN SOMETHING TOO. (Though this one has less potential, as they literally have little in common and are not really attracted to each other at all. They have little to no chemistry, and they bone while she's wearing his ex's clothes. Icky.)

And even IF they weren't going to be a romantic item, their friendship could've had a LITTLE more development. That just phases out of existence after the first one hundred pages, and then it's COMPLETELY abandoned. Yes, have them fall out, but either bring them back together or just give their relationship more development before you do.

But the REAL juice.

Even IF Nick is gay...did we NEED to read the SUPER descriptive scene of him sucking Ben's d*ck? Is that REALLY necessary? I feel like even WITH all the Ben-Sophie and Ben-Mimi stuff, that's KIND OF nasty, but it's enough to cover the book. We didn't NEED the added Nick storyline. Make their whole Amsterdam or wherever it was trip something else, because that's not needed. It was gross and disturbing to read, AND it prevents Nick and Jess's relationship (though that's more of a personal complaint on my part).

In conclusion, I have issues with the way Nick's character is written. I feel like there could've been more that was done with him, and he just fell flat in the end. As did both Antoine and Jacques, who I haven't even MENTIONED in this review because they're honestly so irrelevant to the story. Jacques could've done SOMETHING, and Antoine could DEFINITELY have served a bigger role, even though he's a drunk.

That being said, I did really like Mimi's character, and even Camile's, though she doesn't really add anything to the story. She is some nice comic relief, and just provides a nice foil to Mimi's darkness.

The way she found out Ben was boning her mother was...unfortunate, and icky, but she's not even the person I have the main ick with in that scene, so I can forgive that.

And every plot twist was EXPERTLY done, I didn't predict ANY of it,

ESPECIALLY all of them being a family, though it should've seemed obvious from the get-go,

and everything wrapped up nicely in the end. Though, I have to say, what exactly was the POINT here? What was this book trying to SAY, what was the MESSAGE? Is it just a bunch of messed-up crap?

Anyways, there's the review. Pretty good book, DEFINITELY an entertaining read, but could've done more.

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krosebooks's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

This book had interesting perspectives through the characters. I liked that the chapters were short and the writing style flowed well through out the book, keep pushing me through the book. The mystery side of things I found a little predictable, but I think the author used that on purpose because while I did predict some things I didn't predict everything that happened in the climax.

Has Salt Burn vibes

Content Warnings

lizzie_maxfield's review against another edition

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mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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anilourengo's review

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

We follow Jess, who left her life in England to live with her brother Ben in Paris. When she arrives to Ben's apartment in Paris, she notices he disappeared, he isn't returning her calls and left the apartment without his wallet. So, she is convinced that something happened to her brother, and she won't stop until find what it was and where he is. She must start on his brother building, which seems to be full of weirdos.

Unfortunately, is full of French bias, not because they are French are all promiscuous or are sexually driven... Mixing mystery with sexual content was definitely not my ally. With a big variety of personalities, I imagine a murder and identify the killer from the beginning, so most of the time I was really confused with all the sexual content, that for me was not necessary at all... Nevertheless, I didn't expect the twist at the end...

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