Ok, so I picked this book up for one main reason: I love Paris. I lived there for a year during college and love the City of Lights. I always enjoy a good mystery and romance, so this book looked like it would be a perfect fit for me. Unfortunately, things didn't go so smoothly for me. It wasn't all bad; I was very curious as to where this mystery would lead Maya and what would happen to the artifacts discovered.
What I liked:
1. Paris--oh, how I adore you! Ms. Henry described places and food so well that I felt as if I were there. It brought up great memories of Paris, and I could easily visualize the surroundings.
2. Clues--it was a bit of a treasure hunt following the clues left behind to find the relic they sought. It had a bit of
National Treasure (Widescreen Edition) and
The Da Vinci Code: A Novel: 1 feel to it.
What didn't work for me:
1. Awkward pacing--the story felt like it would come to an abrupt halt and then jerk forward. The sex scenes were thrown in at really weird spots.
2. Awkward romance--the romance that develops between Maya and Simon felt really weird. It didn't help that the sex scenes were thrown in as if it were filler so the story could be constituted as a romance. There was no romantic tension, no build up, and no anticipation.
3. Incorrect French--okay, so this is snooty of me and probably won't bother most people, but the French used was inconsistent and not always correct. Did she actually have a francophone look at her work? Or did she just use an online translator? She did get some of the nuances, like when she mentions Simon says "oui" pronouncing it as "way." But other times, words weren't conjugated correctly, or accents missing. The one that really made me laugh was when Simon was translating to English for Maya. Another character says "Notre-Dame-des-Anges." And Simon translates "Notre Dame of the Angles." Nice translation! Did he forget "Notre Dame" is French and means "Our Lady?" I tried to let this one go, but as the story progressed it grated on me more and more. It would have been easier to ignore if it were at least consistent. Why do some words have the correct accents and not others?
4. Unbelievable aspects--I know, I know: this is a story about a secret society with a mystical artifact. I believed the "facts" regarding Mr. Marcel and Agnes, but when Maya started dreaming and reliving the life of the Black Nun in her dreams, I rolled my eyes. It just didn't seem to serve any purpose. And it didn't seem to fit into what they were looking for.
5. Villain--the villain had no conscience. How do you relate to a villain with no conscience? It would have benefited the story if the villain were somewhat believable when so much of the story had so many unbelievable things in it.
Obviously, I had some hang-ups about this story. I most enjoyed the Parisian scenery. The story was trying too hard to be
The Da Vinci Code meets
National Treasure (Widescreen Edition) but different. It tried too hard so that it didn't do much for me other than remind me of better works.
