Series: Romantic Escapes #12 (Standalone)
Publication Date: 23rd Oct 2024
Purchase Link (UK): https://www.amazon.co.uk/Little-Place-Prague-swoon-worthy-must-read-ebook/dp/B0CW1F5HX8
Purchase Link (US):https://www.amazon.com/Little-Place-Prague-swoon-worthy-must-read-ebook/dp/B0CW1F5HX8
Goodreads Book Page: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/209353069-a-little-place-in-prague
Genre: Contemporary Romance
4 Stars
One Liner: Heartwarming and a great virtual tour!
Book Blurb:
It's been years since Anna has seen Leo Knight. And
of all the apartments in all the cities in all the world, he just happens to
walk into her cozy new attic home – as her new housemate.
As the two walk the cobbled streets of Prague,
taking in the sights and sounds from Wenceslas Square, frosted with snow, to
the soft glow of candlelit Charles Bridge, the enchantment of the City of a
Hundred Spires soon starts to work its magic on them…
***
My Thoughts:
The story comes in Leo and Anna’s third-person POVs.
Firstly, kudos to whoever wrote the official blurb for the book. It is short, sweet, and shares only the bare minimum details. That means, right from the beginning, we get a series of surprises unspoiled by a lengthy blurb. This makes a lot of difference in how we perceive the characters and their backstories. No presumptions or assumptions!
Since I mainly got the book to enjoy a virtual tour
of Prague, I can say it delivers in that aspect. The city’s charming old
buildings, the historical sites (and relevant snippets), the warmth of the
locals, etc., are beautifully presented. The writing is easy to read. It flows
well without being overly descriptive or dramatic.
Quite a few Czech words have been used but mainly
for the food items (with descriptions) and common terms like please, thank you,
cheers, etc! This adds to the local flavor and provides an immersive reading
experience.
I do wish the beer brewery track was given a bit
more space. While we get introduced to different types of beer, the learning
and working part takes a back seat since the focus is mostly on the personal
track.
We cannot immediately take sides here, though we
want to. I did naturally side with one character but could see the flaws as
well. The details are revealed in stages as the plot advances, thus keeping us
wondering about the whats, whys, and what next.
Some of the side characters are adorable! A few of
them are 2D, but they do what’s required of them. The sudden change of one
character didn’t really fit, but she was the only one available for that scene,
I guess. (There are 5 characters whose names start with J. It seems author
Julie Caplin loves the letter J.)
The book was an almost 5-star read despite a few
niggles. However, an important aspect hadn’t been dealt the way I hoped it
would be. Let’s just say that internal acknowledgment is not enough. It had to
be said out loud, followed by an apology for being an idiot and wanting to get
away with it. This is too important for me to ignore. All I needed was a
two-line dialogue!
To summarize, A Little Place in Prague is almost
like an ode to the beautiful city with a heartwarming second-chances love story
thrown into the mix. There’s an epilogue, but I would have loved an extended
epilogue as well.
Either way, I’m going to check out the previous
books in the series. They have gorgeous covers!
Thank you, Rachel’s Random Resources and One More
Chapter (HarperCollins), for eARC. This review is voluntary and contains my
honest opinion about the book.
#NetGalley
***
About the Author – Julie Caplin
Julie Caplin, formerly a PR director, swanned around
Europe for many years, taking top food and drink writers on press trips (junkets),
sampling the gastronomic delights of various cities in Italy, France, Belgium,
Spain, Copenhagen, and Switzerland. It was a tough job, but someone had to do
it.
These trips have provided the inspiration and
settings for the highly successful Romantic Escapes series, which has hit the
best-seller charts in Italy, Germany, and the Czech Republic and has sold over
two million copies worldwide.
The first book in the nine-strong series, The Little
Café in Copenhagen, was shortlisted for a Romantic Novel of the Year Award.
Follow the Author:
Twitter/ X: @JulieCaplin
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JulieCaplinAuthor/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/juliecaplinauthor/
***
This has been a stop on the #ALittlePlaceInPrague blog tour by Rachel's Random Resources. (@rararesources) Thanks for stopping by!
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