After Paris by Nicole Kennedy Blog Tour

I'll be honest, I've always got on with men better than I have with women. I work in an all female environment, I even went to an all girls school so I find other women can be too much sometimes. I guess the word that comes to mind is bitchy.

So I always find it fascinating to read about bonds between women.

For me, Nicole Kennedy has got it spot on in her novel After Paris.

Three best friends take the same Eurostar to Paris for a girls' weekend, but take separate trains back. What happened that weekend? A grown-up, thought-provoking and gripping novel set in Paris about motherhood, friendship, secrets, and the face we present to the world.

Three best friends. A weekend away. And a whole lot of baggage.

Alice, Nina and Jules have been best friends for 20 years. They met in Paris and return there once a year, to relive their youth, leave the cares and troubles of home behind, and indulge in each other's friendship and warmth. But this year, aged 35, the cracks in their relationships are starting to show...

After their weekend together in Paris, the three women never speak again. Each of them claims the other two ghosted them. But what really happened that weekend? 

This for me was a unique tale about friendship.

Three women who have essentially watched each other grown and evolve over the years suddenly find themselves you at a cross roads of sorts.

I loved that it was told from three points of view. It was interesting to see each characters thoughts on certain events, just how they differed from one another. These narrations made it more realistic as it is true in real life, we all perceive things in a variety of ways.

There were times throughout where I didn't feel as though I really liked any of them. Although they'd all experienced sadness and trauma, they also came across as quite selfish at times. This wasn't something that I disliked though, it was refreshing. We all love to hate certain characters don't we.

Kennedy has really worked hard to show the complexities of humans as a whole. Even better, these complications were shown over various time periods. Showing us that no matter how old we get, life really doesn't get simpler.

Not everything is black and white and some secrets and lies seem necessary at times (we've all hidden things for what we think is the greater good haven't we).

There are many subjects covered in this novel. From abortion and miscarriage to adultery and addiction. I was impressed as none of the above were simply glossed over. Each issue was treated as important and the reasons behind them also came across as honest and justified.

Over all, After Paris is filled with great emotions.

I admired its honesty.