Paris Time Capsule by Ella Carey

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Three reasons you should read this Contemporary Fiction:

  • Paris Time Capsule by Ella Carey is a great mix of historical mystery with a dash of contemporary romance. 
  • Watching Cat unravel the mysteries of the past kept me fully engaged in the mystery for every single page.
  • The romance is done in a lighter, more natural hand, that fits incredibly well with the atmosphere of timelessness.

About Paris Time Capsule by Ella Carey

Title: Paris Time Capsule
Author: Ella Carey
Series: Secrets of Paris #1
Genre: Contemporary Fiction

Paris Time Capsule by Ella Carey

The parcel arrived on an ordinary morning in the mailbox of her New York apartment, postmarked Paris. It was wrapped in brown paper and tied with a silk ribbon. Little did she know that the old brass key and letter it contained were about to turn her life upside down…

1940, Paris. Life is getting desperate for young Isabelle de Florian. Alone with her best friend in her Paris apartment, Isabelle knows that they must seek safety or die. For months she has been playing a dangerous game of secrets with the Nazis, trying to keep the people she loves safe. At last, she secures passage out of the city, packs her best jewels into a small suitcase and steps into the treacherous night…

New York, 2015. Photographer Cat Jordan is shocked when she receives a letter informing her that she is the sole heir of the estate of Isabelle de Florian. She was a friend of Cat’s enigmatic grandmother, who both lived in France until the Nazi occupation forced them to flee. The letter offers few details but is clear on one point: Cat must come to Paris in person.

When she arrives, Cat is enchanted by Isabelle’s beautiful apartment. But why did she leave it to a stranger? Determined to find the truth, Cat investigates her grandmother and Isabelle’s escape from Paris, and discovers that Isabelle was hunted by the Nazis in 1940. But as Cat searches through the dusty letters in the apartment, will the secret she finds change everything she knows about Isabelle and herself?

My Review of Paris Time Capsule:

Paris Time Capsule by Ella Carey was beautifully written. Cat’s unexpected inheritance takes her on a journey deep into her family’s past and exposes secrets hidden away for a lifetime.

It all begins with a letter. Although I wonder if anyone today would jump on a plane to Paris to claim an estate from someone they didn’t know existed, it played to my imagination of long-lost heirs. Cat has inherited a lavish apartment that seems to have been untouched since 1940. Full of antiques and treasures, and covered in dust and dirt, Cat falls deeper into the mystery.

But there’s always more than we first expect. Isabelle has a family – and she never told them about the apartment. No one understands why – and I didn’t understand why they were so set on not claiming it once they found out about it. While I found it nice they wanted to follow Isabelle’s last wishes, I don’t quite understand why they didn’t take the estate when Cat said she didn’t want it. But I guess then we wouldn’t have had a story.
Cat digs deep into history, uncovering more and more strange information on Isabelle and her past. She was a fascinating woman that lived through a lot during the war. Fleeing from the Nazi occupation, there isn’t much of a paper trail to follow.

I was quite surprised when Cat found the last clue and solved the mystery. All the loose ends were tied up nicely in a way that was a little larger than life, but still very believable. It maintained the slight fairy tale atmosphere without going too far. And the bit of a love story along the way sure didn’t hurt.

**I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book**

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