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In Diana Biller's The Brightest Star in Paris, love is waiting; you only have to let it in. Amelie St. James, prima ballerina of the Paris Opera Ballet and the people's saint, has spent seven years pretending. In the devastating aftermath of the Siege of Paris, she made a decision to protect her sister: she became the bland, sweet, pious “St. Amie” the ballet needed to restore its scandalous reputation. But when her first love reappears, and the ghosts of her past come back to haunt her, all her hard-fought safety is threatened. Dr. Benedict Moore has never forgotten the girl who helped him embrace life again after he almost lost his. Now, he's back in Paris after twelve years for a conference. His goals are to recruit promising new scientists, and, maybe, to see Amelie again. When he discovers she's in trouble, he's desperate to help her—after all, he owes her. When she finally agrees to let him help, they disguise their time together with a fake courtship. But reigniting old feelings is dangerous, especially when their lives are an ocean apart. Will they be able to make it out with their hearts intact?
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A lovely, lyrical second chance romance. Amelie is a prima ballerina with a saintly reputation, trying to fight though her chronic pain long enough to make provide a life after ballet for her and her sister. Benedict is her first love who has now returned to Paris after the war.
This is a period of French and Parisian history about which I knew next to nothing - Biller fleshed out the historical period beautifully.
The book is much more Amelie's than Benedict's. She's the one in motion, while he provides a solid place to come back to. There are a lot of heavy themes - murder, threat of sexual assault, illness, grief - which contribute to my lasting sense of the book as being fairly serious. But there are moments of levity - particularly when Benedict's family comes into the picture.
Also, and I did not know this going in, there are ghosts. Actual literal ghosts. The ghostly parts were my favorite, and I'm mildly disappointed that there weren't more ghostly hijinks.
Overall, a lovely book.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.