User Reviews
Rating: really liked it
I cannot believe how much I loved this book.
This is a women's fiction/romance book. This is about a writer that cannot write, so she goes to France looking for a muse to help her write. Her daughter is also in France, and she meets up with her daughter. Her daughter does have Autism. I love the characters in this book, and they are really developed. The plot/storyline was really good. There is not so much drama in this book, but there was a lot of stuff going on. This book is told in the view point of Maggie, and I loved the Maggie character. I really loved all the parts about France, and it kindof made you feel you where in France. I was kindly provided an e-copy of this book by the publisher (St. Martin's Griffin) or author (Dee Ernst) via NetGalley, so I can give honest review about how I feel about this book. I want to send a big Thank you to them for that.
Rating: really liked it
"Maggie Finds Her Muse" by Dee Ernst is a delightfully fun Rom-Com!
Maggie Bliss is a 48 year old author struggling to begin writing her final book in a popular romance trilogy. With hopes of spurring things along, Lee, Maggie's agent offers his Paris apartment as a source of inspiration. A way for Maggie to overcome her 'writer's block', to relax, enjoy the sites and savor the French cuisine. But, mostly to write. Primarily to write!
Best thing about this trip? Maggie's daughter Nicole lives in Rennes, a short train ride from Paris. To visit her daughter and meet her new beaux, Louis would be a bonus! When Maggie tells Nicole about her Paris trip, she discovers Nicole's dad and her ex-husband, Alan plans to visit Nicole at the same time. Well, that's just perfect, right?
Off Maggie goes to Paris! The apartment is a dream and comes equipped with an elegant and savvy housekeeper, Soulange, who is a fabulous cook and...wait for it...a Maggie Bliss fan! Soulange's precious French Bulldog, Jules, is sweet, quite memorable and loudly flatulent. Enough said!
Alone in the apartment, Maggie wakes one morning to find a man in the bathtub. A very handsome and charismatic Frenchman named Max. He's in Paris expecting to visit his mother, Soulange, but it's just Maggie in the Paris apartment. Hmmm...
With ex-husband-Alan about to visit, handsome-charismatic-Max in the Paris apartment and Maggie attempting to write, how does all that work? Is Maggie in Paris to find her muse and finish her romance trilogy? Or, are the sites of Paris and the French cuisine too distracting? Will Maggie find her muse and get the final book written? Or, what?
This story is told in the first person voice of Maggie. I love that Maggie is a 48 year old woman rather than a 20ish/30ish year old. With that being said, Maggie reeked of immaturity. Self-centered Maggie is all about 'Maggie Bliss, Romance Author'! But, I still adore this character! I laughed and cried right alongside Maggie every step of the way!
The ambience of Paris is palpable throughout this book. The Bistro's, the small street-side cafes, the incredible French cuisine, the French wine, the landmarks of Paris - all so visibly portrayed by the author. I absolutely felt like I was with Maggie on her Paris trip!
I was also impressed by the author's attention to the Asperger's Syndrome focus in this story. When I read the Rom-Com genre, it is preferable to have something socially relevant in the mix. It's a bit of a deal breaker, so to speak, without it! Just saying.....it's important!
Lastly, long chapters without breaks are never my preference, but this book worked just fine in that regard. Every chapter was cleverly titled and felt like a separate vignette. Actually, it felt like a faster read based on this unique touch!
This is such a fun story and pleasurable distraction. I highly recommend this book to those who love the Romance and Rom-Com genre. And, I will definitely read this author, again!
Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press and Dee Ernst for a free ARC of this book. This is my honest and voluntary review.
Rating: really liked it
What a lovely book.
Maggie hasn’t been able to even start the third novel in her successful trilogy, and she’s going to miss her deadline, so her agent and his partner suggest that she accompany them to Paris. Her daughter is living there, and by chance, her ex-husband Alan is there to visit their daughter. In addition to Alan, she meets Max, who encourages her to wear clothes other than her scruffy writing outfits and get her hair and nails done. In Paris, she can magically write once again, and in between cranking out a first draft, she visits the gardens and museums of Paris, naturally eating tons of bread and cheese and butter and delicacies all washed down with ample amounts of wine. Will she fall back for Alan now that they are in a different stage of their lives? Will she fall for Max, the Frenchman?
This novel won’t be released for almost a year, and maybe by then travel won’t seem quite so scary, but this was a delightful novel to read during the safer-at-home orders of my state, although not a helpful book to read as I try to take off the quarantine weight in which I somehow thought calories didn’t count, and wasn’t getting that much of a workout using the remote control too many hours a day.
Romance and wonderful characters including France fill this enjoyable read.
Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this novel, which RELEASES APRIL 20, 2021.
Rating: really liked it
Maggie Finds Her Muse by Dee Ernst
Contemporary women’s fiction / romance with an older heroine.
Maggie Blish is working on her third romance novel in a trilogy. Or at least she’s supposed to be. A retreat to Paris is exactly what she needs to jumpstart her creativity. Add the sexy Frenchman, Max, who provides a bit of inspiration to the mix.
A lovely, romantic story. Especially if you’ve ever fallen in love with Paris. Or in Paris.
I wish Maggie had a bit more confidence in herself but then it wouldn’t have been the same story. And she does learn. And it was gratifying.
I enjoyed the Chapter headings. They were succinct and amusing.
Chapter 2: I arrive in Paris, and it does not suck
Excerpt from Maggie and Alan chatting about the end of the marriage many years prior:
“The place where your mother and I left off,” he said at last, “involved a lot of screaming and, I believe, crying. And there was flying cookware, if I remember correctly.”
I nodded. “Our very last fight,” I said fondly. “Cookware and dishware. Many things were broken.”
“All over the kitchen floor,” Alan agreed. “We could no longer live together, and we had very good reasons for that.”
Excerpt from Maggie finds her Muse by Dee Ernst
I received a copy of this from NetGalley.
Rating: really liked it
Maggie Finds Her Muse is a cute story about an author with writer’s block that goes to Paris to find inspiration. She is staying at a friend’s apartment alone until one day she finds an attractive man in her bathroom. Her newly single ex-husband is on a solo trip to Paris visiting their daughter. Maggie finds inspiration but also has to choose between these two men. She also has to decide if she wants to be with either of them. There is drama and a love triangle and many laughs. Maggie brings her daughter into her lies. I really enjoyed Maggie Finds Her Muse. This book was very entertaining and had a cute romance. Maggie rediscovers her confidence in Paris and has to decide what she wants. I recommend Maggie Finds Her Muse for fans of cute romances.
I listened to the audiobook narrated by Gillian Vance and enjoyed the narration. She was the perfect voice for Maggie and talked with emotion. Vance pulled me into Maggie’s story.
Thank you St. Martin’s Press and Macmillan Audio for Maggie Finds Her Muse.
Full Review: https://justreadingjess.wordpress.com...
Rating: really liked it
I requested this book because of the cover which made me think it could be a fun romance story set in France, my home country. In this book, you'll meet Maggie has she has writer's block. She's about to go on a trip to Paris after dumping her now ex-boyfriend who thought his work was more important than hers. When that happened, I was rooting for her.
This book is described as a romantic comedy but I have to say that I didn't find the comedy anywhere in this book. As for the romance, the sort-of love triangle wasn't very exciting to be honest. I didn't feel any sparks between our heroine and her ex-husband or Max, her "muse". And should we call it a love triangle if we knew from the beginning who she would end up with? I'm not sure.
Overall, this was a nice story but sadly, I didn't find it very interesting. A writer finding her "muse" in a person/place sounds nice enough on paper but I got bored very quickly and I was hoping the romance would pick up my interest. Unfortunately, that didn't happen but at least this was a quick read...
(Thank you for letting me read and review an ARC via Netgalley)
Rating: really liked it
So much ugh.
I don't even know why I grabbed this ARC-older couple maybe? And it really started out fine, but I must admit an author heroine with only first person POV. Well, it dragged. Very few authors can pull off a story about their own profession successfully for me, and this just wasn't one.
There is a bunch of stuff (minutiae, really) on France, writing, and how hot and attractive the hero is-and the hero is on page for like 20 pages, I swear, but there's no intimacy built between the couple - like they go from mutual attraction to a few outings (not even dates) to attraction and straight to sex. There's just no build-up. Complicating this, is the ex in the picture who is very sweet and Maggie just really, deep down wanted to believe in the fire and the passion. She writes romances after all.
And it was unforgivably boring. Aside from this, the author repeated scenes we'd read, and explained how there was a Big Mis, what it is was and that her two friends would stop reading her books if she ever did one.
Like I said, ugh.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.
Rating: really liked it
3.5⭐ I needed a change of pace, and this light, enjoyable romcom was great! I read and did the audiobook as well. The narrator was Gillian Vance and she was great! Maggie Is a 48 yr old author with writers block. She decides to go to Paris and get an apartment to try to find her inspiration. You get to read about all the pleasures of Paris while reading, and getting a few laughs along the way.
Rating: really liked it
Maggie Finds Her Muse was an absolutely delightful book! I'm definitely going to have to read more books by Dee Ernst after reading this gem.
Maggie Bliss is a 48 year old romance writer with a severe case of writer's block; she's on a deadline to finish the last book in her trilogy and she's got nothing, nada, zip. She's also just kicked out her younger, egotistical boyfriend who thinks that her writing doesn't matter because it's "romance novels" compared to his Pultizer award-winning works, so she's ready to move on from that dumpster fire. When her agent Lee, who is on pins and needles over her impending book deadline because another extension is out of the question, offers her a free trip with him to Paris so she can get a change of scenery, change of pace, and find her muse, she jumps on the chance! After all, she's never been to Paris and her daughter has been living over there for school, so she can write, see the delights of Paris, and see her daughter!
Of course, the City of Love causes Maggie's creative juices to start flowing and she starts putting words down almost as soon as she arrives in Paris. But is it Paris and all its gorgeous sites, food, and just luscious vibe in general that causes the words to flow? Or is it reconnecting with her ex-husband Alan, who also happens to be in Paris visiting their daughter? Or is it Max, the charming Frenchman, who also lives in Lee's apartment and who just happens to be devastatingly attractive? Maggie is superstitious when it comes to her writing, and if she's found her muse for this book that is so, so good, she can't let it (or him) get away.
I loved this book! I loved Maggie, especially that she was a character just several years older than I was. The descriptions of Paris were divine, and they made me want to hop on a plane (if this were a non-Covid world) to one of my favorite cities in the world. I could taste the cafe creme, the baguettes with fresh butter, the lemon tarts, and I think I gained 10 lbs just reading about the food! Such a lovely, fun romance with a great cast of characters!
Thank you NetGalley and St.Martin's Press for the DRC. All opinions are my own.
Rating: really liked it
This review includes mild spoilers.
I'm sorry to say I didn't find much to like in Maggie Finds Her Muse. Maggie, the titular romance novelist searching for inspiration in the City of Love, is 48 and long divorced, recently split from her selfish boyfriend, and, honestly, pretty annoying. Her romantic prospects, the dashing French banker Max and her gently nerdy ex-husband Alan, provide her with little in the way of chemistry - we're supposed to read this as a love triangle, but Alan is never a likely option, and the romance falls flat on all sides. The big conflict near the end of the book comes from an incredibly silly, shallow misunderstanding...and then Maggie, ever the romance novelist, tells us "Oh, this is a Great Misunderstanding," defines that trope, and tells us she would never write something so lazy! And yet here it is!
There's also the matter of Maggie's relationship with her daughter, Nicole, who lives in France, a relationship that was even less appealing to read about than the flat romances with Max or Alan.
We are told early in the book that Nicole always had "social problems" and was diagnosed with Asperger's as a high school junior (despite Asperger's syndrome having been removed from the DSM in 2013; it would be more accurate to say Nicole is on the autism spectrum). Maggie spends plenty of page time reminding us, and the other characters around her, that while she and Nicole love one another (and, indeed, their relationship as it actually plays out in this book seems perfectly fine and affectionate), Maggie just doesn't *get* her daughter. You know, because Nicole doesn't care what other people think of her clothes (unlike Maggie), doesn't wax poetic over every meal (unlike Maggie), and has a strong social conscience and believes in activism (unlike Maggie). Apparently these are all symptoms of how Nicole's mind is "like a strange and distant country" to Maggie, who finds it "exhausting" to have to "reset" her mind to see things from the point of view of Nicole, who, we're told several times by her mother, can't handle social situations. Mind you, what we actually see from Nicole on the page is...a lot of hanging out in social situations and crowds of strangers, partying and having a perfectly good time. Not that that would make the way her mother talks about her okay, because even if she did exhibit more stress in social situations on the page, the focus shouldn't be just on Maggie's "exhaustion" in understanding her daughter, who clearly puts up with a lot from her mom. And yet Maggie briefly wonders why Nicole seems so much happier in France - a continent away from her parents. Truly, it's a mystery. The only real on-page moment in which Nicole's autism is relevant, not just Maggie telling us how she can't figure out her daughter, is when Nicole spills the beans on her mother's lie (as part of the aforementioned Great Misunderstanding), because she's not good at reading facial expressions. Never mind that her mother set up the lie in the first place, or that there isn't much in the scene for her to 'read' (the lie has already been revealed; the problem here is her elaboration on it, a slip literally anyone might have made without realizing it'd be a problem). In fact, another character who has just arrived on the scene and should have NO idea what's going on, berates Nicole for not adequately reading the expression. Which makes far less sense than the goofy web of lies in the first place. Honestly, Justice 4 Nicole.
Ableist rhetoric aside, it's also worth pointing out that there's a touch of casual racism thrown in just for good measure - namely, in the books-within-books that Maggie has written and is writing. At one point, she mentions one of her older books, a historical romance, featuring a Confederate soldier as the romantic hero. Cool. And her current trilogy, the final book of which is the source of her writer's block that drives the plot, appears to be a militaristic, imperialistic white savior story set in a fictional country that smushes together every third world stereotype, with details like a "Middle Eastern-inspired" "tribal" cover design. Cool.
It isn't like a decent story, interesting characters, or appealing romance would make up for ableism or racism, but Maggie Finds Her Muse doesn't even have these, so there's no need to try.
I received an early digital copy from NetGalley and St. Martin's Griffin in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: really liked it
I received a complimentary copy of this ebook ARC from the author, publisher, and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Maggie Bliss is a romance author who has writer's block. When she finds out that her live in boyfriend thinks he is more important than her, she leaves him and decides to go finish her book by going on a trip with her agent Lee to Paris. Will she be able to find her inspiration and find love again? Read on and find out for yourself.
This was a pretty good women's fiction romance novel. If you enjoy stories about family and more, be sure to check this book out when it officially releases in bookstores and wherever books and ebooks are sold on April 21, 2021.
Rating: really liked it
A solid ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
Three things I most appreciated about this book:
-A woman who is DONE taking crap from a self absorbed man.
-Ample descriptions of Parisian food that left me drooling.
-Quotes like this, from the main character who‘s thinking about the one question we ALL have on our minds: “Wondering what kind of career opportunities there were for 40-something women who wanted to work in their pajamas. “
Rating: really liked it
Maggie Bliss suffers from writer’s block and comes to Paris to retrieve her muse. She’s single again at 48, and hopes her stay will birth a new book and a new life. Her daughter starts school nearby, and soon Maggie’s ex-hubs Alan shows up too. He wants to reunite, but she’s intrigued by Max, a handsome Frenchman she found in her bathtub.
Will she finally finish her book? Patch things up with Alan? Or get her groove back with Max? A sexy summer read!
4 of 5 Stars
Pub Date 20 Apr 2021
Thanks to the author, St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the review copy. Opinions are mine.
#MaggieFindsHerMuse
Rating: really liked it
BOOKSTAGRAM | BOOK BLOG | AMAZONThanks to NetGalley for this eARC!
This book was perfect for a nice winter snowy day off to read. It talks about Maggie our MC who is a writer and having a hard time writing and finding her “muse” she’s at her wits end and her agent Lee is basically telling her to get it together and at a last ditch effort to attempt to not prolong her extension another time, has her come to Paris with him and his partner Martin in hopes to spark some creativity and find her muse in where better else but the capital of love!
And then comes along the ex husband, the daughter, the daughters boyfriend, the housekeeper, Max the housekeepers son, and of course the dog. Maggie has two close girlfriends she keeps in touch with during her time and it is a really great read and makes me want to travel to Paris if not for anything but the food! I love reading books set in places I have never been and always wanted to go.
But it leads you to wonder....did Maggie ever find her Muse?! You gotta read it to find out! 😉
Rating: really liked it
What a refreshing change to read a romance with a mature woman in the lead role!
Maggie is a successful romance writer, but she’s stuck. The second book in her current trilogy is about to be released, and she’s fast approaching the deadline for book #3. There’s a lot at stake, including a potential TV option that will take her to the next level of financial success and finally enable her to buy the beach house of her dreams. The problem is, Maggie is completely blocked. She’s got nothing on the page, and she just can’t ask for another extension.
Her trusted agent Lee offers a change of scenery as a desperate last-ditch effort to get her writing again: Come to Paris with him and his husband, live in their fabulous apartment free of charge, and let the Parisian vibe restore her to full inspiration once again.
After dumping her live-in boyfriend (who gives off a traditional romance alpha-male vibe, but is actually a self-centered leech), Maggie sets off to Paris. And soon, her creative juices start flowing again. But Maggie is a writer who relies on superstition (like wearing the same old sweater every single day until she finishes a book), and she starts to believe that Max, a charming Parisian who happens to be staying in the apartment as well, might just be her new muse. But what happens if Max leaves? How will she keep writing if her flesh-and-blood inspiration isn’t present any longer?
Along the way, Maggie spends time with her adult daughter and her ex-husband — her first love, who’s newly retired and interested in rekindling their romance after all these years. And yes, it might be nice to spend more time with Alan, who’s lovely and intelligent and comfortable — but what about that spark she feels whenever Max is around?
There’s a lot to love about Maggie Finds Her Muse. As I said at the start of this review, three cheers for a romantic heroine who’s not in her 20s! I love reading about a smart, successful, motivated woman who’s able to take charge of her professional and personal life. Maggie isn’t perfect — she has insecurities and doubts, but she’s also lived life and has learned a lot about herself, her needs, and what she expects from a potential partner.
It was really fun reading about her writing process, and I liked hearing about the story elements she explores over the course of the book. While her actual book doesn’t sound like the sort of thing I’d ever read (war-torn romantic drama), I was amused by scenes of her figuring out blocking by having her friends act out action sequences. I did feel not quite so charmed by the setting of her books, an invented country with vaguely foreign elements, which sounds like a Westerner’s standard generic anywhere-but-here kind of setting — warlords, non-English names that are hard to pinpoint, desperate escapes through deserts and mountains… It all feels a little too America-centric, like anyplace that’s not the US must be uncivilized and “other”. But I’m probably over-analyzing. After all, this is romance!
The Paris setting is delicious, of course. Maggie enjoys the food, the sights, the people, the customs, and so we as readers get to do so as well. It made me want to pick up and fly to Paris RIGHT NOW, but only if my trip would include a marvelous flat and totally chic and supportive housekeeper/cook/emotional guide like Maggie has.
As for the romantic elements, Maggie and Max are well-matched and are clearly the pairing to root for in the romantic triangle. Max is suave, kind, confident, and totally supportive of Maggie. They’re not without their difficulties, but I like that Maggie, as a romance writer, is very much aware of the genre tropes, and is horrified when her friends point out that she has fallen into a romance novel complication in her real life.
Overall, Maggie Finds Her Muse is a sweet, delightful read. The characters are smart and relatable, and I couldn’t help but want every single one of the people we meet to get a perfect HEA.
From reading the author bio on Goodreads, I learned that Dee Ernst specializes in writing older (okay, I hate calling them that — let’s say age 40+) leading characters, and I think that’s awesome. This is an author whose work I’ll be following!
Review copy courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley. Full review at Bookshelf Fantasies.
