The Brightest star in Paris is a book about second chances mixed with a little paranormal activity ( )

The Brightest Star in Paris by Diana Biller is a 2021 St. Martin’s Griffin publication.

This follow up to the "Widow of Rose House", is centered around Amelie St. James, prima ballerina of the Paris Opera Ballet. After the death of her mother, Amelie becomes the sole guardian of her younger sister.

For seven years she’s gone through the motions, forsaking love, finding herself under intense pressure to salvage the reputation of the Ballet, in the aftermath of the Paris siege, and to protect her sister. She’s in intense pain, living with a bad hip, hoping to make it just a couple of years more, until she has enough money saved up.

Back in New York, Dr. Benedict Moore has never forgotten Amelie- a woman who saved him after the war while he was trying to recover his health and was suffering from depression.

When a conference brings him back to Paris, he comes face to face with the celebrity ballerina he’s still in love with. Though it is obvious that Amelie feels the same way, she is haunted by a young dancer who died under mysterious circumstances, but is only the first of several ghosts that suddenly make their presence known...

I wish I could say this was a strong follow up to 'Rose House', but unfortunately, it didn’t have the same tension or atmosphere. The story is rather bleak and melancholy, to be honest. The ghost story didn’t have the same compelling command or sinister quality. The romance runs mostly in the background, though it does heat up a bit towards the end. There is a surprising revelation in the final chapters, too, and the ending is satisfying with a nice HEA.

Overall, this one didn’t quite measure up to 'Rose House', but it is still a good, poignant story, plus we get to touch base with a few familiar characters, which was a nice, too.

3 stars ( )

I received an ARC of this book to read through NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
The Brightest Star in Paris by Diana Biller is the second book about the delightfully quirky Moore Family. When I first heard that the author was writing a book featuring Dr. Benedict Moore as the hero, I was over the moon excited because I loved the first book, The Widow of Rose House, so much. I also wondered if any book could stand up to the very high expectations I had for this book, and I am happy to say YES, IT DOES !!! I could very likely write an essay about how much I loved this book, but I don't want to spoil it for you and will just mention a few of the things I adored. Ghosts... I love ghost stories. I don't actually believe in them, but I love the stories, and I love how Diana resolves their being on this plane. Prima Ballerina, Amelie St. James, is a most excellent heroine. She's brave, kind, talented and willing to sacrifice for those she loves, and she rescues the hero. Ben Moore is a wonderful hero because he respects her agency. As much as he loves her and would love to sweep in and save her, he allows Amelie to make her own choices and will accept those choices no matter the cost to him. The angst, so much angst, and so much sorrow balanced by lighter moments and for all the darkness, there is so much hope in this second chance at love book. I highly recommend this book, and if you have not yet read The Widow of Rose House, most definitely add it to your TBR. Steam Level: light side of medium
CW: Characters who are sex workers and parts of the story occur during the Prussian Seige of Paris, so terrible things happen. Publishing Date: October 12, 2021. #TheBrightestStarInParis #DianaBiller #StMartinsGriffin #StMartinsPress #SMPRomance #HistoricalRomance #HistoricalRomanceReader #RomanceReader #Bookstagram #Bookstagrammer ( )

Amelie St. James emerged from the horrific Siege of Paris to become the lauded Saint Amie, prima ballerina of the Paris Opera Ballet. Amelie is the face of an institution that has a lot more dark secrets, so they hide behind her grace and beauty. Being considered a Saint is not a role she cherishes, but it's what she has to do in order to be able to take care of herself and her younger sister. When the ghosts of the past, literally, begin haunting her and when her first love shows up again in Paris, Amelie begins to take a look at the life she's living, the life she's fought so hard to give her sister, and sees that maybe a life without happiness is not a life really lived.

Dr. Benedict Moore has always remembered Amelie after she brought him back into the land of the living after he almost lost his life. He left her all those years ago and has regretted it ever since knowing the trials that Amelie faced during the Siege. His feelings for her have remained unchanged in all these years. This time, Ben is not going to leave Amelie to face the ghosts of the past on her own.

Diana Biller's debut [book:The Widow of Rose House|43263486] was such a surprising delight when it came out a couple of years ago. I've been eagerly anticipating a follow-up ever since. I'm so happy that we get to continue to see more of the Moore family.

This time around, however, the Moores kind of take a backseat for a majority of the story as the main focus is on Amelie.

I liked how Diana Biller continued the figurative idea of hauntings. In the first book, it is a place that is haunted by its past. And this time around it's a person being haunted by the past.

What Amelie lived through during the Siege was traumatic. Not only for her, but for all of Paris which is on the cusp of rebuilding yet cannot seem to fully move away from its past. And how can you when there is so much left unsaid, so many people gone without acknowledgment?

This story moved at a slower, more languid pace for me than the first book. Whereas in the first book I was surprised by the lightness and humor throughout, Brightest Star evokes a more somber tone. I felt like it was a lot more contemplative of a story as Amelie grapples with what she wants her life to be as well as the weight she carries in being a beacon of light and hope for an entire city.

Diana Biller absolutely nails the beauty and heartbreak of Amelie's relationship with ballet. Her talent and love of dancing are complicated by the role she's been designated to play as well as an injury that threatens the facade she's built around herself. I could completely identify with Amelie in wanting so badly to be able to dance and perform the way in which her heart is calling for her to, yet physically being unable to do so. These moments brought tears to my eyes. You could definitely tell through Diana Biller's words and the way she wrote these portions that she too can identify with Amelie in this regard.

Of course, I can't leave Ben completely out of the review! When we're talking about people being haunted by their past, Ben most certainly fits the bill. He's still haunted by almost losing his life, and having to get himself to a place where he wanted to go on living. Amelie helped him with this. He holds a lot of guilt about leaving her in her time of need. So he kind of comes back into her orbit with a sense that of assuaging that guilt. He certainly cares for her more than platonically, but it gets clouded by the fact that he sees it as his job to make sure she's safe now. His reasoning may be slightly misguided, but it comes from a place of love and caring. He deeply respects Amelie, he sees her talent and he wants to support her, but he's begun doing things for slightly the wrong reason. They have to individually battle their ghosts on their own in order to be together for the right reason: because of love.

Overall, despite the slower pace of this book, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Ben's family does make an appearance in the latter half of the story and brings a bit of levity. Diana Biller really got and understood the dancer's emotional connection to their art through the movement of their bodies. As Amelie's views on her art change, I kept waiting for her to fully embrace this idea despite it being outside of the St. Amie box, and I was certainly not let down.

This series is highly recommended. The ghost theme also plays well going into this October month. Here's to hoping Diana Biller is not yet done writing about the Moores.

*ARC provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. ( )