The Pegster - reads

Title	What if it's Love?
Author	Alix Nichols
Publisher	CreateSpace
Publication Date	June 2014
Pages	281
Genre	romance

Blurb:

Introverted heiress Lena moves to Paris to nurse old wounds reopened by her neglectful boyfriend. Enter Rob, a charismatic and handsome Frenchman who waits tables at La Bohème -- a café on Lena's street -- and has big dreams.

He makes her laugh and forget her insecurities. She stirs something infinitely tender in his soul. Before they know it, they've fallen for each other, even though both had good reasons to fight the budding love.

But their passionate romance is cut short when she discovers his dirty secret...

My review:  

If you like romance, you will enjoy this charming and easygoing little book. The 200+ pages were a quick read on my commute. 

The main characters are Twens, as it happens with many romance books. Russian Lena moves to Paris, and we learn that her father is quite a wealthy business owner, but she wants to make her own way. She loves Paris and the independence it gives her. She moves into a room above the La Boheme Cafe and  gets to know the people who work there and their friends. What I liked about Lena's character is that she is not always perfect and actually quite reserved - it takes a while to come out of her shell. And even than I think she is the kind of person who cannot be read like an open book. Her love interest Rob is a student who is a waiter in La Boheme. And initially, he has his own reasons for making his acquaintance with Lena - reasons which Lena will not appreciate when she finds out the truth. I felt I wanted to know a bit more about Rob. In regards to  Lena and the mistakes he makes, he is just foolish. Will the two find happiness? 

I understand this is the start of a series all based around the Cafe La Boheme and I would be happy to pick up further stories from this series. It is a typical romance, boy meets girl, a conflict of some sort which needs to be resolved. The characters are modern and not too complex which is just right for this kind of story and the writing is easygoing and flawless. 

Anything I didn't like? Hmm. There is a bit of a steamy scene in the middle of the book which I thought didn't quite suit this book, but than - most romance books need a bit of naughtiness I guess.

On a personal note...I have never been to Paris (which is a shame as I don't actually live that far away just across the Channel!). But I do love the French cafe culture and whenever I have been to France, enjoyed the fact that you can actually sit in a cafe or restaurant for hours without anyone trying to push you out. 

About the author:  

Alix Nichols is an avid reader of chick lit, romance and fantasy, caffeine addict and a badge-wearing Mr. Darcy fan. She released her first romance at the age of six. It had six pages stitched together and bound in purple velvet paper. The book was titled "Eliza and Robert" and featured highly creative spelling. Some words were written in mirror image. Unintentionally. 

Decades later, she still loves the name Robert and the genre romance. Her spelling has improved (somewhat) and her books have made the Kindle Top 100 Lists, climbing as high as #1. She lives and works in Paris, France.