Title: Belle Epoque
Author: Elizabeth Ross
Genre: Young Adult
Buy it on Amazon: Hardcover or Kindle
Book Description:
When Maude Pichon runs away from provincial Brittany to Paris, her romantic dreams vanish as quickly as her savings. Desperate for work, she answers an unusual ad. The Durandeau Agency provides its clients with a unique service—the beauty foil. Hire a plain friend and become instantly more attractive.
Monsieur Durandeau has made a fortune from wealthy socialites, and when the Countess Dubern needs a companion for her headstrong daughter, Isabelle, Maude is deemed the perfect adornment of plainness.
Isabelle has no idea her new “friend” is the hired help, and Maude’s very existence among the aristocracy hinges on her keeping the truth a secret. Yet the more she learns about Isabelle, the more her loyalty is tested. And the longer her deception continues, the more she has to lose.
Inspired by a short story written by Emile Zola, Belle Epoque is set at the height of bohemian Paris, when the city was at the peak of decadence, men and women were at their most beautiful, and morality was at its most depraved.
What I Think:
I felt so refreshed after reading this book. It doesn’t qualify as romance, it doesn’t qualify as fantasy or dystopian and it was just right for my mood. One of my favorite things about this book are some of the main characters’ names. Maude is characterized as plain and really learns over the course of the book to care for herself and at least to me, I felt like the name Maude itself was a little plain and overlooked. While in comparison, Isabelle was a striking beauty with intelligence also characterized by a “fancy” name. This could also have to do with the classes into which each young woman was born into though. I guess I didn’t pay attention to my history classes enough to know that Belle Epoque was an actual period in France with new technological advances and a time when the arts really came to life in Paris. Now that I realize that after having read the book, it brings in a whole new perspective. I really enjoyed following both Maude and Isabelle. They are both beautiful girls with extraordinary talents to lead. Overall, a great fictional book that still inspires you to do something worthwhile and meaningful.
