Story for the Week
Many years ago, Corinne happened to walk through the kitchen while I played the 2001 movie Moulin Rouge on the television as I washed the dishes. If you haven’t seen it…umm, why not? But just in case, the movie stars Nicole Kidman as the courtesan Satine and Ewan McGregor as the poet Christian who falls in love with her. Considered a jukebox musical, the movie received eight Oscar nominations (winning two) and was later adapted into a stage play.
Back to Corinne walking through the kitchen…. I have no idea what scene was on when she walked in, but her reaction was “What are you watching?!” The movie is chockful of colorful costumes, tons of dancing, and villains complete with handlebar mustaches. It was also the first film where I discovered what amazing singing voices Kidman and McGregor have. And the music? Perfection.
I suggested she watch it with me. She wanted absolutely nothing to do with it. She didn’t think it looked very good at all. As much as I tried to persuade her, she resisted. She thought it looked weird which, in all honestly, is true for some parts. Eventually, I convinced her. Suffice it to say, we’ve watched it more than once because “all you need is love.” (If you know, you know. If you don’t, go watch the movie. 😉)
Recently, I’ve started to see clips online from the movie White Nights, starring Mikhail Baryshnikov and Gregory Hines. With Corinne being a musical theater major who actually enjoys tap and ballet, I thought she would at least enjoy the dance montages from the film. But aside from those, I think it’s a fantastic film.
The film came out in 1985, and to be honest, movie previews from back then leave a lot to be desired. I had shown her the preview before, and she thought it looked boring. With the clips I’ve been seeing online, my interest in rewatching the film has been renewed, and I have been bugging her to watch it with me. She told me that the pressuring is just as bad as when my brother-in-law Rodolfo and I tried to convince her to watch Forrest Gump. I reminded her that she watched Forrest Gump…and she liked Forrest Gump. 🤷🏼♀️
So several weeks ago, I told her I was going to rent White Nights and asked if she would at least watch the first 15 minutes with me. We actually ended up arguing about it because she said she really isn’t interested and she feels like the $3.99 would be a waste of money. My immediate response? Cue the sarcasm: “Oh, so we should only pay to rent something if YOU want to watch it! It doesn’t matter that I want to watch it!”
She went to her room to do some homework, and I stayed in the living room, probably reading a book.
Fast forward to the night of the 98th Academy Awards ceremony on March 15. (If you watched them, you know where this is going.) Corinne desperately wanted to watch because she is currently obsessed with KPop Demon Hunters. Originally released on Netflix, eventually released in theaters, the film won two Academy Awards this year—Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song. But alas, Corinne had to attend a concert at school. I assured her I would record the ceremony so she could watch the parts she wanted when she got home.
Lionel Richie presented the award for Best Original Song, and as soon as he started speaking, Rodolfo and I started laughing, and I said I would definitely make Corinne watch the presentation when she got home. She did…and she flipped both of us off as we continued to laugh. Richie began, “Let me just tell you all, 40 years ago, I was lucky enough to stand on this stage and win an Oscar for ‘Say You, Say Me’ from the movie White Nights.” And eventually he announced “Golden” as the winner of Best Original Song.
I mean…if that’s not a sign from the universe that Corinne needs to watch White Nights with me, I don’t know what is!
I haven’t convinced her yet, but I was reminded of her resistance to watching Moulin Rouge when I read the book below. The book takes place in Paris, and the main male character hears someone mention “Moulin Rouge.” The story continues, “…he had a memory of that—a movie he watched with his mom a long time ago, strange and color-saturated and extremely boring. He thought, If this man is taking us to some place where people are going to cancan dance in front of me before noon, I’ll probably die of hating it.”
Corinne didn’t die of hating Moulin Rouge, and I’m pretty sure she wouldn’t die of hating White Nights, even though she thinks it looks boring. Now I just need to convince her. 😉
Book Review
⭐⭐⭐⭐½
4.5 Stars for The Paris Match by Kate Clayborn
454 pages
Publisher: Berkley Publishing Group
Publication Date: April 7, 2026
I received an advance copy of this title from NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group.
Publisher’s Description
Physician Layla Bailey has spent over a year telling herself she’s moved on from a painful but amicable divorce from her college sweetheart. Staying friends with her ex seemed like the mature thing to do, but when Layla is invited to her former sister-in-law’s destination wedding in Paris—where Layla once spent her own romantic honeymoon—she knows her commitment to maturity might be her worst enemy…especially since her ex isn’t attending alone.
The only thing that could make the week more difficult is getting through it without the distraction of the wedding…. But when what Layla thought was a harmless conversation about the choices of her younger self leads to the bride getting cold feet, Layla finds herself facing down the groom’s mysterious, taciturn best man, Griffin, who will do anything to make sure this wedding happens.
Since she broke it, Griff demands she help him fix it. Going along with his plan to alleviate the engaged couple’s doubts seems like Layla’s best chance at maintaining a good relationship with a family she once called her own. But as she learns more about the past heartbreak that’s driving Griff to help his friend, she gets closer and closer to confronting the true depth of her own pain…while finding herself more and more willing to risk it all again for Griff.
************
Main Characters:
- Layla Bailey – mid-30s, “amicably” divorced from college sweetheart Jamie for the past year and a half, promised to stay in touch with the family, a locum tenens physician who travels to hospitals who need a temporary replacement, has an apartment in Boston that she uses as her home base
- Griffin Testa – mid-30s, Michael’s best man for the wedding, he and Michael have been friends since they were children, rarely leaves his house in Upstate New York, has a lot of burn scarring and pain
- Emily MacKenzie – mid-20s, Layla’s former sister-in-law, met Layla at age 11 so Layla became a big sister to her, grew up with money, met Michael in a coffee shop, works as a freelance technical writer, her wedding is taking place in Paris which is like a second home to her family, tells Layla and Rosie that she doesn’t think Michael works and that he is extremely wealthy due to owning a patent of some kind
- Michael Plackett – mid-30s, works for the government, has known Griffin since Griffin and his mom moved in next door when the boys were six, planning to move to Germany for work after the wedding
- Jamie MacKenzie – mid-30s, Layla’s ex-husband, bringing his new girlfriend Samantha to Emily’s wedding
- Rosie – mid-20s, Emily’s best friend and former college roommate, also Emily’s maid of honor, she has a very boisterous personality
Talk about an enemies to lovers trope!
I have enjoyed Kate Clayborn’s writing since I read the first line of Love Lettering: “On Sunday I work in sans serif” (Like Father, Like Daughter & Opposites Attract). Clayborn’s website declares “Love, Lyrically Crafted,” and I wholeheartedly agree with that description of her style.
Her upcoming novel tells the story of Layla and Griffin who meet in Paris for the wedding of Emily and Michael. Emily is Layla’s former sister-in-law. Michael has been Griffin’s best friend since they were both six years old. When introductions begin at the hotel several days before the wedding, Layla realizes that Griffin Testa was a rude and grumpy (shall we say, testy?) man on her flight.
Taken aback at seeing Griffin again, Layla actually becomes angry when Griffin doesn’t make a move to shake hands or acknowledge her when Michael introduces him. She comments about short tempers when people fly and that Griffin helped defuse a situation. Michael suggests that flying terrifies Griffin.
When Griffin and Layla end up in the same elevator later, the tension between the two of them gets worse. It all comes to a head the next morning when Griffin blames Layla for Emily questioning whether she really wants to move forward with the wedding, and he demands that Layla fix whatever it was she said to Emily the evening before.
Layla is already tense enough about seeing her ex-husband, knowing that he’s attending his sister’s wedding in the city where they spent their honeymoon, and he’s bringing his new girlfriend. Griffin’s demanding attitude certainly doesn’t help calm the tension.
The book feels a bit long for a romance at more than 450 pages. And Griffin’s character thinks about Layla as “Layla Bailey”…a lot. I found it a little distracting. That said, the journey through their love story with Paris as a backdrop was one I had a hard time taking a break from. (I skipped a lot of sleep.) As Layla and Griffin spend time together trying to fix what Layla assumes she broke between Emily and Michael, Griffin starts to soften. Layla eventually comes to understand why his walls are up so high.
It’s almost like they take turns helping each other navigate their individual pasts in addition to trying to help Emily and Michael. Layla faces the ghosts of the honeymoon she spent in Paris when she did everything she could to become a MacKenzie, part of a family experience she never had growing up. Griffin seems to be in Paris only for Michael and deals with animosity from Michael’s parents for reasons that he has yet to reveal to anyone.
This is a romance. Of course, Layla and Griffin get together. Of course, secrets are revealed and they fall apart. But there’s a lot more that impacts their relationship just because of all the other people in the story—Michael’s parents, Emily’s immediate and extended family who act like Layla never left. They had some huge hurdles to get to their happily ever after. There were honestly times when I thought they wouldn’t get there…and I would have been so disappointed.
Because halfway through the book, we read this:
“He wanted to see her face when he said this.
“‘You keep saying amicable,” he started.
“‘It’s true,’ she interrupted, defiant, and the truth was, he believed her. Believed that the man he’s barely met had made it so nice for her, whatever had happened between them. Bowed when he said goodbye to her, probably. And he believed, too, that she’d received it gracefully, with those careful movements that hid everything he saw about her.
“He slid his thumbs across the caps of her shoulders, leaned in a little farther. He would say this part so fucking close to her, no matter that this was closer even than their dance, no matter that she must be able to see every single scar on his face.
“He would say it close enough for her to hear it loud and clear.
“‘There shouldn’t be anything amicable about losing you,’ he said.”
I mean, if you can’t get a happily ever after from a book boyfriend like that…. “Love, Lyrically Crafted.” She’s not wrong. Pick this one up. You won’t regret it.
If you enjoyed this post, please comment below. Subscribe for regular updates, and share it with your friends. If you’re interested in starting a conversation, send an email to booksundertheblanket@gmail.com.
As an Amazon affiliate, I earn a small commission at no cost to you when you make a purchase using the links on my site.
