CANR
WORK TITLE: BONJOUR SHANGHAI
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE: http://isabellelafleche.net
CITY: Montreal
STATE:
COUNTRY: Canada
NATIONALITY: Canadian
LAST VOLUME:
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Female.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Writer. Has also worked for ten years as a corporate attorney; public speaker.
WRITINGS
Also the author of the novella J’adore Montreal, 2015; author of the Soulful Couture blog; contributor to Clin d’oeil.
SIDELIGHTS
Isabelle Laflèche is a fashion-loving writer. After some health scares, she quit her Wall Street-based legal job and turned her attention to creative writing after a psychic instructed her to do so. Laflèche subsequently channeled her interest in the fashion industry into her writing.
In 2010 Laflèche initiated the “J’adore” series with the publication of J’adore New York. Parisian lawyer Catherine Lambert moves to New York and attempts to balance her career ambitions, her expensive taste in high fashion, and the challenges of living in New York City. A contributor reviewing the novel in Write Meg suggested that “fans of women’s fiction and New York-based novels will find a pleasant, if not earth-shattering, story in J’adore New York. While I didn’t finish the book feeling enlightened or changed, it was definitely a worthwhile experience—and a lawyer’s law novel.”
Laflèche published J’adore Paris in 2013. Catherine is back in Paris working as an intellectual property director for Christian Dior, where she works to find counterfeit fashion goods. A contributor to Just a Lil’ Lost said that she “really appreciated that all the French wasn’t necessarily translated each time…. Laflèche does a great job at explaining the parts that are pertinent to the narrative, while not dumbing it down for readers either.”
In 2018 Laflèche published Bonjour Girl, the first novel in a series of the same name. Clementine has left France to study at New York’s Parsons School of Design. While focused on fashion, she must also contend with a cyberbully and an attractive photographer. Writing in School Library Journal, Cathleen Ash claimed that “this irresistibly funny and at times heartrending story is a must-have for teen” readers who enjoy reading stories centering on ambitious and “strong heroines.” In a review in Resource Links, Leslie Vermeer mentioned that “although it looks like a long novel, the book has a straightforward, fast-moving plot and would be an easy recommendation for high/low readers.”
Bonjour Shanghai is the sequel to Bonjour Girl. Clementine spends the summer after her second year at Parsons in Shanghai at the Conde Nast Center of Fashion & Design, where she pursues her interest in fashion blogging. Her boyfriend and best friend are acting strange, though, and a new student catches her attention. A contributor to Kirkus Reviews found that “characters and dialogue alike are composed of tired clichés, and not a single relationship feels authentic or believable.”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Kirkus Reviews, July 1, 2018, review of Bonjour Girl; September 15, 2019, review of Bonjour Shanghai.
Montreal Gazette, September 22, 2015, “Isabelle Laflèche: Chic Lit with a Conscience.”
Resource Links, December 1, 2018, Leslie Vermeer, review of Bonjour Girl, p. 36.
School Library Journal, July 1, 2018, Cathleen Ash, review of Bonjour Girl, p. 74.
ONLINE
Chick Lit Plus, https://chicklitplus.com/ (September 28, 2011), review of J’adore New York.
Colloquium, https://www.jhsiess.com/ (December 30, 2010), review of J’adore New York.
Fashion is My Muse, http://fashionismymuse.blogspot.com/ (July 6, 2010), review of J’adore New York.
French Village Diaries, http://www.frenchvillagediaries.com/ (November 18, 2013), review of J’adore Paris.
Isabelle Laflèche, http://isabellelafleche.net (October 21, 2019).
Just a Lil’ Lost, https://www.justalillost.com/ (April 12, 2013), review of J’adore Paris.
Quill and Quire, https://quillandquire.com/ (July 1, 2018), Michelle Callaghan, review of Bonjour Girl.
Simply Luxurious Life, https://www.thesimplyluxuriouslife.com/ (May 14, 2013), review of J’adore Paris.
Write Meg, https://writemeg.com/ (October 25, 2010), review of J’adore New York.
About
Hello, I’m Isabelle.
I’m a wellness warrior, a nature lover, and a yogi. Oh, and I also happen to really love fashion.
I don’t blindly follow trends. I simply appreciate the joys of dressing every day in a way that reflects my personality and moods. I’m also fascinated by the industry’s history and the craftsmanship behind quality pieces.
I used to favor quantity over quality while shopping for clothing but those days are over.
I’ve also gone through massive life changes in the past few years.
I once practiced law on Wall Street where I worked twelve-hour days and guzzled obscene amounts of coffee until my body broke down. I was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease at the age of 28.
The truth is I wasn’t listening to my internal guidance system. I wasn’t paying attention to my soul’s whisperings.
Things changed dramatically in a good way after a surprising encounter on the streets of Manhattan. A psychic named Christine told be to start writing. I followed her guidance and began writing and soon after, publishing novels. Our fateful meeting changed my life forever.
I also cured a shopping addiction. I once spent tons of money on frivolous splurges to fill up the gapping hole in my life. It was my way of compensating for my lack of happiness.
Today, I’ve moved on. I practice yoga and meditation daily and am far more excited about living a creative life of purpose. My breath is my anchor, not shopping malls or fancy boutiques.
I’m following the wise words of Christian Dior who said that ‘Happiness is the secret to all beauty. There is no beauty without happiness.’
Given my interest in all things fashionable, I’ve decided to share some information I picked up on my journey or while doing research for my books on this blog.
I hope you will be inspired and that my journey speaks to you.
Isabelle
Isabelle Laflèche
Isabelle Laflèche worked for over ten years in Toronto, New York City and Montreal as a corporate attorney in a large law firm and on Wall Street. In 2005, she was responsible for the business affairs of a Quebec based fashion designer where she developed her penchant for haute couture. J'Adore New York is her first novel. She lives in Montreal, Quebec.
New Books
November 2019
(kindle)
Bonjour Shanghai
(Bonjour Girl, book 2)
Series
J'adore
1. J'adore New York (2010)
2. J'adore Paris (2013)
2.5. J'adore Montreal (2015)
Bonjour Girl
1. Bonjour Girl (2018)
2. Bonjour Shanghai (2019)
Isabelle Laflèche: Chic lit with a conscience
Isabelle Laflèche tackles serious issues in frothy fashion novels
Eva Friede, Special to Urban Expressions Updated: September 22, 2015
Author and fashionista Isabelle Laflèche, shown wearing a floral coat by Via Spiga, has enjoyed success with her J’adore series of novels. Graham Hughes / Urban Expressions
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Isabelle Laflèche adores fashion. The Montreal author and former securities lawyer has had a string of successes with her J’adore series of chic-lit novels, set in New York and Paris, with the most recent a short story based in Montreal’s Holt Renfrew.
But there is a lot more to Laflèche’s stories than fashion. Her fiction, centred on counterfeit-cracking lawyer Catherine Lambert, is painstakingly researched with facts and figures that are not always as pretty as a Dior frock.
Laflèche’s own story is also the prototypical lesson on the power of following your dream. She gave up law four years ago after a psychic stopped her on the streets of New York and steered her away from her high-pressure profession.
“She basically told me I was going down the wrong path,” said Laflèche, wearing a colourful Milly frock for our meeting at a Westmount café.
“She brought me back to my true essence. I was caught up in this Manhattan whirlwind — working long hours, pushing myself to the limit.”
Although she was comfortable in her career, and doing well financially, she said, the artist in her was suffering. “I was starting to feel like an imposter.”
There are similarities between the author and her protagonist, but differences, too. Catherine Lambert is younger and Parisian; both are curious, determined, love vintage shopping and don’t necessarily follow trends.
Author and fashionista Isabelle Laflèche has enjoyed success with her J’adore series of novels. Her most recent short story is based in Montreal’s Holt Renfrew and is available on Amazon, Kobo and iTunes.
“I try to portray that in Catherine,’’ Laflèche said. “But she’s not me. My job as a lawyer was not as glamorous — I did not work for Dior.”
Lambert is endearingly chic, embroiled in romantic relationships in the office and harassed by a mean, demanding boss. Her speech and thoughts are punctuated — charmingly — with French phrases — mon Dieu!, cherie, mais non! — while her sidekick-assistant is an impossibly chic — and know-it-all — gay man.
Laflèche sent her draft of J’adore New York out to publishers in the U.S. initially, and hit a wall of rejections. But she had her lawyer hat on, and proceeded as if it were an important file.
With the rejections came positive feedback, she said, so she really clung to her dream.
Then she attended a conference in Cape Cod for lawyers who wanted to publish novels and met a literary agent from New York. Although her story was not a legal thriller, she was advised to “crank” it up and given pointers.
Isabelle Laflèche’s novel J’adore New York was a hit, translated into five languages and on best-selling lists in Canada.
A year later, HarperCollins took on J’adore New York, followed by J’adore Paris. New York was a hit, translated into five languages and on best-selling lists in Canada. Paris was more popular in Quebec.
The novels have been optioned for TV and cinema, and Laflèche is hoping for a publishing breakthrough in the U.S.
“We’re pitching it as law and fashion with a conscience,” she said.
The New York story is somewhat autobiographical, she admitted — a French lawyer arrives in New York to work for a big law firm; in Paris, she goes to work for the storied house of Dior.
Her next book, J’adore Rome, addresses ethics in the fashion world.
“And I go behind the scenes to show the not-pretty picture of how clothing is made.”
Set in Rome and Florence, it aims to expose how fast fashion is churned out as well as its environmental, social and economic consequences.
Buying a dress for under $10 puts pressure on the environment and economy, Laflèche said, and creates situations like the notorious Bangladesh factory collapse, in which more than 1,100 people died in 2013.
“Prices keep going down so you have to ask who is being squeezed. It’s the worker,” Laflèche said.
“I’m all for everybody having a little spark to their wardrobe. But at the same time, there should be some consideration to the people creating that design. And it shouldn’t be at the price of other people’s health and safety.”
Another issue: “The problem is that a lot of the stuff ends up in the garbage.”
Laflèche purports to show how the “Made in Italy” label is not what it once was as foreign workers have set up factories there where garments are merely assembled. “It’s a fraudulent labelling issue.”
At home in her office, author and fashionista Isabelle Laflèche.
She spends a large amount of time on research, including meeting with counterfeiting experts in New York and Paris. In Paris, her adviser was a lawyer who built her practice protecting fabricmakers and designers of the wholesale district Le Sentier — “the Chabanel of Paris,” she said, referring to Montreal’s garment district.
Another research source would spend her days in New York, dressed in a bulletproof vest, seizing counterfeit goods on Canal Street.
Women are responding to the novels, Laflèche said, identifying with Catherine Lambert and writing to say they have transformed their lives after reading the books, which “to me has been the greatest gift.”
Laflèche won’t say she’ll never go back to law — but it’s very unlikely. If she does, she says, it would be to represent artists, perhaps. Meanwhile, after Rome, there’s perhaps one more J’adore installment, and next up, another series — also centered on fashion.
Isabelle’s fashion picks
Isabelle Laflèche has reinvented her life writing about fashion, but she isn’t a slave to it. “I am obsessed because I love it — in a positive way. It doesn’t rule my life. But I do love to talk about it, to write about it. To write a book you have to be passionate.”
She said she has always cared about clothes, and was always the one among her friends to find the treasures among the junk.
“I love thrifting. I buy less than I used to, but I still love to shop and see what the new trends are.”
But she has stopped shopping at chains like Zara and H&M because she didn’t feel good wearing their clothes.
“As I get older, I feel more comfortable in something of a little better quality.”
Pink is Laflèche’s favourite colour — any shade. The psychic who sparked her career change told her to wear pink, saying it would be her lucky colour.
Karl Lagerfeld is a hero. “I think he’s hilarious. I love his persona, his energy.”
J.Crew: “I love that preppy American look with a twist. It’s more affordable.
Sophia Webster: “She is just wow,” says Laflèche about her colourful shoe styling.
Kate Spade: Laflèche loves items like bags in the shape of watermelon, clams or frogs. “It’s a way to add a touch of whimsy to your wardrobe.”
Isabelle Laflèche’s debut novel, J’adore New York, is an international bestseller. She has lived in New York and Toronto, and, most recently, Montreal.
Isabelle Laflèche
Bio
Isabelle Laflèche worked for more than ten years as a corporate attorney in New York City, Montreal, and Toronto before pursuing her passion for writing. Her debut novel J’adore New York is published by Harper Collins CA, along with its sequel J’adore Paris. Her best selling books have now been translated into five languages. She also recently published a guide book to Paris, written during her stay in the city of light while researching her novel J'adore Paris. In addition to being hard at work on her next books, she now writes on culture, literature, and fashion for the Quebec fashion magazine Clin d’oeil. She lives in Montreal, Canada.
Here are ten things you may not know about me:
1) I was stopped on the street in New York City by a psychic who told me to start writing. That moment changed my life. 2) I'm a major jazz fan. My favorite artists? Wynton Marsalis, Roy Hargrove and Cécile McLorin Salvant. 3) I love to dance. (Anywhere, including on tables. ) 4) I danced with Mikhail Baryshnikov at the age of nineteen in a nightclub in Paris. ( see #3 above.) 4) I now live mostly in the country and I ADORE it. 5) I have a serious vintage shopping habit and a vintage jewelry collection that could rival that of Iris Apfel's. 6) I hope to be and look as fabulous as Iris Apfel when I get older. 7) I once worked fourteen hour days reviewing legal documents as a corporate attorney. One thing it taught me? DISCIPLINE + HARD WORK. You can't build anything without it. 8) I love to watch The Voice. 9) I hope to live by the ocean one day. 10) Yoga has changed my life, in a good way. You should try it too.
Romancière et amoureuse des Lettres, Isabelle Laflèche est l’auteure de deux best-sellers: J’adore New York et J’adore Paris. Ses romans sont publiés au Canada anglais et français, en Allemagne, en Pologne et en République tchèque. Avocate dans une ancienne vie, elle a pratiqué à Toronto, New York et Montréal avant de quitter la toge pour l’écriture. Elle est l’auteure d’un blogue pour le magazine Clin d’œil qui traite de culture, de société et de mode.
Discover Isabelle's books & follow her twitter, facebook, & instagram.
Isabelle enjoys public speaking. She loves to share her story and her unusual life experience with others as a way to inspire those who are on a similar path. A talented public speaker, there’s nothing she loves more than to share her knowledge and her experience, peppered with a touch of humor, spirituality and motivation.
In February 2015, Isabelle spoke in front of 1500 people at the Palais des Congrès in Montréal. In addition to inspiring others to find their true purpose, she offered a guided meditation and a powerful visualization to help attendees reach their full potential and help them follow their dreams. Today, she offers similar conferences to groups both big and small. ♡
Isabelle would be delighted to speak at your next conference, event or book club.
LAFLECHE, Isabelle. Bonjour Girl. 288p. Dun-durn. Sept. 2018. pap. $14.99. ISBN 9781459742000.
Gr 9 Up--Clementine stands in the middle of the Manhattan sidewalk with stars in her eyes, about to begin her first day at Parsons School of Design. Fashion is her life, and quirky is her look: vintage, retro, and always well put together. Clem has worked hard to convince her parents to let her leave France and attend the internationally prestigious school in New York City. Readers will stroll through yards of fabrics as Clementine struggles with a vicious Twitter user, gasp as she meets a handsome photographer, and simply giggle as her new bestie, Jake, keeps everything on keel with his wit and fashion sense. No knowledge of high-end fashion or its internationally cutthroat business is needed. LaFleche makes Clem's world of family, friends, fashion, and fond memories accessible to teens. Fans of Melissa Kantors If I Have a Wicked Stepmother, Where's My Prince? will appreciate the sassy voice and go-getter attitude of the main character. VERDICT This irresistibly funny and at times heartrending story is a must-have for teen patrons who crave novels about strong heroines reaching for their dreams.--Cathleen Ash, Manor High School Library, TX
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2018 Library Journals, LLC. A wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/
Source Citation
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
Ash, Cathleen. "LAFLECHE, Isabelle. Bonjour Girl." School Library Journal, July 2018, p. 74. Gale General OneFile, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A545432441/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=cb6580fd. Accessed 6 Oct. 2019.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A545432441
Lafleche, Isabelle BONJOUR GIRL Dundurn (Young Adult Fiction) $14.99 9, 18 ISBN: 978-1-4597-4200-0
19-year-old Clementine Liu has moved from Paris to New York as a second-year transfer student at the Parsons' School of Fashion to pursue her dreams of becoming a fashion blogger.
With her rainbow-colored attire, she dresses "like a unicorn" amid the New York fashion uniform of blacks and grays and worries about making it in the cutthroat environment of Parsons. Biracial (Chinese/French) Clementine finds support in her mother's cousin, Maddie, who is a Parsons professor, and stereotypically flamboyant classmate Jake, who is of unspecified ethnicity and implied, but never stated, gay. However, she also makes a few enemies. From there, the plot offers neither surprises nor subtlety: Clementine receives a scholarship to start her dream blog, dates a hunky older man, falls apart when someone posts mean tweets about her, thinks her boyfriend is cheating on her, and seeks revenge on a mean girl. Only one character has a multidimensional personality, and every conflict engenders a wild overreaction followed by a quick resolution. These college students seem awfully immature yet not quite interesting enough to be a guilty pleasure. Being on the inside of the New York fashion scene should be delicious and alluring but just feels reduced to tedious lists of what each person is wearing and what the "look" of the ensemble is.
A disappointingly unoriginal take on the world of fashion and the effects of cyberbullying. (Fiction. 13-18)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2018 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Source Citation
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"Lafleche, Isabelle: BONJOUR GIRL." Kirkus Reviews, 1 July 2018. Gale General OneFile, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A544637882/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=576db207. Accessed 6 Oct. 2019.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A544637882
LAFLECHE, Isabelle
Bonjour Girl
Dundurn Press, 2018. 286p. Gr. 9 up. 978-1-45974200-0. Pbk. $14.99
[A]
Fresh from her home in Paris, France, Clementine Liu has arrived at the Parsons School of Design to find mean girls gossiping about her and bullying her online. All Clementine wants is to learn about fashion and blog fashion journalism--and to get to know her dreamy new boyfriend better--but she is quickly drawn in by a frenemy and betrayed. Can Clementine regain her mentor's trust, keep her scholarships, and not be expelled?
Readers who love fashion should enjoy this novel. The setting in Parsons (with a fictionalized version of Project Runway being filmed in the background), the numerous descriptions of clothes, accessories, and interiors, and the name-dropped brands, designers, and personalities make the novel feel like a style immersion. The plot is glitzy, dramatic, and occasionally histrionic. Despite coming from a very, very privileged background, nineteen-year-old Clementine rides an unusually twisty and fast-moving emotional roller coaster. Thank goodness for Jake, her sassy gay BFF of a week, to whom she can open her heart. There's also a little drinking, a lot of romance, and a healthy dollop of NYC--in fact, the glamour largely overshadows the plot point of online bullying.
Although it looks like a long novel, the book has a straightforward, fast-moving plot and would be an easy recommendation for high/low readers. Sure, the plot leaves many questions unanswered, and yes, Clementine speaks unexpectedly idiomatic American English for a Parisian (and adopts an unusually high number of cliches for a would-be writer), but it's all good fun apart from the bullying, which Clementine obviously overcomes. The ending wraps up with a big pink bow that includes the resolution of a simmering conflict between Clementine and her mother--and of course, more shopping and more fashion. Bonjour Girl is by no means substantial fare, but it's likely to delight creative young teens with big dreams.
Also available in French. See p. 49.
Thematic Links: Fashion; Bullying; School; Friendship; Travel
Leslie Vermeer
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2018 Resource Links
http://www.atcl.ca
Source Citation
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
Vermeer, Leslie. "LAFLECHE, Isabelle: Bonjour Girl." Resource Links, Dec. 2018, p. 36. Gale General OneFile, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A570046527/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=2801a4fe. Accessed 6 Oct. 2019.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A570046527
Lafleche, Isabelle BONJOUR SHANGHAI Dundurn (Young Adult Fiction) $14.99 11, 26 ISBN: 978-1-4597-4231-4
Clementine Liu is back: This time she's finishing her second year at the Parsons School of Design and heading to Shanghai for a summer term at the Conde Nast Center of Fashion & Design.
Clementine, who is biracial (French/Chinese), aspires to be a fashion journalist and takes her blog, Bonjour Girl, very seriously. As her departure date approaches, both her best friend, Jake, and her boyfriend, Jonathan, are behaving erratically, and once again Clementine overthinks every transactional detail and monitors everyone's "vibes." Meanwhile, Henry Lee, an attractive young Chinese student at Conde Nast in Shanghai, has been messaging her, and with Jonathan emotionally and physically distant, she is drawn to his flattering attention--with predictable consequences. There's also an older woman on her flight who instantly becomes a mother figure to Clementine and who figures into a dramatic fourth storyline. Despite the year since the last book left off, Clementine seems not to have matured at all, carrying the same load of insecurities, overreactions, and gullibility as before. Nor has Lafleche's (Bonjour Girl, 2018, etc.) prose developed; it continues to be charmless and wooden, a blunt instrument describing outfits and telling the reader what characters think. Characters and dialogue alike are composed of tired cliches, and not a single relationship feels authentic or believable.
A trip into Shanghai's fashion world sounds magical, but sadly, this novel is not. (Fiction. 13-18)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2019 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Source Citation
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"Lafleche, Isabelle: BONJOUR SHANGHAI." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Sept. 2019. Gale General OneFile, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A599964267/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=2f289e99. Accessed 6 Oct. 2019.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A599964267
Bonjour Girl
by Isabelle Laflèche
Isabelle Laflèche’s YA novel Bonjour Girl tells the story of Clementine Liu, newly arrived from Paris to New York City to begin her sophomore year at the elite Parsons School of Design. The novel embraces a Sex and the City meets The Devil Wears Prada vibe and covers such varied topics as cyberbullying, corrupt fashion students, mother-daughter relationships, and the lack of diversity in fashion.
A transfer student from the Paris branch of Parsons, Clementine immediately feels off-kilter in Manhattan. She unintentionally strikes a sour note with a few classmates and is appalled by the ultra-competitive atmosphere until she meets a new friend, the funny and talented Jake, who appreciates her eclectic fashion sense. Laflèche, in quick succession, adds a number of elements to Clementine’s story: a gorgeous fashion photographer as a love interest; conflict regarding the fact that Clementine’s aunt is an instructor at Parsons; a villainous classmate who bullies Clementine on campus and on Twitter; and the strange and unexpected revelation of how Clementine’s mom and former boyfriend drove her decision to move to New York.
Bonjour Girl aims for a mixture of effervescence and sophistication, but it doesn’t entirely hit the mark. While it initially seems Clementine is a dedicated young woman to root for, her bafflingly fast successes and her reliance on chalking up big emotions to her dramatic French blood are off-putting. And her predictable romance and the novel’s secondary characters tend to fall into clichés. The writing is at its best when Clementine and her friend Jake are discussing and dissecting fashion. But those moments get lost over the course of the story. Instead, there’s too much focus on hazy and hastily solved concurrent storylines – as if a whole season of Sex and the City were crammed into a 288-page book.
Reviewer
Michelle Callaghan
Publisher: Dundurn Press
DETAILS
Price: $14.99
Page Count: 288 pp
Format: Paper
ISBN: 978-1-45974-200-0
Released: Aug.
Issue Date: July 2018
Categories: Children and YA Fiction
Age Range: 15–18
April 12, 2013 by Michele | Just a Lil Lost
Review: J’Adore Paris by Isabelle Laflèche
Catherine, a Parisian lawyer who had previously relocated to New York for work, has moved back to France to work at Christian Dior. As the intellectual property director, she is excited to be working at such a prestigious company but her dreams of a new glamorous job are thwarted when she finds herself caught up in a seedy world of counterfeiting. Catherine, with the help of her assistant Rikash, must try to stop the crime ring while trying to stay alive, stay out of trouble and stay happily in love.
I really enjoyed Laflèche’s first book, J’Adore New York, and was so excited to find out about the sequel. Set against the backdrop of the glam world along the Champs-Élysées, Catherine finds herself in another work-related predicament with her flashy assistant in tow. I had forgotten how irritating the character of Rikash was in the first book until he showed up in this one and all the memories came flooding back. To me, he felt way too over-the-top as being flamboyantly gay and came across like such a caricature. Perhaps he was there as a bit of comic relief but he was more aggravating than entertaining.
The fashion side of the story I did really enjoy. She includes some great messaging within the story, with comments on the idea of being skinny in this industry. I liked that there were quotes from prominent people in the fashion world included, however I thought there was too much of it. There were too many moments that introduced the quotes in the same way. For example, many times it would say “Sophia Loren/Coco Chanel/etc. once said……” which got noticeably repetitive. They’re great sayings but perhaps if it was inserted into the narrative a bit more fluidly.
Counterfeiting is such a huge problem, especially with major prestigious brands like Dior and it was interesting to follow how far a crime ring’s reach can be with something like that. I also really appreciated that all the French wasn’t necessarily translated each time. Often times, with the use of French or any other language, the author may feel compelled to find some way to translate every single thing that’s being said. Laflèche does a great job at explaining the parts that are pertinent to the narrative, while not dumbing it down for readers either.
J’Adore Paris is a fun novel that reads like a tour through the glamorous, and not-so-glamourous, sides of Paris & the fashion industry.
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ☆ (3.5/5 stars)
Available: May 21, 2013
J’Adore Paris – Book Review
May 14, 2013
The ideal pairing: an au courant city guide of Paris and an enjoyable story of a charming and delightful protagonist that readers came to know in Isabelle LaFleche’s last best-selling novel J’Adore New York.
In her most recent novel (released today), LaFleche’s J’adore Paris involves the determined, independent and savvy Catherine Lambert who is the chic Parisian lawyer that successfully navigated the demands and all-business life in New York City in J’Adore New York. Finding herself relocating back to Paris to work for Christian Dior as an intellectual property director, she embarks on a risky operation to undercover counterfeit fashion goods. LaFleche’s detailed imagery of Dior’s collections that many readers will remember from the runways along with her locale descriptions, prompted me to highlight many details of places I am now even more curious to visit.
With a mastery of the history behind the famed fashion house and a reputable understanding of the current controversy in the garment industry involving the black market, LaFleche’s expertise strengthens the story-line allowing her readers to become informed as they are simultaneously being entertained.
With Lambert’s colleague Rikash that will leave readers in stitches, a young love that is simple, sweet and not unnecessarily messy and wardrobe details that perhaps may inspire your next trip to the closet, J’adore Paris is a triumphant encore and a wonderful next read for your weekend getaway.
J’adore Paris
342 pages
by Isabella LaFleche
Released – May 14, 2013
Monday, November 18, 2013
Book review of J'Adore Paris by Isabelle Lafleche
J'Adore Paris
J'adore Paris by Isabelle Lafleche is the second book featuring chic Parisian lawyer Catherine Lambert, but it is not necessary to have read book one J'adore New York: A Novel of Haute Couture and the Corner Office beforehand. Having survived the cut-throat life of New York Catherine returns to her beloved Paris to take on a new job as corporate lawyer for fashion house Christian Dior. The beginning of the book is very upbeat and dreamy. Catherine is on a high to be back in Paris, in love and moving into her boyfriend’s apartment and excited about her new role at Christian Dior. The descriptions of life in Paris as seen through Catherine’s New York eyes are brilliant and vibrant especially the café scenes.
As she settles into her new life, it isn’t long before things get a bit more down to earth. Her boyfriend becomes jealous, her work in the counterfeiting department is much more hands on and frankly dangerous than she had imagined and apart from her trusty assistant Rikash, it is difficult to know who is on her side, both at home and at work.
I loved the character of Rikash, gay and glittery, but always there for Catherine no matter what is thrown at them. He was born to be in the world of fashion and is having a ball at Paris Christian Dior. Catherine is strong and feisty but also a little vulnerable, but together with Rikash they have the team chemistry, strength and technical know how to tackle anything. I had no idea the life of a corporate lawyer could be so exciting and the world of counterfeiting so dangerous.
This was a fast paced read with plenty of adrenalin pumping moments perfectly offset with the romance of Paris and the glamour of the fashion world.
Book review: ‘J’adore New York’ by Isabelle Laflèche
October 25, 2010 / Meg
When Catherine Lambert leaves her law firm’s Paris office for the glitzy allure of New York City, she’s not quite prepared for the whirlwind that soon becomes her life: a maze of racking up billable hours, battling diva bosses and struggling with interoffice dynamics. As an accomplished lawyer in a top firm, Catherine has dreams of making partner and donning the latest Dior fashions — preferably at the same time. But shall the two ever meet? And when her time at the firm begins to sour, is it time to walk away?
Isabelle Laflèche’s J’adore New York is a type of women’s fiction with which I’m quite familiar: young woman arrives in the big city with a law degree and big dreams; young woman is derailed by vindictive, unkind colleagues; young woman must decide if having the big job is really worth the mess of it all — and if she can stand giving up love, family and freedom in exchange for the corner office.
Yes, friends, we’ve heard it all before — but that didn’t mean it didn’t work here. Laflèche combines enough unique characteristics in Catherine that I didn’t feel like I was reading the same book over and over again. And Catherine — graceful, intelligent, powerful, French — wasn’t a heroine with which I already felt familiar. It’s cliche to say, “Oh, she’s a great female role model!” but truly, she was. Where the plot could have detoured with Catherine suddenly becoming a flustered, swooning lady who throws all her good sense out the window for a man, she didn’t. She was better than that. And thank goodness, because that’s precisely the type of book I want to throw out the window.
The plot here moves along quickly, though not much seems to happen. It’s all about Catherine’s internal struggle: choosing happiness; love over doubt; freedom over a stifling atmosphere that no longer makes her happy. While this isn’t a traditional coming-of-age story, it is a book about a woman rediscovering her passion . . . and her descriptions of couture and sample sales had me drooling. Laflèche never gets bogged down in the details, though, a la “Sex And The City” — and thank goodness. While I enjoy an occasional mention of a gorgeous shoes or sumptuous fabrics, I hate when books feel like a shout-out to every fashionable designer on the planet. Are they paying for the plugs?
And another huge plus? Many books feature “powerful” women, like lawyers, but fail to ever actually show them working. It’s understood that they’re successful without us getting an inkling of how they got that way. Laflèche brings us right into Catherine’s firm — and it’s anything but boring. With all the politics going on and crazy, colorful coworkers, Edwards & White is a pretty happening place. But even someone like me — someone not all that interested in law — could get a feel for what it would be like to work somewhere like this. As a character, Catherine is known for explaining law jargon in an easy, accessible way — and I’ll go out on a limb and say she gets that from Laflèche.
Fans of women’s fiction and New York-based novels will find a pleasant, if not earth-shattering, story in J’adore New York. While I didn’t finish the book feeling enlightened or changed, it was definitely a worthwhile experience — and a lawyer’s law novel.
3.5 out of 5!
J’Adore New York by Isabelle Lafleche
September 28, 2011 / 4 Comments
Catherine Lambert, a Parisian lawyer who loves style and a good challenge, takes the opportunity to transfer to her firm’s New York office. New York- the fashion, the glamour, the excitement- Catherine cannot wait for her new chapter in life. But New York turns out to be nothing what she expected. The workload and office hours are much worse than what she put in at Paris, the employees are gossipers, her boss very well may be from hell, and her clients are self-absorbed a-holes. But Catherine is determined to make her move a successful one, and she throws herself into her new life. When one of her clients expresses interest in Catherine, it looks like her New York life might finally be looking up. Or is an offer about to Catherine’s career in jeopardy?
First, I loved the cover of J’Adore New York by Isabelle Lafleche. That caught my eye right away. And once I started reading, I was swept away in Catherine’s story. This is an exceptionally well written and intriguing novel from a debut author, and one that I think should go on your to-read list. Chick lit fans will love the glamorous settings: from the New York backdrop, the stylish outfits, and the love triangle that Catherine finds herself in. I will be looking forward to more from Isabelle Lafleche, and be sure to get your copy of J’Adore New York.
[Rating: 4.5]
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Book Review: J'adore New York
Most of the year I read history, fashion theory or literary fiction, but summertime means I dip into lighter fare. At the top of my list was J'adore New York, by Montreal-based author Isabelle LaFleche. Having once had a corner office myself, I was drawn to this novel about high finance and couture.
Catherine Lambert is a lawyer working in the world of high finance. She takes a transfer from Paris to New York and steps into a minefield of a workplace. She has to dodge advances from clients, dreary due diligence trips, conflicting assignments from partners, and malicious secretaries. The reality of her job is hard and unrelenting. Her hopes of finding love and taking pleasure in the big city seem unattainable.
Of course, like all good chick-lit books, this one follows a predictable pattern, but it did not diminish my pleasure. The author Isabelle LaFleche actually worked as a corporate lawyer in New York for several years and there is an authenticity and intelligence to her writing. J'adore New York was a delightful weekend read.
Favourite Passage:
"I stop in front of Dior's majestic store on 57th and take in every detail. They have multi-tiered beaded heels on display and ruffled leather handbags that make my jaw drop. I still can't believe I'll be doing legal work for Dior. I take a deep breath and feel totally intoxicated by the idea. I then move on to Madison and peek into Barney's windows. I love looking at the cuts, the fabrics, and the way the designers play with proportions. All the stores I've only read about in American Vogue and seen on my favourite French fashion blog are here in front of me. I let the world of prospectuses, memos and legal briefs slip away for today. Now I'm ready for dreams of taffeta, organza and mousseline." (page 32)
Title: J'adore New York
Author: Isabelle LaFleche
Publisher: HarperCollins 2010
Category: Fiction
Number of Pages: 390
Price: Amazon $22.95
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Book Review: J’adore New York
Synopsis:
Catherine Lambert loves fashion and the law. One of only three applicants, out of a pool of thirty, selected to transfer from Edwards & White’s Paris office to its Manhattan headquarters, and the only one assigned to the corporate group, Catherine is determined to continue impressing her bosses with her diligence and legal prowess. Meeting the firm’s billable hours quota means long days and short nights, especially when two heinously spiteful secretaries are conspiring to undermine Catherine’s reputation and efforts to please both the firm’s clients and partners.
Making matters worse, one of the firm’s particularly powerful and obnoxious clients propositions her, actually referring to her as his “favorite little lawyer.” When she refuses his advances, he accuses her of becoming intoxicated at a charity event and embarrassing him, several colleagues, and their wives. His behavior places Catherine into a quagmire and threatens to derail her career.
Things start looking up when yet another client, Jeffrey Richardson, seems to show genuine interest in her. But is he too good to be true? She is just starting to believe that she might be able to “have it all” when Jeffrey requests that she engage in unethical conduct on his behalf that could ultimately lead to her disbarment and serious consequences for the firm. Did Jeffrey ever really care for her or was she merely his means to a financial end? Yet again, Catherine finds herself at a crossroads, questioning her career choices to date . . . and what shape she wants her future to take.
Review:
Author Isabelle Lafleche
First-time novelist Isabelle Lafleche spent over ten years working in New York City, Montreal, and Toronto as a corporate attorney with a large law firm and on Wall Street. It was while representing a Quebec-based fashion designer that she developed her own interest in haute cauture. With her background, Lafleche brings an authentic voice to the story of the young, ambitious, fashion-conscious Catherine.
J’adore New York was a delightful surprise. Lafleche expertly depicts the stress under which professionals like Catherine labor and turns what could have been nothing more than a frothy romp about a fashion-obsessed female attorney into a multi-layered exploration of corporate intrigue and greed, ethical dilemmas, and, most importantly, the creative and resourceful ways in which we can follow our dreams and still manage to earn our daily bread.
Although J’Adore New York is a call for introspection and the need to reevaluate one’s values, I also wanted to entertain people and make them laugh.
~ Author Isabelle Lafleche
Catherine is young, idealistic, and enthusiastic. Upon arriving in New York, she is surprised to find herself assigned to a corner office. But as Mimi, the office administrator, explains, the arrangement is only temporary, pending the completion of the office Catherine is destined to inhabit. After all, Mimi reminds Catherine, “No one gets a corner office until their tenth year at the firm. But don’t you worry, in time you’ll get yours.” When Catherine is quickly thrust into situations that test her ethical and moral boundaries, she is forced to re-evaluate her choices and decide what matters most to her. Ten years is an awfully long time to put in eighty-hour work weeks in order to earn a view of Manhattan while continuing to toil in the office, rather than get outside and actually enjoy the city. Catherine is gradually revealed by Lafleche to be a multi-dimensioned, nuanced protagonist, a testament not only to Lafleche’s impeccable grasp of her subject matter, but also her ability to translate it into thought-provoking fiction.
It may not be a previously unexplored theme, but Lafleche puts her own unique stamp on it. The action never slows, making it hard to put the book down as the dramatic tension builds. As one reviewer pointed out, it is rare in women’s fiction to actually see a lead female character working. Often, the story’s drama is centered around the character’s life outside the professional arena, involving romance, children, etc. But in J’adore New York, the office machinations and manipulations are the focus of the action. Readers are treated not only to the exchanges between members of the firm, but also some of Catherine’s work product, as she is known among the staff for being adept at translating legalese into readily understandable prose. To be sure, that is a valuable talent.
Lafleche surrounds Catherine with a thoroughly believable cast of supporting characters, including Bonnie Clark, the partner in charge of mergers and acquisitions to whom Catherine reports. Bonnie has survived brutal competition to secure her partnership and, over the years, has become adept at office politics, client manipulation, and honed a dictatorial supervisory style that strikes fear in the hearts of junior attorneys. Rikash is the loyal, flamboyant, and efficient legal assistant every attorney dreams of.
There is the elusive and mysterious Antoine, impeccably groomed and tight-lipped. Is he a friend or foe? Lafleche keeps her readers guessing. And, of course, Jeffrey Richardson figures prominently in the storyline. Charming, handsome, and powerful, Catherine cannot help but be attracted to him, even though she is handling his upcoming IPO. When Catherine finally understands Jeffrey’s motives and plan, she is sickened, but has to find a way to outsmart Jeffrey and protect the firm, the investors, and her license to practice law. In Lafleche’s deft hands, Catherine is as clever as she is beautiful. This is one part of the story where Lafleche can be forgiven for taking dramatic license for the sake of satisfying her readers.
The other aspects of the story where readers will need to suspend their disbelief concern Catherine’s brief lapses in judgment, as when she has Rikash attempt to cover for her with the firm’s partners so that she can sneak out to attend a Dior sample sale. It is hard to believe that a senior managing partner walking into a junior attorney’s office in the middle of the workday to find the attorney and her assistant engaged in an impromptu fashion show would not be more disturbed and enraged than the character of Scott becomes. Such behavior, including ignoring clients’ calls for several hours, would most likely result in much more than a verbal warning. And it was difficult to believe that Catherine, having accomplished so much, would jeopardize her career in that manner. But again, Lafleche makes Catherine and Rikash such an endearing pair that forgiveness from her readers is definitely in order.
Lafleche is reportedly at work on the sequel to J’adore New York, an auspicious beginning to Lafleche’s career as a novelist, which was apparently predicted by a psychic she met in New York. That chance encounter prompted her to resign from her firm, move back home to her native Canada, and enroll in creative writing classes. Lafleche is living proof that, just as Catherine learns by the book’s conclusion, “your passion is waiting for your courage to catch up.” I look forward to reading more of her work.
I read J’adore New York in conjunction with the 2010 Read ‘n’ Review and the Fall Into Reading 2010 challenges.