Paris Love Match by Nigel Blackwell
Genre: New Adult Contemporary Romance
Published: May 2nd 2013 by Bandit Publishing

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Getting a taxi in Paris can be hell.

Piers Chapman expected a boring business trip to Paris. What he didn’t expect was to fight over a cab with a beautiful girl.

After a bad meeting, Sidney Roux just wanted to hail a cab, go home, and have a glass of wine. She didn't expect to fight over a cab with some pompous British tourist.

Neither of them expected another man to jump in their cab.
Or to be involved in a gun fight.
Or a car chase through the streets of Paris.
Or for the man to die.

But they’re thrust together when the mob demands they return what the dead man stole.

Will Piers and Sidney work together?
Will they find what he had stolen?
Will they stay alive?
And will they do the last thing they expected?
Will they fall in love?

Paris Love Match was an unusual read, and I still can't put my finger around it. Piers and Sidney, two strangers coming from completely different walks of life, fight over a taxi when suddenly a frantic man pushes his way inside and orders them around Paris before dying in front of their very own eyes. The two make it out of the shootings alive, but now Piers' picture is all over the national news, and the dead man's enemies think that the dead man stole something big from them- and that Sidney and Piers are his accomplices.

The story played out like an action-comedy movie more than a contemporary romance, and I think that I enjoyed the book a little bit more because of that. The romance was definitely present but it just seemed a bit too forced. Piers was adorable- he's smart and adorably geeky, but he's also athletic and knew how to think fast. His entire aura was refreshing and I liked the fact that he wasn't your typical cocky college kid. Sidney, on the other hand, is anything but refreshing. She's snarky, rude, and vain, and sometimes I can allow myself to like characters with flaws like that, but Sidney didn't get much love from me due to the fact that she was such a flat character.

Again, the romance just didn't work out that well. It felt awkward and plastic. I did enjoy the back and forth banter between the two- they complimented each other really well whenever they agreed to disagree, i'll give you that. However, it seemed more like banter between two best friends than a possible couple. They were hilarious! The things they did to get through all of the weird events thrown their way left me giggling inside my blanket.

The fast-paced chases and high-adrenaline action were to die for- pun intended. Nigel Blackwell has such a talent for illustrating action scenes with clarity and finesse, and I could practically see Sidney and Piers dashing through the streets of Paris in my head. I thought I would get tired of all the chases after a while, but the mystery and suspense had me clinging for my dear life. I have to admit that some parts of it were overdone though, like the whole thing about a certain public figure. He seemed like a cartoon villain because of that.

All in all, Paris Love Match is a fast and easy read that will take you on a thrilling ride around every nook and alleyway in Paris.

THE NUB AND GIST: 3 STARS

Nigel Blackwell was born in rural Oxfordshire in England. He has a love of books, a PhD in Physical Chemistry, and a black belt in pointing out the obvious. As a teenager he toured Europe and loved seeing the wonders of the world and the people in it. Since then he has been fortunate enough to travel across Europe, North America, the Middle East, and Japan, and hasn’t been anywhere that doesn’t have the potential for a story.  He now lives in Texas with his wife and daughter, where they enjoy the sunshine and listen to the coyotes howl at night.