Paris Blue

a memoir of first love

Non-Fiction - Memoir
252 Pages
Reviewed on 03/08/2022
Buy on Amazon

This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Free Book Program, which is open to all readers and is completely free. The author will provide you with a free copy of their book in exchange for an honest review. You and the author will discuss what sites you will post your review to and what kind of copy of the book you would like to receive (eBook, PDF, Word, paperback, etc.). To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email.

This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Review Exchange Program, which is open to all authors and is completely free. Simply put, you agree to provide an honest review an author's book in exchange for the author doing the same for you. What sites your reviews are posted on (B&N, Amazon, etc.) and whether you send digital (eBook, PDF, Word, etc.) or hard copies of your books to each other for review is up to you. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email, and be sure to describe your book or include a link to your Readers' Favorite review page or Amazon page.

This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Donation Program, which was created to help nonprofit and charitable organizations (schools, libraries, convalescent homes, soldier donation programs, etc.) by providing them with free books and to help authors garner more exposure for their work. This author is willing to donate free copies of their book in exchange for reviews (if circumstances allow) and the knowledge that their book is being read and enjoyed. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email. Be sure to tell the author who you are, what organization you are with, how many books you need, how they will be used, and the number of reviews, if any, you would be able to provide.

Author Biography

JULIE SCOLNIK is a concert flutist and the founding artistic director of Mistral Music, a chamber music series which since 1997 has been known for its virtuosic artists, imaginative programming, and the personal rapport she establishes with her audiences.
In earlier years, Ms. Scolnik performed as principal flute with many of Boston's leading orchestras including Emmanuel Music, The Boston Ballet, and the Boston Lyric Opera. Ms. Scolnik is a frequent featured guest on Boston's WCRB radio, having made over three dozen radio appearances. 

Since her treatment and recovery from breast cancer in 2005, Scolnik has found ways to play and organize benefit concerts which raise funds for support for underserved women with the disease. The most recent include two full orchestral concerts with the world-renowned Sir Simon Rattle in Jordan Hall, Boston and at the Hotel de Ville de Paris, for the League Contre le Cancer. She has been a guest speaker at the Harvard Medical School twice a year since 2009.

She lives in Boston with her husband, physicist Michael Brower, and her two cats, Daphne and Chloë. They have two adult children, also musicians: pianist Sophie Scolnik-Brower and cellist Sasha Scolnik-Brower. The three of them perform frequently together. Ms. Scolnik has released two solo CDs, one entitled 'Salut d'Amour & Other Songs of Love,' with her daughter, and the other, "Bejeweled: Short Concert Gems" with harp. She will release the complete Bach flute Sonatas with her daughter in the fall of 2022.

    Book Review

Reviewed by Pikasho Deka for Readers' Favorite

Paris Blue is a romance memoir by Julie Scolnik recounting the experiences of her first love. In September 1976, Julie arrived in Paris for her junior year abroad; full of hope, eager to pursue her dream of studying the flute under master musician Olivier Lefevre. However, an unexpected sordid sexual encounter with him leaves her feeling sour. After joining the chorus of the Orchestra De Paris, Julie meets the handsome bass player Luc Berthelot. Feeling an intense mutual attraction, the two soon begin a passionate romantic relationship. The only problem is Luc is married and has a three-year-old son. Although he assures Julie that he and his wife were estranged, bit by bit, their relationship deteriorates, so much so that it takes her decades to find closure.

Full of romance, heartbreak, and desire, Julie Scolnik's captivating memoir showcases the joys of first love while depicting the struggles a person undergoes in a dysfunctional relationship. Paris Blue is filled with nostalgia, bound to remind readers of their first love when they were young. Julie Scolnik's prose flows like melted butter, and you find yourself immersed in her life story from the get-go. The narrative focuses on a turbulent period of her life where she fell in love with a married man, had her heart broken, and afterward struggled to move on for a very long time. What makes the story all the more compelling is the way Scolnik writes it, making it feel personable and easy to relate to. I had a wonderful time reading Paris Blue. Recommend to romance lovers.