Carol Naylor's REVIEW it...

             My Sweet Friend by H.A.Leuschel. "Beyond the façade we were all human, fragile and sensitive to judgement." Helene conducted research into the consequences of lying and I mean serious lying and this interesting novella is the result. It touches on mythomania, more commonly known as pathological lying, where guilt doesn't exist at all. If parameters exist between truth and fiction, they are so blurred they are unrecognisable. It is written in first person with two very different narrators: one nice "The Sweet Friend," the other malicious. The story is set in France, mainly in Paris although Alexa Dubois escapes for a break to Biarritz, apparently on sick-leave through exhaustion. It's 2017. Alexa has just started a new job in Paris working with Rosie, Jack, Monique and Marc connected to sales and marketing as an accounts manager. Initially, Alexa had made a strong impression on all but Monique. Jack fancied her. Rosie just loved

                 Honeymoon in Paris by Jojo Moyes. " I can't be this woman. It's who my mother was and it terrifies me." This is Moyes' first collection of short stories taken from " Paris For One and Other Stories." Honeymoon in Paris is more novella than short story and satisfying to read. Two newlyweds are celebrating their lune de miel at different times, one in 2002, the other in 1912 with uncanny similarities and tensions. They are certainly love matches but is this a solid enough foundation for marriage and all the challenges that they are going to be faced with? An artist, or more specifically, a painting, links the newlyweds a century apart. Liv Halston looks down from the iconic Eiffel Tower, alone already regretting her marriage to David who designed and built properties. She was reflecting on how disastrous her honeymoon in Paris had been. She had celebrated two days of married bliss before David had returned to work. One we