Belle Ami Paris Time

 Lost in Time Series Book 2 read in 2025

While this book is potentially a stand alone it's better to read the first book if you are planning on reading this as there is additional history as to what is happening and how three paintings by famous Renaissance painter Marco Allegretto become cursed and turned into time portals and the love story between Iris (the time traveler who wrote the famous book our 3 friends love) and Marco.  

Jenee Lazaar is a successful dermatologist who lives in Los Angeles (in modern times) taking a trip to New  York to meet her online besties for the first time she ends up at the Metropolitan Museum of art where she ends up being pulled into the second of these time portal paintings while standing in front of it waiting to meet back up with her friends.  Moments after being pulled into the painting she is no longer in New York she is a bit disoriented and even though she lived in Paris for many years... she has been pulled to Paris from the past (1900) even worse she has landed in the middle of chaos as there has just been an explosion and as a doctor she is compelled to help those around her including performing the new (for the time period) method of CPR on American heiress Constance. 

Xavier Doumaz a police detective is in the area and is he seeing things or did this beautiful woman just appear right after the bomb went off?  Xavier has been investigating a terrorist cell and has to rule out that Jenee might be involved she is wearing odd clothes, and has no forms of identification or money and the story she tells as to how she got there and where these items are seem pretty shady... something is not right with her story.

While he shouldn't get involved with the suspect Xavier and Jenee are insta love drawn to each other and have a brief interlude prior to Jenee finding a hidden photo of his wife and child in his drawer... instead of asking about this she believes him to be playing the field and cheating on his wife she leaves him a nasty note and meets up with Constance who had requested her presence at her home the day after Jenee saved her life.  Constance gives her a job as a companion, Constance has an assistant Violet who lives with her Jenee feels she looks very familiar but is unsure why.

Xavier and Jenee from here end up running into each other on several occasions and continue to fight their attraction (but not that hard), there continues to be a general miscommunication/no communication situation.  Xavier lost his whole family in a fire a few years prior and has been grieving but finally feels like he's coming back to life again after meeting Jenee even if she did steal money from him and leave him the morning after an amazing night.

Jenee gets pulled into the drama of helping Iris (who is disguised as Violet in this time) and Marco regain control of the painting and therefore gain control of the time portal.  The evil guy from the first book has popped up in this book as another wealthy evil gentleman kind of reminding me of a super evil dramatic version of the Lemony Snicket character Count Olaf since Iris and Jenee know who he is he just has a different name and he continues his killing spree into the second book.  How can they defeat this evil time hopper once and for all?  If he is still in the picture will Iris and Marco ever be able to be together again?  

While I enjoyed the story I felt there could have been a little more time for the couple to get to know each other and actually "fall" for each other and more information on Xavier's investigation process, there are a lot of historical sites and several famous people that make cameo's in the book and as a reader while that was fun a few times I felt maybe that part of it took up too much of the book in exchange for less actual plot.  

This book does set up for book 3 for Iris and Marco to find the final painting and return it to it's rightful owner (them).  there is a happily ever after for our couple and I enjoyed that Jenee and Emily were able to reconnect at the end of this book.  

I plan to finish out the series by reading the last book 

Have you read this series?  How did you feel about this insta love trope?

*time travel  *romance  *historical  *some spice *Insta love/lust  

*Trigger:  discussion of death/loss of family, friend  *murder mystery