The Paris Daughter
Kristin Harmel
362 pages
Gallery Books
published June 6, 2023
Amazon | Goodreads | Bookshop.org
Genre: Historical, World War II, War & Military, Women
All I can say is Wow! This is my first Kristin Harmel book and I was drawn in from the start. The war, the art, protecting your children… This one had it all. I can now see why so many love reading her books. Filled with both hope and utter despair, this one took me on quite the journey. Some of it was predictable as to what would happen but i was surprised by one plot point. Maybe I was lulled into not thinking ahead in this one since it isn’t my normal thriller, but I am impressed when a book surprises me.
They meet by chance, become fast friends and then Elise asks the ultimate favor of Juliette. I was so moved by the sacrifices a Mother would make to protect her child, and heartbroken by what the war did to these families. The women show resiliency and strength and ultimately do what they need to, to survive. I was moved by this one.
Anyone fascinated by parent child relationships, WWII fiction or friendship fiction should find this one an interesting read.
Thanks Simon and Schuster, Gallery Books, and Book Club Favorites for my gifted book.
About the book
Paris, 1939: Young mothers Elise and Juliette become fast friends the day they meet in the beautiful Bois de Boulogne. Though there is a shadow of war creeping across Europe, neither woman suspects that their lives are about to irrevocably change.
When Elise becomes a target of the German occupation, she entrusts Juliette with the most precious thing in her life—her young daughter, playmate to Juliette’s own little girl. But nowhere is safe in war, not even a quiet little bookshop like Juliette’s Librairie des Rêves, and, when a bomb falls on their neighborhood, Juliette’s world is destroyed along with it.
More than a year later, with the war finally ending, Elise returns to reunite with her daughter, only to find her friend’s bookstore reduced to rubble—and Juliette nowhere to be found. What happened to her daughter in those last, terrible moments? Juliette has seemingly vanished without a trace, taking all the answers with her. Elise’s desperate search leads her to New York—and to Juliette—one final, fateful time.
An “exquisite and gut-wrenching novel” (Lisa Barr, New York Times bestselling author) you won’t soon forget, The Paris Daughter is also a sweeping celebration of resilience, motherhood, and love.