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The Paris Apartment is a compelling story told in dual timelines. The first is 1938 – 1942 during the Nazi occupation of Paris, and the second is 2017 in Paris and England after an apartment, unseen since World War II, is opened and its contents create more questions than answers.
It’s 2017 and Aurelia (Lia) Leclaire has just inherited a Paris apartment from her grandmother, Estelle Allard, an apartment which she – and indeed no-one – knew about before the reading of Estelle’s will. When Lia opens the apartment door, she is stunned to find it untouched and full of art and other treasures. The art is obviously expensive and the gowns of the highest fashion; one of them is draped across the bed, as if the owner just stepped out of it. What is even more disturbing though, is the presence of the photograph of a Nazi officer and a thank you note from Hermann Goring. Lia can’t help but wonder if her grandmother was a Nazi sympathizer. She worries that the art was stolen by the Nazis and contacts Gabriel Seymour, a renowned art restorer and collector, to help her solve the art mystery.
It’s 1940 and Estelle Allard is doing her best to survive in Nazi-occupied France while  surreptitiously helping the Resistance. She sings at the Ritz, now occupied by the Nazis, and quietly listens for information to pass on to the Allies. She has no idea whether her latest find – some sort of machine in a secret chamber off Goring’s room – means anything, but she hopes the little she can do makes a difference.
Sophie Seymour lost her husband during the bombing of Poland. Against the odds, after thirteen months of sneaking through Nazi-occupied territory, she safely returns to England and assists the war effort translating German messages at Bletchley Park. Her skill with languages and her impressive return to England capture the attention of her superiors and soon she is sent to Paris to determine if the machine in the Ritz, casually mentioned in the reports from Paris, is the message coder the Allies have been searching for.
The chapters in The Paris Apartment are narrated by Lia, Gabriel, Estelle, or Sophie. From the first, we are dropped right into the action and the journey continues at a fast pace all the way to the last word. I ended up keeping notes on each chapter so I could easily switch between the time periods and narrators. All of the stories are woven together in brilliant ways and it was riveting to go back and forth between the tales. I felt as though I was exploring a dark passageway, shining a light into the next room, and then noticing a sound further on and following that.
Estelle and Sophie are both amazing women – the stars of the book. Estelle’s need to do something – anything – to save her friends and neighbors is heart-wrenching. And Sophie’s passion and fervor to make a difference, to make her life count is palpable. When their stories finally intersected I was completely unable to set the book down.
I also enjoyed Lia and Gabriel’s story and how their modern-day lives entwined with Estelle and Sophie’s. There is a pleasing, sweet romance between Lia and Gabriel but the main part of their story is one of discovery – of each other, their shared history, and themselves.
Ms. Bowen does a wonderful job building the story to an intense and believable climax – and then she gently weaves the loose ends together, with everything falling into place in a wonderfully satisfying manner. As with any story set during World War II, this is not always an easy read – it was a terrible time to be in Paris. Ms. Bowen’s story doesn’t gloss over those hardships but she does show us the courage of the French civilians and how beauty and love can shine through the dark times.
The Paris Apartment was inspired by the true story of an apartment in Paris being opened in 2018 for the first time since right before the Nazi occupation of the city. Ms. Bowen has taken this inspiration and crafted a beautiful, poignant tale of loss, courage, and love. Highly recommended!
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Grade: A
Book Type: Historical Fiction
Sensuality: Kisses
Review Date: 23/04/21
Publication Date: 04/2021
Recent Comments …
Yep
This sounds delightful! I’m grabbing it, thanks
excellent book: interesting, funny dialogs, deep understanding of each character, interesting secondary characters, and also sexy.
I don’t think anyone expects you to post UK prices – it’s just a shame that such a great sale…
I’m sorry about that. We don’t have any way to post British prices as an American based site.
I have several of her books on my TBR and after reading this am moving them up the pile.
Related Reviews
I loved this book and would highly recommend it to anyone who likes riveting female centric historical fiction. Sophie and Estelle were mesmerizing, the sense of place and time, especially in Vichy Paris was beautifully done. I did have a hard time reading through my tears during the last chapters featuring Sophie and Estelle.
I wasn’t as thrilled with the characters in the present whose place in the historical storyline was far more interesting than their romance which seemed shoehorned in and, in the last chapter, overly simplistic.
I do have a question and a wish.
I would have liked a chapter about what happened to Estelle to make her so cautious after the war.
I really enjoyed this book and I agree with all your points.
Regarding the spoiler – I do feel like Estelle’s life between leaving the apartment and her death is way to vague. Since Lia spent so much time with her, I feel like she would have known more about this time in Estelle’s life and could have fleshed it out.
I wish there was more of that too! I thought the romance felt a bit forced; I would have sacrificed it for more of Estelle post-WWII.
Amen to that, sister.
Yes, I do.
I do too and I’m a bit baffled why we didn’t get to see that.
I am 50% of the way through this and love it. It’s so inspiring.
I’m glad you’re enjoying it Dabney!
I finished reading this book and cried. Though this was fiction the storyline, WW11, echoed the narrative of so many true life experiences. Kelly Bowen did an excellent job investigating and also describing the characters in her book, their interactions with one another, and how we make life choices. I have recommended this book to friends and I thank you for your review of the book that encouraged me to read it. A DIK!
Great review and many thanks to the other readers who’ve chimed in. It’s on my TBR.
Your review captures my feelings about this book. It was so compelling, and even now, a few weeks after reading it, it has stayed fresh in my memory. It’s a strong contender for my top ten list this year. The author clearly did a lot of research to write this piece and I expect to see more historical fiction from her in the future.
Is it depressing or does it leave you feeling happy?
I found myself mostly happy but there are hard moments in the story too. I was inspired by the heroines’ actions and, in the end, I felt uplifted by the story.
There are definitely some sad and depressing parts (and parts that made me cry), but also as Evelyn said, uplifting ones. The ending is positive.
This does sound fascinating. I will put it on my TBR list and wait for a price drop or for the library to get it. Thank you!
On my TBR pile!
This looks absolutely wonderful, I’m definitely going to pick this up. Thanks for the great review!
Finished this last night. Excellent story. And there is a romance but it’s not the main focus. Sophie and Estelle were inspired by true women spies, who must have had nerves of steel.
Love Bowen (and this review!) but I’m so sad there’s no romance in this novel.
I wonder if she’s going to be yet another romance author who changes direction…
There is a romance it’s just low key. Love, romantic love, is part of each of their stories.
What romances by Kelly Bowen would you recommend? I don’t think I’ve read any. I do have A Duke in the Night which I bought when it was a Kindle Daily Deal but I haven’t read it.
The Season for Scandal series is uniformly EXCELLENT, and I liked The Devil’s of Dover, too – just not quite as much. There is another earlier series too but I can barely remember it! Sorry!
I think her last series (Devils of Dover) was her weakest, TBH. I liked the Season for Scandal series, too, and a couple of the books in her first series (name escapes me) were quite good. We’ve reviewed most of her HR here I think.
There are different couples in the time periods and some romantic scenes but it’s definitely not a romance focused book. But honestly, an excellent read and I would highly recommend it as well.