The Brightest Star in Paris is the follow up to Diana Biller’s 2019 début, The Widow of Rose House. I haven’t got around to reading that one, but I gather that the books are linked by virtue of the fact that the hero of Brightest Star – Doctor Benedict Moore – is the brother of…
Our reviewer Em gave an A- to Lucy Morris’s previous Viking book, The Viking Chief’s Marriage Alliance. I found it closer to a B, but it was still an enjoyable book. I hoped I’d find something here that was at least as good, but I emphatically didn’t. Aimée Évreux, heiress to the Évreux estate, is…
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)…
Leila Slimani’s The Perfect Nanny was described as a “French Gone Girl”, and the French part made me curious. It has a strong sense of place, and I couldn’t put it down. However, the end was such a cop-out that my review will touch on why it dragged the grade down, so anyone who wants…
I love heroines who display spirit, backbone and intelligence with ease and elegance. We’re given several such extraordinary women in Lauren Willig’s Band of Sisters and I found myself completely enthralled by the story as a result. Kate Moran had attended Smith College, the women’s university favored by some of America’s wealthiest families, on a…
In recent years, the bookshelves have practically overflowed with stories set during the Second World War, but if your interest lies with World War I, you probably had a harder time finding something that appealed to you. Fortunately, author Lauren Willig is releasing the perfect novel to scratch that World War I itch. Band of…
A young woman is dropped behind enemy lines where she faces unspeakable dangers and unexpected love in The Secret Agent. Sylvie Duchene lived in France till she was fourteen, travelling with her mother’s dance troupe and thoroughly enjoying the bohemian lifestyle Angelique provided for them. Her own intention had been to join the performers once…
The past few weeks I’ve been attempting to whittle away at my TBR pile. I picked up The Beekeeper’s Promise a year or so ago because I liked the cover and I have a thing for bees. I’m so glad I did. The Beekeeper’s Promise is a moving tale of life in Nazi-occupied France during…
Classic literature takes center stage in Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know, the story of one girl’s search for the woman who inspired several of Lord Byron’s epic poems. Khayyam Macquet believes she has just tanked her university career – and in typical teenage hyperbole can’t help wondering if that means she has tanked her…
Mayra Cuevas’ Salty, Bitter, Sweet is a sharply etched and unforgettable tale of an expat American teenager trying to find her way in France. It’s a beautifully done life study that knows what it’s talking about when it speaks of food, family and love alike, with a heroine who’s unforgettable. Isabella Field’s life revolves around…