Only after the first third of the book did I really get into it. It has a wealth of information about the bloody and turbulent period just after the French revolution and it is brought to the reader in an accessible way. It really is history seen to through the eyes of some of the people who lived it. It had little too much war for me, but I enjoyed it and learned quite a bit since the authors did excellent research. If you want to know more about this exciting time in French history, this is the book for you.

Where the Light Falls appealed to me because I have not read much about the French Revolution. Allison Pataki and her brother Owen tackle the subject matter with finesse and detail providing me with the opportunity to feel as if I was there experiencing the trials and tribulations of the revolution and its aftermath. I found the book to be a nice change of pace from WW I and WW II historical fiction and enjoyed the author’s note at the end explaining which individuals actually existed and which were fictional characters created by the Patakis. For those who love historical fiction and are looking for a different time frame to read about, this is the book for you!

Superb! Fantastic! The historical fiction of the summer that will sweep readers back to revolutionary France. This book was AMAZING and really made me feel as if I was present during the Reign of Terror. I loved the characters, the writing, the atmosphere, the collaboration between Allison and Owen etc. Hands down one of my favorite books about the time period.

(Thank you Netgalley for an early reader copy in exchange for an unbiased review)

I loved this book! It's a really wonderful read, capturing my attention immediately and holding it throughout. Although it's not historical fiction in the same way that Allison Pataki's last two books were (i.e. the key characters are fictional), it's a wonderful telling of the brutal events during the French Revolution, leading up to (but not including) Napoleon Bonaparte's becoming Emperor.

The book follows two lines that intersect: Jean-Luc, a married young lawyer who helps those dispossessed by the revolution, takes on seemingly hopeless cases, and those that don't bring in any money, and; Andre Valiere, formerly of the nobility but who has renounced his heritage and is now serving in the French military. It is a time when just saying something perceived as against the revolution could cost you your head. People are still starving and living in fear; the revolution hasn't quite accomplished what the masses had intended. Jean-Luc finds himself meeting mysterious members of the National Convention, the group of powerful people who serve as judge and jury of those accused of pretty much anyone, including former heroes. He thinks that these shadowy people might be able to help his career but he soon finds out that have agendas of their own, and getting on the wrong side of them can be fatal, not just for Jean-Luc but also for his wife and young son. Jean-Luc's wife Marie has a life of her own that Jean-Luc is not aware of.

Andre Valiere tries to expiate the sin of having been born to the nobility by serving in the military. But even there he is not safe. He has powerful enemies, including Captain Murat, who do their best to get him killed, directly or indirectly. Things get worse for Andre when he falls in love with Sophie, the niece of Murat, but he doesn't know just how deep Murat's enmity for him goes.

The times, also known as The Terror, is accurately portrayed in the book with some historical characters participating as well. It is exciting, suspenseful, and engaging; you will just keep turning those pages to find out who is really something other than what they say they are, and what the effect will be on Jean-Luc, Marie, Andre and Sophie. I also appreciated the historical notes at the end; it's great to know what's real and what's not. When I finished the book, I was hoping that the Pataki's will write a sequel; please don't take too long, I can't wait to find out what happens to them!

I have read all of Allison Pataki's other books, and loved them all. However, I just didn't care for this one. Maybe it's because she wrote it with a co-author, but it didn't even sound like her voice. I found the language and some situations to be too course for my taste, and I wasn't a fan of all of the military action. I probably should have realized it would be that way, since it is a novel about the French Revolution. I really look forward to reading more of Allison's novels in the future, but this one just wasn't for me.

MY REVIEW

Allison and Owen Pataki, authors of "Where the Light Falls" have written an amazing and intriguing Historical Fiction novel set during the time of the French Revolution. The genre of this novel is Historical Fiction based on actual historical events. I appreciate that the authors have done thorough and detailed research in the historical events that occur in this novel.

The authors describe some of the characters as complex, complicated, courageous, brave, loyal and  principled. Others characters are portrayed as betrayers, greedy, jealous, and unstable.

 The times are turbulent times from "La Guillotine to Napoleon"  and the author introduces us to several main characters, Andre, who has renounced his nobility and fights in a uniform for the cause. Jean-Luc is an attorney with an idealistic view of freedom, and his wife. There is also Sophie, a beautiful widow, with an uncle with a huge evil vendetta. There are power struggles, betrayal, beheadings, fighting, bloodshed, and tears.

In the authors words," In our story we hope to convey both extremes. the better angels of human nature and the horrifying excesses of violence and extremism. The light and the dark, the hopeful and the hopeless."
 
The authors certainly have shown an enlightening experience of The French Revolution and its place in history. I would highly recommend this intriguing and captivation story of survival, love and hope. I received an Advanced Reading copy of this book from The Great Thoughts Ninja Review Team and NetGalley. My opinions are honest and my own.

A perfectly fine historical fiction piece that takes place during the French Revolution. Too many battle scenes for my taste, but there’s a good story here, one that picked up at about the 40% mark.
Where the Light Falls starts out with a prologue in which a main character’s father is beheaded. The scene was so very reminiscent of Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities that I fully expected Madame Defarge to appear from the shadows. As the Reign of Terror continues, we are drawn into the lives of Jean-Luc St Clair: a lawyer who fights for justice; his wife Marie; and also Andre Valiere: the son of the man beheaded in the prologue, who is fighting at Bois de Valmy, and is an aristocrat who has renounced his title. Andre falls in love with Sophie de Vincennes, the niece of a dangerously powerful man, Murat. How Jean-Luc’s and Andre’s stories intertwine I won’t spoil here, but I did enjoy reading historical fiction that focused more on the men’s stories. So many times in historical fiction we read primarily from the women’s point of view, (or that may just be the books I gravitate towards), so this book felt refreshing to me in that it pretty much just focused on the men. The women are there, but you don’t see things from their perspective like you do Jean-Luc and Andre. The one downside for this perspective for me is that Andre is a soldier, so there are many battle scenes that I personally didn’t care to read about, so this was disappointing to me. I don’t care for reading battle scenes because I can never follow the action. I get overwhelmed with all the stabbing, blood, and different characters that appear, so I get confused and have trouble following what is going on. I also have this problem with heavy action books as well.
In terms of the historical aspect of the book, I thought it was done very well. It wasn’t as heavy in the history as I expected, there weren’t any large “info dump” sections. The way the history was presented was easy to follow and interesting, but the book as a whole took me to at least the 40% mark before the characters and plots started coming together and clicking for me.
In terms of the characters, I enjoyed Chistophe Kellerman, Andre’s battle leader at Bois de Valmy, and I enjoyed all of the main characters (Andre, Jean-Luc, Marie, and Sophie). The villains are your everyday bad men, I kept waiting for one of them to start twirling a mustache, as they were very much your generic bad guy.
All in all, this was a fine historical fiction book. One in which I learned a bit while reading, but not one that I’ll think about for too long after.

Bottom Line: Too many battle scenes for me, but Where the Light Falls is historical fiction worth a read if you’re interested in the time frame.

Winter, 1792. What an amazing beginning! This book starts off with a bang. Or should I say a swoosh?

From there, we go back in time a few months as Jean Luc St. Clair works for the new government cataloging the properties and goods that formerly belonged to the nobility. He is caught up in the new order and the formation of the new government. His chapters alternate with Andre Valiere’s story, a captain in the Revolutionary Army. This was a part of the French Revolution I knew nothing about. It stands to reason that the rest of Europe wouldn't sit back and allow the destruction of the aristocracy, but I hadn't realized there had been a war between the newly formed France and the rest of the continent.

I really liked this book. It told an interesting story. The scenes were all so well drawn, as to take you right into the time and place. The authors do a wonderful job of showing the reader the progression of the aftereffects of the Revolution through the stories of its two main characters; how quickly fear and hatred consumed the country, how questioning any act of the government became sedition, how Revolution quickly became Terror. I like nothing better than an historical novel that teaches and entertains simultaneously and this book did this well. And yes, I'm one of those folks who start researching the actual events while still reading the book. This research shows the facts about a major historical figure were twisted in the book, which disappointed me. The authors do point out this incongruity in their authors’ note but it was a big enough event that it still bothered me.

Time and time again, this book made me realize how unique the American Revolution was, because we had no nobility to remove. The French Revolution had way more in common with the Russian Revolution and the need to eliminate the aristocracy, even those that supported the revolution.

My thanks to netgalley and Random House for an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I. LOVED. this book.

I first became familiar with Allison Pataki when I was given the opportunity to read her book entitled, "Sisi." When I began that book, I was unfamiliar with both Allison's writing as well as who Sisi was in history, and found myself completely engrossed and absorbed in the story.

The same is true for "Where the Light Falls." I am a Tudor enthusiast and a nerd for Ancient Rome. Therefore, the French Revolution is not something that I have studied beyond school, and thus was not very familiar with it. Once again, Allison's (and her brother's!) writing, coupled with a bird's eye view into the history of the French Revolution, was absolutely superb. Brilliant characters, a seamless weaving of history and fiction. A perfect novel!

As always, with very well written and researched historical fiction, I learn so much and in this particular book I learned things about a time period I hadn't read much about before and I loved every moment of it.

This was such an entertaining, gut wrenching and emotional read. It was meticulous in its detail and yet ultimately for me, this was about the characters and my connection with them. I came to care about them deeply and I read furiously wanting to know what would happen to them during this very tragic time period in French history.

I highly recommend this book to lovers of historical fiction who love a fabulously written tale with well crafted characters who make the story personal and leave you emotionally satisfied. I enjoyed this one very much.

I received an advance review copy of this book from the Great Thoughts Ninja Review Team. All opinions are my own.

I have to admit that my knowledge of French Revolution history is minimal. I tend to focus on WWI and WWII, but this story of the French Revolution was so engaging that I plan to go back and learn a bit more. The story takes place after the storming of the Bastille, many titled people have already gone to the guillotine and the new republic is trying to take hold. The story is really 2 stories ones, that of Andre, Army captain whose father was guillotined, but he has sworn his allegiance to the new republic and his pursuit of love in an unsettled time and that of Jean-Luc, a young lawyer, husband, and, father working for the new republic, but trying to bring a sense of normalcy to the chaos of the revolution. The authors seamlessly weave historical people such as Robespierre and Louis and Antoinette into the story to lend authenticity. It's a sweeping story that give us a peek a tumultuous time in world history without being dull or dry in any way.

This marvelous book has everything that I love in a historical fiction! It is well written and has excellent research! There is mystery, a bit of romance and heart wrenching tragedy! I received an advance copy from Great Thoughts Ninjas. All opinions are my own.

This was an amazing historical fiction book. I haven't read any books that took place during this time period and I thoroughly enjoyed learning about this time period. This book takes place during the French revolution . I liked the 4 main characters and enjoyed how their stories intertwined. The book was beautifully written and you felt like you were there as you are reading. Thank you to NetGalley and Dial Press for an ARC of the book in return for an honest review.

LOVE this story...it captivated my attention from page one...and did not let go until the final page. Have shared it w/ all of my reading friends & libraries.

I don't know very much about the French Revolution or really very much about this time in French history at all. While I was interested in the historical aspects of this book, my choice to read it was mostly based on the descriptions of the characters in the book blurb which appealed to me, as well as the desire to just read something different. It was through some fascinating characters, some fictional, some real people and some based on real people that the events of the times and the spirit of the times were brought to life for me . It did though take me a while to get into the story, but once I did I was captivated by the lives of the four main protagonists even though we do meet the likes of Robespierre and Napoleon.

Jean-Luc St. Clair, an young attorney, dedicated to the new government and the ideals of freedom and equality takes a job in Paris. His wife Marie, one of my favorite characters is strong and full of loyalty to the causes of freedom as well. Andre de Valiere, a nobleman stripped of his "de" which classifies him as of that class is a soldier also dedicated to moving France forward after the revolution. Sophie is the young widow that Andre falls in love with and because she is being "protected" by her Uncle, really the epitome of evil, Andre's life is in peril. How the paths of these four characters cross and how their lives become connected represented one level of the story - these individuals, the love and friendship, hopes and dreams. The bigger picture also is of what was happening in the country and the role these people played is also depicted.

I was especially impressed by the strength and courage of Sophie and especially Marie at a time when women had no rights. I appreciated the authors' note about which characters were real, which were fictional and which were based on real people. It appears that the story was well researched. It is 3.5 stars because of how long it took me to really be engaged but rounded up to 4 stars for the strength of the second half of the book. Recommended to readers of historical fiction.

I received an advanced copy of this book from The Dial Press/Random House Publishing Group-Random House through NetGalley.

This book was very good. I loved reading about the lives of our 4 protags along with the gruesome details of The French Revolution and more. If you are interested in French history, this is the book for you. This was an excellent historical fiction with lots of detail without being overdone.

Thanks to netgalley and Dial Press for this Advanced Readers Copy.

Allison and Owen Pataki’s Where the Light Falls is the story of two parallel lives during the tumultuous years of the French Reign of Terror and the wars immediately after. André is the son of a marquis who struggles to escape the taint of being an aristocrat. Jean-Luc is an idealistic young lawyer who moved to Paris to be a part of the new government. Both of these naïve young men quickly learn that the truth is not enough to save them when they become the targets of men who are more than willing to use the mob’s bloodlust to settle old scores.

Where The Light Falls

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I received an advanced copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review. This was an enjoyable read and an educational one too! Set in the late 1700s during the French Revolution, the story follows Andre and Sophie, Jean-Luc and Marie through a very violent time in history. The villains, Lazare and Murat were especially bloodthirsty and extreme in their hatred. Years pass and along with the suffering and agony, there is also hope and patriotism and justice. This brother/sister author duo did a wonderful job of bringing this time period to life with authentic characters and a powerful love story.

This book brings interesting historical facts skillfully woven into the story with vivid imagination of the chaotic French Revolution. However, the most interesting parts are short, leaving to wish more for such scenes. For example, a lawyer representing poor widow expelled from her property. This reveals not only a dramatic situation of the common people of that period, but also an ancient law of the Landlord Right. Instead the book is filled with stagnant scenes not moving the story forward or moving at snail pace.

The story starts in 1792, when Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette are already imprisoned.

Jean-Luc St Clair, a lawyer from the South of France, moves his family to Paris as he believes in freedom of common people. His noble cause puts his family, wife and baby, through poverty. His work deals with cataloguing property seized from the wealthy families.

Andre Valiere and his brother Remy leave their privileged lives or the events force them to do so (not clear in this story) in order to join the unified French Army.

Sophie, young aristocratic widow, lives with her controlling uncle – general in the army.

Different events connect those people. They all fight for the same cause, but at the end they question the sacrifices they made for the revolution.

Where the Light Falls is compelling historical fiction; a sweeping saga which takes place during the French Revolution, from the battlefields to the courts of law to the modest homes of its citizens and even to the horrors of La Place de Revolution where the guillotine performed its ugly deeds. This story is centered around four protagonists; a young idealist lawyer and his wife, and a former nobleman turned soldier and the woman he loves. These four bring heart and emotions to this story as we follow their journey during this turbulent time. The authors do a brilliant job of putting us in the scenes; readers will feel the fear, the pride, and the determination of all the participants. They have woven a tale that conveys the extremes of the times; good and evil, love and hate, hope and despair. This book is historical fiction at its best; bringing historical facts to life with human emotions. While I learned a lot about the French Revolution, I also cared deeply for the characters in this book.