The Parisians was a new take on looking at what happened I'm France during World War 2. Here you are seeing the war and occupation through those that work and live at the Ritz hotel. Yoi get to see how the rich we're affected by the Nazi's as well as those with less. There are characters within the story that are real people, which I found fascinating. It brought them to life for me.
I struggled a little with getting into the story. I love all things World War 2 and was really excited to read this book. It was an enjoyable read and did open my mind to some things I had not thought of before. But I felt like the characters could have been added to a little bit more. I was left wanting more from some of them, feeling they were not completely flushed out.
I have never read Marius Gabriel before, but I did enjoy this novel. It is an interesting take on a time when many books are written. It was nice to find something that wasn't just the same old story that we know.

The Parisians by Marius Gabriel (3 Stars)

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book in return for an honest review.

This is a book of historical fiction, yet with a lot of reality thrown into the mix. The book follows three main characters, Olivia, Arletty and Coco, all within the context of their relationship to Olivia.

Let’s start with Olivia, the fictional character. Just before World War II, Olivia is an American in Paris studying to be an artist, albeit a starving one at the moment. She meets Fabrice, an anarchist, falls in love, and goes to work at the Ritz Hotel. The Nazis soon occupy Paris and commandeer the Ritz Hotel. Fabrice is killed, and her anger over his death leads Olivia to become a spy for the Resistance. As a chambermaid at the Ritz, she has access to the Nazis’ living quarters and any papers they may have.

Based on reality, the French actress Arletty has an affair with the German officer Hans Jürgen Soehring. Arletty and Olivia become friends, which I just totally did not understand. Arletty is branded a collaborator and marked for death by the Resistance, yet Olivia tries to see the gray areas and feels benevolent toward her.

Also based on reality is the story of Coco Chanel, who lived at the Ritz for most of her life. It is well-known that not only was she was a collaborator, she initiated schemes to rid herself of her Jewish partners. Once again, Olivia feels some compassion for her.

I tried to like the book, and will say that I learned a lot about the real-life people portrayed as it led me to do some research. But the characters just seemed hollow, especially Olivia. For a woman who is a spy in the Resistance, she lacks...something. Passion? Drive? Anger? Hate? At some points it felt like I was reading a Harlequin novel. It just didn’t click for me, and didn’t add to the story. I would have preferred some more grittiness of the Resistance and less of the debauchery and opulence of the wealthy.

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Readers choose books for all sorts of reasons and I am no exception. I chose this book specifically for its title because Paris is one of my favorite cities in the world. I may have mentioned this in other reviews, but I cried the very first time I saw that city and if the Eiffel Tower had been a person, well it most likely asked me to stop taking pictures of it. The fact that it was also surrounding the WWII era was a plus.

Juggling characters can be difficult, in the case of The Parisians, we have three very interesting characters( a chambermaid, a French actress, and Coco Chanel) and one intriguing setting- the Ritz hotel. Since this was the main place of entertainment and rest for the main players in the Nazi regime, our plot is driven by plenty of wartime intrigue. While young Swedish-American Olivia is driven to spy on Herman Goering after her lover dies at the hands of the Gestapo, French actress Arletty balances a fine line between the France she knew and what it has become, and Marius Gabriel leaves little doubt about designer Coco Chanel's collaboration with the Nazis.

I enjoyed this story, reading it in one sitting, and despite one foolish sex scene in which both genders sexual organs were described as particular flowers, I felt this was a good addition to the WWII era library.

Amazing and emotional read. I'm disappointed to say that I had not read anything by this author before. I loved the mix of real and fictional characters, some of which I had never heard about before this. I would like to thank the publishers and netgalley for letting me have the book to review.

EXCERPT: . . . the eve of war had come as a shock. It was here suddenly, the thing they had all dreaded but not wished to look at, like the monster that lurked under the beds of children. Now, with terrifying purpose, it had clambered out and proved itself real after all.

ABOUT THIS BOOK: Paris, 1940. The Nazis have occupied the city¬—and the Ritz. The opulent old hotel, so loved by Parisians, is now full of swaggering officers, their minions and their mistresses.

For American Olivia Olsen, working as a chambermaid at the hotel means denying her nationality and living a lie, every day bringing the danger of discovery closer. When Hitler’s right-hand man moves in and makes her his pet, she sees an opportunity to help the Resistance—and draw closer to Jack, her contact, whose brusque instructions may be a shield for something more…

Within the hotel, famed designer Coco Chanel quickly learns that the new regime could work to her benefit, while Arletty, one of France’s best-loved actresses, shocks those around her—and herself—with a forbidden love.

But as the war reaches its terrible end, all three women learn the true price of their proximity to the enemy. For in the shadow of war, is anyone truly safe?

MY THOUGHTS: What began as a fairly average read about a young American woman in Paris to make her name as an artist, slowly morphed into a gritty novel of surviving the war, and the German occupation of Paris, by whatever means possible.

I particularly liked how the author contrasted the lives of these three women, whose lives intersect at times, to give different perspectives. I also liked how he contrasted the grim reality, the melancholy of everyday life under the occupation, with rare moments of unadulterated joy, the spark that lit the desire to survive, no matter what.

The book is peppered with real people. I learned a lot about Coco Chanel. I had never known her background, nor that she was a Nazi sympathizer. I had, in the past, simply admired her style. And I had never heard of Arletty, the French film star.

At the end of the book, the Author's Note provides a lot of information about the people in the book who were real and what happened to them after the war, as well as further information about the history of the Ritz Hotel in Paris. It, like the book itself, is well worth reading.

Although one of the categories I have assigned The Parisians is romance, don't let that put you off. There is no schmaltzy romance, more of an awakening, and nothing that is inappropriate to the story. If anything, the love story enhances the overall realism.

This is not a book to be rushed through. It is a book to be lingered over, one that may challenge your previous perceptions about the people on both sides of the war.

I would like to read more by this author.

😊😊😊😊

THE AUTHOR: Marius Gabriel is an international thriller and mystery writer.

Under the pseudonym Madeleine Ker, he wrote over 30 romance novels in the 1980s.

As Marius Gabriel he has written several mystery best-sellers, some of them historical novels.

He has three grown-up children and currently lives in Cairo and London.

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Lake Union Publishing via Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of The Parisians by Marius Gabriel for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

Please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com for an explanation of my rating system. This review and others are also published on my sandysbookaday.wordpress.com page

A fascinating work of historical fiction set during the turbulent World War II era in Paris, this book takes real life people and places and weaves them into a compelling narrative. The story follows the adventures of a young American woman, Olivia Olsen who has travelled to Paris to follow her dreams of becoming an artist, On the eve of war breaking out, she meets a charming young man who sweeps her off her feet. Unable to support herself by her art she becomes a chambermaid at the luxurious Ritz hotel, and when the Germans roll into the city she becomes a personal favourite of Goring, who has quarters at the hotel. Tragedy strikes when her lover is caught distributing anti German materials ,and he is tortured and killed. Determined to seek revenge Olivia uses her beauty and position at the hotel to spy and a dangerous game of cat and mouse ensues.
I thoroughly enjoyed this fabulous book, I felt the author did a tremendous job of bringing the luxurious and glamorous world of the Ritz to life, as well as the depressing and terrifying brutality experienced by the Parisians under German occupation, Incorporating real life personalities such as Coco Chanel was a really nice touch, adding to the authentic feel of the book, and it is clear that the author has done a good deal of research into the history, setting and people he is writing about. The book starts gently and lulls you into the story , but the tension and drama increases throughout, and if I had any criticism, and it is a slight one, I thought that the ending felt just a little rushed in comparison,
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.

I do enjoy reading historical fiction and especially enjoy reading books where WW2 is concerned. This is the first time that i have read any books by Marius Gabriel and have a few more which shall be reading soon. I am not going to write what this story is about, as i prefer one to read the story for themselves. Recommended.

My thanks to Netgalley and the Publishers. This is my honest review.

Thanks to netgalley for an early copy in return for an honest review
What a fantastic insight to how the other half lived at the world famous Ritz in Paris.
Ì found this an intriguing plot and can highly recommend this book to family and friends

I thought that this was a great story, the book totally encapsulated me. I enjoyed the use of the Ritz Hotel.
I thought that Marius Gabriel told the history of how life was in Paris in the occupation was very good.
I felt moved, dismayed, nervous, excited and thrilled. Such use of emotion in a book makes it a fantastic book in my opinion.

I really enjoyed this book. I am a big fan of historical fiction. The characters in this book were interesting and kept me reading. The fact that some were real and some were based on real people really added to my enjoyment. Telling the story from three different perspectives added to my enjoyment of the book as well. This is a fascinating period of our recent history and the stories of bravery deserve to be told.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

I love books about World War II. I don't know why - I just do - something about the struggle that women had during that war resonates with me more than any other time in history. The Parisians is a look at Paris during WWII, and the guests at the Ritz Hotel. Multiple characters, multiple storylines all with the Ritz as the central location makes for an interesting read - we follow high and lower society during the Nazi regime.

While the concept of this book was great, I was left a little let down. There were so many opportunities to expand on certain characters and timelines and stories. A few just felt flat.

Either way, this is still an okay read.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC in advance of this book's release.

The next installment in my unintentional historical-fiction journey this month brings me to Paris in the 1940s, just as Hitler and the Nazis have taken over France. The Parisians follows three women who do what it takes to survive in the city they love during the tumultuous World War II.

Olivia Olsen is a Swedish-American who moved to Paris as a young adult to become a painter and be inspired by the most beautiful city in the world. Penniless and desperate, she gets a job at the Ritz hotel as a chambermaid in order to pay her rent. The Ritz is soon taken over by high-ranking Nazi officers, and Olivia finds herself not only favoured by Hitler's right-hand man but helping the Resistance try to put an end the horrors around them.

Other women staying at the hotel include Coco Chanel, the much-loved fashion designer, who uses the new regime to her advantage, and Arletty, a famous French actress, who finds love in the most unusual of places. Can their careers—and they, themselves—survive Nazi occupation?

This the first book I've read by Marius Gabriel, and I've got to say: The man really does his research. While there were a few fictional characters in this novel, a large number of the cast was inspired by true events and real people—and we got the imagining of how their stories concluded the way they did. Although I really wasn't interested in Coco Chanel's story in the slightest (it really didn't seem like she worked very hard to get where she was or keep what she had), I was not at all familiar with Arletty, and find myself wanting to delve a little deeper into her biography. Chanel and Arletty were not as three-dimensional as I would have liked—their motivations were not as clear as the third (and most exciting) woman of the novel. The fictional Olivia is where my heart and interest was held the most. She's an ordinary woman of little means who stepped up to try to end a war she could have easily escaped by going home. She's the real hero of this story.

Though a lot of the plot centres on the love lives of these three women, I wouldn't consider it a romantic book, necessarily. These women had to do what they needed to survive—and sometimes that means falling in love with men they shouldn't. The story is really what's at the heart of this novel, and if the subject matter interests you in the slightest, I would definitely recommend it. I thought it started a little slowly, though, so make sure you give it time before you make your final decision.

3 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and Amazon Publishing UK for the advanced copy.

This review will be posted on my blog, The Modest Reader, on January 14 at 10 am at https://modestreader.com/2019/01/14/the-parisians

I will say this about this book, thank God for Coco Chanel and Arletty! Those two women made the book worthwhile reading. I found the beginning of the book very hard to get into thanks to Olivia Olsen, this young artist who has come to Paris to paint. She's just the kind of character I have a problem with, a young naive thing that on the very first pages of the book meets a young anarchist that will take her by storm. I was not amused, I found Olivia to be boring to be very frank. However, I kept on reading because as I wrote before there were two bright spots in this book Coco Chanel and the French actress Arletty. Personally, I wouldn't have minded that Olivia had been cut out of the picture and the book had been just about Coco Chanel and Arletty. Although I have to admit Olivia role become more interesting after the Germans occupied France and she started to help the Resistance.

At first, I gave the book 4-stars, but after some considerations did I lover the rating to 3-stars. And, that's because I've read two books previously by Marius Gabriel that I really enjoyed, The Ocean Liner and The Designer. The Parisians can't really measure up to them. It's just not as interesting, unfortunately. Still, there are some really good parts in the book, well everything concerning Coco Chanel and Arletty. I felt that Olivia personality was truly bland and I felt it the most when she interacted with them. She grew a bit better towards the end, but still, the stars of this book were Coco Chanel and Arletty!

I loved, loved, loved The Parisians by Marius Gabriel. For me, this is historic fiction at it’s best. Set in Nazi occupied Paris during World War II with many of the characters real historic figures such as Coco Chanel, this was a story that fascinated me, chilled me to the bone and totally consumed me. I finished it a few days ago and I’m still suffering from my book hangover.

The Parisians centres around three women; Olivia, a fictional character who as a struggling artist takes a job as a chambermaid at the famous Ritz Hotel to make ends meet; the real life Arletty, one of the biggest French film stars of the time; and the famous Coco Chanel. All these women are very different with contrasting attitudes to the war and the Nazi occupation.

It is the Ritz that binds the three women together as the famous hotel played an interesting, unique role during the German occupation. It accommodated senior Nazi officers (such as Hermann Goering) who all gave themselves a ninety per cent discount. It also accommodated privileged civilians of other nations, such as Coco Chanel who was sheltered from the severe hardships that the majority of French people suffered. Yet some of the staff spied for the Resistance during the occupation and were arrested and interrogated by the Gestapo.

Until reading this book I had no awareness of Arletty whose film performances are apparently regarded as among the finest in 20th century cinema. Yet she is a controversial figure as she had a public love affair with a German officer during the occupation. The affair is a key storyline in the novel.

Likewise I had no awareness that Coco Chanel also collaborated with the Nazis.

Gabriel writes in such an objective, sensitive manner that really opened my eyes. Yes, living in the 21st century it is easy to judge women that collaborated with the Nazis. And believe me, I was shocked. Yet this is also a novel about women striving to achieve and maintain their talents, their careers, their independence in a society which is dominated by men.

Throughout The Parisians, I was gripped. I was actually genuinely quite scared at times and petrified to turn the next page, but I had to as I was hooked and desperate to know the outcome.

If you’re like me and love historic fiction, you’ll love The Parisians. I know I’ve said it before but it really is historic fiction at its best. When you do read it, take a minute at the end to read the author’s note too. This is also fascinating, especially as I was aware that some of the characters were real, but there is a lot more real people featured in the novel than I could ever imagine.

Thank you to NetGalley, Amazon Publishing UK and Lake Union Publishing for my advance copy. Thank you also Marius Gabriel for this enthralling, vivid and fascinating read. I truly loved it.

The Parisians will be published on 17 January 2019.

An interesting look at Paris during World War 2, concentrating on the guests and staff at the plush Ritz hotel. It has a mixture of real and fictional characters, including icons such as fashion designer Coco Chanel and French actress Arletty. We also follow the life of fictional character Olivia Olsen, an American chambermaid at the Ritz, hiding her identity behind a Swedish passport. We explore their stories during the Nazi occupation, and the ways each individual handles the oppressive regime. As the Nazi's take over one wing of the famed hotel we find our ladies risking their lives as the war drags on and on.
I did enjoy this book, and some of the characters are memorable, but not really fleshed out too much. This is a very believable tale, we get the lowdown how the Nazi's treated those in a position of privilege. My only real gripe is we don't really get a sense of time. It seems like characters have only just met, then suddenly two years have passed. All in all it's not a bad novel, it just doesn't have what it takes to stand out in a very popular genre.
My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I could not put this story down! A blend of fictional and real characters revolving around the Paris Ritz in WW2, I loved the contrasts in this story of Nazi and resistance, glamour and suffering, duplicity and raw honesty. It was an incredible, all through the perspective of women. I have read biographies of Chanel, one quote sycophantic and this book was a brutal but believable portrayal of how one had to choose how to policically and socially position oneself during wartime. Please can this be translated into film or TV because it has everything.

I really enjoyed this novel. It was a great book to fall asleep to every night. The ending was by far the best thing I could have imagine for this story. I was starting to wonder for awhile but everything was tied up nicely and I finally felt a connection to the characters about halfway through. The beginning was good but I didn't really care but the author really turned it around in the second half and I grew the love Olivia. I am very happy to have had the opportunity to read this before it's release date!

A fascinating insight into how different women handled life in occupied Paris during WW2. It is fiction but based on real characters during this period. Those unwilling to give up their privileged lives that they have worked hard to achieve so enjoy the best of the Nazi's occupation. Others who see the horrors of the Nazi's and SS and join the resistance and a German living in Paris who is gleeful in joining the Gestapo. Set with the Ritz as the background the book is full of bravery, decadence and pure evil. I read over a weekend and enjoyed it immensely. I have read other books from Marius Gabriel and really enjoy his writing.

In Paris, the Ritz was the place everyone wanted to be during WWII, including the Nazi's. They took over half of the hotel at a 90% discount, and expected the same lavish treatment as everyone else. The book concentrates the story around 3 women at the Ritz, and how they all dealt with the invasion. Coco Chanel decides to put it to her advantage and gets a lover high up in the regime. Arletty is a French actress who falls deeply in love with a Nazi officer and it ruins her name in society and her career. Then there is Olivia. Olivia was a struggling painter before the war, but took a job at the Ritz as a chambermaid because she needed the money. Her Swiss beauty played to her advantage and she became doted on by one of the top Nazi's. She turned that to her advantage and became an informant for the resistance.
I could not put this book down. It was fascinating seeing everything from their viewpoint. There was some romance, and lots of intrigue and moments where I sat on the edge of my seat. I can not recommend begin to recommend this book enough....it is definitely a must-read!

One of my favorite books of 2019. A historical fiction novel based in Paris during WW2. The story follows Olivia Olsen, a midwestern gal that travels to Paris in seek of being an artist. The next few years details her experiences of the war and the figures she meets while working at the Ritz. A fantastic read that breaks your heart while giving you hope.