Just a preview....not enough to give a full review but enough to make me go out and by the book! Looking forward to reading the whole thing.

Based on the excerpt this books looks promising: the writing is very good, the main character is immediately intriguing and the setting is fascinating. It also feels like the kind of book you need to immerse yourself in for a more extended while because of the amount of detail it has.

"An American soldier and an enterprising photographer brave occupied France during World War II to help give a little girl her dream." So excited I got to read this although it was only a preview! The preview allowed me to read 7 chapters and so my review is based on just those chapters. This book is now available at my library, full review to follow.

I enjoyed the preview of The Paris Orphan, I am excited to read the full version. The preview gives you just enough of the story to hook you! I am very intrigued with the main character, beautiful model Jessica May. I think she represents many women who are able to walk on both sides of the road. As a model, she's used to being in front of a camera, she's used to be stared at and admired for her beauty but she's just as comfortable behind the camera, using her talent to capture images and be taken seriously as an artist. After a betrayal by her live in love, she decides to try something different. I can't wait to finish her story when the book comes out!

Jessica May is a famous model in New York when she applies to go to Europe as a World War II photojournalist. She faces all the discrimination against women of the time, but perseveres. In Italy, she’s supposed to go to a hospital near the front, but alas, the hospital had to pull back and she ends up in a battle, for which she is blamed.
In a trench, she meets Dan, the captain in command of the unit. He’s a decent sort, and looks out for her. He introduces her to Victorine, the 4-year-old who was rescued by his brother before his death.
This preview is a good start, but leaves lots of questions. Obviously, The Paris Orphan is Victorine. Will Dan and Jessica marry and become her parents? Will Jessica’s journalistic career get off the ground without further censorship battles? Can she return to her modeling career off the war?

I had mixed feelings about this one. Even though I am a huge historical fiction fan I just couldn’t get into this one. It felt like the story had a lot of unnecessary information and it felt dragged out. Giving it 3 stars because of the interesting plot line but it was still too long for me.

Reading the extended preview of this book has made me very excited to read the entire book. Even with just this short preview I feel already connected to the characters and dying to see what happens to them. The writing style gripped me from the very start and I can tell this will be a book that I have a hard time putting down. Thank you to Forever publishing for offering this preview as a way to see if this book is something that I would be interested in before I buy a copy. I had a feeling that this was exactly the kind of book I would love and I’m glad to see that I was right. I can’t wait to finish it!

This was a wonderful preview. I am adding it to my tbr list.
Many thanks to Forever and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Thank you for the preview! The excerpt seems fascinating and I've added this book to my mountainous tbr.

This was a well written book. Centers around Strong Independent Women during WW2
and how the women were treated during the war. Written in two different timelines and come together beautiful.
I had trouble getting into the first part but by the middle of the book, I could not put it down. I laughed, cried and cheered them on!
Natasha Lester did her research and this was a wonderful book.
I highly recommend this book to anyone that loves Historical Fiction.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the review copy.

Thanks to netgalley for this preview of advance copy. it definitely has an interesting setting and I definitely wish to know more about Jessica. She has had an interesting life and has faced difficult situations. I do want to know more how she handled her life and how her personality is developed by various circumstances. I am sure it will be a great historical fiction novel.

Jess goes to work as a war correspondent/photographer at a time when women did not do such things, after her modeling career is derailed by an ex-lover. Strikes a friendship with Martha Gellhorn, also a correspondent, mostly known as Hemingway's wife. She meets Major Dan and the orphan Victorine and I can see where this story is going. The first 4 chapters did not intrigue me, but by the 5th I was more interested but not enough to put this book on my TBR. Thank you to Netgalley for the preview.

I was blown away by The Paris Seamstress. I read a lot of WWII, female perspective fiction. I enjoy learning about the challenges overcome, feel that reading historical fiction helps honour those that came before and teaches us what to do or not to do in the future. Usually in a WWII book you are prepared to be emotionally wrung out by the end or even in the first 10%. The Paris Seamstress is different. It's not any less impactful but it's a very different story from a different outlook on WWII other than the heart of Europe, the front-line fighting or a concentration camp like we are familiar with.

Setting
Our lead gal has been sent to New York, USA in order to be out of the way of the Nazi's invading and about to occupy Paris. Our Parisian lead gal is in her late teens/early twenties through the book. She is about to have to fight hard just to survive on the streets and in the fashion industry of New York. Luckily she has had an upbringing in the Paris fashion scene and can copy fashions (or create her own) that will help her generate income. But first she has to break out and be noticed in New York.
One of the great things about how Natasha Lester has set-up The Paris Seamstress is that it could be any time period, and any woman's story of breaking into any industry. There are specifics of course here in terms of gender, the war creating a lack of supplies, and also being an immigrant but these are the 'things to overcome' that could be easily modified. The core of this story is about fighting to be seen, heard and become an influence on society in some way. Don't be dissuaded if you aren't big into fashion. Clothing is not the heart of the story; overcoming odds and persevering is what this book is really about.

Characters
The most endearing part of this story is the characters. Not only is our lead gal genuine, tough but emotional, and hard-working; she is also passionate in so many ways. Be it in her romantic relationships, her work or her desire to be successful or her sorrow over the losses of the war.
There are other wonderful supporting or 'almost main' characters including her business partners: another young gal working as a model and a man she meets on the boat on the way to New York (who cuts the fabrics economically). There is also a charming (and rich) suitor but you'll have to read it to learn about this mysterious man. I can't tell you about most of the other wonderful people we encounter as there are too many spoiler opportunities! Just know all the characters are well fleshed out and endearing in their own ways.

The War Carries On
We do experience (from a far) Pearl Harbour and the introduction of the USA into WWII. Lester also takes us back to the streets of Paris during occupation for a time and all around New York experiencing classes from dirt poor to filthy rich. These varying view points give a well rounded out feel for what WWII was like for those not in the heat of the battle or occupation; but instead living in a bustling city like New York. Even our time in Paris during occupation is a little surreal and a bit jolly at moments (which Lester does on purpose to show a point). Eventually of course the war does taper off and we find out what happens to our leading characters; but don't be deceived the war is still a major factor and is what drives many of our character decisions.

The 'Present' Story
Did I make it sound like the whole book was set in WWII time? Yeah I wish.
My sole complaint about The Paris Seamstress is I could have lost ALL of the present day story with the granddaughter of our fashionista in New York and missed not a lick of her story. There is a mystery throughout the book that she keeps alive; but I really didn't care about it at all to be honest. It felt unnecessary and the 'reveal' was way more relevant to the impact it made on our WWII characters than it was to the present time ones. I just wanted to keep being along for the stories of our characters during WWII. Of course the mystery ties everything together but honestly without it this is still be an amazing five star book. It felt like an editor told Lester something like, these days people like the split perspective in time for historical novels so add that in. I'd have preferred more scenes with our leading lady encountering high society and snobbery in New York, or our model's exploitation concerns than read about the present day granddaughter at all.

Overall
If you want to read about a strong female lead in WWII I think you'll really enjoy this. There is a lot about fashion but I'm not a very picky fashion girl and didn't find it boring. Most of the fashion talk is about conserving and using cheaper fabric, creating clothes women want to wear (not have to wear) and other feminist style ideas. There is a romance, and it is bittersweet. I can't say much more than that. For sure this is a novel about staying strong, ensuring you believe in yourself and that life is not fair but we find a way to carry forward and be content (if not truly happy). It is more driven by our characters than the mystery itself. I adored this book and cannot wait to recommend it out to all historical fiction fans and even readers outside the genre boundaries. A good story about people creates a space where the genre becomes irrelevant and is instead just a great character driven read.

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the free preview/excerpt. Although the premise is interesting and the perspective is unique, five chapters is not enough to make a connection with the main character. All I can say is that it seems promising. I cannot rate higher than 2 stars on an excerpt only. From what I read, it seems like the book would rate at least a solid 3 Stars. I probably will not read another extended preview excerpt because it’s too difficult to rate.

Okay, so this book intrigued me. I guess I kinda felt like reading a good book, so I was excited to dive into this. (like FOR REAL, the synopsis was so. cool. And I was like “wow, this is going to be such a super cool read). Am I saying the author is not talented? No. The synopsis ALONE was intriguing and well written enough to make me want to read this. I just didn’t read it because I like to stick to clean reads. I try to steer clear of books with unnecessary language. So there you have it!

Jessica May is a former model who has led an unconventional life. When her lover sells a picture of her to a magazine the in effect ends her career, Jessica uses her talent as a writer and photographer to become a femal war correspondent in Italy. Facing stereotypes and preconceptions about who she is, Jessica must find a way to show the people back home what the war is like.

This was a short excerpt, but it was enough to make me want to read more.

Having finished the first couple chapters in the extended preview of The Paris Orphan, I am putting this book by Natasha Lester at the top of my TBR. It has all of the elements of my kind of historical fiction novel of W.WII. I love two period novels and strong women characters. Jessica is moving from modeling to being a photo journalist being sent to occupied France.

Fantastic book. I love the WWII books and this one is enough for wanting to read this book. Great author and great start to this book.

Jessica May, an American model following her passion as a photojournalist, arrives in Italy in 1942 to cover the field hospitals in the midst of the war. Not accustomed to a woman near the battlefield, especially one with a reputation like Jessica's, many of the soldiers give her a hard time. Until she meets Dan Hallworth and an orphan, Victorine. With their help and inspiration, Jess is driven to uncover the humanity in wartime Europe.

This excerpt promises a touching, emotional, and compelling novel. It's a beautiful look into the strengths of the human spirit in the midst of the war, the bonds that motivate people to do the impossible, and the hope a child can bring. The characters were rich and dynamic, and the details about the war convey the strength it takes to make it through. I can't wait to read the entire book and see how their story unfolds.

This was an excerpt for The Paris Orphan by Natasha Lester. Thank you to NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for the advance copy excerpt in exchange for an honest review.

I received an ARC of the first 5 chapters of the book Jessica was a model who wanted to be a photojournalist during World War II and she applied to go to where the war was. She finally got accepted and she went. She accidentally was on the front lines because the hospital was destroyed the night before that she was supposed to go to. The soldiers learned she was a model who lived with a man she wasn't married to but she held her own.
The characters kept my attention, the writing was so good that I could imagine being there, and no matter who you are or what you do you can do anything you want.
I will be finishing the book to find out the rest of the story. I am not usually a reader of war stories but this book told the story in such a personal way, it kept me reading until the end of the five chapters and now I am going to buy the book to finish it. It is a wonderful book.