In #ParisNeverLeavesYou, Ellen Feldman tackles the casualties of war and those forever imprisoned by the affair. Charlotte and her young daughter Vivi straddle the line between WWII Paris and 1950's NYC.

Surviving the concentration camp, the Forets carve out a new life for themselves. Vivi is a precocious teen while Charlotte is struggling. To save her daughter, she collaborated with a German officer. Despite his station in life, he's a Jew hiding in plain sight among Nazis soldiers.

When a sponsor safeguards their passage to NYC, Julian and Charlotte's roles reverse. She's forced to hide among Jewish people despite being a gentile. Will she forgive herself for deceiving others or live a sheltered life imprisoned in a gilded cage?

Thank you to #NetGalley and the publisher for the early read. Ellen Feldman crafts a powerful novel depicting an alternate WWII perspective. Charlotte is shepherd into the camps for survival while the rest of her flock are struggling to survive. After being released, she's consumed with survivor's guilt, How can she move on if the past is the present?

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I've read a lot of books that take place during World War II, but very rarely do they cover the years just following the war. This book flipped between Paris during the war and New York City about a decade after the war. Overall, I really enjoyed the book. There were parts that felt a little forced, like with the boss/landlord/friend and their relationship. Other than the romantic relationships, the story itself was great and was well written - I flew through the book pretty quickly.

I liked this book, but I wanted to love it. The book moves between the main character Charlotte's life in Paris during WWII to New York after the war. She is ridden with survivor's guilt and did some things she's not proud of during the war to help her and her daughter survive. The descriptions of Paris during the war are chilling, but I wasn't invested in the characters.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Paris Never Leaves You is a different perspective of WWII than I usually read.. Charlotte Foret runs the family bookshop in Paris with her friend Simone. She has a 2-year-old daughter she is trying to keep alive and just try to survive while the Germans occupy France. This time during the war are thoughts and flashbacks for Charlotte as she now lives in New York working at a publishing house and her daughter is older. I was swept away into Charlotte's world during and after the war but I also felt like I really didn't know her that well. I would have liked a little more information about her life. Overall it was very well written and I did read it pretty quickly.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for the opportunity to read an advanced digital copy in exchange for my honest review. Unfortunately, this book wasn’t really my cup of tea. I think it would be better marketed as a historical romance rather than historical fiction, not only because of the obvious romantic liaisons, but also the way it romanticized the occupation period. This was a very dark period of our history and books that make light of the evil really rub me the wrong way. I don’t think it was the author’s intention to do so, and maybe I just have too much personal baggage to see the story in a different light other than that. I also found the story so implausible to enjoy it. I know many other readers will disagree with my review, but this book was not for me.

A wonderful addition to this genre. It is a marvelously told tale from the end of the war and into the 50’s of the incredible choices people of that time had to make

This gem is hitting the shelves this August (Official Pub. Date: 8/4/2020) and if you are a WWII historical fiction junkie, like myself, this one will be your new favorite. •

The format and structure is unique and makes for an easy read that flows in moments of ordinary life that turn into memories, as a mother tries to shield her daughter from her secrets and past while subconsciously destroying her own desires and passions due to a combination of guilt and motherly devotion. •

Charlotte - elusive, dispassionate, sharp-witted, has been in New York City working for a publishing firm since the end of the war. As her daughter grows older and begins to ask questions, she is suddenly confronted with the decisions of her past, and her buried recollections of her struggle to survive with a newborn daughter in Nazi occupied Paris paints an incredible portrait of the mixed emotions and complicated survival mechanisms of human beings. •

She is confronted by her various love interests in the present and the past, but ten years after being freed from the camps, she will find that forgiving herself and forging a path to happiness and self-fulfillment might be one of the greatest struggles of her life - though certainly one she can handle.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC. Not at all what I expected. Went naturally from WWII to 1950s. Easy to follow and easy to read.

I've been excited about this book since I first heard about it, and it did not disappoint. The characters sucked you into the story and the story kept you turning pages as fast as you could. I devoured it in a day. I loved it.

A touching and moving story about a woman who must make incredibly hard choices to ensure the safety of her young daughter and her own survival during the Occupation. Charlotte is a sympathetic, likeable character you feel attached to, and I was riveted by both the present day chapters set around book publishing in NYC, and the flashbacks to Charlotte's experience as a bookseller in Paris. Her relationships with Julian and Horace were emotional and well-developed, though despite the romance, the story is just as much about Charlotte's own difficult coming-to-terms with the past.

This is easily one of my new favorite books. I couldn’t put it down. Ellen Feldman has such beautiful writing and a wonderful sense of storytelling. I came to love every character for who they were and where they were even when the unlikable traits reared their heads. The way Feldman ended the book only had me wanting more. I can’t wait to buy this in physical form when it comes out!

As far as WWII books go, this one stands out from the crowd! The story is thought-provoking in a different way and Charlotte and Vivi’s relationship is a highlight throughout.

Where this book fell flat for me - her relationship with Horace. I didn’t see a romantic connection at all until it was very direct, so it threw me off guard when things got going.

Overall, I can’t say I couldn’t put this book down. I put it down quite often actually and it took me a bit of nudging to pick it back up. As I said before, the storyline was interesting (hence the stars), but there just weren’t any page-turning characteristics for me. I think there could be for other readers, but for one reason or another, it took me a while to finish this book.

A beautifully flowing historical fiction. It goes from WWII France to 1950s New York. A woman that has a daughter looses her husband to the war. Then the book bounces to 1950s New York and how the choices she made during the war affects her life. It's a fluffy read with shallow characters, yet remained enjoyable.

If this book had been told without the dual timelines, I would have loved it. But, Charlotte in the 50's and Charlotte in the 40's didn't jive with me. That took away from my enjoyment of the book. There were other things that I didn't like but I don't want to say because they are spoilers. I did think the writing was beautiful and the characters were well written and well researched. Other than that, this book wasn't my favorite.

Such a wonderful and unprecedented book. It was a breath of fresh air among other World War II books because it had a much different approach than other books of the same genre while still being as touching and insightful about the things that occurred in Occupied France. The story of Charlotte and Vivi was heartbreaking but also such a wonderful look into the human condition.
It is a beautiful tale to read in a time when there is a lot going on outside of our world that we also cannot control. There were things in Charlotte's world she could not control and took the matters eventually into her own hands when she moved to New York and started over again.
It is a story of being strong, believing in yourself and realizing that you're part of a larger plan.
I highly recommend this read to anyone who enjoyed The Nightingale or other World War II historical fiction literature.

This ebook was provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Paris Never Leaves you is different than most WWII-era books I've read, and it was hard to read at times. You can really feel the tension, however, when the German soldiers are in the book shop; will they find a banned book? This book is filled with secrets and the main theme is a mother's love and willingness to do whatever it takes to protect her children.


I received an advance copy. All thoughts are my own.

This started off slow for me, but picked up around the halfway point. The premise was so different than most of the books I've read about World War Two and the twists really took me by surprise. I wouldn't say it was a favorite of mine, but it was definitely worth the read.

This was a very good novel about the survival of one woman and her child during the occupation of Paris by the Germans.Chalotte (Charlie) develops a relationship with a German soldier in the beginning to save her daughter. Julian, a Jew in the German Army, visits Charlie’s bookstore and gradually gets to know her daughter Vivi and herself. Julian thinks Charlie is a Jew because her co-owner and good friend is. Actually through out the novel you are led to believe she is. Once the war ends Charlie is in danger from her fellow Parisians because they believe she collaborated with the German’s Julian convinces her to pose as a Jew to be helped by a relief agency which gets her to America. Charlie has to overcome her self loathing and belief that she did something wrong when she fell in love with Julian.. She protects her daughter first in Paris and then in New York. Her daughter has an identity crisis until her mother finally tells her some of her background and about her real father. The story takes place in Paris during the occupation and later in New York when Vivi is in high school.

Another book that jumps between 2 time periods.

In WWII Paris Charlotte helps run a bookstore with her Jewish best friend. At one point a German soldier begins coming to the bookstore. Over time he begins to help her out and she has to choose how much to allow, while keeping herself and her daughter safe.

In 1950's NYC, we see the life that Charlotte has created after being sponsored and moved from Paris. We watch how she deals with her past and how she manages to look towards her future.

This one didn't work too well for me. It jumped around so much that I was really confused and had a hard time connecting with the characters. I felt lost for probably the first half of the book. Then at the end of the book I didn't even particularly like the main characters. I think this had a lot of potential and I liked the look at how a (non-Jewish) Parisian might handle the war, but it didn't resonate with me.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an ARC for my honest opinion.

A WWII French Occupation story with many twists from the norm. There are still the horrific scenes of the occupation, swollen with anti-semitism, but there’s also a vein of being able to forgive and be gentle with oneself, even while wallowing in survivor's guilt.
Feldman does justice to the events of the occupation, and the years following the Liberation, through Charlotte’s point of view. The characters are varied and the plot moves stealthily through emotions, consciousness, and events. This all allows for this one woman’s story to mirror so many others’, and to one day find the peace she is yearning for. So many emotions brought to the surface with this one, I simply couldn’t put it down.