While I mostly enjoyed this book about a widowed woman with an infant daughter barely scraping by in WWII Paris, there were some things I thought could be better. This is actually a dual timeline novel and perhaps because I was reading an e-galley copy, I found the transition between timelines hard to delineate at times until I'd read a couple of paragraphs. Also, I may have missed it, but I'm not quite sure why Charlotte couldn't leave Paris with her daughter Vivi during the war when it is revealed later that her circumstances are not what she presented. I think her relationship with her female resistance friend could have been fleshed out more and I think her post WWII romantic connection to her editor seemed a bit abrupt. All in all, though, this was an easy read; I just thought it could have been more.

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. I enjoy reading books about WWII but this didn't quite capture me like some others. The story starts ten years after the war has ended and then flashed back to tell Charlotte's story. I did not immediately pick up which time frame we were in at certain times. I also felt that since it was only a ten year span, did we really need to have the flashbacks? Just start at the beginning and tell the story.

Paris is my favorite place on earth, and I usually love stories that take place during WWII, so I jumped at the opportunity to get an advance copy of Paris Never Leaves You by Ellen Feldman. Having finished the book, I went to Goodreads to look at some of the reviews, and they are decidedly mixed. For me, however, this book was a pleasure to read, and a bright four stars.

The book follows a woman named Charlotte Foret, beginning with her years as a new mother in war-torn Paris in the 1940s. Charlotte runs a small bookstore, along with her best friend, and is doing her best to survive in Paris. German soldiers march each day down the Champs d"Elysees, and food shortages are a fact of life. Charlotte's daughter, Vivi, is particularly struggling and in ill health due to the lack of nutrition. Fortunately, one of the bookstore's patrons is a doctor who recognizes Vivi's ill health and begins to bring food for her. One big problem, the doctor, Julian, is a German officer.

From there, the story jumps to New York City. It is now the 1950s, and Charlotte has emigrated from France after being released from a German concentration camp. She is sponsored by an old friend of her father;s named Horace Field and his wife Hannah. Charlotte works in the publishing house run by Horace, and Hannah cares for Vivi when she comes home from school each day. Vivi is growing up and becoming more and more curious about her father who died in the war and about the years she and Charlotte lived in Paris.

For me, the crux of the story was secrets. Secrets we keep to protect ourselves, secrets we keep to protect others, and secrets that haunt us. Charlotte, Julian, and Horace each have a secret, and it's impossibly big. It is also about survival, and moving forward from great sadness and turmoil.

This is a quiet book that I loved reading. It's atmospheric and the psychology of the characters is well-developed. I find it hard to fit into a genre, but I guess it's best described as historical fiction. I highly recommend picking up a copy when it's released on June 2, 2020.

My thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book was not what I was expecting, in a good way! I loved the plot, the characters, and the setting so much. It is a refreshing difference than most books on World War II

This was good, but I think it would have been better with a bit more time between the war and her time in NY. I realize the author needed the daughter to be young enough to fit into the story line, but the dual timeline just didn't work well for me. The book felt more like a romance than historical fiction. Didn't really learn anything new about the Holocaust. I didn't like the character of Horace at all. He seemed to me like an older man who preyed upon his younger employee. .

Paris Never Leaves You is a nuanced historical novel with a dual storyline -- 1940's Paris and 1950's New York City. Well written, moving, with fine period details.

A provocative read about the best and worst of humanity. Who could we be if we only looked at each other as fellow humans to love with no societal constraints? The history of the German occupation in Paris and what it did to the souls of everyone involved, no matter what side they were on, is eye opening, and causes one to take a hard look at our own perceptions of the world.

The book was OK. I found the story to be confusing at times and would jump from one moment to another and sometimes they weren't connected. I also found the characters not very likable. I still feel like I don't know Charlotte that well, even though the book was all about her and Vivi. The story definitely wasn't what I was expecting. The sex scenes didn't seem to fit in with the rest of the book, especially how they were described. It didn't sound like Charlotte's voice. I think it would have been easier for Charlotte if she would have told Vivi the truth from the very start. I would have never guessed Charlotte's secret. I'm pretty sure she would never have told anyone, except Vivi was very persistent in wanting to find family members who may have survived the war. It reminded me a bit of another book that was also set during the Occupation of Paris, primarily in a bookstore, and had a German doctor helping a mother and her daughter.

Give the book a try, you might enjoy it more than me. There's a little twist on how Charlotte and Vivi arrive in America. I really wanted Charlotte to reconnect with Simone.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from St. Martin's Press through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Ellen Feldman is gifted at blending history with fiction. The characters carry many secrets and I was kept guessing right up to the end.
Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Terrific book. Absolutely loved it. Compelling characters and story line. Kept me interested the entire time.

This was not what I had expected. I wanted more history and less romance. The dual timeline was hard to follow. Sometimes, I found myself having to re-read to see what time period Charlotte was in. The book wasn't appealing to me.

Alternating between two timelines, Paris Never Leaves You is the story of Charlotte and her daughter, Vivi. In the World War II storyline, Charlotte manages a bookstore for her father’s friend. Vivi, then a toddler, spends her days there as well. They soon attract the attention of a young German physician. In the 1950s storyline, both women now live in New York. Vivi has a scholarship to a prestigious school while Charlotte works for a publishing house. Many of those segments focus on both trying to fit into society and Vivi’s struggles to be accepted at school.

When I saw this novel in a newsletter, I was excited as it sounded very interesting. However, it didn’t live up to expectations. I only read the first quarter and stopped. I felt after reading that much, the story hadn’t really progressed nor that I “knew” the characters. That said, it was elegantly written and perhaps could have ended on a better note.

As an avowed fan of historical fiction based on World War II, I am drawn to the stories of survivors. I believe we can learn from survivors how to persevere and find our own resilience. A new WWII book, Paris Never Leaves You by Ellen Feldman, offers readers additional perspective on “survivor’s guilt,” the condition some people experience after they have lived through a traumatic event. Alternating between wartime Paris and 1950s New York City, Paris Never Leaves You tells the story of a tenacious heroine, Charlotte, who is resolved to protect her child from the horrors of the past.

Secrets haunt Charlotte after she escapes Frances with her daughter, Vivi, and gains asylum in the United States. I found myself haunted, too, imagining the frightening streets of occupied Paris and the terror of trying to find food for a hungry child. Charlotte’s guilt stems from the fact that she was able to escape the violence of WWII relatively unharmed — but how she did it is a mystery to the reader. In America, Charlotte finds success working as a bookseller; however, when she learns about a fellow survivor’s memoir that may reveal her safely guarded secrets, she feels the weight of the past. I believe WWII stories, both fictional and nonfictional, give us insight into how resilient people were and can be.

I was super excited to read Paris Never Leaves You. A WWII historical fiction story mixed with a Parisian bookstore?! This book alternates between wartime Paris and 1950s New York. Charlotte Foret makes her way to New York with her young daughter, Vivienne, after living in Paris during the war. This book has strong themes of love, sacrifice, and survival. This is not your typical historical fiction story, and is not the most structured for the flashbacks that depict how these two survived the war. Overall it was a good book, not great, based on the comparison amongst other historical fiction novels I have read in the past.

A book I devoured I love historical fiction and this was a 5 star read told from different perspectives Parisi occupied France & New York in the fifties.Charlotte and Vivienne her daughter escape to New York for survival a new life.As the story unfolds as secrets are revealed the heart wrenching story grabs me more and more.#netgalley#st.martins

Though this books does depict the atrocities perpetuated against the Jews. The main focus is those that witnessed these atrocities but were personally untouched by them. The main character is one such person who feels an overwhelming sense of survivor guilt. Feldman does an excellent job of exploring the psychological effects of war on not only soldiers but civilians as well.

I didn't request this book, but it popped up and it looked interesting.

And it was--mostly.

Alternating between Paris, 1944 and New York, 1954. Charlotte Foret is a survivor. She makes her way to New York with her young daughter, Vivi, after suffering deprivation in Paris. This part of the story was more interesting as was the conflict her then teenage daughter had about her [Jewish?] identity.

Her guilt [long story about how she survived] follows her to New York where she works for a publisher her father knew. And the connection with Horace, the publisher--huge disconnect for me. Way too much.

Although I was quite taken in by the story at the beginning; as this story devolved into a romance novel--sort of--it lost me. In fact, I disliked the sappy parts the most. Detracted from the story and even "eewww" moments.

A few interesting twists, but...ultimately not for me. Torn between 2.5 and rounding up or down. Because save for the romance, the language was fine. Going with rounding down. There are so many books out there that are more appealing.

I wasn't sure how it was going to end and thought it would be far too neat and tidy. Thankfully not, but...

In distinct minority.

This book takes place in Paris toward the end of World War II and in New York in the mid-fifties. It tells the story of a French woman who was intimate with a gentle German officer who was kind to her. The story is told by her in flashbacks and examines her feelings of guilt.

This is a new, to me, view of history and the ramifications and emotions of living in an occupied country. A different perspective.

The book held my interest, however, somehow, I had little sympathy for the characters except for the German officer.

A solid read. I enjoy historical fiction specifically within the WW2 era. I enjoyed reading about the character in German occupied France while being French. More often than not the premise is of a Jewish family or individual and I found it interesting to follow how the war affected others as well.

The novel does switch from past to present but I enjoyed it. Would recommend.

4⭐️ read. I almost stopped reading this book more than once. Yet once I got over the fact that the book would jump from one time period to another it captured me.. Definitely read this book if your into historical fiction.. #netgalley