“Sometimes everything has to come crashing down for us to understand what we have built our lives upon.” ~ Mario Escobar

Jocelyn Ferrec’s happily ever after was just about to begin. Marrying the love of her life with nothing but a bright, long future ahead of them, her dreams were quickly squandered when World War II reached their doorstep in August 1938. As her beloved, Antoine, is called to arms, Jocelyn is left to survive through countless horrors, determined to protect the books she has spent her life sharing with the people of Saint-Malo, while life only grows more dangerous as the war escalates. A world without books is a world Jocelyn refuses to live in; however, when the Nazis occupy her city, bringing their propaganda and destruction with them, she will be forced to shield each title with her life. Will Jocelyn be able to save her library, or will the war steal everything from her?

“The power of words does not lie in the stories we tell, but in our ability to connect to the hearts of those who read them.” ~ Mario Escobar

Mario Escobar is a sensational author. Bringing history to life, his novels combine fiction and non-fiction into an elegant yet devastating tale of life, love, trust, and redemption. With gripping one-liners, I was captivated by the words and often had to pause to jot down the quotes so I wouldn’t forget. While The Librarian of Saint-Malo didn’t pull me in the same way as Children of the Stars, Escobar’s previous release, Jocelyn’s perseverance and passion for literature compelled me to continue. A woman after my own heart, her bravery and tenacity were inspiring.

“Hopes are just wishes we cast into the wind. And the only thing that can bring them back to us are the inscrutable whims of fate.” ~ Mario Escobar

Though I had not heard of Saint-Malo before reading this novel, I will not soon forget about the events that took place during the war. We don’t often talk about how the countrymen and women of occupied territories suffered during the Nazi’s push for global control, so it’s books like The Librarian of Saint-Malo that tell us of the history we should never forget while also initiating new conversations that educate us on how to prevent these things from happening again!

“Youth is much more persuasive than maturity, reminding us of what we have forgotten, that the present is the only thing that actually exists.” ~ Mario Escobar

An absorbing tale that historical fictions fans will love. A tale of war, books, and love.
Many thanks to Thomas Nelson Fiction and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

I have mixed feelings after reading The Librarian of Saint-Malo. On one hand, I really enjoyed Mario Escobar's writing style, and genuinely cared about the characters he crafted... Jocelyn and Antoine and their friends in World War II era Saint-Malo. I'm a librarian and a Francophile, so in many ways this book was truly my cup of tea. However, I thought Jocelyn was just a bit over the top at times. This was war, and she was so gosh darn centered on protecting her library for wayyy too long in my opinion. Books are awesome. I LOVE books. But I just could not relate to the level by which she cared about books. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but I did think it detracted from the storyline somewhat because it almost did a disservice to those who risked their lives to help people during the war. But in general, I did enjoy reading this book. I was not very familiar with the Brittany region of France, and am super curious now to learn more.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the advanced review copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

The cover art initially captured my attention. However, the original story line captivated the rest of me. Well rounded characters. Beautifully written. Five stars.

A World War II novel set in Northern France in the town of Saint-Malo, this book tells the story of Jocelyn. Things I enjoyed about the novel: a positive and strong female character, a war story that's not full of gruesome details, the library setting and the town itself. What I didn't like were some of the relationships and feelings which are stated but not explained. More development of those feelings (between Jocelyn and the German officers) and or how they came about would make it easier to believe. I feel that more character development through actual dialogue would have helped with this. The library also didn't feature as much as I would have expected. Overall, it was an interesting book but not a favorite for me.

For someone who works in a library and has a degree in museum studies, this book was a bit of a horror story on top of being historical fiction. I was cringing constantly when the war was affecting these precious locations and artifacts. I saw myself so much in Jocelyn as I'd have been doing my best to protect the books and documents as well. Very good read and highly recommend.

3 stars

You can read all of my reviews at Nerd Girl Loves Books.

This was a good historical fiction about a librarian in a small coastal French town during WWII and her determination to protect the town's library and all of the books within.

Jocelyn and Antoine are childhood sweethearts. Shortly after they marry Antoine gets drafted in the Army, leaving Jocelyn to fend for herself. When France falls to Germany, their coastal town is occupied by the Nazi Army and Jocelyn is forced to house a cruel SS officer in her home. The officer takes an immediate dislike to Jocelyn and her unwillingness to cower under his authority and strikes out by confiscating and destroying books in her library. Another German officer tries his best to protect Jocelyn and the library, with mixed results.

Antoine is injured and taken as a prisoner of war. He is eventually released and returns home, but is gravely ill and never fully recovers. Jocelyn attempts to hide books and tries to resist the Nazis, but most of her efforts, and those of other townspeople, fail.

This book was a bit of a disappointment. The story moved slowly and was pretty bleak. I didn't really connect with any of the characters. There were several different plot lines that were added to the book at different times, but none of them were fully developed and ended abruptly. It's like the author didn't know what story he wanted to tell. It would have been better to stick to one or two main points, and do those well, rather than scattering several different half-formed plotlines throughout the book.

For a WWII historical fiction, the violence is thankfully not too explicit, nor is there much of it. There are a few instances of atrocities described, but not in vivid details. I found the relationship with Jocelyn and both German officers confusing. There weren't enough details about why one officer hated her and another loved her to be convincing. From the few, brief interactions she had with them, you wouldn't expect those heightened feelings. It was like a bad YA Romance where upon two character's first meeting they are either immediately madly in love or decide to be mortal enemies. It didn't make sense and was not compelling. The writing itself wasn't bad, but the story moved too slowly for me. So many issues didn't seem to have much of a point and I never really knew where the book was going.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley and Thomas Nelson. All opinions are my own.

Thanks to Netgalley for a copy of this book for an honest review.

Told as a series of letters, this is the story of Jocelyn and her fight to save her library during the Nazi occupation of Saint-Malo. Somewhat unbelievable in some aspects.

Inspiring, heartbreaking and a beautifully written story set in WW2. The protagonist Joycelyn is not only the librarian, she is protecting literature and people from the Germans. If you enjoy historical fiction, you will love this book. It is well researched too.

Thank you #NetGalley, #ThomasNelsonPublisher and #Mario Escobar for the advance reader’s copy for my honest review.

Another heart breaking beautifully told historical fiction WWII novel. I'm not sure I can say anything more that hasn't already been said about this novel. I was surprised at the not all Nazi officers are created equal take-- I wasnt expecting that which was and interesting spin.

"I gave myself to my books." she says-- I get you Jocelyn... I get you... Sigh...

Thank you to NetGalley and publishers for this advanced readers copy in exchange for my honest review.

Jocelyn and Antoine are French sweethearts, but first Jocelyn's battle with tuberculosis and then Antoine's draft into WWII tear them apart. Jocelyn is Saint-Malo's librarian where she interacts with the townspeople and secretly hides Jewish people who are increasingly being persecuted by the Nazis. The story, told in a series of letters from Jocelyn to famous author Marcel Zola, follows her as the Nazis occupy her beloved town and what the aftermath is. Does Jocelyn escape the war unscathed -- will Saint-Malo survive? Will the Nazis leave Saint-Malo; will they leave Jocelyn alone?

I found this book to be a relatively slow read -- it didn't really pick up until the last 1/3 of the book when the read action started. I liked Jocelyn, but found myself wanting to know more about her background. Additionally, I wanted more information about Antoine as I almost didn't care or sympathize with him as all I know about him is that he is Jocelyn's husband and a police officer. I needed more background on Hermann as well to understand why he was the way he was. Finally, the eARC I received was very hard to read as there were random words and formatting mistakes everywhere that detracted from this story.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the eARC.

I don't think I can really articulate why this book didn't quite work for me. It just generally felt "off"; the main characters weren't especially likable, the pacing was kind of weird, and most of the action in the book was both predictable but also kinda farfetched.

Two stars.

The so-called epistolary format of this novel is one of many things I didn't like about this novel, only because it rarely materializes as much of the book is third person limited. It just makes no sense to me.

I couldn't connect with the protagonist at all - I found her very depressive and unrelatable with ridiculous expectations. Another issue I have is the way resistance work was treated so casually. For example, in one scene a teenage boy at a Nazi Christmas party comes up to the protagonist and says "Hey, I'm in the Special Operations Executive now and my code name is this...." which was so wholly unrealistic, yet a pivotal scene. My interest waned significantly after that.

I started out really wanting to like this book. Everything about it pointed to it being a favorite. Unfortunately, nothing about this novel was new or engaging.

An extensive look at a strong female during a rough time in history and what she will do to protect her beloved library. This features a strong female lead, which is always a bonus for me. The book moved along a bit slow for my tastes and I was hoping for more emotion. Overall, a tense historical fiction with a wonderful library setting! My thanks to the publisher for the advance reader in exchange for my honest review.

Wonderful tribute to those who fought and sacrificed to preserve not only the people but their heritage as well. Mario Escobar's pen has a unique voice that speaks of the human spirit that transcends the horror and destruction of Nazi-occupied France. The author's voice is quite philosophical and that may be why I never quite connected with the main character. However, I did find Jocelyn's story compelling. As a bibliophile, I was intrigued by the premise of saving the precious heritage that is found within the written word.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author/publisher through NetGalley. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Summary: Jocelyn a Librarian in Saint-Malo relives her life and the struggles of the the German occupation of her French town through a pen pal exchange with a famous Author. Through the letter we learn about her marriage, her work with the French resistance as her desire to save France’s history through the preservation of books.

Thoughts: So this is my first Netgalley read and it has me questioning my judgment because I didn’t like Jocelyn’s Husband Antoine. While I understand that war causes people to do and see horrific acts, her husband truly never recovered and Jocelyn sees equally horrible things and continues to push forward something her husband is unable to do, so I didn’t really like the husband. However, Dennis and Pierre, Jocelyn’s rebellious friends are precious and complete bad*ss and I loved seeing their story. The story was definitely interesting and made you think, it has a lot of strong interesting characters. Klaus was one of the most interesting character that we didn’t get to see enough of. The ending definitely surprised me I wasn’t expecting that but it made it more interesting. I remember reading another book set during the german occupation of France in WW2 written by a women during the occupation and in it the she wrote something along the lines that “the older generation looked at German soldiers with scorn but the younger women just looked“ and it is definitely an interesting topic that I never really thought about it before, however Pierre is my favorite for this book and I really wish we saw more of him.

The Librarian of Saint-Malo is an interesting WWII resistance novel. It is not your normal spy novel or action one with blowing up bridges but instead it is about a woman who finds herself involved in a small resistance group because the Nazi's threatened her library. Jocelyn as a newly wed who after surviving illness has to say goodbye to her husband when the France declares war on Germany. She manages to get enough strength to return to her beloved library and then the Nazi's arrive. She meets an SS officer who wishes nothing more than to torture her for his own amusement and an officer whose job is to find the library treasures but wants to protect her.
During the war Jocelyn writes letters to Marcel Zola in Paris in the hopes that he can tell the story of Saint-Malo. This is not an everything ends well for all story but instead is probably more realistic in the outcomes. Escobar is so good at writing the war stories of the every day civilian. I definitely recommend.

What would you do if the world was on fire and soon the beloved book shop down the street, had a target on its back? World War 2 has begun its long journey to ravage and consume all of Europe. Works of art and literary masterpieces are being consumed by fire, by hate.

The librarian in the story is Jocelyn, a newlywed to Antoine, who must face the wrath of the Nazis in her hometown of Saint-Malo, France. Her husband is drafted to the war front and she takes comfort in the familiarity of the books. She then begins a correspondence with a French author detailing her daily life in letters, hoping she can give an account of her life, and those around her, to the outside world. She also begins to hide books in an attempt to save the one thing the Nazis are burning: knowledge.

If you are a fan of historical fiction, check out this book,

The Librarian of Saint-Malo is a beautifully written historical fiction novel by well-loved author Mario Escobar. I enjoyed this story of Jocelyn and her live Antoine as she strives to protect the books she watches over in the town as they survive the German Occupation. I always love Escobars characters with their flaws and nuances, and with an excellent backdrop of Saint-Malo this story draws you in. While there may be a few instances I can not quite reconcile the main characters choices with the reality of war etc, overall it is a well written book I would recommend it. I received an ARC of this book, all opinions are my own.

The Librarian of Saint-Malo features, unsurprisingly, the town librarian from the small French town of Saint-Malo as a main character. Jocelyn and Antoine Ferrec marry on 1 September 1939, the day Germany illegally invades Poland, the event which creates World War II.

History tells us the city and the country did not fare well in the war. This novel shows us some of what happened from a French point of view. That was a new perspective for me. While I’ve read a lot of novels set in and around World War II, almost all of them have been set in the USA or England, and told from the American or English point of view–American or English authors, and American or English characters.

A smaller number have shown the war in Germany, but still from the American or English viewpoint. Where there have been German characters, they’ve either been “good” Nazis (which are about as believable as “good” slaveowners in American Civil War fiction) or the Nazis have been the evildoers (well, history).

It was refreshing to read a story showing the war from the point of view of the occupied French. (The book is written by a Spaniard, who were neutral in World War II). It provided new insights into the occupation, and didn’t have the American need for a stereotypical heroic main character. It’s a welcome difference.

I’ve seen a couple of reviews moaning about this book as being yet another Nazi romance, with the subtext being that the Nazis were monsters and we shouldn’t be trying to romanticise them. While I agree we shouldn’t romanticise evil, I don’t think this book can truthfully be classed with other Nazi romances.

First, The Librarian of Saint-Malo is not a romance (it’s historical fiction). Second, while one of the German soldiers clearly has feelings for Jocelyn, I didn’t think she was anywhere close to being in love with him. And finally, the story wasn’t written by a white American woman trying to show a redemption story. It was more a gritty war story written by a Spanish man. As such, the ending is more inevitable than the happy-ever-after of a romance novel.

The novel is introduced as a series of letters from Jocelyn, the Saint-Malo librarian, to her literary hero, the fictional Marcel Zola. She explains in the Prologue why she has chosen to write to him, and there is the occasional mention of the letters or reminder in the body of the novel that these are meant to be letters. But they’re not—not like in other epistolary novels, like Daddy Long Legs by Jean Webster, Dear Mr. Knightley by Katherine Reay, Things We Didn’t Say by Amy Lynn Green, or The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel By Society by Mary Ann Safer and Annie Barrows.

Instead, the story read much like any other historical novel, albeit one written in first person point of view, as a letter would be. The story was exceptionally well researched (well, except for the line about “God Save the Queen”. The song changes names depending on who is on the throne, and the monarch during World War II was King George). I especially liked the fact the novel was written by a Spaniard—we need more historical fiction written from non-American perspectives.

We see the war progress through Jocelyn’s eyes. We see the fall of France, the refugees (that was new to me), the arrival of the Germans, billetting, and the SS. The story takes us through the emotion of a lot of these events in a way a history book can’t, but the overall voice is still one of a person telling her story and trying to keep the emotion out of it. The French might mock the British for their stiff upper lips, but Jocelyn does a good impression. But the understated emotion makes it all the more powerful.

This is the first translated Mario Escabar novel I’ve read. I was impressed, and I will certainly watch out for future novels from him. Recommended for historical fiction fans.

Thanks to Thomas Nelson and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review.