Member Reviews
I struggled with this book a bit. I enjoyed the historical part of this book, but could have lived without the present day side.
The historical characters are good, they are interesting and the story line good. The writing falls a bit flat, but the storyline makes up for that.
The present time part was not as enjoyable. And for those looking for clean books, this one is clean until the end when the author drops an unnecessary f bomb. Why?
I enjoyed reading The Forgotten Bookshop in Paris. Daisy Wood did a wonderful job of blending past & present, evil & good, and complex emotions. I looked forward to what would follow in the book.
Juliette and her husband Kevin are on a romantic vacation in Paris. Or at least it is supposed to be romantic but with Kevin's attitude and lack of enthusiasm it has become anything else. Prior to returning home, she discoveries that he has been having an affair with one of their neighbors. Heartbroken and and betrayed, Juliette elects to stay in Paris for a while. Using the money from her mother's estate, she finds a small place to stay, and goes out to explore the city with new eyes. As she is exploring, she finds herself drawn to the area where she believes to be her relatives home especially when she finds what appears to be an abandoned bookstore. It is The Forgotten Bookshop in Paris.
Once the bookstore enters the picture the story really picks up. Not that watching Juliette drop the bombshell of knowing about the affair right as they were heading to the air port wasn't exciting. It was so well deserved. Kevin is such a pompous jerk and I hated how he treated Juliette. Learning about the history of the bookstore opened a whole new chapters. It all started in 1940 when Jacques and Mathilde were newly married and had to escape from war torn Germany to Paris. They try to start their lives together but before long the Nazi's invade Paris and Jacques is pulled right in.
Jacques recently acquired a small shop when he moved to Paris and when renovating he created a small hidden alcove which will hold a very important role in the story. Mathilde refuses to be a pushover to the Nazi's especially after witnessing the atrocities committed to the Persian people. Together, she and her husband begin hiding individuals to protect them from the Nazi's. It is decided that Mathilde will take one woman with her south on a train for safety. Jacques remains in Paris, continuing to hide people in the secret room, smuggle illegal books, and care for his sick mother who is far too weak to travel.
Juliette's present day storyline runs parallel to the past 1940s storyline and as the story progresses their histories are found to cross paths. It is told in a duel first person perspectives with Jacques and Juliette being the respective narrators. I really enjoyed both perspective as both were very strong characters. I had a feeling that their histories were going to interact and couldn't wait to find out how. There is a sense of mystery throughout which kept me invested. Juliette's desire to renovate and reopen the book store helped bring everything full circle.
The Lost Bookshop of Paris is just so well written. Author Daisy Wood know both of her history of WWII and her characters so perfectly, it is easy to get transported back to the past and forward to the future. This is a story of love and loss; strength and bravery; secrets, rebellion, and the truth; and war (both personal and political). If you enjoy historical fiction, this is one will not want to miss.
Rating: 4.5 Stars
What fun to bring a bookstore from WWII back to life.
Juliette and her husband’s trip to Paris ended in their separation, but it turned out to be a new start for Juliette.
Juliette needed a place to stay and found an apartment above a bookstore and decided to restore the bookstore even though a friend’s grandmother ZiZi who is 97 told her to not dig up the past.
Could this be the same apartment and bookstore that Jacques had owned during WWII?
Yes it is…Jacques and his wife lived in that very apartment above the bookshop while Jacques kept the peace with the Germans by selling books to an officer, but his wife Mathilde was in the resistance and got herself in trouble.
The bookstore sounded lovely and had a hidden room and lots of other secrets...will Juliette find out these secrets?
THE FORGOTTEN BOOKSHOP IN PARIS goes from 1940 to present day.
I always enjoy when there are connections from the past and present.
Could there be a connection between the bookshop and the characters from 1940 and 2022?
A lovely read that has some romance, mystery, history, and a chance to enjoy the city of lights both past and present.
Truly enjoyable for historical fiction fans and women's fiction fans. 5/5
This book was given to me by the publisher via NetGalley for an honest review.
I Will start by saying this book has dual timeline, one in the 1940s and one in present day. For me, personally, dual timelines are Either hit or miss. One timeline tends to ve better than the other, even though they tie together in the end. In the 1940 s timeline we follow courageous people who tries to fight the enemy. We get to meet Jacques. Who in the beginning of the books seens a little bit "dull". But as the story grows we see his passionhis strength and how far he Will go to save others. He is Just a loveable guy.
This timeline has the drive, the emotions that you expect from historical fiction.
In the present timeline, you get to follow strong people too. But it felt more like a romance and or women fiction.
But overall i liked the book. Thank you to netgalley for letting me read this e arc in exchange for an honest opinion
The Forgotten Bookshop in Paris by daisy Wood is told in dual timelines Paris, 1940 WWll and the present day. I loved the historical fiction aspect of this story however I found the present storyline a little bit hallmark. I love a good love story and chic lit, but here I found the two a little hard to blend. The book's message and it does not matter the year reminds us that change is always possible and that taking risks can provide rewards.
3.5 stars
This fiction goes back and forth between Paris 1940 when the war was closing in on the city and the modern day life with Juliette and her husband on a romantic getaway to the city of light.
The story in a few words:
1940:
In the midst of Nazi occupation, while his wife in hiding, Jacques the owner of the bookshop “La Page Cachée” had to make tough decisions and risk everything to save those persecuted or in need of refuge. The story in time tells us how Jacques managed to rescue many of these poor souls.
Forward to Modern day:
On her romantic getaway Juliette and her husband Kevin realized how far they’ve grown apart. She is craving for a new adventure in Paris while Kevin heads back home. On a walk exploring the city she happens to come across a tiny abandoned shop .....”La Page Cachée” this forgotten bookshop was the answer to her dreams but this little abandoned gem had more than met the eye....
My thoughts:
The dual time narrative works well and is easy to follow. The pacing unravels at a moderate pace and stays that way all through. I enjoy the story but I didn’t find much mystery to it. The “déjà lu” experience kept popping in my mind in fact I know I read something similar in the past. It seems a bookstore during the war was an important place for the résistance to do their exchange...at a risk of evil and betrayal....Nevertheless I liked this detailed and vividly said story, you can picture what is going on, in whole very engaging. Ms. Daisy gives her characters honor roles which they played out beautifully.
In many ways “The Forgotten Bookstore in Paris” is a thought-provoking tale I enjoyed quite a bit.
The Forgotten Bookshop in Paris is a beautiful WW2 fiction set in Paris, France during the resistance.
The majority of the story is set in the past, however, there is also a nice little present day tie-in which worked really well. In some dual timeline books I find myself connecting with one aspect of the story more than the other, however, in this one I was equally as invested and loved trying to see if I could guess how it would all tie together in the end.
Whilst some WW2 fiction books are quite action packed and emotionally confronting, I found this one to be more of a quiet, subtle story. There was of course, still some incredibly heroic and brave characters, and a lot of the emotions that come with war stories, but told in a more gentle way.
The characters were interesting, however, I do think that the level of characterisation could have been developed further. This wasn't an action packed plot, however, there was still enough going on to carry the story along.
Overall, while not my favourite historical fiction read, this was still a very good book.
Thanks to Netgalley and Avon Books UK for this eArc
A beautifully written story of bookshops and old Paris. Great characters and very enjoyable. Already planning on buying for an aunt
Bookshops, Paris and intrigue! What’s not to love?
We have Paris on dual timelines of WW2 occupation and 2022. We know this will be an emotional read and it is somewhat predictable. However, the writing is poignant and the pacing good. All in all, the story just captures you, you need to know the resolution and it’s not as straight forward as you think.
A story that is very relevant in today’s world and I highlighted several particularly observant passages.
Thank you to the author, the publisher and Netgalley fir the opportunity to read this. The fact it was free of charge does not influence my opinions at all.
This sucked me right in. I love historical fiction, my favorite typically being WWII so it was an obvious win for me. I love the story and the way it jumps timelines so seamlessly.
Set over dual timelines this is a wonderful novel by Daisy Wood.
1940, beginning of WW2 and Jacques runs a Bookshop in Paris with his wife. But the Germans are closing in and he risks losing everything he loves, but he cannot stand by and watch as people are persecuted just for their race.
Present day and Juliette is on holiday in Paris, the city her Grandmother grew up in. Finding the old village square that was on her Meme's painting at the same time as discovering her husband has been having an affair, she decides it must be fate that she stays for a while longer.
This novel is a story of overcoming loss and betrayal, both in the past and present. I preferred reading Jacques story but the two timelines slotted in nicely together resulting in a heartwarming conclusion
I received this advanced copy from Netgalley and Avon Books but am under no obligation to leave my review
I was delighted to receive a copy of "The Forgotten Bookshop of Paris" as I love Historical Fiction and of course books. It is a dual timeline book. Primarily it tells the story of Jacques and Mathilde during WWII and the story of Juliette in the present day. Jacques and Mathilde Duval own a bookshop in Paris at the outbreak of World War II, "Le Page Cachee. Mathilde gets involved with the French Resistence while Jacques, who besides selling confiscated books, wants to keep his head down, but the events of the War cause him to rethink his agenda for getting through the war. Secondly it tells the story of Juliette who is in Paris and searching for information on her Grandmother who lived there during WW2.
While I enjoyed the book, I did feel it would have been improved by telling the story of Jacques and Mathilde only and omitting the dual timeline. I found their story far more interesting and found myself speed reading to get back to their tale.
The character of Jacques was well written and he was the ordinary man, just like most of us, in the war wanting to remain anonymous, not wanting any trouble but at the same time knowing he needed to do what was right.
Overall it was an enjoyable read and I thank Netgalley and Avon Publishers for an advanced eARC in return for an honest review.
This is a lovely read. A story told in both the past and in the present and very well woven together. I loved how the story moved seamlessly from one era to the other.
Juliette has always had a yearning to visit Paris but it’s not going well. Her husband just wants to go home to the States. When Juliette discovers something very upsetting she decides to stay in Paris and a whole Noe’s life begins as she searches the past for answers to many unsaid questions. Those questions are answered back in the war years when Paris was occupied and danger was everywhere. It’s a lovely book and a lovely story carefully portrayed. I recommend it highly
Another new author for me and I wasn’t disappointed, This was a really lovely read that I just couldn't put down. The story was well written with such an interesting storyline and lovely characters. As always with this era of book it’s thought provoking.
Thanks as always to NetGalley and Avon Books UK for the early read.
I was excited to receive this book, having previously read ‘The Clockmaker’s Wife’ by Daisy Wood. That book was an unforgettable 5 Star+ read for me, also written with a dual timeline between WW2 and present day.
Sadly, I was so disappointed by this book, as it is not in the same league, in my opinion, as the previous book.
The part in Paris, involving the bookshop, is engaging enough, but the present day timeline, and the schmaltzy romance is such a letdown.
I think I am done with the dual timeline WW2 fiction theme. I feel it has now been done to death, I’m sorry to say.
My thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for my advance copy of this book.
Set in WWII in Paris and then moving to the present times, the story as is usual in two time lines links
what is seemingly inexplicable and a mystery.
Juliette has come to France with her husband - it has been a dream of her for so very long to recapture the
world of her grandmother's past in France and now that she is actually in Paris she feels a connection that
is scoffed at by her husband. Whilst on holiday, Juliette accidentally discovers that her husband has been
unfaithful from a message she inadvertently read and that seals her decision to stay on in France and try to
find out more about her grandmother and her family history.
We then backtrack to occupied France and how the persecution of the Jews saw many French people come out to help to try to save as many people as they could. We see here Jacques the owner of the original bookshop and his wife Mathilde. Mathilde was more active in the Resistance and was interrogated on suspicion. Jacques was hesitant to get involved until his hand was almost forced by the humanitarian problem facing Parisians. Jacques begins leading a double life - holding people facing persecution in a hidden chamber in his house, buying books from Jewish families needing money and then being befriended by a Nazi official who was looking for book treasures but who also helped him by warning him of imminent arrests.
The story in present day times was equally good. Juliette finds her dream bookshop decides to stay, become a small businesswoman in Paris, finds love again and gets to the bottom of her grandmothers story.
Extremely good reading, wonderfully strong characters and the mix of history, family saga, romance and life was very captivating.
Good story that pulled me in as I traveled back and forth between the stories of Jacques and Mathilde in the 1940's and the story of Juliette in 2022. It covers the horrible treatment of Jewish people during the war and the courage of some Parisians as they tried to help as many people as they could. This was a page turner for me and I enjoyed the way the author resolved the stories and entwined them at the end. It is a story of the courage of two different women during two different time periods who fight to overcome their obstacles.
WWII, historical fiction, and a bookstore - some of my favorite topics all wrapped up in one story. Incredibly well written and moving, a fresh take on an almost over-covered topic. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the free advanced copy.