Ok. I will say that this book sat on my NetGalley shelf for a long time, and I'm not entirely sure why. I'm a mood reader... and maybe I got swept away by some titles that felt splashier and fresher than a WW2 spy novel?

I was dead wrong to sleep on Alix St. Pierre. This was an absolute delight. Meticulously researched (in both the fashion history and war history), the book feels light and experiential. It is never bogged down by unnecessary, long-winded history lessons. The characters and relationships are so well-drawn that I was shocked to learn just how many real people and real dialogue snippets the author wove into the narrative.

I have a few notes about the final "standoff" of the mystery thread that runs throughout, and I think it could have been a bolder, action-y scene... but that's a fairly small quibble for a story that I found so charming and immersive.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for allowing me to read this advanced copy. I love historical fiction and I knew nothing about Dior so that made this story very interesting. The story is broken into different time periods of the main characters life which at first made it hard to follow. I did like the storyline of what people were forced to deal with during WW2 and the impossible decisions they had to make. Alix was also a wonderfully developed main character, years ahead of her time.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.

The Three Lives of Alix St. Pierre impeccably captures both the tumultuous and glittering aspects of the 1940s, observing a woman’s life both during World War II as a spy, and amid the glamor of postwar Paris as she takes employment for the House of Dior, ahead of its 1947 launch. While there are a lot of stories about the war, I like that this one both focuses on that, as well as the years after, charting the growth in success of a single woman at the center of it.

Alix makes for a compelling protagonist. She has been on her own for years as an orphan, and while she did have one friend, they part ways at the beginning of the book (they do keep in touch throughout through correspondence). She goes through some harrowing experiences as a spy during the war, including being haunted a by a particular failure (a plot thread which comes into play in the 1946/7 timeline). However, she also finds new purpose and strength upon getting the position with Dior, even as there are some ghosts from her past that linger.

Her relationship with Anthony was interesting, because there were ways that his presence served to reinforce her fears about her past failures. However, the romance that develops between them also grows in a believable way in the midst of that.

At first I wasn’t certain about the structure, with it being split into parts, denoting the different time periods, as I feared I’d find one more engaging than the other. However, both timelines are equally engaging, and the unresolved aspects of the 1943 arc bleed into the ‘46/47 arc well enough through the connections of past trauma and the remaining threat of danger, that the pacing remained fairly even throughout.

This is an engaging read, and I’d recommend it to anyone who enjoys woman-centric historical fiction.

Alix St. Pierre has led three lives: before, during, and after WWII. Throughout her three lives, she has faced adversity head-on. When she is orphaned as a young woman and must figure out how to not depend on the family who has taken her in. When she is a public relations work as an adult she is recruited by the Allied forces to help in their Intelligence Division. After the war, Alix has a life that finally helps her deal with the guilt of things that occurred during the war.

Alix St. Pierre was inspired by a female spy named Mary Smith who worked in Switzerland during WWII as she imagines Alix would have. In classic Natasha Lester writing, she includes the fact that Dior's original couture house had mainly female employees and she has included Alix in that number. Lester is also sure to put St. Pierre in some of Dior's most beautiful gowns that I was compelled to look up on Google so I could envision the dress while reading. I always enjoy a book that gets me researching. This is a good solid historical fiction with many twists and turns.

****Publishing Jan 10, 2023****

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️ Natasha Lester draws you in and writes a remarkable and engaging book about what it was like for women spies during WWII and the fashion industry, highlighting Dior, post WWII.

In 1943, Alix St. Pierre was recruited by the U.S. government to become a spy because of her successful PR career in NYC and the fact she could speak 3 languages. During the war, Alix is given a mission to get close to a Nazi who was thought that they might be willing to help the Allies. But is the person really a double agent? Will her mission lead her astray?

After the war, 1946, she is employed by Dior to help market his brand. When her past life of being a spy comes to haunt her in Paris and compromises her job with Dior, how will she handle it in order to save her job? Will she be able to or will it end her career?

This book highlights the risks women took during WWII especially with Alix having to set up her own courier line in order to gather the information she needed to do her job. It took making friends with a variety of key people who have connections in order to get the information she needed.

I love how Natasha Lester includes in her Author’s note her inspiration and which characters are linked to actual people in history!

An incredible story that is a must read for Historical Fiction lovers and leaves you thinking about long after it’s done. Be sure to add to your TBR! A great book club pick as well!


Thanks to Forever (Grand Central Publishing I was provided an ARC of The Three Lives of Alix St. Pierre by Natasha Lester via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Trying to move on from World War II Alix is determined to make a name for up and coming designer Christian Dior in Paris. But her job unexpectedly puts her in contact with people who know her and her OSS past. Can tracking down the man who has caused her so much grief finally relieve her of her past? A female lead with a haunting past and plot with many connecting dots is both captivating and enlightening to the effects of World War II. If you are a historical fiction lover like I am I highly recommend!

Alix, orphaned, is taken in by a wealthy family who sends her to school in Switzerland where she connects with Europe before WW II. Returning to the states, she gets a job in fashion which eventually sends her back to Europe. During the war she is enlisted into the OSS to work as a spy, ending up deeply involved with Italian partisans. After the War she returns to Paris where she becomes the right hand “man” to promote the new designer Christian Dior. Her career and eventually her life are threatened, involving her once again with her past and the Nazi who was instrumental in killing her husband and others close to her. The reader travels back and forth through these three stages with Natasha Lester’s flashbacks. We become haunted like Alix with one incident in the war for which she feels responsibility. And so we are given hints throughout as to what really occurred; unfortunately the storyline drags and wanders back and forth too much for me.

A well-written and engaging book about a unique woman, the eponymous Alix St. Pierre, who gets a job with the brand-new House of Dior as head of PR in 1946. Alix is a fictional character, but the story is well-researched and compelling, filled with real historical figures and events. Alix has a tragic backstory; she was orphaned young, and then endured a terrible loss when she worked with the OSS in Switzerland during WWII. She is fiercely feminist and all too aware of her lack of wealth in the world she works in. Dior's fashion is well described, almost becoming its own character, and the intrigue, romance, and danger kept me turning the pages long after I should have gone to sleep. Thank you to NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for a digital review copy.

Wowza! Is there anyone else who does Historical Fiction as well as Natasha Lester these days? Another grand slam from the author! Alix St Pierre's story is told from 3 timelines, past, present and future of WWII when she's recruited by the government to work as a spy. As her work begins, her loyalties and allegiance waver and she's forced to choose which direction to go in. The story continues after WWII when she's hired by Christian Dior to help launch his new couture line and while working with the fashion house, new people bring up old wounds.

This is the story of a woman's strength, courage and heart. Ms Lester always does a wonderful job with her historical research and this book is no different!
Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC in exchange for my review and honest opinions.

After WWII Alix St. Pierre is hired to be the press agent for Dior as the fashion house is launching. She is there to assist with the first shows and getting Dior dresses into the fashion magazines and on the bodies of actresses at movie premiers. During the war Alix worked as a spy trying to get information out of a high profile Nazi who may be willing to turn to the Allies. In post-war her past as a spy is catching up to Alix when people she thought were firmly in her past resurface.

This book was not meant for me. I don’t like WWII and I don’t like spies, so I’m honestly not sure why I requested this book. The only thing that kept me going was everything Dior in post war Paris. I really enjoyed the first part of the book because it was so much about Dior and then the spy stuff came in and the book jumped back in time and I stopped caring. I did read the whole thing but I had to make myself finish it because i could have put it down about a third of the way in and been fine not knowing how it ended. These are all me problems and people with interest in the era and the plot are going to really enjoy the book. The book felt very well researched and the author’s notes at the back of the book were very informative. One thing I struggled with was that when the book jumped back in time it switched from past tense to present tense. It was very odd to have present tense be the past and past tense to be the later timeline. I struggle in general with present tense so I think this probably added to my difficulties keeping interest in the book. Like I said, most readers will like the book, but it didn’t hold my interest.

Thank you to Forever for the gifted ARC copy and Forever and NetGalley for the digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

📖 ARC REVIEW 📖

Thank you @netgalley and @readforeverpub for an early copy of The Three Lives of Alix St. Pierre by @natashalesterauthor. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. 🤍

The Three Lives of Alix St. Pierre is a World War II-era historical fiction about Alix, an orphan, spy, and fashion icon. She has a knack for persuasion and is a quick thinker, as implied by her publicity job to recruit women into the workforce until the US government sends her to Switzerland as a spy and gets involved with a German informant. After the war, she moves to Paris and works in publicity for the House of Dior.

Alix’s story is beautifully written between three different times of her life. She spent her early days as an orphan, with her friend Lillie’s parents sort of adopting her and making her part of the family. She became a spy for the US government (in hindsight – how cool is that?). She has worked for the up-and-coming designer Christian Dior in his marketing department, and we get a glimpse of the fashion industry in Paris (again how cool is this woman?). I loved the alternating timelines as we get tidbits of her pasts. I couldn’t help but breeze through the pages as the plot is very intriguing and engaging with a lot of unexpected twists.

Rating The Three Lives of Alix St. Pierre ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5. Releases January 10th, 2022.

The Three Lives of Alix St Pierre is simply put historical fiction at its best.

My review cant do this book the justice it deserves but I will try.

Alix's story has three major parts: before the war, during the war and right after the war.

Alix is recruited and sent to Bern as an American spy where she more than fits the role and becomes so involved in doing everything in her power to help the Italian Partisans.

Everything does not go according to plan and tragedy strikes for which Alix will always blame herself.

The next phase she joins Christian Dior House of Fashion and becomes indispensable.

Alix has not forgotten that fatal night and is out discover the truth and Anthony Marsh whom she cannot help but feel a strong attraction to is at her side.

I laughed with Alix, I cried with Alix and I cheered her on as loud as I could.

Tension is there on almost every page that keeps you up late at night to read just one more chapter which turns into three more.

Natasha Lester has included her author's notes that are always well worth reading and are very insightful. They add that extra layer to the story.

Highly recommend not only The Three Lives of Alix St. Pierre but all of Natasha's books.

Thanks to NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing ) Forever for an astonishing read.

I

Natasha Lester writes historical fiction that I very much enjoy. In each of her novels, this author successfully develops characters about whom readers will care. She also has interesting plots that offer perspective on WWII and its aftermath. What makes her special for me is the way that she also incorporates fashion seamlessly (pun was not intended) in her stories.

Alix St. Clair has had a challenging life. She was orphaned young, taken in by a close friend’s family, educated in Switzerland and expected to marry well (to Bobby). Life surely did not go to plan however as readers will quickly discover.

This is a story that takes place in more than one time period.. In the most recent, postwar era, Alix is working for Christian Dior just as his fashion house is coming into being. The scenes in this atelier are wonderful to read; I was inspired to look up many of the dresses described in these pages.

Other sections of the book are about Alix’s work and life during WWII. She experienced the most awful of betrayals and wants to avenge some deaths. In doing so, she becomes involved with an American journalist. They have common experiences and a common foe…and maybe an attraction to each other. There are many other characters woven into the narrative; these include people both bad and good.

This long (432) and immersive read is highly recommended to historical and women’s fiction lovers who enjoy stories about the war. I give it four plus stars.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for this title. All opinions are my own.

THE THREE LIVES OF ALIX ST. PIERRE by Natasha Lester is an enthralling work of historical fiction told in three timelines: before, during and after World War II. It is the story of Alix St. Pierre, who, in 1943, is a talented New York PR consultant who becomes recruited by the US government to be a spy in the British intelligence office, OSS, in Bern, Switzerland. Her final mission leads to tragedy and the guilt from her role in that mission continues to haunt her. After the war, Alix moves to Paris and becomes the head of publicity for the newly-emerging House of Dior. She works tirelessly to get the fashion world onboard with Christian Dior’s launch, but soon a person from her wartime past threatens to upend all she has worked for. She risks everything for the chance to bring a war criminal to justice, but will it help her let go of the pain and grief from her past? This intense story held me captive from beginning to end. I loved the main character. Her independence, courage and loyalty were inspiring. The vivid descriptions of the Dior couture and the inner workings of a French design house made me feel like I was right there. This book has everything: history, intrigue, suspense and even romance. I will not soon forget this meticulously-researched and beautifully-written story and I look forward to whatever comes next from Natasha Lester. Highly recommended! Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the chance to read and review an early copy.

3:5 ⭐️

I a huge fan of Lester’s writing and the massive amount of research she does for each book. This one was no different except that it lacked the emotional connection I normally enjoy for HF books.

I say this knowing that I’m probably going to be an outlier with it but this book was good, decent, well researched but the connection for me as a reader wasn’t there.

I loved the strength of Alix. I loved the fiesty relationship between Anthony & Alix, all the way from where it started (as two broken people) to the end when it felt like everything had closure and peace.

Lots of espionage. And lots of Dior’s fashion house.

I think, readers that enjoy both will love it. For me, it just didn’t have the emotional charge that her other ones had.

I still recommend it but to certain readers. And I know two cousins who will love it as they love Dior.

Thank you to the publisher for the gifted copy in return for an honest review. Lester is still an auto buy even if this wasn’t a 5 star for me

I LOVE a good WWII book and this book hit all the boxed. Three Lives of Alix St. Pierre by Natasha Lester is a great WWII-era historical fiction that has it all: mystery, suspense, intrigue, history, action, and fashion. It is a great book. This was my first read from Ms. Lester and won't be the last! Intricately woven among different moments within the main character’s life (Alix), we see her come alive, take charge, and take action in several different roles ( spy, actress, recruiter of sorts, and overall powerhouse), and it creates a story that entertains, engages, and surprises. I really liked the balance between the intricate storyline and yet the ease of which it was presented so as to keep things brisk and not bogged down by detail. I was thoroughly impressed.

Thank you to Forever (Grand Central Publishing), and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this digital ARC

4.5 stars. The Three Lives of Alix St. Pierre was exactly what I’ve come to expect from Natasha Lester who is a fantastic story teller - strong, witty female protagonists, beautiful friendships, riveting romance, a quick moving plot between timelines to unravel an exciting storyline, and a satisfying ending! Always hard to put down with so many chapter ending cliff hangers!

Alix St Pierre is living in Paris while working as a publicist at Dior and trying desperately to recover from her time as a spy in Switzerland during WWII. She is haunted by events that happened in Switzerland resulting in the death of people very close to her. While Alix is launching Dior into one of the most renown designers in the world, she is also being hunted by an enemy from her past. While working to save herself and Dior, she has to learn to trust the people in her life to help her succeed.

Thanks to #netgalley, Natasha Lester, and Forever - Grand Central Publishing for the e-ARC of #TheThreeLivesofAlixStPierre in exchange for an honest review.

I really, really enjoyed this latest historical fiction, WWII romance from Natasha Lester!! She's one of my absolute favorite authors and this new book did not disappoint!! Spanning the years before, during and after WWII, we get to know Alix St. Pierre, a strong woman who balances multiple lives - one as a publicity manager for Dior and another as a secret spy and ally, helping people during the war in Switzerland.

Highly recommended for fans of Kristin Harmel or Kate Quinn. Alix was such a strong protagonist and easily a woman to admire and be in awe of - someone not willing to bend her ideals or dreams just for the love of a man. I loved how she refused to give up what she wanted just to be a society wife and stuck to what she wanted to do - all while being extremely fashionable.

Much thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for early digital copies in exchange for my honest review!!

A unique take on the idea of "the three faces of self"....especially since Alix seems to struggle with which one is truly hers.

Historical fiction is always interesting because balancing the fine line between accurate research and artistic license often proves as elusive as the smoke from Alix's cigarettes. I really enjoyed Alix's grounding in espionage and the struggles to recognize that-despite how much you want to-putting complete trust in other person opens you up for heartache and destruction. The twists, turns, and missteps made her character more believable and really showcased the networks of information that exist in many lives.

I struggled with the way Alix held herself apart from others and the idea that she was able to trick the best of the best into doing exactly what she wanted time and time again. Was she smart? Sure. Was she a mastermind? No. The love stories also never felt fully grounded, and at least one of the "twists" was pretty heavy handed.

Female empowerment stories are always great reads, especially for items like this (fashion world and WWII espionage) that are so foreign to me. Overall, I enjoyed the story, despite the cliche ending and the lack of connection to any of the characters.

I'll tell my students about: language, death, threats, parent death, sex, smoking, drinking

**Thank you to NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for the free ARC prior to publication. All opinions expressed are my own.**

I really enjoyed this story and this was my first dive into a Natasha Lester book. Alix St. Pierre is a PR maven during WW2 who is an ambitious and independent heroine. Not to give more away but this book was one of the best historical novels I have read this year. You will not be dissapointed if you pick up this book.

** Thank you NetGalley, Forever Publishing and Natasha Lester for this ARC in exchange for an honest review**