4.5 stars

I have loved every single Natasha Lester book I have read and this one was no different. She writes some of the best WW2 Historical fiction that I have ever read.

It takes place in 1943 where Alix is a PR consultant in NY who ends up getting recruited by the OSS and sent to Switzerland to work as a spy. She ends up helping the Italian Partisans in the north of Italy giving them info, supplies and weapons and ammo,

This book is told in 3 timelines of before, during and after WW2, so you learn about Alix's childhood, her experiences during the war as well as her workng for Dior. I love the inclusion of fashion in to this story about bravery, duty romance and loss It was such a beautiful book.

The Three Lives of Alix St. Pierre by Natasha Lester was everything I had hoped it would be. It was a most engaging novel written with impeccable details that matched its precise research and plot. Natasha Lester brilliantly crafted this historical fiction novel to incorporate three separate timelines that flawlessly intertwined by the conclusion of it. I listened to the audiobook that was masterfully performed by Barrie Kreinik, one of my favorite narrators. The Three Lives of Alix St. Pierre drew me in from the very beginning and did not let me go until the most satisfying ending. I don’t think there was anything that disappointed me about this novel.

Alix St. Pierre was a young woman who learned early on that things were not going to be handed to her on a silver platter. If she wanted something, she would have to work hard to obtain it. Alix lost both of her parents when she was only thirteen. Her friend Lillie’s parents took Alix in and raised her alongside Lillie in California. Alix ended up going to the same finishing school as her friend but Alix went as a scholarship student. The school Alix had attended was in Switzerland.

After Alix completed her schooling, she accepted a position in publicity. She was hired to help persuade women to join the workforce and fill the positions vacated by the men that had gone off to fight in World War II. It was 1943 and World War II was being fought. Alix was very good at her job. She was so good that she caught the attention of the U.S. government and she was recruited as a spy. Not only was Alix good at persuading women to take the jobs now vacated by enlisted men but she was also fluent in French, German and Italian. The United States government sent Alix to Switzerland where she would passionately try and aid Italian partisans in Northern Italy by obtaining and sharing crucial war information with them and helping them secure enough weapons to aid their cause. Lillie had also been recruited by the government and was serving as wireless operator in Caserta. Both Alix and Lillie had become engaged before they were recruited into the war. Alix had gotten engaged to Bobby and Lillie to Peter. As a member of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), Alix helped devise a plan that would benefit both the Allies and the Italian partisans. She was forced to trust her German informant to make her plan work. Alix had to trust that he was providing her with the correct information. Could she trust him? He scared her terribly. So many lives depended upon him delivering the correct information to her. Would everything go as planned?

After the war ended, Alix St. Pierre found her way to Paris. She miraculously secured the position of director of publicity for the newly created House of Dior. Alix immersed herself totally in her work. She arrived in Paris harboring a secret that wanted to consume her every thought and a monumental and shattering loss. Hard work and long hours were the only thing that prevented her mind from dwelling on both the secret and her losses. Christian Dior was just establishing his line of brilliant couture dresses and putting the finishing touches on his glamorous showroom when Alix was hired. Alix had her work cut out for her from the very start. Christian Dior’s New Look would not be ready to show when all the other fashion houses were presenting their designs. Alix had to devise a plan to either keep the Americans in Paris longer than they initially anticipated or think of way to make them come back. Alix came up with a brilliant plan. It involved Rita Hayworth and an original gown designed by Christian Dior. Would it work? She definitely hoped that it would.

Then just as things were falling into place for Alix two things happened to offset her. The first was that Alix learned that the German officer who had been her informant during World War II had somehow managed to evade punishment for the crimes he committed and all the lives he was responsible for taking in Italy. That German officer had worked for Obergruppenfuhrer Karl Wolff. It appeared that both Nazi officers had escaped the punishment they deserved. The second thing was meeting Anthony March, a wealthy and somewhat entitled editor of an American newspaper. Anthony March, known for his reputation as playboy, had just recently written an article in his newspaper about Germans that had escaped punishment for what they had done in Italy. The last time Alix had seen Anthony March he had also mentioned that he had known her fiancé Bobby during the war. What was Anthony March’s connection to Bobby and why was he also so interested about Nazis that had escaped justice for the atrocities they committed in Italy? Alix became obsessed with finding her Nazi informant and making him pay for his crimes. Could Alix discover the location of this Nazi officer and bring him to justice? Would Alix be forced to confront her past and finally be able to put it behind her?

The Three Lives of Alix St. Pierre was told from the POV of Alix. Her life before the war, during World War II and after the war was explored. Alix was courageous, brave, disciplined, determined, clever, witty and spoke about whatever was on her mind. She enjoyed the woman she had worked to become. There was no way that Alix would ever be a stay at home wife who planned dinner parties and had dinner on the table for her husband. She was so much more than that and she would never succumb to that role. Alix was driven, smart and ambitious. I came to admire her character greatly. The Three Lives of Alix St. Pierre was about loss, love, tragedy, duty, taking risks, bravery and fashion. Natasha Lester included an author’s note at the conclusion of her book. I was happy to learn that so much of the information mentioned throughout the book was factual. Even after finishing this book a few days ago, I still find myself thinking about the characters and their stories. It was one of those books that will stay with me for quite some time. I really enjoyed The Three Lives of Alix St. Pierre and highly recommend it.

Thank you to Forever Publisher/Grand Central Publishing for allowing me to read The Three Lives of Alix St. Pierre by Natasha Lester through Netgalley in exchange for an unbiased and honest review. All opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Absolutely captivating historical fiction novel about independent Alix St. Pierre and her time as a spy during WWII and working for the House of Dior in Paris post-war. Alix was strong, savvy, and always with a quip or one-liner. Her friends and foes had good character depth and the several mysteries throughout kept me guessing. I did find the book slow to start, but once I was about 15-20% I was totally engaged.
Thank you to Forever Publishing for the advanced reading copy, receipt of which did not impact my review.

I loved the strong feminist themes in this book, particularly the points it made about women’s rights and marital status. It also left me googling Dior gowns for days!

Natasha Lester does it again with another intriguing story about a woman playing a big yet secretive part in the war. As the mystery unfolds and Alix gets closer to Anthony March, secrets are revealed and I found myself cheering for Alix and her entire team and the Dior crew. Lester always writes the best twists and turns that are so unexpected and I really enjoyed how the story unfolded.

Quite the book - with a lot of depth. Other than marketing, Alix is so much different than I am that I was truly an observer, watching her work her magic and get results. She is an orphan raised by a wealthy family, like a sister to Lillie. She later becomes a writer for a fashion magazine, in WW2 is recruited to be a spy and goes to Switzerland. It's very interesting to read how things went in her spy world, many based on real facts from the author's research. After the war in Paris, she goes to work for Christian Dior as he comes into the spotlight. A fascinating world. And meets Anthony as she is trying to find a Nazi war criminal who had set her up in her earlier life. She's looking for answers and revenge for the people who were killed after a message she had relayed during the war. She's strong and quite courageous as well as vulnerable. Hard to put down, easy to get fully immersed. Very, very well written. A small amount of bad language throughout that was irritating and I could have done without.

I received this book free from the author, publisher and NetGalley book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

#NetGalley #TheThreeLivesOfAlixStPierre #NatashaLester #BooksYouCanFeelGoodAbout #HistoricalFiction #FiveStarNovel #GrandCentralPublishing

The was a fun and engaging read about spies, fashion and Paris during WWII. A great read for lovers of WWII novels.

Thank you Netgalley, Natasha Lester, and publishers for gifting me a copy of The Three Lives of Alix St. Pierre in return for my honest opinion.

4/5

I love a good dual-timeline historical fiction and 3/4ths of this book did not disappoint. I enjoyed the timeline where Alix was working for Dior in Paris. The timeline from the "past'' was slightly disappointing to me. It was not bad by any means but to me, it just wasn't anywhere near as wonderful as the "current" timeline.

Alix is such a strong independent character, she had to be due to her support/participation in working with the OSS. She used her background in PR while working with them to gather information from the enemy. At one point the intel she received was a trap that cost 9 people their lives, including her fiance. Now two years later she is back in Paris, working in PR for the new fashion house, Dior. When her past starts to catch up with her will she run back to the United States or finally stand up and get revenge?

I adored learning more about Alix and slowly seeing why she is so closed off and independent. It is a heartbreaking story that kept me entertained and glued to the book. I was able to sit down and read it in only a few hours.

Andrew and Alix's story was wonderful to see grow and how they both learned to love and trust each other. They both went through such a series of horrible circumstances that will forever leave them connected. With each twist, Natasha added I feel more in love with them as characters.

Continuing to read after the final chapter, Natasha included what books she used for her research. I found it fascinating to learn about all of the real-life characters that were alive and have a fascinating history as well. There are a few books that I will be adding to my TBR!

I've been wanting to read a novel by Natasha Lester and I'm happy to have read The Three Lives of Alix St. Pierre. It was immersive, atmospheric, thought-provoking, and at times heartbreaking. Alix St. Pierre with the perfect name for the fashion world, but practically penniless, arrives in Paris ready to lead a new life. With her quick wit and determination, she works for the new House of Dior and helps launch it with her brilliant marketing strategies. But Alix is haunted by her past as a WWII spy.

The novel goes back and forth through several time periods which at times I found confusing because I read this as an ebook, which for me, made it cumbersome to quickly go back and forth in the book. However, despite this, and the length of the book, I found this novel captivating because it was not at all predictable. Alix is a feminist at heart, a survivor, fiercely proud but broken, at the cusp of an era when women who had stepped up to help with the war effort (many as spies) are now forgotten and expected to go back to housewife roles. It opened my eyes to what women lived through in the late 1930s into 1940s.

If you love WWII historical fiction and the fashion world, this book blends both very well. Best of all, we get to see the aftermath of the war through one woman's many transformations, hence the title. This was a very good read.

I love historical fiction, every time I read a historical fiction novel, I think "why don't I read them more". And this book had me thinking that. World war II historical fiction novels are so frequent, it's hard sometimes for them to be unique. But I loved this one and it found its own lane and way to stand out. This story is about a woman named Alix St. Pierre who is working in PR for the designer Christian Dior in Paris post World War II. I love fashion so this was fun and interesting for me. There is also a dual timeline going on. Highly recommend!

The Three Lives Of Alix St. Pierre by Natasha Lester really scratched that itch for a good historical fiction for me. This story is about a woman named Alix St. Pierre who is working in PR for the designer Christian Dior in Paris post World War II. As the story unfolds, we find out that during World War II, Alix worked in Intelligence for the US in Switzerland. There we see tragedy unfold in Switzerland. The timelines alternate, in the post-WWII timeline, Alix and an unexpected ally end up trying to take down a former Nazi who was at the heart of a tragedy that took the life of Alix’s finance among others.

This is the second book I’ve read by Lester and honestly I want to read more. I really enjoyed learning more about Dior. Also, Alix is such a unique character — one who you can’t just put into a box and expect to act like the traditional woman. She relishes her independence and freedom. I also found the setting and her career so interesting. The pacing is excellent — this book moves along at a really good clip where I was invested, not bored, but not feeling breakneck either. If you’re looking for a really good historical fiction with dual timelines, you can’t go wrong with The Three Lives Of Alix St. Pierre by Natasha Lester.

Read if you like: WW2 fiction, dual timelines.
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I love WW2 fiction and dual timelines and I thought this book was superbly crafted. The dual timelines looks at Alix’s life during and immediately after the war as we try to piece together what happened during the war and why someone is after Alix after.
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I also thought it was cool that the author had Alix work for Dior and I loved the post war Paris fashion scene. This book is beautiful, snazzy, fast paced and heartbreaking and I thoroughly enjoyed!

I received this book as an ARC and this is my review. I loved this book! Paris is like another character in this story. The sights, smells and sounds are incredibly realistic. The characters have so many flaws but some are more likable than others. The creation of the House of Dior is fascinating and Lester details much of the process. There are spies and much intrigue from WWII. I could not put down this book! I recommend this book for anyone interested in history and all that happened while the world was falling apart.

Alix St Pierre is a remarkable woman. This story is initially set in Paris. She works for a fashion house which eventually becomes the House of Dior. The story is set before, during and after WW2. The setting varies at different times in the story taking the reader to London, Switzerland and the United States.

Alix is a driven woman. Her home life is sparse, but rich. She begins to help the United States by providing details about the war unavailable to military personnel. She is a very strong, independent woman. Her family life has not been a happy one and much of her life evolves around her work.

This story was wonderful historical fiction. While I read many stories set in WW2, this one is a story from a different perspective. Never have i imagined that fashion houses were involved in war efforts.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book! Don't miss it..

The Three Lives of Alix St. Pierre is a suspenseful read filled with guilt, love, and running away and towards past mistakes and secrets. This was a read that was bursting with heartbreak and hope at the same time. With twists and turns to keep you aching for more, Alix is truly an independent yet lonely woman. Breaking the norms of society in terms of expectations for women at the time, Alix shows such gusto and when that ability to be vulnerable finally opens up? Swoon worthy.

This book mixes reality and fiction and tells the story of Alix St Pierre, a spy in WW2, and how the war and the world shaped her into the woman she is today.

As someone who doesn't read a lot of historical fiction, this was an outstanding read. It has drama and romance, and it tackles feminism in the 40s as well which I absolutely adored!

Alix is such a strong person and an interesting character. Being a spy and then working for Christian Dior, trying to get a new start on life, when someone from her recent past threatens to destroy her life. Now, she has to avenge her loved ones and find peace.

This story is heartbreaking and healing, it tackles WW2 which I find hard to read about. It's such a devastating time in history and the author manages to capture the pain & loss of that time perfectly.

Really enjoyed the romance in this book, it was executed perfectly. Fashion felt like a separate character, alive and bright in post-war Paris. I think the ability to express yourself through clothing after such a terrifying and devastating time period really helped some people in the 40s to survive, to have something to focus on.

Overall, this is a great story with solid writing and a plot that makes you want to binge this story.

Rating: 4.25

thank you Netgalley and Forever for the eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

It may be a work of fiction but the detail, here will keep you turning the page. It has a depth of knowledge of women recruited during the war to send messages, receive and decode messages. Alix goes from the glitter of Hollywood to the war torn houses of fashion of Paris. It chronicles the start of the House Of Dior. Alix is there for it all. Humble beginnings lead to a house of silks and satins in a time of war. It tells the story of a betrayal that led to loss of life, of men who she not only knew but loved. We are included in the setup for revenge that will have you inwardly cheering. It is a story rich and rewarding.

I love how Natasha Lester can combine the intrigue of spy networks in WWII with the glamorous world of Paris fashion post-war. It was so interesting to read about and imagine the House of Dior, and I really liked the way the two timelines wove in and out together and finally came together at the end. I always enjoy Lester's books and this was no exception! I received a free copy of this book from netgalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest opinion.

An orphan growing up in Hollywood pre WWII - Alex finds herself in Paris working for Dior - ah but her past as a spy comes back to haunt her - fascinating tale - glam and good
Giving current books I like all 4 stars

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The Three Lives of Alix St. Pierre
By Natasha Lester
••• ••• ••• ••• ••• ••• ••• ••• ••• ••• ••• •••
An American spy.
A war-time secret.
A race to uncover the truth.

This historical fiction novel was amazing! I have a very hard time reading about WW2, because I just can’t stomach it. I felt that this novel was beautifully written, it was heart breaking sad and tragic but also healing. Lester’s writing was so well done with the different time lines, the weaving in and out of perspective, the difference stages that we see Alix in, and ultimately this is a wonderful story about feminist. We see how much the world has changed and hasn’t as well. The plot was amazing, it was perfectly paced and with the different time lines you had to keep reading to find out what happened. The healing and love that Alix finds at Dior, the love interest that is so swoon worthing, and the amount of self love and healing that Alix has to have to live her life. I didn’t see a couple plot points coming and I was on my toes! There were a few chapters that were really hard to read, but it really added to the motive. Everyday I’m so thankful for my freedom. I would highly recommend this novel to anyone!

Alix St. Pierre. An orphan, that grew up in a world that she never felt like she belonged. With her smart wit and persuasion skills, the U.S. government sends Alix to be a spy in Switzerland in 1943. Soon she’s on the precipice of something HUGE, but can she trust her German informant? After the war, Alix moves to Paris to be the director of publicity for the House of Dior. When Alix has been running from her past to try to forget everything that happened, someone from her past resurfaces and threatens to destroy her future.

My copy was given to me by Forever in exchange for an honest review. #ad

Romance: ❤️❤️❤️❤️
Plot points: 💥💥💥💥💥
Stars: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️