This is a tough one for me to review because I absolutely adored aspects of this story but could have done without a lot of it….

I LOVED the character of Alix St. Pierre and everything she stood for - what an absolute badass! Between her work during the war and the role she played in Dior’s rise to fame I’m convinced there is nothing this woman could not do!

I was so intrigued by the 1947 storyline but felt as though it was a bit bogged down by the alternating storyline which was very detail and description heavy! I wish that this perspective had been presented in more succinct flashbacks to help support the story but as to not slow the pace of the plot!

If you are a fan of historical fiction, strong female leads and fashion I would absolutely recommend that you give this book a shot!

I have only read Natasha Lester's The Paris Secret, which I loved, so couldn't wait to read latest historical fiction. It did not disappoint!

The Three Lives of Alix St. Pierre is so named for MC Alix's "three lives," loosely defined as before, during and after World War II. Alix was a down and out orphan after her parents died suddenly and she was taken in by a wealthy Hollywood family who had a daughter that was good friends with Alix. But the dual timeline story focuses primarily on Alix's work as a spy during the war and then as PR director for the fledgling fashion designer Christian Dior.

I loved how strong and independent Alix is when we first meet her. She's trying to work in a man's world of the late 1940s and nothing is easy. Women of the time are expected to be housewives and raise children. But Alix has other plans.

I also enjoyed learning about Alix's work with the Italian resistance during the war - something I haven't really read before. And like the Paris Secret, we are treated to lush descriptions of the Dior gowns and dresses - the fabrics, the styles and their impact on society.

Although it started a bit slowly for me, it picked up steam about halfway through as Alix closes in on the Nazi war criminal she believes responsible for the death of dozens of troops, including her brother and her first true love. I couldn't wait to find out how it all ended!

Thank you Forever and Grand Central Publishing for the ARC of The Three Lives of Alix St. Pierre.

Happy book birthday to @natashalesterauthor whose newest Parisienne flavoured novel is destined to charm readers of Kristin Harmel and Janet Skeslien Charles. Elegantly researched and deeply nuanced, The Three Lives of Alix St Pierre is a refined spotlight on its author's passion for interweaving fashion and the turmoil of war. Her canvas: a brilliant, ambitious woman who can turn on a dime in the spirit of reinvention. If only her past doesn't trip on her heels.

Natasha Lester is definitely a master with words, and weaving incredible historical fiction tales. She has a beautiful way of incorporating fashion and it’s history into her novels, while still making them thrilling and interesting (for me!). This book is no exception. 

The Three Lives of Alix St. Pierre was full of different characters, which I did find a little difficult to keep track of at some points, as well as a bit confusing with the timeline switches, but that could have been an audiobook issue. While it was still a beautiful story, there was definitely a lot lost in translation between the timeline switches and I wanted more from certain ones and much less from others. I’d still recommend it for fashion/historical fiction lovers!

I am always a fan of historical fiction and then when you throw in a female spy with a love story, I'm hooked, lined, and sunk!

This is a captivating story of war, adversity, love, fashion, loss, and hope! In 1946, Alix moves to Paris to help launch Christian Dior's entrance into the fashion world. I. The meantime looking for her informant that went rogue and turned against her in WWII.

I loved the dual time lines along with dual POVs. The character of Alix St. Pierre is strong and she's one determined woman who isn't going to settle for the "expected life" of a woman. She doesn't want to be a house wife who throws parties, she wants to work for what she loves.

If you love historical fiction, you need to get your copy of The Three Lives of Alix St. Pierre today!

Thank you to @netgalley and @readforeverpub (Grand Central Publishing) for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Book Review
The Three Lives of Alix St Pierre by Natasha Lester

Genre
Historical fiction

Tropes
WWII
Feminism
Fashion
Second chances
Classes -aristocrats vs laymen
Love
Paris/Italy

Thoughts
One of the best narratives of historical fiction I have read in awhile. With an emphasis on fiction ( see the appendices) Lester has created characters steeped in history. Her research paired with her creativity and love of fashion shines throughout the writing. Who else but Lester could make Dior, Spies, Journalism, and Glamour in the heart of Paris seem so effortless.

Thank you to @readforeverpub @netgalley @grandcentralpub for my copy in return for an honest review. Opinions expressed are my own.

I rarely read historical fiction books but every now and then my attention is captured by a beautiful cover and an interesting blurb. And that’s exactly what happened with The three lives of Alix St Pierre
This beautiful written book is about a woman who will risk her live in the espionage world, will become a successful fashion person and also will let go of her painful past and give a chance to real love.
It’s emotional, suspenseful in parts and entertaining all along.

📖Very grateful to the publisher for my review copy through NetGalley

The Three Lives of Alix St. Pierre is an interesting and well researched book, set in Paris in the aftermath of WWII, with flashbacks to the war years. I had really high expectations going in, since I absolutely loved The Riviera House by this author. This book didn't live up to its predecessor for me. I loved the parts with Dior and the flashbacks of Alix working as a spy had a lot of tension and build up, but the ultimate conclusion to the story fell a bit flat. It was a struggle to keep up with what was happening at times due to the writing being abrupt, and things and characters not being adequately explained. My biggest problem though was that I didn't like Alix's character. She took feminism to an EXTREME and refused to compromise or bend AT ALL in her relationships.

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever for access to this arc.

Alix St. Pierre, an orphan and former spy, is an independent character who is capable of handling difficult situations. Living in Paris in 1947, she is the director of publicity for the newly formed House of Dior. She had previously worked to recruit women to the workforce at the outbreak of war and later worked as Dulles’ assistant in Switzerland. She arranged supplies for Italian partisans and established lines of communication. She was also the contact for a German who offered information. It was this information that led to her final operation, causing the death of nine men, including her fiancé. She is still dealing with the guilt over the loss and her involvement. Having disappeared after the war, the German is now in Paris. Alex has received threats that she knows are tied to him and vows to find him and bring him to justice.

Natasha Lester takes you from the battlefields of Italy to the fashion salons of Paris. Along the way she mixes historical figures with her characters and draws on actual events. Alix’s friend and former employer Carmel Snow was an actual editor for a popular magazine. The dresses that she beautifully describes were actual Dior gowns. Alex is determined to remain single because married women at that time gave up many of their rights. It is an accurate description of society at the time and allows the reader to feel her frustrations. With a strong lead character, espionage, historical events and an often heartbreaking story it is easy to get caught up in this book from the first pages to the very end. I would like to thank NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for providing this book for my review.

"The Three Lives of Alix St. Pierre" releases tomorrow and I could not be more excited! 4.5⭐

I have several @natashalesterauthor books on my TBR, but this is the first one I've read! Alix St. Pierre is a resilient badass. She has a tough start to life in the US, and ends up spend time overseas as a teen. This turns into time as a spy for the Allies, where she works with the resistance to fight the Nazis. Later, she is working in Paris as a publicist for Dior when her past comes back to haunt her.

There are many amazing WWII novels, but what I love about this one is that it focuses so much on what happens after the war. Do all the bad guys meet justice? How do women go from working outside the home to being housewives again? This is such a unique view, and Alix is for sure not living her life by anyone else's rules.


I always get tense because we're not guaranteed happy endings in historical fiction, but I thought the ending was well done. It was captivating read, although I thought it could be been trimmed down slightly in places. I did love all the descriptions of high fashion, fancy food, and the life of luxury!

This book will sweep you away. Alix St. Pierre is one of the most independent, strong heroines I have ever read.. As a young orphan, Alix's best friend's family takes her under their wing. This fate leads Alix to a life she could never have imagined. When we meet her, she is working with Christian Dior on the eve of his becoming one of the leading fashion designers in Paris and the world. While excited for this opportunity, Alix herself is still recovering from the loss and heartache that she experienced throughout World War II. In addition, she worked as a spy with the OSS and has recently become concerned for her safety. She trusts no one.

I loved Alix's gumption. She smart, strong and unapologetic about who she is. It broke my heart at times to read her story about the friends she made and lost and what it was to be a woman used during the war and then discarded afterwards. I found her resilience inspiring. This is definitely historical fiction and can be difficult to read at times but Alix's point of view was both refreshing and important. While the story does jump back to Alix's time in the war, a lot of it is also focused on her time after working in the fashion industry and unveils what it was often like for many women after the war. The romance in the book was an enjoyable addition to the story and allowed for many discussions about these issues.

I had not read anything from Natasha Lester and really enjoyed this one. This is not an author to overlook. Highly recommend!

"𝘕𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥. 𝘖𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘸𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨."

All of Natasha Lester's previous books have made my top-of-the-year lists, and it may only be January, and I have no doubt her latest, 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗧𝗛𝗥𝗘𝗘 𝗟𝗜𝗩𝗘𝗦 𝗢𝗙 𝗔𝗟𝗜𝗫 𝗦𝗧. 𝗣𝗜𝗘𝗥𝗥𝗘, will be one of my favorites of 2023.

The author juxtaposes the glamorous world of fashion in post-WWII Paris with the intrigue and horrors of life during wartime. I loved the strong female characters with their fantastic banter as they struggled to find their way in the world before, during and after the war. Combining spies, romance and the couture of Christian Dior, this is historical fiction at its best!

Thanks to Forever Publishing for the copy to review.

Sincere, vivid, and engaging!

The Three Lives of Alix St. Pierre is a gripping, heartfelt story set predominantly in Switzerland and France between 1942 and 1947 that takes you into the life of Alix St. Pierre, a young woman who spends the last few years of the war working for the OSS as a spy in Bern helping to create a secure courier line for the Italian partisans, and the next few years post WWII working as hard as she can to make the new Maison Christian Dior a worldwide phenomenon as his Directrice of the Service de la Presse while also using her spare time to hunt down the Nazi informant who shattered her world and left her responsible for the needless slaughtering of nine lives, two of whom she deeply cared for.

The prose is polished and eloquent. The characters are driven, tormented, and resilient. And the plot, including all the subplots, intertwine and unravel effortlessly into a sweeping saga of life, loss, heartbreak, betrayal, secrets, espionage, danger, survival, tragedy, friendship, and a touch of romance.

As a historical fiction lover for the past few years Natasha Lester’s books have been some of my all-time favourites, and even though I didn’t think it was possible to love another one of her books more than the ones I’ve already read, she proved me wrong. The Three Lives of Alix St. Pierre is an unbelievable story that captured me from the very first page, and not only did I devour it, I absolutely loved it!

Thank you to HBG Canada & Forever for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

If you like historical fiction you are going to love Alix St. Pierre! A spy in Switzerland during the war, Alix is now in Paris to work in public relations for a new designer, Christian Dior, as he is about to launch his first collection. Just when she thinks that she can put the past behind her though, a figure from the war reappears and is looking for revenge.

This book has it all - danger, spies, romance, bravery and a strong female protagonist. Alix was a standout as she was feisty, independent and knew her worth. She did not want to conform to the role of housewife as so many woman did during that time.

Told in multiple timelines, this story is beautifully written and I love how Lester can take us from the fashionable world of Paris in the late 1940’s to the mountains of Switzerland during WWII.

Just be warned though that there are a lot of characters introduced by name in the first couple of chapters but we aren’t officially introduced to them until later so I had to flip back and forth between chapters to refresh my memory - a small inconvenience for such a wonderful book!

My first read of #2023 and what a start!

This is the first time I’ve read Lester’s #historicalfiction and I’ll be honest - her book covers previously turned me off. I assumed I would be getting very fluffy historical romance - nothing wrong with that but it’s just not my speed.

Instead, I discovered a complex dual-timeline novel exploring WWII Italy and post-war France. Unlike some protagonists in historical fiction, Alix is incredibly good at what she does and confident, even if she does carry the scars and grief of war and lost love.

I really enjoyed seeing the inner workings of the House of Dior contrasted with the intensity of Alix’ work with the OSS. This is the first time an historical novel has given me a sense of what it was like for people to rebuild their lives after the war.

I’ve already started reading one of Lester’s earlier novels because I love her writing style so much - she makes the world come alive with metaphors and quietly beautiful language. A must-read!

Thanks to @netgalley and Forever Publishing for an #advancereaderscopy in exchange for an honest review

The Three Lives of Alix St. Pierre by Natasha Lester is three stories in one book. We meet Alix as an agent who is working to help the Italian resistance during the German occupation of Italy in World War II. We meet Alix as a businesswoman striving to find her a successful professional life. And finally, we meet Alix as a woman so damaged by one event that she feels she is unlovable. Through the writing of Natasha Lester, we can see Alix grow in her roles. We see her in the pursue of the man who caused her to suffer emotional and mental pain. We see her as she becomes a huge success in the fashion world. And finally, we see her as she releases all her guilt and sorrow and learns to forgives herself for her past and learn to love and be loved. When Alix meets the rich and handsome Anthony March, her life changes in many ways. This is an espionage story, a woman’s growth story and a beautiful love story. Enjoyable.

The Three Lives of Alix St. Pierre by Natasha Lester. Pub Date: January 10, 2023. Rating: 5 stars. A WWII historical fiction novel based on a female spy turned fashion publicist for Christian Dior, this novel has bravery, courage, fashion, girl power and everything I love about historical fiction. I learned a lot about intelligence missions during WWII and subsequent fashion houses in post war Paris. This novel is a fresh addition to the heavily populated WWII historical fiction genre. Even though this novel is longer, I found myself completely engrossed and finished within a few days because I just had to know where the story was going to go. I highly recommend this novel. Thanks to NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for this e-arc in exchange for my honest review. #netgalley #thethreelivesofalixstpierre

Quick and Dirty⁣
-dual timeline, single POV⁣
-WWII-era fiction⁣
-feminist story⁣
-glamour, glamour, glamour⁣
⁣
Synopsis⁣
Alix St Pierre is a force to be reckoned with, at least she felt that way as she first stepped foot in Paris. Now, years later, she feels beaten and battered, but still up for a challenge. So, she's back in Paris and taking on the greatest role of her life. Working for one of the greatest new minds in fashion is the thrill of a lifetime. But secrets lurk in her past that threaten everything she's worked hard to establish. And the greatest threat to her independence has materialized in the form of wealthy blue-eyed pain in her side.⁣
⁣
Musings⁣
Truth time: I started this book mid-December and loved it so much that I put it down. I knew it was going to be one of my top reads, and by then my top 12 books of 2022 were decided, filmed, and photographed. So when January rolled around I snatched it right up finishing in record time. This book was an instant favorite, and I'm sure it will be in my top reads of 2023. It has everything: betrayal, intrigue, suspense, glitz, glamour, intense romance, and Paris! What more could a historical fiction lover want? So, without further adieu, I introduce you to one of my favorite books of 2023!

Alix St. Pierre is the PR director for Dior, trying to move on from her time spent facilitating operations in Bern as part of the OSS during World War 2. She has moved back to Paris and taken on the task of promoting Dior and helping turn it into the leading name of fashion. However, her past comes back to haunt her when she realizes the informant who's false information led to the death of nine operatives including her fiancé, is still free. Alix splits her time between her career, trying to find the informant, and dealing with Anthony March, who despite their past history, may be the one to help her move on. Told in dual timelines of the present and Alix's time as an operative, this world war two novel stands out from the rest and shows that sometimes you have to make difficult decisions, but there's still hope. Readers of World War 2 historical fiction, spy novels, or fashion will really enjoy this one.

The Three Lives of Alix St. Pierre is an amazing story of the courage & determination of one woman through World War II and beyond!

At the start of WWII Alix is working as a PR Consultant in NYC when she is recruited by the US Government to head overseas as a spy. The work is taxing, but Alix is motivated to make a difference and help as many people as she can. As the door closes on her life of espionage, Alix soon finds herself in the world of newly created Paris fashion house, Dior. With her background, Alix helps launch Dior with poise and glamour. Just as Alix begins to settle in to her new life with passion, a figure from her past re-emerges. Will Alix choose to seek the revenge she so desires or move forward from the past that still haunts her nightmares?

This book was everything that I’ve ever wanted from historical fiction! Full of romance, passion and FASHION, Alix St. Pierre stole my heart from the first page. I highly recommend for fans of historical fiction with a glamorous flair!