I received this book free of charge from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

This book was so good. It starts out just as war is about to break out in Europe. Elise is at a park and feels ill and is "rescued" by Juliette. They become fast friends and their daughters are born within a few months of each other. Because Elsie's husband is a popular artist with some radical views he is a target of the German occupation. He is killed and Elise knows that she is being sought after. She makes the difficult decision to leave her daughter Mathilde with Juliette and her family. Elsie goes into hiding and hopes that her daughter is safe.

Fast forward and the war is over. Elise returns to Paris and discovers that her daughter was killed in an explosion. She is devasted. Meanwhile Juliette and her daughter Lucie survived the blast and have moved to New York, where Juliette remarries. Not for love but money.

I don't want to give away any spoilers but this story was filed with heartache and loss and Oh, so good!

This was a very interesting story. I loved it and struggled at the same time. War is always difficult and watching the suffering of others. Is so hard. The characters were so well developed and the feelings they evoked were real.
I figured out the end prior to the end, but it still resonated how damaging grief can be to ones soul.
Another win!

Wow. This book is powerful and devastating. I had an inkling of what was to come from a couple sentences in the beginning of the book, but I was not prepared for the level of grit and horror that these mothers had to endure.

Elise and Juliette forge a bond while pregnant in France at the very beginning of WWII, and both are originally from America. Elise is an artist, a wood carver and sometimes painter, and the wife of an esteemed French artist. Juliette owns a bookstore with her husband and children.

The war years are fed through quickly, with large jumps in time that don't linger on the day to day impoverishes we read a lot in other WWII stories. Harmel instead focuses on the anguish and after effects of bombings and loss, and reclaiming oneself after years of hardship. I can't recommend this one enough.

Slight spoiler-y question?
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Is there any connection between Jack Fitzgerald and Lucie or Elise? He seemed shocked and confused the first time he saw her in the gallery, and then Elise said he seemed so familiar, but nothing is ever explained about what caused either of those feelings.

Elise and Juliette are friends in Paris as war is beginning to break out. Juliette and her husband, Paul, run a bookstore. Elise is a painter and wood sculpture, married to a famous French painter, Olivier. I liked the power of art in their lives. Olivier is involved in the war efforts and suddenly Elise is left with a young daughter. When it becomes necessary for Elise to leave town before the Germans find her, she asks Juliette and Paul to take her daughter. After the war she returns and finds out the bookstore was demolished by a bomb and only Juliette and her youngest daughter Lucie are alive. They have gone to New York. Elise wants to find out how her daughter died and what her life was like while living with Juliette’s family, so she goes to New York. I really liked this book. It was interesting to see the differences between the Jewish family that were her friends and those who were both French and American. Elise works with a priest to help orphaned children while away. It was interesting to watch the families as they adjusted to the Germans in Paris. When Elise finds Juliette in New York, she finds Juliette blames Elise for all her bad luck and losing her family. Throughout the devastation, fear, and loss, life can begin again. Great story.

The Paris Daughter, by Kristin Harmel, is a WWII historical fiction novel written with feelings of great tenderness and emotion.  The story begins in France, 1939 at the beginning of WWII.  Two mothers, one experienced, Juliette, and one new to motherhood, Elise, become the closest of friends.  It is in a bookstore owned by Juliette that intense bonds are made between these 2 women.  The bookstore becomes like a second home to many and provides a sense of security and safeness to those who visit.  As the war progresses, Elise finds herself in danger of the German's as her husband had already been extricated.  Worse yet, she is the single parent remaining to raise and protect her young daughter, Mathilde.  War turmoil requires Elise, in order to protect her daughter, and herself, to part ways.  Who better than her closest friend, Juliette, to ask the ultimate favor of protecting Mathilde until things return to normal.  Juliette's daughter and Elise's daughter, having been raised together, already see one and other as sisters.  Elise, although devastated by this decision, fully trusts in Juliette to treat her daughter as one of her own children.
A year later, Elise returns to the bookstore to be reunited with her daughter and friend.  Instead she finds the bombed remains of the bookstore, and nearby, a headstone with her daughter's name upon it. The story proceeds to modern day 1960's, America.  The journey and progression of events range in emotion from love, trust, friendship, to anger, hurt, and betrayal.  The end is quite traumatic and climatical.  This book is a must read, must feel for yourself, masterpiece.
Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review The Paris Daughter.  Kristen Hannah is always a welcome read.  I recommend all of her writings to fans of historical fiction, drama, and passionate emotion depiction.  Simply the best.

#netgalley #theparisdaughter #Kristenharmel #galleybooks

Kristin Harmel is one of my go-to authors for historical fiction and she never disappoints. The Paris Daughter was so well-written that I forgot I was reading a book! I got so absorbed in the story and everything felt so real. Both Paris and New York (in the forties and fifties) were described so well that I could easily visualize them. The characters could have practically been standing in front of me!

This novel is harrowing and hard to read as a mother (I can't even imagine how Kristin must have felt while writing it), but I didn't want to put it down and just had to know what was going to happen for Elise and Juliette. I kept trying to guess what really happened, but I wasn't sure I'd want either outcome of that guess to be the case. Either situation was going to be really sad in one way or another.

I love how art fit into the story and I loved the descriptions of the paintings and wood carvings that were being mentioned throughout.

Overall, a compelling and engaging novel to add to your summer TBR in early June.

I didn't have a lot of movie casting ideas for this one, but I'm giving you the two narrators:
Juliette: Perry Mattfeld
Elise: AnnaSophia Robb

Kristin Harmel is one of my favorite authors because she has a way of thoroughly enveloping the reader in her stories. She vividly brings her characters to life and makes you feel as if you are present in the events of their lives. Her latest WWII-set novel, The Paris Daughter, hits the mark again. It is essentially the story of two women—who meet unexpectedly at the start of the war and become fast friends—and their families. The war interrupts their lives dramatically and with great consequence, and we see how that impact plays out in the 15 years following the war. The relationships that form the structure of the book are complex and variable. I raced through the story, totally captivated and wanting to know what happened to these women and their children. There were some unanticipated events in the final chapters, and while not all of the threads were resolved, the ending more than satisfied my questions. I know that Harmel’s fans will love this book. Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this book.

I enjoyed reading The Paris Daughter but hoped for more. There are a couple twists that both played out exactly the way I predicted from the first hints so I didn’t get the satisfaction of a reveal. I did appreciate that this WWII novel continues the storyline after the war into the 1960’s; this made it stand out differently from other similar stories. Thanks to Gallery Books and NetGalley for the early copy to read and review in exchange for an honest review; all opinions are my own. This book comes out June 6, 2023.

Kristin Harmel had hit another home run! During the height of the war two mothers Elsie and Juliette become best friends. When Elsie must leave town because her husband put Elsie and her daughter in jeopardy, both mothers must make sacrifices we can not imagine. Seventeen years later the mothers cross paths again and must confront the past.

Kristin Harmel has come up with another wonderful historical fiction. The Paris Daughter takes place during World War II in Paris. Elise, an American, married a French artist and moved with him to Paris after marrying. They had a girl they named Mathtilde. She meets, and becomes friends with Juliette, another American and owner of a bookshop in Paris. Juliette also has a daughter Lucie. Both of the girls are the same age. They make a pack to always be there for each other and to protect each others daughters at all cost.

When Paris falls to the Germans, Elise’s husband is captured by the Germans, as he has been working against them. Elise and her daughter are in grave danger and Elise must flee Paris but cannot take Mathtilde. She entrusts her daughter with her friend Juliette until she is able to come back for her after the war. She does return only to find her friend’s shop had been bombed, the family no where to be found, and all her and her husband’s art had been taken from her apartment.

Elise sets out to find out what happened, leading to America where her friend and her daughter are now living as they were the only 2 that survived the bombing of the shop. Elise is told her daughter did not survive as well as Juliette’s boys and husband. She makes many discoveries in America, leaving you questioning what is real. The twists are wonderful and lead to an unexpected conclusion. The Paris Daughter does a wonderful job of portraying the strong connections between Mother and Daughter,

I have read several of Kristin Harmel’s books and have loved them all. The writing is superb and the flow of her stories is great. I thank Net Galley for giving me the opportunity to read this pre-release in exchange for an honest review

I really enjoyed this story and the writing of this book. I love reading historical fiction and I loved how this followed the main characters throughout their years. I could not put this book down!

I read this as an ARC from Netgalley and the publisher. I really enjoyed this novel. I was very reluctant to read this as there has been a huge focus on WWII novels lately and they all seem to be similar but this was beautifully written and had great characters and realistic emotion throughout. Definitely recommend this to historical fiction fans!

Harmel is one of the master storytellers of historical fiction that focuses on World War 2 and she did it again with her newest book, The Paris Daughter. The book takes place in Paris right before German invades and two women, both pregnant form a friendship that turns in to a sisterhood. When Germany starts to invade Elise must make the hardest decision of her life to leave her daughter with her dear friend in order to keep her safe. The book continues to show how people handle grief and the depth they may go to try to survive.

This book did a wonderful job of showing the heartache that happened during the war and had a twist at the end I never saw coming.

Thank you to Netgalley and to the publishers for allowing me to read this advanced copy.

I started this book with some trepidation- there are so many WWII novels and so many The [fill-in-the-blank] [Woman] books that could this one really add something new? Well, for me, it did. I tore through this book. I loved the details of the Paris and New York art scenes, the woodcarving process, the way that mothers wrestled with impossible choices about protecting their children from unknowable futures. My heart broke for Elise, Ruth, Lucie, and Juliette as they each faced a future they’d never asked to see.

Thanks to NetGalley and Gallery Books for this free digital copy for my honest review of this story.

What an amazing story! Get your tissues ready because you’ll need it for this one; Kristen Harmel has done another fabulous job telling a story of the effects of war on women. Three women become friends in Paris at the start of Frances’s involvement in WWII. Elise, whose husband is an artist, Ruth, a Jewish woman and Juliette a bookstore owner form a bond hanging out at Juliette’s bookstore with their kids, Elise’s one daughter, Ruth’s two children and Juliette’s three children, all playing in the children’s book section building life long bonds.

When Elise’s husband is killed for his political involvement Elise must flee Paris without her daughter. Juliette takes Elise’s daughter to live with them in the hopes of keeping her safe until her mother can return. The bookstore is bombed and Juliette loses her husband and 3 of the children die as well.

Twenty years later Juliette now owns a bookstore in NYC and is emotionally unstable from the ramifications of the war. Ruth has moved to NYC with her children to be near family. Upon Ruth’s urging, Elise comes to NYC to find Juliette and to hear what happened to her daughter when the bookstore was bombed.

The character development in this story is very emotional. The plot development has the reader turning pages frantically to see what happens next. With such emotional turmoil, a reader may need to take breaks in order to continue to learn what happens next. Each woman in the story demonstrates courage beyond comprehension and endeavors to survive at all cost the atrocities they have experienced in Paris in 1943.

The author’s voice in this story comes through stronger than any of the previous works I have read by her. All of her novels have been phenomenal but this is a masterpiece above all others. This is story will have a long-term emotional effect on all readers and I will be highly recommending this to all readers I encounter.

The Paris Daughter, by Kristin Harmel, is a heart-wrenching novel about resilience in the face of adversity. Harmel does an excellent job of exploring the horrors of war in a way that weaves prior relationships and memories into a novel that is informative and yet emotionally touching. Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher, for providing me with an ARC ebook in exchange for my honest review.

I appreciate NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review Kristin Harmel's newest book, The Paris Daughter. I've enjoyed her other historical fiction books and hoped this one would be no different. It sure didn't disappoint! I couldn't put it down and kept reading to find out what would happen to Elise, Juliette, and Mathilde? You can feel the grief felt by Elise and Juliette as you read the story.

Kristin Harmel is a master of historical fiction, and she's returned with aplomb in her latest work.

"A Paris Daughter" opens with a chance meeting in Paris, 1939 on the Bois de Bologne. Soon-to-be mother Elise is caught off guard by her first pregnancy where she meets Juliette, a mother expecting her third child. Juliette takes Elise to her bookstore Librairie des Rêves or the Library of Dreams, to recover, where she's introduced to Juliette's husband Paul and her two sons. The two women become fast friends and both give birth two daughters around the same time; Elise's daughter Mathilde and Juliette's daughter Lucie become playmates and friends as well. The looming war, however, changes all of their lives, especially when Elise's husband, a popular artist who has become increasingly active in underground political circles, is taken captive and puts his family in danger.

Elise is forced into difficult position of needing to escape but also protect her daughter, so she asks Juliette the impossible favor of caring for her daughter as her own - promising to return for Mathilde when it is safe again. However, the unthinkable happens to the quiet town in the years that follow, and when Juliette returns for her daughter, she finds the bookstore in ruins and both Juliette and her daughter gone. The story takes us to New York City in the future decades, where Juliette and Elise are forced to confront their pasts and their truths.

This was such a beautiful written novel, with complex and real-to-life characters. Harmel does an incredible job weaving a story that rotates across all of their perspectives and voices, and balances the delicate task of writing a character that is simultaneously victim and villain. It's clear that's she's done a thorough job researching the places and events, and notes in her afterword the actual bombings that took place and the events that unfolded both in Paris as well as New York City. I loved as well the strength of family that underlay the entire novel, as well as the importance of staying true to ones identity and values.

Highly recommended to any reader when this novel is published in June 2023!

This is my fourth book by Kristin Harmel and, in my opinion, her best. This historical fiction story begins in Paris, France, 1939. A chance meeting of a pregnant Elise in the park one day leads to an all-consuming friendship with Juliette. Juliette, who is also expecting a child, owns a book store close by with her husband and family. These two women become fast friends, as do their daughters. Elise, as well as many other neighborhood people, visit the book store on a regular basis, some even daily, and it quickly becomes a welcoming second home to its visitors. As war seems imminent, and the Jewish residents begin sending their children away for safety and start disappearing, Elise and her now three year old daughter are also in danger becuase of her husband's politics. Now Elise has to make a decision to separate from her daughter to keep her safe and save herself. The impact that this war has on these people is horrific and changes their lives forever. The story is not about the war and death but about the survivors. Kristin Harmel weaves her characters around detailed, well-researched historical events and left me with quite the book hangover. Jun 2023 Pub Date

I have read a few other books by Harmel and I'm figuring out she's hit or miss for me. I really like The Book of Lost Names but didn't care for The Forest of Vanishing Stars. This book is another WWII story of two mothers and how their worlds are torn apart from the war in France. I found both female characters pathetic and impossible to like. The twist was something I could guess almost immediately and that greatly deflated the story for me. Furthermore it took a really long time to get to end and then there's another random tragedy in history thrown in from the 60s that left the ending jarring and far from believable.

This book is heavy and well researched. I don't deny that Harmel is a talented writer, but this book just didn't work for me.