Kristin Harmel is an author I love to follow having read and loved "The Book of Lost Names," and "The Forest of Vanishing Stars."

"The Paris Daughter" is a book about Elise and Juliette, two mothers living in France during the occupation during WWII. Elise is forced to make an impossible decision in order to try to save both of their lives.

The first part of the book introduces the characters and follows the two women as they navigate the harrowing difficulties of the war. The second part of the book is set approximately 20 years. While the two women have long been estranged because of the tragedy the war brought, their fates bring them together once again.

This book was big miss for me. Here is why:

The "twist" to this book was incredibly obvious which made reading the second half of the book agonizing. It would be one thing if Harmel assumed the readers would know the twist but I don't think she did based off of how it was written.

Juliette's grief is by all means understandable, but the way she gives into it left me feeling angry rather than sympathetic. I don't like when women feel anger against each other even when grief is to blame.

The ending of the book felt like it was thrown out of left field. It was as if Harmel found another historical event and threw it in there for excitement.

Historical fiction is usually my favorite genre. Even though the WWII category is saturated I am always fascinated by how many incredible stories there are to tell. Unfortunately this one did not seem creative or original and left me feeling dissatisfied.

The Paris Daughter is one of those books you can’t put down. It begins with two young women meeting in romantic and scenic France. Their friendship in raising young children and enjoying their work is shared on an almost daily basis. But as the Nazi occupation appears imminent, the life and death danger for one women and her child is conclusive. A promise to care for her daughter until it is safe to return is made. But upon that return there is only total destruction and not a clue as to where they have gone. So, the journey begins on how to build a life after loss while still looking for answers?
This is a book of friendships, loss, strength, endurance and ultimately resilience in the search of loved ones. The character development is strong and engaging. The author’s research is comprehensive. This is historical fiction at its best. The characters will stay with you long after finishing the book.
I received a free electronic copy from the publisher, via NetGalley for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

I received an advanced copy of this book from Gallery Books via NetGalley.

Paris, 1939: Young mothers Elise and Juliette become fast friends the day they meet in the beautiful Bois de Boulogne. Though there is a shadow of war creeping across Europe, neither woman suspects that their lives are about to irrevocably change.

When Elise becomes a target of the German occupation, she entrusts Juliette with the most precious thing in her life—her young daughter, playmate to Juliette’s own little girl. But nowhere is safe in war, not even a quiet little bookshop like Juliette’s Librairie des Rêves, and, when a bomb falls on their neighborhood, Juliette’s world is destroyed along with it.

More than a year later, with the war finally ending, Elise returns to reunite with her daughter, only to find her friend’s bookstore reduced to rubble—and Juliette nowhere to be found. What happened to her daughter in those last, terrible moments? Juliette has seemingly vanished without a trace, taking all the answers with her. Elise’s desperate search leads her to New York—and to Juliette—one final, fateful time.

As my latest book into my World War II kick and am grateful for Gallery Books and NetGalley for allowing me the chance to read this one. Harmel does it again with this one. This book while heartbreaking has a sense of strength and resiliency. This book really went beyond most World War II books too. It shows the aftermath of what happened to the characters in the pain. It was still lingering, even after everything they went through during the war.

Two characters faced both with uncertain times, and what to do with their children. This is a great story of love and friendship, and what friends will do for one another during uncertain times. You’ll be transported into two main characters lives, and live vicariously through them as they live through the war and its aftermath.

Pub date: 6/6/23
Genre: historical fiction
Quick summary: in 1939 Paris, Elise enlists her friend Juliette to care for her daughter. But after the war, Juliette has disappeared, leaving a mystery behind her.

Kristin Harmel is one of my favorite historical fiction authors - and this book drew me in! I loved the friendship between Elise and Juliette at the beginning of the novel, and Harmel did a good job building the tension through the narrative, starting with Elise's disappearance to escape the Nazis. In the later timeline, I could feel how desperate Elise was to find out what happened to her daughter, and likewise how desperate Juliette was to forget the past and move on. I read this one on a plane in one sitting, and I think historical fiction/family drama fans will enjoy it!

Thank you to Gallery Books for providing an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

One thing I have always admired about Kristin Harmel is the extensive amount of research she always puts into her stories. Every time I read one of her books I learn something new and The Paris Daughter was no different. It’s like getting a history lesson tucked inside a beautiful story. There were so many emotions I went through while reading this book - sadness, happiness, hope, despair - just to name a few. I loved how Harmel gave a nod to The Book of Lost Names, and she blended it all together perfectly. I predicted the ending about halfway through the book, but that didn’t stop me from getting fully immersed in it, and once I started I couldn’t put it down. Historical fiction fans will easily fall in love with The Paris Daughter. I would highly recommend it to everyone.

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.