The Paris Daughter by Kristin Harmel is an excellent novel about WW2 and the unthinkable decisions mothers were forced to make to protect their families. The characters are wonderfully written and complex. This novel would be an excellent choice for book clubs, fans of historical fiction, and readers who enjoy family stories. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

Paris, 1939. Elise and Juliette became friends and are mothers. War is coming and the Nazi's are preparing to invade Paris. Elise's husband, a famous artist sympathizes with the Communist ideology and Elise and her young daughter are at risk after her husband is taken by the Nazis. Elise has to do the hardest thing imaginable-leave her young daughter with her friend Juliette and family while Elise escapes. If Elise traveled with her daughter, she would easily be captured.
Juliette and her husband own a bookstore in Paris and although life is getting more difficult as the war goes on, they are very happy with their family. A bomb falls in their neighborhood and the bookstore is destroyed and the only survivors are Juliette and Juliette's daughter. After the war Elise returns to Paris to get her daughter and Juliette has vanished and Elise has no answers as to what happened in those final days. The women are reunited almost 20 years later and Elise get answers but not the ones she thought she would.

This was an excellent book. The love both these mothers had for their children and the sacrifices and choices they had to make for their children is a true testament to a mother's love for her child . Kristen Harmel writes great WW2 books and the characters stay with you quite a while after you finish the book.

Thank you NetGalley for an ARCof this book.

The Paris Daughter
I read many historical fiction books of World War II and have also read and enjoyed previous books by the author.
I am somewhat conflicted about this one. For one, kudos to the author for the thorough research that went into writing this book, not only the historical events, but also the art world, especially wood carving.
Elise and Juliette become friends in Paris at the eve of WWII. Elise is married to Oliver who is a well known painter of the times but also involved in communist activities. Juliette is happily married to Paul and after losing a baby girl have two sons. Both Juliette and Elise have a baby girl around the same time at the beginning of their friendship.
After the German invasion of France, tragic events make for heart wrenching decisions. What are mothers capable of in order to give their children the best odds of surviving in dangerous times? How does grief change the person you were once? You find answers to these questions reading this novel.
After the war and losing most of her family in a bombing, Juliette moves to New York and tries to recreate her Paris life unsuccessfully. She keeps taking to her dead husband and can’t recover from her losses and go on.
Elise desperately tries to find Juliette after the war and find out what happened to her daughter she left with Juliette. Elise is an artist, she makes wood carvings of her lost daughter.
Now comes the part which made me conflicted. I found some of the events not believable, e.g. a three year old remembering minor details of her life 17 years later , Elise carvings of her daughter at every stage of her life which later turns out to be accurate. The art gallery in New York right next to Juliette’s new book store also is too coincidental. I started suspecting the end way before it was revealed to the reader. Many events were just too contrived. In spite of all this, this is good book to read and especially towards the end it is a page turner.
I disagree with all the five stars and feel generous rounding up 3.5 stars to four.
Thanks NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the advanced copy.
Opinions are strictly my own.

Excellent! How does Kristin Harmel keep getting better and better?!?!?

I can't imagine being in Nazi occupied territories and having to make the decision to separate from your children in order to increase their odd for survival. The Paris Daughter includes two such scenarios, one that is considered over time and one that must be made in an hour or two. To have your heart ripped out without knowing how or when it might come back together again. This book really pulled at my heartstrings.

Another theme is that when you hold a grudge or concept in your heart and allow it to fester for years and years, that misconception and hatred grows rather than dissipates. It is so easy to allow it to happen.

The Paris Daughter really "got me". It will be one of my top picks for historical fiction in 2023.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read the advance read copy (ARC) of The Paris Daughter in exchange for an honest review. Also many thanks to Kristin Harmel and publisher Gallery Books for making the ARC available. Expected publication June 6, 2023

A woman gives her daughter to her friend to save her during the war. The friend also has a daughter of her own. A bomb hits the friend's home and the woman returns after the war to claim her daughter but finds only ruins.

I couldn’t stop reading this book! It describes a girl who was sent to live in the countryside during WWII to avoid bombs during WWII. Excellent book!

Kristin Harmel gives us another beautiful historical fiction book! This is a touching story of motherhood, sacrifice, grief, healing, forgiveness, and family.

I enjoyed the story told from the perspectives of the 2 women. They were both inspirational, as they dealt with the German invasion of France and all the aftermath.

One thing that I love most about this book is that it shows the characters many years down the road, and how the experiences during WWII continued to shape their lives.

I recommend this one to anyone who loves historical fiction!

Thank you to Gallery Books, NetGalley, and Kristin Harmel for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest opinions!

Holy moly. My eyes are still wet as I write this! I absolutely loved The Paris Daughter by Kristin Harmel. I love to read historical fiction and I have read a lot of historical fiction that is set during WWII, and I feel that this piece is truly unique. I like how we spent much of the novel exploring how our characters coped with life and loss after the war. Their resilience and strength through insurmountable grief not only ripped my heart in half, but left me hopeful and inspired.
This heart-wrenching book spoke to finding a way forward when it seems like all is lost, motherhood, friendship, and finding who you are. I can’t recommend it enough!

I also enjoyed the little nod to one of Harmel’s previous books- The Book of Lost Names!

Wow, Every book I read by Kristin Harmel is soooo good. The
Characters are amazing. This book also related to me deeply as it showed differences in how one grieves. I found memories of my mother’s when my brother died in 1963 of cancer. I was 13 and he was 19. She was Juliette and this allowed me to learn so much about why she treated me the way she did. This book , as all of Kristin’s book, made facts and fiction so alive. The best book I have read in ages. A must read.

This may be the best WWII historical novel that I’ve read, and I’ve read many. The writing is extraordinary, and the story riveting. I kept turning pages, wanting to know what would happen next.

Elise and Juliette, both Americans by birth, both living in Paris, meet one day in a park outside Paris. They become instant friends, spending a good deal of time together. Their children also become friends. Juliette has three children, two boys and an infant daughter. Elise has one, also a baby girl. As the war ramps up, things come to bear on both on both women, until Elise must make a difficult decision and ask Juliette for a major favor. This favor will have long term consequences for both women.

There is also Ruth Levy, and her children, a neighbor and a friend of Juliette's. Being Jews in Nazi controlled France, they face difficult times and even harder decisions. Can they survive all that's yet to come? Will they be reunited? Will they friends ever see each other again?

This book covers so much. There’s friendship, family, children, hardship, revenge, art, art theft, loss, grief, PTSD, deception of self and of others, self-preservation, and more. The wonderful thing is that all of these are woven together beautifully into a book that mesmerizes the reader. I wanted to do nothing but continue turning pages. Who needs sleep? I was determined to discover what happened to the strong, brave women who star in this novel.

I highly recommend this book. It’s truly a masterpiece. It’s a book I believe I’ll be thinking about in the future. This is the first book I’ve read by Kristin Harmel, but it will not be the last.

I received an advanced reader copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. I thank all involved for their generosity in sharing this book with me, but it had no effect on this review.
All opinions in this review reflect my true and honest reactions to reading this book.

I requested & received this book from Netgalley. Kristin Harmel does it again. I love her writing style because she is a great storyteller that makes me feel like I was living the story. When Elise & Juliette met and became such close friends I admired their friendship. Both of these ladies went through a lot to survive. Lots of hard choices & decisions were made. At times whie I was reading I had a love hate relationship with the characters. Great story, I gave it four stars because I predicted the ending half way through the book.

Harmel excels yet again. The Paris Daughter shows the strength of mothers and the lengths a mother will go to to save a child. Brava on a really outstanding read

I liked this book, and I will certainly recommend it to my readers who insatiably gobble up any and all WWII era fiction, but I wasn't as enthralled by it as I was by some of Harmel's other works. I felt that the ending was telegraphed way, way too early. and then the twists and turns that got us to the inevitable conclusion felt very obvious, and quite frankly, pretty fantastical. It just didn't make sense to me that Juliette's personality would change so radically over the course of the book. On the plus side, the depictions of Paris, and of the artistic and literary lifestyles were quite striking, and certainly made me want to keep reading about these characters. Recommend for fans of Kate Quinn, or Martha Hall Kelly.

This was such an enthralling story of multiple women as their lives were intertwined in the midst of WWII. The author is a fantastic story teller as she takes the reader along for the ride.





The characters of Mathilde, Paul and Ruth were among my favorites!



Thanks so much to netgalley and the publisher for the arc. The opinions are my own.

The Paris Daughter by Kristin Harmel

Three young mothers’ lives cross in the midst of occupied WWII Paris. Ruth, Juliette, and Elise’s lives intertwine in the the latter's bookstore. As situations gradually become worse, both Ruth, a jewess, and Juliette, whose husband is a dedicated communist, must make heart wrenching decisions that will determine the survival of their children. Ruth sends her children into exile, and Juliette, whose husband is tortured and killed, leaves her daughter in Elise‘s care as she flees the Nazis. Later bombs destroy the bookstore leaving as survivors only Elise and a daughter. After the wars end Juliette returns to Paris to discover the total destruction of the bookstore and Elise nowhere to be found. In true Harmel Style, the book explores how a mother’s love can often cause excruciating choices to be made.

Spanning 1940s Paris to 1960s New York, The Paris Daughter is an emotional WWII novel about promises made in friendship, motherhood, and the sacrifices made to keep our children safe. This book will keep you turning pages. Thanks to author KristinHarmal, Galley Books, and NetGalley. I received a complimentary copy of this ebook. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

The Paris Daughter is a beautifully written WWII story set in France. It is a very powerful story of the bond between mother and daughter. It showcases the importance of moving beyond the past and healing in the future; a story of forgiveness for the guilt we carry.
Another fantastic book by Kristen Harmel that I highly recommend.
Thank you Gallery Books and Netgallery for my ARC.

Kristin Harmel is one of my absolute favorite authors, and The Paris Daughter is one of the reasons why. It is a beautiful story about friendship, the hardships of war, and the lengths a mother will go to to protect her child.

Thank you to Gallery Books, Kristin Harmel and NetGalley for opportunity to read this ARC.

Kristin Harmel beautifully weaves a story of two women from different backgrounds who are tied together in the most unthinkable way. Elise is and artist and the wife of a communist sympathizer in war-torn Paris while Juliette is the wife of a bookshop keeper. They meet while pregnant and become fast friends--until Elsie has to make the sacrifice no mother should make. But she chooses the best option to save her daughter. Bombs fall, invaders pursue, life is lived. Then as the smoke clears life begins a new. Elise searches for her daughter to no avail. Juliette moves to America and rebuilds her Paris life. Years later, they find their way to each other to unveil unbelievable secrets. A story you will not forget about mothers and women who do what they must to survive.

Not just another WWII book! Kristin Harmel's amazing story of the love of a mother for her child(ren) is a message that transcends time and place. This story was so compelling and so well-written. Highly recommend!