Kristin Harmel did not disappoint! What a beautifully tragic story about trauma and grief!

Juliette and Elise become friends, two Americans in Paris as WWII is beginning. As the Germans occupy Paris, Elise's artist husband gets caught up in the resistance and is arrested. He puts Elise and their daughter in danger and Elise has to run. She leaves her daughter, Mathilde, in Juliette's care in the bookstore where she lives with her husband and her three children.

Elise aches every day for her daughter and when she can return, she is devastated to find that the bookstore has been bombed and Juliette has disappeared with no word. All she can find are graves for Juliette's husband and boys and for Mathilde. Both friends have been forever changed by the grief and live shackled to the past but have handled it very differently. When Elise goes to New York to find her old friend more than one secret is revealed.

I gave it ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. Kristin Harmel really showed the different ways we handle grief and trauma. It is as unique as the individual. It was such a beautifully written story and to me it was ultimately about hope and looking forward. It was also a story about motherhood and what we do for our children. It was historical fiction at its best!

Thank you to @netgalley and @gallerybooks for an early copy in exchange for an honest review! Also, thank you to @kristinharmel for a signed copy in Huntsville on pub day at the @friendsandfiction event!

This is a heartbreaking story that is beautifully written. Itis full of emotions and you can feel every one of them. This is a book that once you start reading it, you don't want to put it down. If you are a fan of Historical Fiction, you will love this book. I received a complimentary copy from Gallery Books via NetGalley and was not required to write a review. All opinions expressed are my own.

A heartbreaking and beautifully written historical fiction novel about motherhood, war and impossible choices. I have read most of Harmel’s books and this one may be my favorite!
Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and Kristin Harmel for a digital copy of The Paris Daughter. Out now. Don’t miss this one!

War is coming to France in 1939. When 2 young mothers meet with their children in a Paris park, they become fast and best friends. Juliette is an American and is married to Paul Foulon whilst Elise, another American, is married to Olivier LeClare. While Elise is an artist in her own right, she is overshadowed by her communist and insurrectionist husband, and is totally devoted to her daughter, Mathilde. Once Paris is occupied by the Nazis, Olivier becomes a prime target and is eventually captured and killed. Advised by her husband’s agent that she and her daughter are in grave danger, Elise decides to leave Mathilde with her best friend until it is safe to return - a difficult and heart wrenching decision. Juliette and Paul have 3 children, a 4th, a daughter, having died just after birth and operate a bookstore. One horrible day, an allied bombing of the Paris Renault factory goes horribly wrong (a real occurrence) and the bookstore suffers a direct hit. Only Juliette and her daughter survive. The remainder of the story deals with the years following the war - the guilt, the feeling of loss, and the difficulties in facing the past in the present.

As always, Harmel has created a well-written, moving story about the horrors and sacrifices of WWII and its lasting effects on families and non-combatants. It is a novel of love, loss, sacrifice, survival, resilience, and to some extent, forgiveness. The various subplots only add to the story. And I think it is worth noting a comment Harmel makes in her author’s notes: “When we know more about the past, we are better prepared to face the future.” Some wise woods for today’s world. My thanks to Gallery Books and NetGalley for the ARC of this book. Don’t miss it.

Fabulous historical fiction at its finest! Kristin Harmel has outdone herself, painting a beautiful moving story with words. Because she meticulously researches the historical events, not only is it a pleasure to read but also provides a learning experience. And even though I had suspected the twist, it didn't take away from the storytelling at all. This is a must read for anyone who enjoys reading, especially historical fiction. My thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing a copy of this book for review. All opinions are my own.

A chance meeting of two American mothers-to-be develops into a close friendship. Elise & Juliette support each other through the beginning days of WWII in Paris. As the Germans edge closer each mother must make a tough decision that will affect their children’s futures.

Kristin Harmel once again draws us into her WWII Parisian world. This book is full of emotional ups and downs that bring us closer to the main characters. We follow the war years and how each mother pieces their life back together afterwards. I could not put this book down. Lovers of historical fiction will be hooked!

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and Kristin Harmel.

I will forever read anything that Kristin has written. She is a master with words and feelings. I thought that I had read enough stories about WWII but saw this one and had to read it. I finished it one sitting. So incredibly good. Friendship, found family, love. It's all there.

I enjoyed reading Kristin Harmel's latest historical fiction, The Paris Daughter, and will continually recommend her books to others. Filled with dramatic turns and German/Paris/American moments that Harmel writes best, I did not want to put this novel down. I instantly felt for Juliette and wanted to punch Elise automatically for her bad decisions on love. The Paris Daughter had a satisfying ending and left me aching for the next novel to come.

The Paris Daughter is an exceptional novel. Author Kristin Harmel tells the story of two women who meet in Paris in 1939. Young mothers Elise and Juliette become fast friends and often spend time together with their children. Elise is a sculptor and her husband is a well known painter with Communist leanings. Juliette and her husband own a bookstore. As Word War II advances into France, Elise finds herself in a horrible predicament because of her husband's resistance work. Her best chance of survival is to disappear. To protect her daughter she leaves her with Juliette and promises to return for her. Juliette integrates Elise's daughter into her family seamlessly. Unfortunately no one is safe in a time of war. Harmel's characters are fascinating and endearing. This page turner has many twists and is one of the best books I've read this year.

What a stunning and heartbreaking novel about love and loss. It’s a testament to a mothers love what both Juliette, Elise and Ruth do for their children. Ms. Harmel has another brilliant novel on her hands.

If there's a Kristen Harmel novel that doesn't rip my heart to
bits, I haven't found it yet! The Paris Daughter is a painfully beautiful novel that sheds more light on the ripple affects of war.

Elise and Juliette meet in France while each is heavily pregnant with a daughter, and their fast friendship soon extends to their young girls. When sinister circumstances force Elise to flee, she entrusts Juliette with caring for her daughter. After the war ends, Elise returns to find Juliette's bookshop and home reduced to rubble, her daughter, friend, and family nowhere to be found. Only years later will they reunite in New York and bring long-kept secrets to light.

Gripping, propulsive, and emotional, this book wrecked my mama heart in a most pensively melancholy way. The characters are exquisitely formed, the prose skillfully crafted, and the story progresses at a great pace. I was able to predict the plot early on, but that did not stop me from enjoying watching it unfold on the page. I'm not sure how this was only my first Kristin Harmel. novel, but I look forward to savoring many more of her works in the future!

Thank you to Gallery Books via NetGalley for gifting me with an ARC to review. I adored it!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Gallery Books for gifting me a digital ARC of the new historical fiction novel by Kristin Harmel - 5 stars!

Two mothers, two daughters. Elise and Juliette meet when they are both pregnant and become fast friends. Though their lives are very different - Elise and her husband and artists and Juliette and her husband own a small bookstore - Elise finds peace in the bookstore and their young daughters also become the best of friends. When Elise becomes a target of the German occupation, she does the only thing possible to save her daughter - she entrusts her to Juliette's care. When she is finally able to return a year later, she's devastated to learn that the bookstore was bombed and both their worlds were destroyed.

This book explored the horrible choices so many had to make in wartime and the consequences of those choices. It also explores friendship, loss, grief and the many different ways people process those feelings. This certainly takes place in wartime but it's less a war novel than it is an exploration of motherhood, sacrifice, mother/daughter relationships. I also loved how books and art played such an important part of this story and showed how both have healing powers. It's also a cautionary tale about how grief can ruin lives, yet it's such a hopeful book as well. This book was again wonderfully researched by Harmel and felt so real - be sure to read the author's note at the end. Fabulous read - highly recommended!

Is there a Kristin Harmel novel that we didn’t love?! She has truly done it again. I was consumed from page one. The relationships she creates and the emotions she evokes in her readers always blow me away. Her writing is so heartwarming and also heart-wrenching.

This novel exceeded my expectations and truly kept me glued until the end. Her plot twists are perfectly weaved throughout the book. She knows when and where to blow our mind!!!

This is another fantastic WWII historical fiction from Kristin Harmel. As always, her book was wonderfully researched and tugged at my heartstrings. The story of Juliette and Elise and the difficult decisions that had to be made during the war was emotional and moving. I loved that most of the story was set after the war in 1960 New York and Paris as the characters had to deal with the aftermath of the war and how to move on (or try to move on) with their lives. I also loved the cameo about the French town of Aurignon from Harmel's The Book of Lost Names!

Wow, what an incredible historical fiction book. Well researched, strong main characters, and a heartbreaking, incredible story. It follows 2 mothers, before,during and after WWII and their experiences. The worst of heartbreak, impossible decisions to make and their paths to grow and heal after the war. The characters were real, relatable, and incredibly well developed. The research put into this book was amazing - she was easily able to transport you to Paris during the war. Anyone that is a fan of Historical Fiction must read this book!

Elise and Juliette meet while pregnant in Paris before the war. When Elise and her daughter's lives are at risk, she entrusts Juliette to care for her young daughter. After the war ends, Elise learns that her daughter was killed when a bomb fell, but Juliette is nowhere to be found. After years of searching, she is led to New York where she hopes to get the answers she has been looking for.

Thank you Netgalley for my advanced reader copy.

The Paris Daughter by Kristin Harmel is a close look at mental illness and the lives that led up to it. The story takes place in Paris, before the Nazis invaded. It was a good life for young mothers, Elise and Juliette, who met in the park one day when Elise had false labor pains and Juliette took pity on her and took her home to be examined by a doctor. This was the beginning of a close friendship. Juliette and her husband, Paul, owned a bookshop and they and their two boys lived above it. Juliette was pregnant, as well. Elise lived with her artist husband, Olivier, who was increasingly distant as he became consumed in politics. He was a Communist, or at least existed at its fringes. Elise had been an artist, too, but Olivier had taken away much of her self-esteem. She worked in spurts, carving wood. Then after a plethora of bad things had happened, the worst happened and Olivier was arrested and died during the “interrogation.” Elise had to flee. She had to leave her daughter as the authorities would be looking for a woman and small child. She left Madeline with her friend Juliette. There were Allied bombers looking for the Renault factory which was nearby, but other things were hit, including the bookshop. Paul, the boys, and Madeline were killed. Only their daughter, Lucie, and Juliette survived.

When Elise returned she discovered the truth, although by then Juliette and Lucie had fled to America. She lived in a fog for years, believing her apartment had been stripped of all its art by the Nazis. She was a poignant character, deep in depression, believing it was her fault her daughter was dead, since she had abandoned her. She was an excellent character, as was Juliette, who was sinking deeper into mental illness as the years went by, forcing her daughter, Lucie, to lie to her and try endless ways to reconnect with her mother. The plot was complicated and yet so simple. It was the story of people profoundly affected by the war. So much went wrong in Paris. This was just one story, but a truly amazing one. Harmel has done it again with this deeply touching book. Truly a perfect read.

I was invited to read a free e-ARC of The Paris Daughter by Gallery Books, through Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are mine. #Netgalley #GalleryBooks #KristinHarmel #TheParisDaughter

A story about three families in Paris during WWII and how their lives interconnected at such a turbulent time. It focuses on what a parent would do to keep their child safe, even if it means separating from them in order to give them a better chance at survival. It's also about remembering and honoring the past without being stuck in it. Juliette's storyline was the most difficult to read just because of how deep she is in her grief and how much that affects all of the lives around her. Overall, an interesting story that delves into emotions and actions of wartime.

Double those stars. 10 stars! Incredible! Simply incredible! This has to be Kristin Harmel's best book to date. She has taken a WWII story, but made it about women--about mothers. It's about the love these women have for their children. Yes, it is also about how unfair and destructive the war was to those at that time, but the deep story is about the love the women have for their children and the degree to which they will go to to protect their children.

The relationships in this book are complex. The characters are flawed. The friendships are flawed, but displayed so well by Harmel. I literally did not want to put this book down...ever. This will be one of my favorites of the year.

Thanks to the author, Gallery Books and NetGalley for the gifted copy. All thoughts are my own.

I thought this book started out on a good note, but just got worse about 25% in and it went downhill from there.

For a historical fiction novel centered around WWII, there wasn’t a lot of detail which I think is inexcusable given how easy it is to research WWII. Also, one of the characters (Juliette) is the biggest Karen ever, but becomes awful out of nowhere halfway through the book and it’s really surprising. Make it make sense.

Thank you to NetGalley for giving me an ARC so I didn’t have to pay for this.