Thank you Net Galley and HarperCollins for a complimentary copy of this novel! This novel has dual timelines, switching between 2022 and WW2 (1940s). In 2022, Juliette and Andrew are in holiday in Paris. Juliette’s grandmother was from Paris and had been there at the time of WW2. Her grandmother had left behind a painting and Juliette was determined to find its significance. While visiting in Paris, Juliette discovers her husband Andrew was having an affair, so he ends up returning to the states. Juliette remains in Paris to explore her family’s past.
In 1940 Paris, Jacques and Mathilde had just gotten married as WW2 broke out. Jacques owns a bookshop, while Mathilde works at an art gallery. Eventually, with Germans taking over Paris, the art gallery closes and Mathilde is without a job. Jacques keeps up with the shop, as both secretly aid in the war. Soon, however, Mathilde must escape for her safety. Will Jacques and Mathilde ever see each other again? How does Juliette presently tie in with the history of Jacques and Mathilde? There are secrets to be discovered!!!
I really enjoyed reading this novel. It was so heartwarming, but also heartbreaking at the same time. I love how the dual timelines are laid out. A few chapters at a time are dedicated to one timeline, then it reverts back to the other timeline for another few chapters, and so forth and so on. I was pulled into this story from the start and look forward to more from this author! This novel is scheduled to be released March 7, 2023!!!

I was given a copy of this book by NetGalley in return for an honest review.

A bookshop in Paris, dual time line, resistance, this novel had everything for the making of an excellent historical fiction novel. I enjoyed reading of Jacques and his heroic efforts to help those being sought after by Nazis.

I appreciated reading about every aspect of living during the time. Those who turned a blind cheek, those who had quiet agreements with Nazis, women who had affairs with Germans and most of all the every day people who risked their lives to help those in complete desperation. The level of detail at moments, brought me to tears.

This novel really got me to thinking just how much we don’t know about our grandparents. The lives they lived before us. The ones who did amazing things to save others during war, who went back to their quiet lives afterward never to mention it.

Highly recommend to those who enjoy hospital fiction.

The Forgotten Bookshop in Paris
By: Daisy Wood
Review Score: 4 Stars

Five Key Feels
-I love the time jumps between WW2 and present, it really linked the story.

-I loved Jacques’ evolution in this story.

-You really get a feel for what Paris was like while the Nazis occupied it, and how stressful that was.

-Juliette is such a strong character.

-This book had a beautiful ending.

——

The Forgotten Bookshop in Paris was kindly provided as an ARC by Netgalley and Harper 360, Avon. Thank you for allowing me to read this wonderful book!

Release Date: 3/7/23

This is such an engaging book. Two stories are essentially happening at the same time, in the same place, and I love that I wanted to know just as much about one as the other.

I have read a ton of books set in Paris during the Nazi occupation, and I like how Wood brings a different take to the story. It was a very enjoyable read.

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Wow! This book has a heart! I can't imagine stumbling upon a little forgotten bookshop and opening it as my own. Told in 2 eras...Now and during WWII and the setting is in Paris. A connection so simple yet so meaningful between the two.
WWII has some of the most interesting and challenging stories that amaze me with the courageous people in them. Jacques and Mathilde married the day the war broke out. Not knowing the future for them would be short yet gilded by their love forever. Mathilde joins a resistance group spreading the news of the Nazis plan and to warn them of the genocide of Jews or other non-Aryans. When she is caught, she is separated from Jacques. Jacques is left to tend to his Little Bookshop La Page Cachee. When neighbors and friends are sent to concentration camps and ghettos, he has a room built behind the bookcases to hide those in need. He takes in a lot of little children and finds homes for them. He stood up for what was right.... a gentle hero.
Now: Juliette ends up in France separating herself physically and mentally from her husband and buys the little forgotten bookshop to turn it into a bookstore. What she discovers behind the shelving is sacred and meaningful. She finds a connection to her own family.

The book represents like so many others the heart-wrenching time of love and loss in war. The resistance saved many lives and even though this is a fiction and the bookstore never existed there were many places like it that did.
Thank you NetGalley and Harper 360 for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

What a great book. I throughly enjoyed the dual timeline and the depth of the characters. This was one of the few books that I didn’t figure out the twist before it actually happened. A big thank you to Daisy Woods and NetGalley for allowing me to read this before it’s official release.

This was a good book. It was just slow for me, at least. I like fast-paced books, and I felt as tough as a lot of things dragged out a little too long. However, I enjoyed going from one timeline to another to see the difference in the forgotten book shop.

I absolutely LOVED this book! Going back and forth in time kept me engaged in the story the whole time. I was constantly trying to put together clues to figure out how all the characters were connected. As an avid reader, I always appreciate a story about a bookstore and this one did not disappoint. A must read!

One of the most amazing stories I've read! I finished reading it with tears in my eyes and couldn't stop thinking about it.

It's a dual POV and dual timeline story with one part set in occupied Paris during WWII. It's more than a love story: it's many love stories, many stories of people being brave and saving others. Jacques POV is poignant and at times hard to read, but there's also hope.

The other part is set in modern-day Paris with a middle-aged American woman who needs a change in her life.

Beautifully written with amazing characters. This is one I won't easily forget.

I received a copy from the publisher via NetGalley and this is my honest opinion.

This book hooked me from the first page. Beautiful, descriptive writing that tears at your heartstrings. The author did such a great job in bringing history to life, the characters so real, and the bookshop itself like a character. I loved the dual timelines and trying to piece how they would connect. Overall an awesome, well-written book.

The Forgotten Bookshop in Paris
by Daisy Wood
Pub Date: March 7, 2023
Avon
Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the ARC of this book.
The cover is beautiful.
The plight of Jewish children in France during the war is heart-rending. I have read numerous books in this time frame and this one is very well done. Historical fiction is my favorite genre. For me the timing on this book was critical. As the author was writing this boom it was written as the war in Ukraine was unfolding.
It is important to remember the past, no matter how painful the process may be, says the writer in her author notes. I agree.
The Forgotten Bookshop has dual timelines. It is set in the city of lights during the 1940's and in present time.
I will certainly be reading more from this author.
5 stars

Two timelines in one location. In 1940 Paris Jacques owns a bookshop, has recently married Mathilda the love of his life, when Germany invades France and takes over Paris. Present day Paris, Juliette discovers her husband’s affair while on a trip to Paris and decides to stay in her beloved grandmothers city where she finds the bookshop. Excellent weaving of the dual storyline brings to life characters affected by war and its aftermath.

If you love historical fiction set in WWII, with dual timelines and narratives, then you will enjoy this book. The bookshop setting makes it even more special!

“The Forgotten Bookshop in Paris” is a story about love, loss, finding one’s strength, and the history that binds us. The author, Daisy Wood, has a fresh voice and weaves a tale around a forgotten bookshop in Paris, La Page Cachée, which Juliette discovers while on vacation with her husband in the modern day. But what happened in 1940 to its original owner, Jacques, as the Nazis take away everything he cherished? As you fall in love with the book's characters, your heart will swell and break in equal measure as you learn of their fates.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon Books for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Forgotten Bookshop in Paris has duel timelines with one taking place in Paris during WW II and one in 2022. It has so many elements I enjoy in books- a book about books and also set in France during the war. However, this one wasn’t executed as well as it could have been.

The story itself was engaging and I was interested in what was going to happen. I felt more drawn to the past timeline compared to the present day timeline. The characters in the present time narrative all seemed very surface level and I had a hard time connecting with them. It felt predictable and cliched to me. It could have been an outstanding book if written better. The writing just wasn’t very good.

Even with the writing lacking, I was really swept up in the story and overall did enjoy it.

I am an avid reader. I love historical fiction especially stories during WWll. This book was so good! I became very invested in the characters and couldn’t wait to find out how they were all connected! This book was well written and easy to read.

The story is told in dual timelines between 1944 and 2022. However, it was not hard to go back and forth. The author was able to tell part of the WWll story in Paris all those years ago as it relates to the current 2022 story with the main character who travels to Paris with her husband. The two were intertwined with out interrupting the flow of the story being told. There were twists along the way and I didn’t figure out how it was going to end until the last several chapters.

I highly recommend this book!

I really enjoy World War II-era fiction and Daisy Wood delivers a great read with "The Forgotten Bookshop in Paris". In this dual-time line historical fiction, the reader is really drawn into the characters' lives of the past and present. Wood does a good job of melding the two timelines in a way that feels cohesive but I just wanted more from the historical angle. While I found I connected more with Jacques in the 1940s timeline, there were parts of Juliette's modern day story that touched me, as well. The characters offered a full range of emotions and left me feeling hopeful at the end of the day.

“His bookshop will be a treasure trove; warm and safe in the winter, when the rain lashes down; airy in the summer, when breezes will waft the smell of baking bread from the boulangerie across the square and through the open windows. The quiet, welcoming atmosphere will soothe his customers’ troubled minds.” (pg. 2) Jacque Duval opens La Page Cachee bookshop in 1939, Paris. Having “birthed” a bookstore myself, I consider La Page Cachee to be one of the main characters in this historical novel.
The parallel story in the book is set in 1970 as Juliette Fox and her husband vacation in Paris. Juliette brings along her mother’s painting of a quaint Paris square hoping to find this spot. With several strokes of luck, she finds it, Place Doree in the Montmartre.
As 1939 brings the Nazi’s to Paris, the lives of Jacques and his beloved wife Matilde are turned upside down. They abhor what is happening, particularly the arrest of Jews including their children. Matilde joins a local resistance group and after a minor skirmish with the Germans, she finds herself being sent away to Provence. Meanwhile, Jacques uses a tiny hidden space in La Page Cachee to hide those targeted for arrest by the Nazi’s.
Juliette has decided to stay on in Paris to research her family’s history in Paris. She’s also trying to figure out what her future might be given her decision to divorce her cheating husband. “Juliette didn’t regret her decision to stay in Paris but everyday was a challenge; it took some effort to speak French all the time, to negotiate her way around the shops and unfamiliar currency, to alone without being lonely”
This brilliant novel brings history to life with the excellent characterizations of the main characters Jacques, Juliette, and La Page Cachee. Daisy Wood allows us to hear their inner thoughts and emotions.
As the opening paragraph of the novel reveals, Forgotten Bookshop of Paris, is full of vivid imagery. “As soon as Jacques sets eyes on the empty shop, dusty and unloved, he can see what it might become….a wood-paneled hexagonal foyer…an airy room with tall picture windows facing onto the street…” (pg. 1)
I especially enjoy parallel stories and this one did not disappoint. In addition, I spotted the symbolic story of La Page Cachee beneath the other stories. La Page Cachee is conceived, and finds its special purpose and goes dormant. Then in 1970, it comes to life again. The bookstore is a thread of refuge, and resurrection.
I highly recommend this rich, unique story; I do not think it will disappoint

The streets filled with laughter as people enjoyed their day. Soaking up sunshine and reveling in the peace before the war came. He sat at the counter in his bookshop, watching out the window as people skipped by. A few entered the shop and perused his collection of books, smiling as they reverently turned pages. A warmth flooded his heart as he saw others enjoying books as much as he did. But that warmth wouldn’t last long when the coldness of war was on the horizon.

The Forgotten Bookshop in Paris is a dual timeline historical fiction novel. Following Jacques, a bookshop owner in France during WWII. And also following Juliette who is spending an extended time in Paris after learning upsetting news.

I wanted to love this book, but for me it was a complete letdown. Juliette in the present timeline was a character I could care less about and her double standards and whining annoyed me to no end. Her story honestly made me want to DNF the book. The past timeline was better than the present, but it didn’t have much of a wow factor and was actually quite bland. I didn’t connect with the characters like I wanted to.

Overall this one was a disappointment and I’m bummed. There are other historical fictions that are better and more engaging than this one to check out! The Last Bookshop in London is one I recommend if you’re looking for another bookshop related WWII historical fiction.

The Forgotten Bookshop in Paris is a dual-timeline novel alternating from 1940s Paris to the present. Juliette is in Paris to learn more about her family history and grandmother, who lived in Paris during WWII. This poignant novel tells of the danger, fear, and hardships people lived through during WWII. Historical fiction fans will love this book. Thanks to author Daisy Wood, Harper 360, Avon, and NetGalley. I received a complimentary copy of this ebook. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

This story is set in Paris. It goes back and forth between what life was like in Paris during WWII and current time. It is a compelling book with a realistic view of what it was like for the citizens of Paris during WWII. The current time revolves around a woman whose Grandmother was from Paris and lived thru WWII. This is a story about love, courage and the remarkable ability of the human spirit to never give up. The book is heartbreaking and hopeful at the same time. Thank you to net galley for an advanced copy.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher so much for an arc of The Forgotten Bookshop in Paris. I was initially drawn to this book because I’m a huge historical fiction fan that loves anything about - WWII, Paris, and bookshops/libraries. This book did not disappoint, loved the enjoyable dual timeline story that turned out to be a hard to put down quick read. I look forward to recommending to my friends and suggesting for book club!