The Disappearance of Astrid Bricard is a masterpiece again by one of my favorite authors, Natasha Lester. In this book, the author has set a story reimagining the life of Mizza Bricard and her family, a muse to Christian Dior as the world knows her.

Set in three different timelines, the story of this book involves Mizza, Astrid, and Blythe Bricard. These women are extremely talented, innovative, inventive, beautiful, and creative. They want to make a name in the fashion industry. But in a world where women are known for their looks and are thought only as muses, will they get credit?

This novel is amazing. I looked up Mizza after I read this book, and her famous photo is stunning. Natasha Lester's story, though fictional, is so plausible because there's still so much misogyny even now. This book, though fiction, is very real in the difficulties that women go through in their life. I am in awe with Mizza even now!

Thank you, Forever and Grand Central Publishing, for this book.

CW: Mother wound, postpartum depression, misogyny

Real Rating: 3.75* of five

The Battle of Versailles, 1973, has long been a subject of great interest for me. Many things shifted as a result of this event, not least the French conception of US fashion designers as lesser lights, or derivative copycats riding the wave of French chicté and eternal design leadership.

At stake was far more than bragging rights...the international luxury-goods market was even then worth billions. As the event progressed, it was clear that the New York contingent was well and truly a creative design force on its own, handing the French designers their first effective challenge for world leadership...and the profits therefrom.

What former L’Oreal executive, and current New York Times bestseller, Natasha Lester did that was truly inspired was to remodel several real peoples’ lives to better present a generational saga of the fashion universe of the twentieth century. The heavily made-up Bricards, from World War One Paris to twenty-first century world citizenship as they arise and create beauty as well as havoc, represent an amalgam of factual individuals and business dynasties.

Driven, high-powered people seldom make good parents. The Bricards, to a woman, were not good parents as they sought to achieve things other people really could not even see. They were, like the real folks their lives were based on, frequently abused emotionally and taken advantage of financially and creatively, as the hunger for glory is the outward-facing surface of money-hunger. What raises this above the run-of-the-mill story of sexist betrayal is that the men perpetrating the thefts are not the men the Bricard women love, but the ones who run the businesses that the women stand as public faces for, and the mass of media types in search of a hook to hang the story they want to tell...not the story of the Bricards, but "The Story of The Bricards"—if you get my drift.

Author Lester is a very well thought of storyteller, and she has a genuinely interesting story to tell here. Her focus on the Bricards and their creative ambitions and abilities led her not to tell a story, even in part, that was of great consequence indeed: the Black models whose performances on the catwalks of this hugely consequential show broke, at last, the color barrier in fashion. True, it was not part of the Bricard story as written, but I felt it could and should have been.

That misfire, and Author Lester’s serviceable, but never more than that, prose, led me to give the book what seems an ungenerous under-four-star rating. I read the book with pleasure, but was always aware that a very big part of the real story it is based upon was just...missing. In today’s world, not telling the whole story involving Black creatives is more troublesome than at any time in the past. It isn’t as though this reality is some specialist knowledge, the kind of knowledge that only a scholar would reasonably be expected to have...after all, *I* know it.

So, while this is a reading pleasure that will involve and entertain readers of what I don’t know what else to call except the cringe-y label "women’s fiction", it comes with some big asterisks for the standard 2024 reader.

Where is the editing? Why is this book so long? This could have been a concise, beautifully-written multigenerational drama about 3 women in the male-dominated fashion industry, but instead it just dragged and dragged and felt like a frustrating letdown. I was trying to read the physical book for WEEKS before I gave up and went for the audio on 2x speed.
I had big TJR dreams with the overall vibes, so maybe my expectations were just unrealistic. I wanted so badly to like this with the premise and cover and the multiple timelines. The locations in NYC and Paris are some of my favorite and the examination of motherhood is always a top of interest, but this book was just too long and boring.

I am really struggling on how to rate this book. I thought the storyline was intriguing, and as I got farther into the book, I honestly wondered if the characters were real life people. I actually had to look it up. Mizza Bricard was the real life muse of Christian Dior in the late1930s. But her daughter and granddaughter are fictional characters. I was definitely interested in where the story was headed. I thought the three generation timeline was good and I was beginning to care what happened to the characters. I got about the third of the way in the book and I just couldn’t do it anymore. The swearing and sexual descriptions were more than I wanted to read. I also felt like it was becoming more drawn out, and I was starting to lose interest. My rating is three stars, and I hope those that can look past those things can enjoy the story. I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Fashion, sparkle, generations, intrigue. This was an interesting book that cuts across multiple generations and dives into the fashion industry. Interesting and engaging characters--highly recommend!
Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for access to this ARC.

Blythe Bricard is the daughter of fashion icons and designers Hawk Jones and Astrid Bricard. But Blythe has felt abandoned by her parents, especially her mother Astrid who mysteriously went missing during a fashion show at the palace of Versailles. But when Blythe goes on a family trip to France everything comes to a head. She’s asked to resurrect her mother’s old fashion label, causing her to dig deeper into her parent’s relationship and Astrid herself. What Blythe uncovers is nothing she expects, and she slowly puts together the pieces of who Astrid really was as a person, not just the icon. As several generations of stories weave together a complex past, Blythe comes to terms with who she is and where she has come from.

This is a spectacular book and suggest reading The Three Lives of Alix St. Pierre as it has connections to that book as well that will connect things as well.

The Disappearance of Astrid Bricard is an outstanding historical novel by Aussie author Natasha Lester. Narrated in three time frames, we have Mizza from 1917 at sixteen years old, Astrid in the 70s Vietnam war, protests and women's rights; and Blythe in the current day, still reeling from her divorce and determined to get to the bottom of her famous mother’s disappearance, and wondering if what she knew was truth, or lies. As the story moves through each chapter, you begin to see the bigger picture and get closer to solving the mystery of where Astrid Bricard is. I was completely engrossed in the challenges that each character faced, and the book kept me curious about the reason Astrid vanished. With a backdrop spanning nearly a hundred years of fashion, a subject I knew little about, this was a compelling story of the three generations of strong Bricard women. Excellent read with a satisfying ending.

I am so thankful a friend picked this book as our buddy read for January - because I’d been putting off for too long!

The Disappearance of Astrid Bricard by Natasha Lester has all the hallmarks of a great story with the added benefit of learning about other places and times and women’s place in history.

We begin with the central mystery of what happened to Astrid Bricard who disappeared at the 1973 Versailles competition between French and American designers. Although this is a novel, many of the subplots are rooted in actual events. We move from Paris during the two world wars to the disco age in New York City in the seventies to the present day strife of third generation fashion designer, Blythe Bricard.

I was completely engrossed in the challenges that each MC faced as well as curious about the reason Astrid vanished.

Meticulously researched, it was great fun to visit the times of Balanciaga, Dior, and Halston. But, there is also the theme of how women are often scapegoats and rewritten as parenthetical figures in history. They are often the geniuses behind men. or, as the novel describes, “Ophelia dies and Hamlet rules.”

This was a most satisfying read with a fabulous and victorious ending. The book will appeal to fans of fashion design, historical fiction, and women’s fiction.

A far-out 5 Star read! This multi-generational tale is about 3 very talented and strong women that take on the fashion industry from the 1920's through present day. This book has feminism and fashion, romance, mystery, family drama, and healing. It is a testament to the struggles that women have faced when trying to succeed in ANY industry where men typically reign. From Europe to NYC you will be transported to various times in history and get an inside look at the fashion industry and its key players. This book has vivid imagery of the times and a heart that will have you rooting for the success of all three women.
This is a great book for those new to historical fiction, and a great one to create a 70's playlist for!

I received an ARC of this book. I enjoyed this historical fiction novel. It follows 3 generations of women in the fashion industry with some mystery included. Good book!

The Disappearance of Astrid Bricard by Natasha Lester

So many people and such a long road to tell the reader about inequality in the fashion industry even in the 1970s. Fantastic female fashion designers had a hard time moving ahead in the industry without a male to vouch for them.

I may have missed something along the way, but I saw no growth or change in the characters, nor was there any drama or action-highs or lows- to speak of. The absent Astrid was constantly referred to, yet no one actually investigated where she might have gone.

This Grand Central Publishing story offered by Net Galley was not the one for me and boredom set in early on. I’ll rate this book 2.5 stars with a push to 3, just because.

A story where fashion and mystery collide!

The desperate need to know what happened to Astrid Bricard kept me going even though my interest waned pretty early. I think the reasoning for the disappearance was good but not good enough for as long as it went on for in the characters' lives. What needed a stronger rationale from the beginning was Astrid's usage of the last name Bricard. We learn quickly that she's adopted and bothered by the comparisons to her birth mother, Mizza Bricard, but then why use Bricard? Every time she complained I grew more and more frustrated. The real reason didn't need to be given early but some explanation because Astrid came across whiny and attention-seeking each time the issue of her biological mother was brought up.

The triple POV made sense and it was nice to see the contrast between the women. Unfortunately, the similarities were not great qualities and there was no escape from the woe-is-me. I found Mizza very interesting and was delighted to learn that she was a real person, but her character received considerably less page time than the other two and some of my favorite parts of Mizza turned out to be falsehoods for creative purposes.

When I read historical fiction I want to be transported to the time and I didn't get near the required description or narration for that to happen. There were moments in this story that I felt were so strong only a highly skilled writer could craft it. But the moments were very brief. The three main characters all seemed motivated by the same two qualities: fear and love. Fear was almost exclusively done through dialogue and it didn't carry through the pages to me as a reader to be concerned when paranoia hit the character. Love was done beautifully with Hawk and Astrid but was such a chaotically hot and cold feeling (and again mostly dialogue or inner monologue) for the other two women that I didn't buy their emotions as believable.

While this book by Lester was one I'd only cautiously recommend I did see talent shine through and would welcome reading a different book by the author.

THE DISAPPEARANCE OF ASTRID BRICARD by Natasha Lester is engaging, thought provoking, wonderfully wrought story. Is it better to be muse, artist, or the person trying to make sense of them? Born into a family inextricably wound with high fashion from grandmother muse Mizza to daughter designer Astrid, Blythe Bricard attempts to solve the mystery of her mother's disappearance and resolve the generations of family dreams, secrets, and desires. I was entranced by the pitch perfect creation of the world of high fashion from the inside out and the well-drawn characters who lived it as best they could. I received a copy of this book and these thoughts are my own, unbiased opinions.

I've read almost all of this author's books (minus her first two) and she does not disappoint. While this book started a bit slow for me (which is partially on me and my attention span reading in print), I was utterly captivated by the second half of the book and couldn't put it down. I think this happens sometimes with historical fiction, and maybe particularly when there are alternate timelines because information needs to be shared with the reader in all timelines and then eventually the plot can move forward quite seamlessly.

I loved my time spent with these fascinating characters: Mizza and her fashion friends, Astrid and her school friends and Hawk and his family, and Blythe and her ex-husband and his family. All of the timelines were equally as engaging for me, but I held a bit of a soft spot for Blythe by the end of the book. The fashion world is not one that I turn to often, but Natasha Lester excels at writing about fashion in a readable way (says this person writing this review in pajamas with dogs on them. Lol).

I definitely recommend picking this one up if you enjoy this type of historical fiction novel with a modern timeline as well as moments in the past (70s and WWII).

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again the heroines Natasha writes are dynamic forces of nature. They are trailblazers in an industry or society dominated by men who think they are when in reality these women are the trendsetters laying their hearts on the line day in and day out. This story is a complex tale about the challenges with mothers and daughters, the fashion industry, and how toxic the media is to women. The stories of these three women across the different generations show how little and how much things have changed over time and how it only takes one to rise up.


I loved the tie back to Alix St Pierre and how she connects to these incredible ladies!



Thank you @readforeverpub @natashalesterauthor and @netgalley for this eARC in exchange for my honest feedback.

You think you know what is going on the entire book then bam, there is a secret revealed at the end that blows your mind! “The Disappearance of Astrid Bricard” is that kind of book.
It is told with three POV’s
Mizza- survived WWII and was known as Christian Dior’s muse
Astrid- Mizza’s daughter. A fashion designer who had to fight the male establishment her entire life.
Blythe- Astrid’s daughter who is dealing with an ex-husband while trying to revive her mother’s clothing line.
My favorite storyline was Astrid’s- I felt like I was transported back to 1970 in Manhattan. I love Natasha Lester’s books and this one did not disappoint. Many thanks to the author and publisher for a complimentary copy of this book. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.
#TheDisappearanceofAstridBricard #BookLove #Bookstagram #NewBook #ILoveBooks #bookreview #bookreviewer #IHaveNoShelfControl #fiction #HistoricalFiction #mystery #GeneralFictionAdult

Thank you to NetGalley, author Natasha Lester, and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for providing me with a free ARC in exchange for my honest opinion!

I really enjoyed this!! "Contemporary" historical fiction (aka anything set in the 1950s-on) is my favorite sort of historical fiction to read. Add in strong women that come from a line of rocky fashion history, and I'm absolutely sold! Perhaps my favorite part of this book was actually the author's note at the end that explained who Mizza Bricard was and that she was actually a real person. Reading this made so much sense, as while reading, this book absolutely leapt off the page with so many specific details and scenes that I knew some of it must be true. It is clear that Lester put so much time, care, and research into writing this book, and it pays off. It was fascinating to read what the experience of Astrid being a female fashion designer in the 1970s was like, and how much of it was mirrored decades prior with Mizza and decades later with Blythe. I enjoyed the book featuring perspectives from each of the women, as I definitely think it helped a pretty complex familial story be told in the most concise way. However, my biggest complaint with the book was that I do think sometimes the book suffered from having to feature on the perspectives of 3 different women in 3 different times rather than just one. Some chapters and perspectives felt rushed or skipped over, while others took too much of the scene. I also thought it was interesting how much time in the book was spent on the romantic relationships of each of these women when that didn't seem to be what the book was mainly focusing on. Overall, though, this didn't detract too much from my enjoyment of the book, and I'm definitely interested in checking out other works by Lester. Definitely recommend if you are a fan of fashion, stories about strong women, or a "historical" read that feels still modern and fresh!

This was such a rich, lovely story. Told in three timelines, the Bricard women are set up to take the fashion world by storm. But being women, they are always pushed aside to their male counterparts. The media portrays them as a muse not designers.

I adored the love stories in this. Hawk and Astrid. Jake and Blythe. 😍They were perfectly imperfect. The longing and heartbreak and love was so beautiful.

I loved the peek into the fashion industry. Though not so much the press/stories that came from it. Being a woman is tough.

I adored this book. And as someone who doesn’t normally enjoy historical fiction, I think that speaks volumes.

Read if You Like:
👗 Fashion
👗 Generational Stories
👗 Multiple POVs
👗 Longing
👗 Women’s Empowerment
👗 Mysteries

Three generations, three women of fashion and three stories. Will any of all of the Bricard women get eh chance to prove themselves? Mizza Bricard is growing up in the early 1900s in Paris, parentless. By the time her daughter, Astrid gets her chance, Mizza is remembered as a muse to a great fashion designer. Astrid is attending Parson’s in the 70s and trying to make her own name for herself but she’s living in her mom’s shadow. Right when her career is on the verge of taking off, Astrid disappears. Jump forward to now and Blythe is trying to redeem her families reputation in fashion. The child of two fashion icons, Astrid Bricard and Hawk Jones, Blythe is born for the field, but she cant escape the shadow they both left for her. Will Blythe finally be the Bricard woman to escape from muse status and become a big name in fashion design?

I enjoyed how this book was laid out, flipping between the three different points of view of the Bricard women. As each woman’s sorry was told all of the puzzle pieces started to fall together and a great story unfolded. I found this to be a well written story with a great format and characters that spoke for themselves. The twists on this book kept me wanting to keep reading to see how everything was going to play out, in all three stories. Some of the characters weren’t my favorite, but overall I did enjoy this story and kept wanting to come back for more!

Thank you to the publishers for an ARC of this new historical fiction novel!

This book follows the stories of three generations of women who each have to deal with the highs and lows of fashion, love, and motherhood. Mizza (based on a real woman), who experiences two world wars and the birth of haute couture, Astrid, who fights unrelenting discrimination for her place as a top American designer in the 1970s, and finally Blythe, a mother just emerging from a contentious divorce who must grapple with her famous mother’s disappearance in order to revive her fashion career.

The combination of fashion history, family drama, and feminist issues makes this book an interesting and for the most part entertaining read. I’m always, always interested in learning more about fashion history and the famous Battle of Versailles in 1973 where French and American designers competed head to head is one of the events that really provokes my curiosity.

Unfortunately, I feel like what I found most interesting about it (the actual historical events that took place) is not what interests the author. She chose to approach it solely from Astrid’s POV and invent her own fictional twist. While I appreciate the author’s work to create a rich historical setting, I think the real history is actually a lot more interesting. The author’s attempt to address Black fashion history with the book’s sole Black character felt really inadequate to say the least.

Mizza was the most interesting character to me and honestly I wish she had gotten a whole book to herself! I struggled the most with Blythe as a character because her motivations and POV didn’t make a ton of sense to me. Likewise, Jake was an initially frustrating character but had hidden depths that I wished had been properly explored.

I also felt like all of the romances were too fast and inconsistent. I was thoroughly engrossed by the mystery but its resolution felt a bit anticlimactic. While I definitely enjoyed this book, I think the author bit off more than she could chew...