The dual timeline is one of my favorite type of historical fiction books! This book was definitely a great read! The characters, both present and past, were easy to connect with and care about. The writing and story was well thought and written. For me, it was a curl up and read novel. It flowed and was easy to just relax and read. Will definitely be a recommendation from me.

I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book provided by NetGalley

Another beautiful story by Suzanne Forth historical fiction at its best.Told in dual time lines the fashion world the characters in ww11 and present times come alive.A book that drew me in and kept me turning the pages.#netgalley #bonnier

Wow, anyone who enjoys reading novels set around the Second World War must surely love this one. A really interesting scenario, the Paris fashion scene, both nowadays and in the 1940’s, excellent characters and a page turning story. Thoroughly joyed reading this book, highly recommended.

What a wonderful story of happening upon the past and trying to find out about what happened. That is just what this book is and it is a very interesting and intriguing read.

Darcie buys some abandoned suitcases (she owned a vintage clothing store) from an auction only to find the past in one of them. And a name. Nathalie Leroux. What begins as an interesting purchase becomes a search for it's original owner and what happened all those years ago (back in the 1940's).

This is such an interesting story of past and present and tells two stories, Darcie's and Nathalie's and it is a story that kept me well interested and I couldn't stop reading. I wanted to know more about this suitcase and its owner.

Well written and researched this is a wonderful read and one I really quite enjoyed.

Thank you NetGalley and Embla Books for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

Thanks to the Publisher and Netgalley for an early review copy.

Darcie is the owner of a shop called ‘Vintaged and Loved’. At an auction she bid and buys a set of lockers.

Once back at the shop, she finds a suitcase in one of the lockers, she had not expected to find anything in them, so is surprised.

She looks after her mother and her younger sister, after her mother was involved in a car accidents long time ago.

But she’s happy doing that and would never have changed anything, even though she’s not had a holiday.

When she opens the suitcase, inside is a gorgeous gown, a book with drawings of designer dresses, a train ticket, as well as an envelope with addresses to Nathalie Leroux.

So, she thinks maybe there’s a link to Coco Chanel. Darcie leaves behind her shop in the safe hands of her family and friend and sets off to find out about Nathalie and why the dress was in the suitcase.

The story keeps you turning the page, wanting to know what happens next.

The mystery surrounding who Nathalie is goes back to when there was resistance fighters in France, what happened at that time and the secret is revealed that had been kept all this tine.

I highly recommend this book.

When Darcie Marchant owner of the ‘Vintaged and Loved’ shop in Sussex purchases a suitcase from a left‐luggage locker at an auction , she had no idea that the contents of the suitcase would change her life.
Darcie cares for her mother and has been primary caregiver to her younger sister since her mother was involved in a car accident many years ago. Darcie would not have it any other way but it has been years since she has been on a holiday between caring for her mother and managing her beloved Vintage and Loved shop.
The suitcase she purchases has a beautiful gown, a sketchbook of designer dresses, a train ticket and an envelope from the Ritz hotel with a name Nathalie Leroux. Could there be a connection to Coco Chanel? Darcie is set on a path to find out about Nathalie and the dress.
This is an engaging read which captures your imagination. The search for who Nathalie was takes the reader to the time of resistance fighters in France, the horrors of war and a war time secret that is finally revealed.

Wow! What a great book. I love the duel timeline and became very invested in both Darcie's and Nathalie's stories. I had not previously read about Coco Chanel and am now anxious to find out more about her. I am also anxious to read more from this new to me author, Suzanne Fortin.

I was provided an ARC by Net Galley for an honest review.

I enjoyed The Lost Dressmaker of Paris. I have read previous Suzanne Fortin novels and certainly enjoyed them. "The Lost Dressmaker of Paris" is a dual time line book set in wartime Paris and contemporary Sussex. In both dual timelines, a woman meets a man, who is willing to work hard to help her when needed. In both timelines, there is romance, love, and danger.

Coco Chanel's life at the wartime Paris Ritz has been the subject of other historical novels, which makes Fortin's success in crafting a novel about this period even more astounding. Her plotting offers a new approach to the Chanel story by making her a minor supporting character in a larger and more complex plot. There are no easy happy endings in The Lost Dressmaker of Paris. Characters must work hard to make the happiness they have earned possible. The ending of this novel is both happy and sad. Fortin succeeds nicely in creating well-defined characters, who are able to sustain the narrative and keep readers engaged. In Wartime France, Nathalie and her romantic interest are engaged in resistance work to aid their country against the German occupiers. In contemporary France, a vacationing Brit, Darcie, also finds a romantic interest to help her solve a mystery. Initially I was concerned about these romances and the entire concept of meeting cute, but Fortin is able to play upon these formulas to alleviate readers' concerns, while keeping the narrative real.

I do encourage readers no to worry about a Chanel plot that already seems stale. Fortin easily builds upon what is known to create something new and engaging. I want to thank the author and publisher, Embla Books, for providing this ARC in exchange for my honest review. Thank you also to NetGalley for helping my list of new authors grow by lea[ps and bounds.

I was a little hesitant to read this book. Because I was afraid the story had been told too many times before. But the book gave a new perspective from the fashion industri during ww2. The mystery, the story, the love story kept my attention. And I fell in love wirh the strong , resilient characters. And the ending was superb.
I highly recommend this book
Thank you to netgalley for letting me read this e arc in exchange for an honest

Once again an outstanding read from thus amazing author, gripping from start to fininish, a dull time line that is extremely informative and just brilliant. I give nothing away but can highly recommend this amazing book.

Loved this book!! A wonderful story to fall into and just enjoy. While there are many tough aspects of the story based on WWII it is really a lovely story to sit and enjoy. I liked how the characters are depicted and how the story unfolds. I will definitely look for other books by Suzanne Fortin.

"The Lost Dressmaker of Paris" is a dual time line book set in wartime Paris/Brittany and modern day England. In both of the storylines the main female character meets a foreign (to them) man.

The characters are well rounded and the locations described such that it is easy to imagine a film of the book. The wartime story highlights the issues of occupation, and the fact that not all French people were subjugated by the Nazis as many collaborated with them, and the police force actively abetted, especially with rounding up Jews, tracking down members of the Resistance and enforcing the curfew.

Thanks to Net Galley and the publishers for the opportunity to review this book.

I love how the cover complements The Dance Teacher of Paris!

Don’t let the idea of Chanel, WW2, and resistance turn you away from reading this book. Yes, it’s been done … A LOT. But, Fortin brings a fresh perspective and mystery to the fashion world of WW2. She begins with a suitcase that’s been left at a railway station and builds a phenomenal story about who left it there, what it contains, and why this person never returned for it. She brings this story to life with a dual timeline, giving readers both sides of the story - who found the case and who left it. It’s a compelling read and you’ll unearth devastating wartime secrets and be in awe of the courage and strength of women in wartime. I love how the thread of love tied together the two timelines and highlighted the author’s message.

Nobody writes historical fiction set in France quite like Fortin. If you haven’t read one of her books yet, you need to put them on your list.

I was gifted this copy by Embla Books and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.

After finding a dress in a suitcase a hunt for the maker takes us back to Paris and the world of high fashion during the war. A well written book you will enjoy this one.

I really enjoyed this book. Dual time line between the present day and ww11. The story goes from England to Paris and Brittany following a search for the truth about a possible Chanel dress and its makers sketchbook and the secrets they hold.

This is a dual timeline novel set during WWII, 1942 and currently in 2022. Nathalie Leroux was the daughter of a well known and sought after tailor in the city. of Paris As his daughter, she had the freedom of dress designing, hoping one day to have her own fashion house. She designed many beautiful dresses and sketched them in her book, but with Paris now occupied by the Nazis her dream would be put on hold. Further, when her brother Edgar joined with the resistance, the entire family was now in harm's way.

In 2022 Darcie Marchant owned a vintage clothing shop in West Sussex, England. At an auction Darcie was bidding on an old trunk that was in the left-luggage lockers. Not knowing what was inside, she took a chance and finally was the winning bid. Upon opening the contents, she found a book that held sketches of beautiful gowns, a designer's book, along with a gorgeously designed gown that very well have been made by Coco Chanel. It oozed sophistication! Having no label, the gown became a "curiosity" for Darcie. But who was Nathalie Leroux and what were the squiggles on the bottom of the page? As we read along, we go deeper into the story of Nathalie during the war years and Darcie now in 2022 with a mystery to solve.

The book was engaging and hard to put down. Well researched and well written. as a reader I couldn't wait to find out and eager to see the mystery solved. My thanks to NetGalley and Embla Books for this ARC in exchange for an honest opinion. Five stars from me!!

This is a historical fiction novel that goes between 2 timelines, the present and WWII.
An abandoned suitcase in a locker leads to a search for the story of the owner. There are people who don’t want the story to come out. Thank you to net galley for an advanced readers copy.

Present day England: Darcie lives in a Sussex market town where she owns Vintaged and Loved, and sources pre-loved clothes and items from wherever she can to sell in her shop. Her purchase of an item from a left-luggage locker from a disused West Sussex train station would take her on an adventure and fulfil a lifelong dream. At first she was disappointed in her purchase but there was just something about the items, a beautiful dress and a journal, that she couldn't ignore.
Paris 1942: Nathalie Leroux lives with her parents and brother Edgar during the German occupation of their city. Nathalie's father, The family business survives due to the detested patronage of the Germans. Theodule Leroux is a tailor and Nathalie has grown up in the shop and learned the art of dressmaking by watching her father. Her dream is one day to design gowns and she keeps a journal of the designs she has created and is in the process of making a dress from one of her designs.
This is a story of the life of a present day woman who cares for her invalid mother and her younger sister, runs her shop but has little time for a life of her own. But Darcie is happy and her mother, sister and grandmother get together to send Darcie on a little adventure to Paris to enable her to investigate the items she has purchased.
It is also the story of Nathalie, her life is being lived under the German occupation when nothing is easy and life is to be lived in the moment through a dangerous time.
I I first discovered this Author when I read All That We Have Lost and when this new story became available on NetGalley, I simply had to read it.
Oh, I have loved The Lost Dressmaker of Paris so much and I thank NetGalley for the opportunity to read it now.

I loved this story told in two time lines 1940's and present day .A story of bravery ,love and determination .Set in Paris in the 1940's when the Germans invaded France ,a horrifying time, Nathalie finds herself involved with the French Resistance,she is set to work in the Ritz Paris and meets Coco Chanel who is taking refuse there .Darcie in the present day has won in an auction an old railway locker and inside is a beautiful dress and a book of sketches with the name Nathalie Loroux she is determined to find out the story of this find abandoned 80 years ago .I enjoyed the characters and the story very much.Thank you to NetGalley for my ARC .

BLURB:
When Darcie takes possession of an old suitcase abandoned in a railway station locker, she doesn't know what to expect.

Opening the stiff clasps, she discovers a beautiful silk evening dress for the 1940s, lovingly folded, and a notebook full of sketches. Written inside the cover is the name: Nathalie Leroux

Who was Nathalie? Why did she leave this at the station eighty years ago? And what stopped her from returning for it?

Darcie's quest for answers will draw her into the dangerous world of the French resistance as she works to uncover the truth about a devastating wartime secret.

But is Darcie prepared for what she will find? And for the power of Nathalie secrets to change her world forever...

MY REVIEW:
I love the idea of abandoned luggage or storage container auctions, and that is what drew me to this book.

I was intrigued that the main character would go looking for the owner of the suitcase that she had purchased, that she would be so inspired to do so, as I imagine not many people would be so generous.

I found this to be rather slow in places, but I was determined to find out what happened to Nathalie, so I persevered. I admit I guessed the outcome before it was revealed, but it was still a good read.

Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of this book in return for my honest review.