Elodie is in Paris
But the Germans are coming
This is the story of how a small group of African Americans including the famous Josephine Baker helped to support the French during World War 2.
I really enjoyed this merge of fact and fiction, spy thriller and love story all in one.

What a great read. Had a little bit of everything, was hard to put down, I was totally gripped by the story and characters. Would definitely recommend

As a big fan of WWII and history fiction books I was eager to read this one. I always find books based on real events more intriguing and this one didn’t disappoint. It was a little slow at the beginning but once into the story it became much more interesting.

The story was based on Josephine Baker and the French Resistance. As a black performer, she was treated better in France than USA. No one suspected her of being a resistance worker. Josephine slowly draws Ella a black American, studying in France into her circle of glamour and espionage. They face many interesting and dangerous situations together.

There is many layers in this book, from spying and the dangers of war, to a bit of romance. Many parts of this story were full of wisdom and the goodness of life. I found this added to the story and showed the character’s human side even during very trying times.

I would recommend this book to anyone and especially those who enjoy historical fiction. You won’t be disappointed.

Thanks to NetGalley and Avon Books for an advanced copy of this story.

Embassie Susberry captures a new view on historical fiction on WWll in her novel Code Name Butterfly. It is about the lead up to the German invasion in Paris in 1940 and the decisions countless individuals had to make about leaving the city.

I truly enjoyed learning about the role Josephine Baker played in the French Resistance, the book is inspired by her amazing true story. As a coloured actress she was better received in France than America. Many performers became spies during WWII, since they could travel easier. Also no one suspected a woman especially a black woman as a spy and this was used to their advantage.
The story provides, suspense, romance, a bit of humour and sadness all the ingredients for an excellent book.

Thank you #netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Eloquently written, this is a passionate love story like no other which of course, takes place in the beautiful city of Paris. There are just a handful of characters in this book – all with the perspective of being Black. This is an original story filled with truth and inspiration.

In the early 1940s, Elly Mitchell from Chicago decided after college to go to France to experience the exciting adventures of a new place and to use her writing skills. She would work as a foreign correspondent. She stayed with her housemother, Madame, and 15-year-old house-sister, Claire (who was part Jewish) in a magnificent apartment.

One day, Elly was sitting on a park bench and just happened to meet a handsome man, Grant Monterey. He had been watching her. He sat down to chat and she found his words to be pretty convincing. He asked her to take a risk and get involved as a spy to help the French people. The fear was great: that German Nazis had taken over other countries and now France was on their path. Instead of returning to America, Elly switched her plans and decided to be a part of the French Resistance. Grant would teach her the ways of being an effective gatherer of information.

He introduced her to his friends: a well-known actress, Josephine Baker along with her maid, Polly, her photographer, Danny and Polly’s boyfriend, Pierre. They felt safe in France away from the harsh racism in America. Josephine said, “They like me here. Just the way I am.” However, if the Germans invaded, everything would change and they would need to leave.

The story took off with multiple layers. There were situations that I could feel the danger of their mission. Elly was direct and serious sometimes and funny with other parts. I found myself laughing outload at times.

The writing was smooth and the words were powerful. Many parts were full of wisdom on kindness and the goodness of life. There were several lines of inspiration that I wrote down such as, “All of society’s woes could be cured if everyone found love in another person.” This was a book that I loved from the beginning to the end.

My thanks to Avon Books and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy with an expected release date of November 9, 2023.

I am so grateful to have another favorite historical fiction author in addition to Beverly Jenkins! The first chapter encouraged me to want to read more. The characters and their motivations were relatable and easy to comprehend. The author’s writing style allowed me to visualize locations without too much scenery description - love that! The plot moved at an enjoyable pace. Finally, when I picture Josephine Baker, I see her face instead of Lynn Whitfield’s thanks to the author’s strong portrayal of her. An extremely enjoyable reading experience!

A World War 2 story with a difference. It describes the lead up to the German invasion of Paris in 1940 and the decisions many had to make about leaving the city.
I found it a flowing read which took you into the story, it had moments of both humour and fear, romance and sadness.
A good read which I would recommend.

3.5 stars

Code Name Butterfly is historical fiction set in France at the beginning of World War II.

Elodie Mitchell is an American student and journalist living in Paris. She is fortunate enough to be given a highly sought-after ticket to see American entertainer Josephine Baker. Her invitation includes an exclusive after show party. She’s drawn to mysterious fellow countryman Grant; unbeknownst to Elodie, Grant has already picked her to join their secret intelligence group.

Josephine’s fame means admission to parties and social events where high ranking military men are guests. She uses these occasions to glean top secret information; now Elodie will join Josephine, posing as her cousin.

The resistance angle of this book appealed to me greatly, and I quite enjoyed the introduction to Josephine, her entourage and how Elodie worked with them in the build-up to the invasion of France. The storyline kept up a good pace as Hitler's Army marched ever closer to Paris; however, I was disappointed to reach three-quarters of the way through the book without much ‘resistance action’ occurring. Some events took place off screen or without Elodie’s involvement and I felt that the last chapters in France and Portugal were rushed.

The story begins and ends in present time with Elodie’s descendants; the ending particularly felt like a convenient wrap-up with the author trying too hard to provide all the answers—a few loose ends would have been more natural.

This is a very interesting read. Many performers became spies during WWII. They could travel much easier and the stigma of being a women was often used to their advantage.
However this story tells of a colored actress. Better received in France than America at the time.
This story gives a feel for how some saw war coming and tried to prepare.
Bring so close to WWI left many in complacency…this really wasn’t happening…again?

Imaginative, intriguing and innovative are the expressions I might use for this novel. Like many I have heard of Joesphine Baker and caught glimpses of her resistance work during WW2 in France.

Elly, a black American in Paris, at the start of the war is slowly drawn into the world of glamour and espionage. As a member of a small select group of friends of Josephine Baker, she becomes a competent spy providing a vital link to the resistance. A historical novel with brief glimpses into multicultural, cosmopolitan Paris. Add a hint of romance amongst the backdrop of war and travel with Elly on her road to freedom.

An interesting novel, initially a slow-burner but eventually gathers pace and captures your attention and becomes compulsive reading, if only just to discover the ending.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publishers Avon Books for this advance copy.

Inspired by the incredible true story of Josephine Baker in the French Resistance, I don't wanna be dramatic, but this book was effing brilliant. Could not recommend it more! Have never read a book so fast!

This book is an unusual view of life in war torn Paris. Cleverly crafted around the life of the real WW2 resistance character, Josephine Baker. I had heard of this amazing woman but knew little of her story. I presume that the author did her research and that much of what we read is base loosely on fact. I must admit that early on in reading this, I did a bit of research myself including finding pictures of Josephine which gave me a better idea of who I was reading about. As for Elly, she didn’t quite win me over, which is probably realistic but didn’t help my overall enjoyment of the book throughout. However, overall I would recommend this different take on a European war story and will look out for more works by Embassie in the future.

I really enjoyed this book. While I knew it was fiction there were parts of it I could see being part of a real story. I have never thought about Blacks living in France during WWII so it was an interesting perspective that I enjoyed reading.

The author did a great job pulling readers into the story. I loved all of her character development. I could literally smell Jo’s zoo with all of her animals. And see Jo’s extravagant outfits. As someone who studied abroad I could appreciate Elly’s struggle with French. As well as her take on “home”.

The spy story was at times unbelievable but kept me captivated! I should say I could see it all working as they claim until towards the end when they’re at the chateau. Using the girls to spy by wining and dining military men was genius. Towards the end where they were blowing up trains it seemed a little bit more unbelievable to me. And Grant and Elly’s love story intertwined brought the book together. I was so relieved that the author didn’t kill off Grant or let him stay in France at the end.

Overall I would recommend this book. Totally clean read and appropriate for even younger HS students. I told my daughter she could read it after me and give me her thoughts as she loves a good spy story.

Thanks NetGalley for another book!

Thank you Net galley for the advance reader copy of this novel. This was a historical WWII fiction with a unique storyline of black Americans, Josephine Baker as one, working with French Resistance. I enjoyed the characters and how well the story propelled itself. The heart of the characters showing courage repeatedly was very well written. I felt there were parts of the story that were a bit disjoined but over a fantastic read about an often neglected group. The romance added nicely to the story and was clean. Definitely recommend this one for all WWII fans!

This is such a cleverly written story, woven as it is around the true story of Josephine Baker, her entertainment career and Resistance work in the run- up to WW2 in France. It’s an unusual story, incorporating the fictional presence of Elodie Mitchell, another young woman of colour, who has come to Paris from USA to study, in the early 1930s. It is clear that Elly comes from a wealthy American family, who are able to fund her comfortable lifestyle, and give her the opportunity to work as a journalist as well as studying.
When she attends a concert of Jo’s, she is unwittingly drawn into her espionage network, alongside a group of other people of colour. One of them is the enigmatic Grant, who Elly is drawn to despite the age difference.
W hilts the group is living the dolce vita in the entertainment world in Paris, the Nazi net is closing in on the ordinary citizens of France. The situation becomes ever more precarious until Jo and her entourage, including Elly, are forced to flee to the south of France. But their safety continues to be compromised as they try to stay one step ahead of danger.
This is an intriguing, unusual book, very different from the standard WW2 story, as it is woven from the perspective of this disparate group of Americans of colour, who are made more welcome in France than in their homeland of USA.
My thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for my advance copy of this novel. I enjoyed it immensely.

A nice easy read however I found that Élodie was quite an unlikeable character. Full of twists and an memorable story.

When Elodie Mitchell spends time studying in France just before the beginning of WWII, it changes her life. She is recruited to work with the famous stage star, Josephine Baker, and her crew in the resistance. While France did not have Jim Crow, being a black person in France was unusual and having Germans there made you one of “the others.”

Code Name Butterfly, Embassies Susberry, takes the reader on a riveting ride through France through the eyes of a company of black people. It is also a story of taking risks and learning to love. I thoroughly enjoyed the story and encourage you to read it too. I was allowed to read an ARC on #NetGalley.

“Don’t leave Paris without seeing Jo. You’ll regret it for the rest of your life if you walk away from this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

I’ll let you be the judge. You must read this to see how this invitation changed the rest of Elodie Mitchell’s life.

I loved this story.

The setting and atmosphere is stellar! I felt like I was in Paris swept up in the tense and bizarre mixture of avant-garde, carefree life as it became increasingly more unsettling. Susberry’s vivid descriptions were phenomenal. I’ve read many books with this setting, pre-Nazi occupation, but none as wonderfully immersive as this one. I was whisked back to our visits to Aix en Provence and our time savoured under the shadow of a tree in the square eating crepes and sipping on coffee. I love it when a book does that!

The segue into the historical focus was phenomenal! It was so natural and fluid. Some books I feel as though I’m riding a ten-speed bike with a faulty gear shift mechanism, but this transition was smooth. I loved the DNA thread of this story because, although I’ve never done testing myself, I’m curious.

The symbolism of the title was intriguing and drove me to Google immediately. I love it when that happens. Although I’ve read plenty about the resistance movement, this felt fresh. I drew many parallels between this creature and the woman who earned this code name.

Josephine Baker - the name that initially captured my attention in the synopsis - was another reason I was reaching for my phone to Google for more information. I had to know more about this woman who embodied the French spirit. I can’t believe I’d never heard of her before. Thanks to the author for spotlighting little-known history for us historical fiction lovers. Again, the segue into Elodie Mitchell’s involvement was a smooth transition and I loved the mistaken identity angle. The author played on my curiosity and hooked me along as I turned pages to see how it would work out for everyone - past and present.

There’s so much I loved about this book …I could go on and on and on. You’ll have to see for yourself why this story of courage, survival and stand against prejudice is earning top stars with most reviewers.

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

Really enjoyed this war time novel of spying but flavoured with couples still finding time to fall in love. It must have been a hard time for anyone to live through but the author manages to paint us a picture of ordinary live and love going on amidst the bombs and death.
The author also told the story that makes us aware of just how rife prejudice was in those days.
It’s a really good book and well worth a read. Or protagonist, Elly, , is such a strong willed character. and faced her trials and tribulations with real courage and determination to see the job through.

There wasn’t any part of this book I did not love!! It draws the reader in from the first page and doesn’t let go. It tell a story, that with all the historical fiction I have read, I have not read before. I do not want to spoil any part of this dual timeline book. I can only say please pick it up! It won’t disappoint.

I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book provided by NetGalley.