Well this was a tear jerker!

Set over a dual timeline, we follow Sabine and Nora as they each bring up twins, Violette and Valerie, who were separated in an attempt to shield them from the war.

If you're a historical fiction fan, particularly of the WW2 era, then this book is definitely for you. Whilst it's not your usual take on Jews' experiences, it's a very compelling and emotional story. I personally really enjoyed the unique take on a historical wartime novel, and was one that I couldn't put down.

I wanted to savour and yet couldn’t put The Last Train From Paris down. This is a beautifully written, emotional, female character driven intimate story split across France and London in WW2, and into the early 1960’s.

The impact of war on families, specifically women. The main characters, Sabine and Nora, suffer so much sadness, but also hope and show how communities can be built and hold together despite enormous challenges.

This is beautifully written fiction.

Thanks to Netgalley and Storm Publishing for an ARC of this book in return for an honest review.

I was looking for something light to read after a spate of crime fiction, and this fit the bill perfectly. Extremely well written with fully rounded characters that landed on the page as if by magic. Greenwood is a talented writer and has a bright future ahead of her.

I liked the characters in this book and thought the story moved pretty quickly. There were parts in the story that I wanted to know more about. For example, when we meet Nora in 1964 there wasn't any information about her illness or why she was sick and frail. There also wasn't too much detail on the supporting characters who were supposed to be a big part of the story like Emil and Karl. I thought the part where Sabine was reunited with Emil happened too abruptly and wasn't fully fleshed out. I didn't understand how she got from knowing Emil was once in an abandoned house to actually seeing Emil. This was similar to a number of the other characters as well.

The book did make me more interested in learning about life in the free zone and the Red Cross.

Thank you to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for an advance reader's copy of the The Last Train From Paris.

This is a book about a mothers love and the lengths that she will go to to protect her daughter even if it leaves her heartbroken.
It deals in great detail the horrors of war and how men can turn into monsters when money, power and ambition eat them up.
The book is difficult to put down once you have started and although this is the first book I have read of Juliet Greenwood it certainly won’t be the last.

This was an excellent page-turning read. I thoroughly enjoyed the setting, the characters and the writing style. No spoilers, but I will certainly look for more novels by this very talented author,

Many thanks to the publisher and author for their kind ARC copy.

This was a great book, I thoroughly enjoyed it and would definitely read it again. Really well put together with characters you really rooted for, the ending was perfect too. Highly recommend, many thanks Netgalley

Iris has always known she was adopted, but her parents have kept the details of where she came from a secret. But after seeing on her adoption papers she was born in France in 1939 she decides it’s time for her parents to tell her the truth. Her mothers story will show her what true love, strength and courage really mean as her past is revealed to her.

I really enjoyed this book. There are three perspectives being threaded together and this book mostly takes place during the war, with Iris’s perspective just sprinkled throughout.

I enjoyed having the dual perspectives of woman on both sides of the English Channel trying to keep a child safe during a war.

Thank you to @julietgreenwood @netgalley and @stormhauspublishing for letting me read this book in exchange for a review. Look for it October 23,2023
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It takes place just at the start of WW2 and follows through the war. It flips back and forth from present to past effortlessly. It’s the story of Nora and Sabine and two lives that they would do anything to protect.
It’s an emotional story that will have you completely engrossed. You won’t be able to put it down.

Wow, what an incredibly powerful story! I am speechless and emotionally wrung out after reading The Last Train From Paris by Juliet Greenwood. It made my heart ache and race and put my stomach in knots. There is so much trauma spread across these pages. The author exquisitely recreates the last few hours before the war began. How everyone was racing to safety, making difficult gut wrenching decisions, trying to protect their loved ones.

I felt from the passionate writing of this novel, and the haunting events covered, the author had a personal connection. And in the notes at the back, we learn Juliet’s mother, then seventeen, was studying French near Paris on the day war broke out in 1939. Although all the characters are fictional, the author has based her story on a rich tapestry of research: taken from various public and personal accounts (including her mother’s). The heartbreak, the sacrifice, the loss, the betrayal, the separation, the devastation and countless tears shed by all victims come across intensely real. I was fully transported to WWII France and England through the characters and events that left me choked up more times than I can say.

This novel covers two time periods: 1938-1945, and 1964. The past is told by Sabine and Nora. While Iris gives us the 60’s version. It is set in France and England at various locations.

The Last Train From Paris is centred around Iris who has come of age, ready for the truth of her family roots. While acquiring paperwork for her passport, she sees her adoption certificate and how sparse it is: Baby Girl, France, 1939. It’s a bleak statement of her existence: no exact birthplace, no mother or father listed. For her own sanity, she needs to know who she is and the secrets of her past. Iris is haunted at night by sounds and images. Her mum, Nora, finds it hard to talk about the war years but the time has come. Nora first gives Iris a tin with various photos, letters and such: things of the heart. There’s one faded photo of the Eiffel Tower and a word on the back: ‘Forgive’. And so, the story begins…

This is such a complex and beautifully written novel. Unique in so many ways. The two lead women Nora and Sabine (from the past) are equally strong and likeable characters. Nora lives in London and dreams of being a Chef in Paris. Sabine encourages her friend and helps her find a course. Sabine originally wanted to be a journalist but since her marriage, pregnancy and giving birth to twin girls, those dreams are on hold.

The two women look forward to spending time together in Paris but then a tragedy strikes in Sabine’s husband’s family taking her away from the City. And when war erupts, everything changes. The bonds of their friendship are tested. Sabine will trust her most precious gift to her friend. Nora will be asked to carry out a mission that will alter her life.

Political divisions will occur, families will be separated and paths will lead to unexpected destinations. Heartbreaking decisions will be made to secure safety, support and freedom. Some will walk a dangerous tightrope and fall into the flames of the enemy.

So many things happen over the remainder of the novel that kept me so emotionally invested in this one-of-a-kind story. I totally encourage everyone who loves historical fiction based around WWII to read this magnificent, moving novel. I will never forget the characters and even the animals in The Last Train From Paris. Gripping, heart-breaking and haunting. 5 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thanks to Storm Publishing and Netgalley for a review copy.

4.5 stars
This is a dual timeline story set in both France and England and taking place during WWII and in 1964. With war an imminent threat in Paris in 1939, Sabine has a heartbreaking decision to make. In Cornwall, England, in 1964, Iris is about to learn about her past, something her mother has been unable to discuss until now.

This is a thought-provoking and heartbreaking tale of strength, survival, loss, grief, friendship, and secrets, and takes the reader on an emotional journey of heartbreaking decisions and the lifelong impact of those decisions. I loved the author’s writing style, I found it hard to put the book down once I was a few chapters in and felt all the emotions of the characters – the confusion, loss, and terror, and the hardships experienced as people struggled to survive and come to grips with the devastation and madness they were facing. I enjoyed the facts woven into this story, and feel I have a better understanding of some events now. I love it when a novel makes me stop and take a moment, leading me to find more information about the events in question. The characters are so relatable and mostly likeable, I enjoyed the ‘realness’ of each character and what they each brought to the story.

If you enjoy WWII historical fiction with a touch of romance, I think you’ll enjoy this book. While heartbreaking at times, it’s not too heavy or harrowing, and there are some very sweet, touching moments throughout.

Thank you to NetGalley, Storm Publishing, and the author for a digital ARC in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

This was an emotional and inspiring story about the heartbreaking decisions that had to be made by many families during WWII. And the author has created some astonishing female characters that bring the hardships to life.

The story is told over 2 timelines - the Iris storyline is told during the 1960's as she's looking back to her past as her mother is finally ready to share the story of how she adopted Iris, and has letters to share. We also then travel back to France to hear the story of Sabine, married to Emil and living in Paris and how they love their life there as journalists, but that's all about to change.

We are also introduced to Nora who is a young woman living in London, but dreams of being a Chef in Paris and is friends with Sabine who helps her find a course and is looking forward to them spending time together while she studies. But when tragedy hits Sabine's husbands family she finds her plans being changed and life becomes very different for them all.

I loved the varied plotlines within this story. In the past we really get a sense of the tensions leading up the War and people wondering what is the best thing to do - they should be planning their futures and enjoying life but they have to think about fleeing their current lives and finding somewhere safe. And there's also divided family loyalties when differing political views are present and the harm that causes. Some really tough decisions have to be made, no matter how heartbreaking they may be and it was so gut wrenching at times watching women wrestle with their conscience as to their next move.

This was a beautifully written piece of historical fiction, capturing the dilemmas and the desperation that families were facing during the war, and watching the action unfold over the years as new bonds were made was a real emotional rollercoaster!! Highly recommended!!

This is a story set in 1939 France and 1964 Cornwall.

As war breaks out in France in 1939, one woman gives her child to another woman to take to London so that the child may have surgery for a birth defect and thereby saves her from the Nazi regime that does not tolerate imperfection. That is the beginning of an emotional and heartbreaking story and also one of unconditional love.

This is a story of life and loss in the lives of two women. It is a story of what family is. This is a very compelling story and one I highly recommend to other readers.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this amazing story by an Author I had not discovered before. I will definitely be searching for more books by Juliet Greenwood.

I love the storyline of this book! Nothing I've ever read before. I usually go with romance books and it's my first time to read historical fiction. I will be reading more of the author's books for sure!

I've read a lot of historical fiction based on or around ww2 and this one piqued my interest. It was incredibly slow going to start with but it did pick up and then I couldn't put it down.

While I feel like this started out a bit slowly; it did pick up, and, overall, I enjoyed this book. Parts of it were predictable; but that's not necessarily a bad thing - its not a mystery or suspense book. I read a LOT of WWII-based historical fiction; and one thing that stood out to me about this book is that the plot line was different than a lot of the books of this genre I have read, which was a nice change of p[ace. While the book certainly discussed the hardships of war and how the various characters were effected by it; the horrors of war were not what I would consider the primary theme. Also, the ways that the main characters experienced the war - one relatively safely ensconced in Southern England, one who had to flee her home outside of Paris - was different than others I have read.

Overall, this was a good book; and I would recommend it to others.

What a beautiful story, I absolutely loved it. With a heart wrenching decision, lovely characters, awful characters, beautiful settings and lots of love it's a book that you won’t want to put down. Also, remember the tissues! Thank you NetGalley for letting me read this arc in exchange for my honest opinion..

4.5 ⭐️

I’ll start out by saying this story was a little slow to start for me (hence the -0.5), and I really had to make a conscious choice to pick it up throughout Part 1. There wasn’t anything necessarily that I didn’t like, it was just a lot of set up/back story before you really start to figure out who is who and where the story is going.

That being said, I have so much praise for this novel overall. This was my first WW2 historical fiction where the story followed the experiences non-Jewish people and it was an experience I found myself really interested reading about. The concept of the novel and how it relates to WW2 was also something I haven’t seen in other historical fictions. I know this was lightly based on some experiences the author’s own mother had, and I always think it adds to the story when taking into consideration the stark reality that people actually lived through these experiences and others like them.

This story was compelling, emotional, and left me thinking about what would come next every time I had to set it down.

If you are a lover of historical fiction, especially the WW2 era, or if the stories of the experiences of Jewish people during this period are too gruesome for you, but you still want to read about this time period, I highly recommend picking up this book.

The Last Train from Paris by Juliet Greenwood
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read and review this novel.
My initial impression upon starting to read Ms. Greenwood’s novel was of a well-written and detailed story, with compelling characters caught up in the dramatic events in the early stages of World War Two. My heart went out to the young mother Sabine, who with her immediate family find themselves fleeing south in what became known as the "l’Exode" (the Exodus) after taking a heart-wrenching decision. The perils of the journey are accurately documented. That is, until Chapter 29.
At this point, the historical facts seem to tumble into an abyss. Like most readers, I am accepting of a certain amount of dramatic license if it enhances the story, but an almost wholesale disregard of the actual events of what has to be one of the most meticulously studied periods of the war amounts to literary suicide.
One small example among the many departures from the facts: she has a character say, ‘The woman from the American Red Cross said the border into the part of France the Germans don’t control is just up ahead. They’ve set up camps to house refugees: there’ll be food and a place for us to sleep.’
What is the American Red Cross doing on the roads? They were nowhere near (the American Red Cross followed the American troops in the Normandy landings). French Red Cross workers were at hand of course. Yes, there were <camps> but not resettlement camps for displaced French citizens. They were internment camps built to contain foreign refugees, communists and other undesirables. The expression <resettlement camps> only applies to the German propaganda and the deportation of Jews.
A considerable number of pages are devoted to the exodus, which took place for Parisians and anyone south of Paris within the first week of June 1940, and Sabine’s experience of it. The demarcation line was not established until June 25, after the armistice with Germany and Italy had been signed by which time those refugees still in the northern part remained where they were. Those who chose to continue were systematically turned back. Only from July 2 onward could anyone cross the line with an Ausweis.
What happened to the detailed research the author seems to promise in the early pages of the novel? The historical inaccuracies pile up like a never-ending car crash.
The number of typos present also calls into question the level of proofreading. Personally, I found the author’s repeated use of the expression <a scrap of life> when referring to a baby irritating in the extreme.
I am sorry, but I cannot give more than two stars.

Imagine being adopted. Wanting to know the story behind your birth. Then reading the letters unwinding the mystery. I lost sleep reading this story. My first story by Juliet Greenwood and I will look for more!