Charlotte Bray has grown up on the Cornish coast and has been part of her father’s fishing crew. She wonders if there is more to life. Little does she know that her life is about to change. She is recruited into the war effort because of her ability to speak French fluently since her mother was French. She is trained in all sorts of warfare and sent to France to help the resistance there. Her nemesis and partner, .Pierre, is drawn to her but fights his feelings. They embark on some dangerous missions and ultimately need to flee France.

A good WW2 story where women played a larger role than originally thought.

Charlotte Bray of Cornwall, England accepts an offer to work for the War Office during WWII and trains as a British agent to be sent inside occupied France. She has necessary qualities including fluent French and a desire to serve her country.

I liked that her background helping her father on numerous fishing trips out to sea came in useful when she faces danger in France. I also liked that the skills the British trained her for included more dangerous jobs, like handling and setting explosives.

I leaned more about the situation of Allied agents and spies in Europe during the war, how they tried to blend in, the risks and dangers they faced daily, and the things they were supposed to observe to report back to the Allies.

The writing was very good, and described the places and settings so well that you felt you were there with the agents, seeing what they saw, and going through the dangers as they lived them. Excellent characterization and plot as well.

This @historicalfiction by Victoria Cornwall was enjoyable. The storyline was strong, but in places, the writing felt like it was trying too hard. The characters just didn’t fully come to life for me. Thank you to NetGalley and the author for this advance copy!

This was certainly a chick-lit type romance but also a well-researched historical aspect set during the German occupation of France, mainly, but not exclusively, in Paris. Both aspects, sadly, were rather predictable - the two characters initially at odds but falling for each other, the traitor in the Resistance group, bit of a German red herring and so on. I suppose that there was nothing that I hadn't read in many similar books. A reasonable enough read to while away a few hours but not one I'd want to re-read I'm afraid. Readers new to the genre would, however, find it enticing. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy.

Do you like WWII history? SOE (the British Spy people)? How about broad-shouldered French men with dark eyes?
If you don’t why are you here?
But Charlotte. Ahh Charlotte. I cared about these characters straight away. It took maybe a few pages, and I cared like I knew them. I’m not sure by which Wizardry Victoria Cornwall did this (must be good writing)?
The balance between comforting and action packed was finely tuned. Making this book simultaneously a brisk walk and a warm bath.
Oh and the Romance! I needed this. I needed just some good people falling in love. Disclaimer no spice, but I felt the attraction, closeness, and all the stomach flipping moments us lovers of this genre crave. I read romance to feel the very twinkly feeing this book provides. I’m happy with the lack of spice as all else (else being tension and intimacy) is provided. Often, I feel some books with spice rely too much on the steam to build the romance and THIS dear readers is pure romance. I wouldn’t say this was true enemies to lovers rather angst to lovers. All the trust issues, intrigue, and tension were captivating.
The WWII setting from Britain to occupied France was well written and researched. Their relationship still being front and centre. As a bit of a history interested person, I could have done with a little more espionage but this is not that type of book. This reminds me of Ken Follet but written by a woman, very much a good thing.
The prose was modern with not much 1940s vernacular when compared to something like ‘Dear Mrs Bird’. This gave less of a historical feel but made it far easier to read and I’m not mad about it.
The only criticisms I have, which in all honesty are niggles more than anything else, are that it could be longer, slower burning, with more spy operations. Two history points: 1. I thought Breton fishing boats had a German escort. (Based on a novel ‘Most Secret, by Nevil Shute in 1942) 2. If one was to lose course in the middle of a sea your bearing would not be enough to find your way. Or you might find yourself going the right direction but in the Atlantic.
Describe in one word: Charming!
Would I recommend: If you like historical romance and this Era, I will lend you my copy. But I’d want it returned.
Why you might enjoy The Paris Affair: You want an exhilarating yet comforting Romance which is full of action and tension but doesn’t give you an ulcer. You are interested in WWII, and you fancy French men.
Why you might not enjoy The Paris Affair: If you are a ‘spice or I’m going home’ sort of person. You like more of a plot driven, rather than relationship, driven book.
The Paris Affair by Victoria Cornwall. Release date: 2nd November 2023. Reviewed through Netgallery.

First and foremost, I would like to thank NetGalley and the author for providing me with an early copy of this book for an honest review.

I went in with an open mind and no expectations, as I don't usually read historical fiction and/or spy novels, although I do find them extremely interesting.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that the more I read, the more I loved - the characters, the plot, the twists and turns, the banter and teasing, the detailed descriptions of England, Scotland and France.

If you love spy, mixed with romance novels, this is the book for you.
Although some parts I could see coming, I thoroughly enjoyed the story.
I absolutely loved the word and character building - I especially enjoyed how Charlotte's character developed and grew alongside her relationship with Pierre. Their chemistry was quite clear and strong from the start. Their teasing and tension only made the story richer.
I was excited and impatient to find out what would happen next, both with Charlotte and Pierre, and also with the plot side of the book.
It kept me guessing and invested until the very last page.

The book was beautifully written. I highly recommend it.
5 out of 5 stars 🌟

“I hope you will never need to learn what makes a good agent, but if you do…I hope they teach you well. Be a good student. If you don’t, it may cost you your life and that of all those around you.”

As much as I wanted to love this story, it fell flat. It was a well researched historical novel, but the romance felt forced and very trope filled (more than I enjoyed.) The book is something that could’ve had much potential, I was hoping it would be like others that are very much my favourites as this genre is a guilty pleasure of mine.

The way the author wrote the form of speech tend to throw me off a lot of the time, as its not the norm. I would’ve liked more French references within the talking to remind the reader that they were speaking French and not English.

The trope of running from the Nazi’s while falling in love caused it to feel so forced and a poor lack of natural development between the two characters.

What I did enjoy about this novel was being able to see Charlotte’s growth as a person and also noticing similarities between her mothers stories from her life in France compared to her own journey in France while working as an SOE agent. Her background felt very believable along with all the history tied in with the plot.


This was a proof draft that was given to me, and I hope that before release the book is edited due to a lot of grammatical errors and phrases that don’t make sense.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Joffe Books for the digital ARC

"Life and death balanced on a wire of chance at the best of times, but the war had taken any illusion of control and turned it on its head." This quote from the first chapter helped me get into the right mindset to understand the main character, Charlotte. She is only 23 but has already been hammered by tragedy, one before the war and one directly caused by the war. It spurred her on to become an SOE agent in 1943, instead of drowning in sorrow.

I've read many books about SOE agents but I thoroughly enjoyed following Charlotte's training, especially at Arisaig House in Scotland. For me, that's when she showed what she was made of, physically, intellectually, and emotionally. Viewing Nazi-occupied Paris through her eyes was also enlightening because Charlotte was so perceptive, noticing nuances between her mother's memories and what lay just below the surface of what she saw now. If you like romance with your historical fiction, this is a good one because it is unpredictable yet believable. With her Cornwall background, Charlotte is unlike other SOE agents but that very background has honed her instincts. This is well-paced, well-researched and I highly recommend it.

Many thanks to NetGalley & Joffe Books for the digital ARC. All opinions and the review are my own.

There was a lot to like about this book. It is well-researched and interesting; the author provides a great level of detail about the process of becoming an SOE agent, without giving so much that it just feels like a history textbook. I've read similar stories before, but what set this book apart was that even though it's definitely tropey at times, it subverts the tropes at other times, such as when Charlotte isn't good at everything. I also haven't read a story that begins in Cornwall before; that was unique. Both of the main characters were interesting to me.

There are a couple of reasons this was not a five-star read for me personally. It was tropey and predictable in places. Furthermore, the development of a sexual relationship between the two main characters while they were literally running from Nazis felt ridiculously shoe-horned/forced to me. (There were also some distracting grammatical errors, but I expect those will be gone soon, as I just read a proof copy; they did not factor into my review.)

Overall, this was a well-researched and interesting story that many historical fiction fans might enjoy.

I received a free eARC through NetGalley. I was not required to provide a positive review. I will also post a review on GoodReads one month prior to the book's publication date.