What happened to all the art in Europe during World War II? I never thought about it before this book. This story follows a particular Jewish artist’s painting & his family all the way down to his granddaughter. The story also followed along with one of the art museum worker’s - Isabelle. It really gave you an idea of what happened in the art museums in Paris, what the Nazis did with the art, & how greatly it affected history. So much was destroyed & so much was displaced. Loved reading from this perspective of WWII.

I had a little trouble getting into this book. The premise was good. However, it was a bit slow, for me. It did pick up towards the end. It jumps back and forth in the time line, but centers around France during WWII. It you like historical books then definitely give this one a try. It is the first in the series.

Thank you to NetGalley, Bookouture and Suzanne Kelman for the opportunity to read this ARC.

I normally love Suzanne Kelman's writing but I just didn't click with this one. There seemed a lot of characters, which isn't necessarily a problem, but they lacked depth which meant that I failed to invest in any of them. I wanted more description of the characters, their emotions, their motivations, and their desires which would have helped to make them more authentic. As such, I just wasn't absorbed in the story at all which is a shame because the premise of it (around art and the Louvre during WWII) is a fascinating narrative.

This is an engaging dual timeline book following three women coping with life during the Occupation in Paris, as well as Esther, a struggling single mother in 2010.

It was Esther and her story that I was immediately drawn to. Her mother, Sophie, was so traumatised by her early years in Paris, she never shared her family’s story with her daughter. Now suffering from dementia, Esther feared it was too late to get her mother’s help in piecing together the mystery that is suddenly thrown to her from Paris. With every trip to Paris filling her with positivity, her ex-husband’s negative behaviour threatened to engulf her once more, but the more she learned about her grandmother Brigitte’s strength and courage during the Occupation the stronger she became. It was a real pleasure seeing her evolve and flourish.

The Louvre, under Nazi rule, ceased to be the haven Isabelle Valette had come to love. Forced to catalogue artworks acquired by the Germans, she was determined to do all she could to save the art they were looting and destroying. Working alongside Isabelle were Brigitte and Marina. Brigitte, Esther’s grandmother, was driven to do whatever was necessary to save her husband’s greatest work of art and persevere his memory for her young daughter Sophie. A Jewish woman working among the Nazi’s, she risked her life for her mission and her story was an incredibly emotional one. Marina was used to hard knocks and had developed her own way of surviving life. She was far more mysterious than the other two, but her calculated risks posed a real danger to Isabelle and Brigitte. It was a tense and secretive atmosphere, as all three women had their own agendas and hidden pasts. All of them aware that trust in times of war was something that must be guarded and could cost you dearly.

As we followed Isabelle, we got little introductions to her family life and her other sisters. We gained insights to their lives during the war and I’m looking forward to reading about the challenges faced by one of the other girls in the next book in the Paris Sisters series. I am also hoping that Esther’s story too might continue as this series plays out.

This is one for all of you who enjoy emotional, gritty novels set during the Occupation.

Another heartbreakingly wonderful WWII story. I loved this and am anxiously waiting the next Paris Sisters book to arrive!

This book follows four different women, three during the war and one present day. I enjoyed that it was based on the Louvre and all the art from the time period. Isabelle and Brigitte were determined to do whatever they could to protect the art from the Nazis. Marina was a wildcard. It was hard to tell whose side she was on. Brigitte is determined to find her husband’s painting that had been stolen by the Nazis.
In present day, Esther finds out that one of her grandfather’s paintings is found and she gets to learn more about her and her mother’s history.
I’m always excited to pick up a Suzanne Kelman book and this one didn’t disappoint.

Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for my ARC of this book.

I really enjoyed this book and can’t wait for the next book in the Paris Sisters series.
A dual timeline about Ester present time London and Isabelle and Bridgette, WWII France 1940s.
Esther is divorced and struggling with 2 small boys and an ex husband who has little involvement with the boys lives. Her mother Sophie is in care and is suffering dementia. Sophie had came to London with her grandmother during WWII and has a connection to Isabelle Vallente, who worked in the Louvre with Sophie’s mother Bridgette Goldstein.
This is a heartbreaking story of family, secrets, loyalty and love.
Art plays a very large part in the book as Sophie’s father Samuel was an artist and Bridgette is working with Isabelle in the Louvre cataloguing art stolen by the Nazis.
I loved how the two timelines intersect when a piece of art is found hidden in a wall cavity in Paris and it takes the reader on an enthralling journey.

This was a beautiful and heartbreaking story which spans two timelines. In Paris during WW2, we meet Brigitte Goldstein who witnesses the murder of her husband by the Nazi’s. She knows that she needs to flee with her daughter Sophie but is determined to recover his painting to preserve his legacy. She is able to get a job at the museum using a false identity but is increasingly aware of the need to get Sophie to safety. She meets Isabelle Vallente who is a part of the resistance and is able to help her.

We then meet Sophie’s daughter Esther, who is under sever financial strain due to an acrimonious divorce. Sophie has Alzheimer’s and had never shared much about her painful younger years. She is requested to come to Paris to discuss a painting that is found, which sparks a need to learn more about her family’s story.

You are struck by the courage, determination, love, and sense of duty that permeates throughout the story. The strength of the characters to make difficult decisions which can have immense ramifications on their lives. Despite these circumstances, it’s heartwarming to see that hope is never lost, that the characters always believe in a better place which helps them to persevere. I love the sense of healing that is possible even in times of utter despair, again emphasizing the overarching theme of hope.

This is the first book in a series and I look forward to reading the next stories, which promise to be as beautiful.

Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review

I enjoyed this book! I thought the plot was unique and overall written very well. I’ve always been a huge fan of WWII fiction and to know that this is going to be a series is very exciting! Highly recommend!

The Last Day in Paris is a wonderfully written, dual timeline story by Suzanne Kelman. It is the first in the series of The Paris Sisters. The story is based around art work, saving as much as possible before the Nazis destroy or steal the unreplaceable pieces, and how a single piece of art, painted by a Jewish artist murdered by the Nazis, changes the lives of his family and others around them. His wife choice to save the painting is set to change lives and entwine future generations. I wasn’t keen on the ending, I am assuming its written as an introduction to the next book, which I am looking forward to reading but would I also have enjoyed a “finish” to this story. I do recommend this novel of survival, courage, family and resistance. 4 1/2 stars

I would like to thank Bookouture, NetGalley and the author for the opportunity to read this complimentary copy for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

#TheLastDayinParis #NetGalley.

World War II rages on across Europe and there is no end in sight. Brigitte Goldstein’s husband was recently murdered by the Nazis. She must keep her daughter Sophie safe. They are Jewish and know that it will be difficult to hide from the Nazis to avoid being captured. But they can’t leave just yet, they must first find her husband’s painting. The Nazis stole it and she wants it back. There is a great secret hidden in the painting and it is imperative that she gets it back. She is determined to have her late husband’s legacy live on. That painting is her only hope.

The Last Day In Paris written by author Suzanne Kelman was a phenomenal beginning to the new series The Paris Sisters. This unputdownable novel is a heartbreaking and amazing story that hits all the emotions. I was mesmerized by this story and loved it from beginning to end. This is one story that will remain in my heart for a long time. I look forward to the next book in the series. This rapid page turner will be one that I will recommend again and again. Don’t pass up this ten star read. I loved it.

In this excellent historical fiction novel, readers travel to Paris during World War II and jump forward into the future with Brigitte’s granddaughter Esther, who is rediscovering her family history through artwork while navigating the aftermath of a messy divorce. During the war, Brigitte and her daughter Sophie live in Paris, struggling with the death of her artist husband and the theft of his artwork by the Nazis. Hoping to recover her husband’s painting, Brigitte takes a job at a museum under a false identity to gain access to the looted art, where she meets Isabelle Vallette, one of five creative sisters and a passionate curator involved with the French resistance, and the two women work to protect their loved ones and the art of Paris. In the first book of a new series, Kelman has created a fantastic, complex picture of occupied Paris and its effects on the Parisian art world and Parisian Jews. A strong start to the series, Kelman’s characters are the heart of the story, and they are complex, with unique motivations and perspectives of the world, interacting with the occupying forces in different ways. Readers are sure to enjoy this new historical fiction novel in the heart of occupied Paris.

This was another great historical fiction read. This story was told from the multiple perspectives of 3 different women. Esther in 2010, Brigette Goldstein, and Isabella Valette during the occupation of France during WWII. It starts when Esther is contacted by an art dealer in Paris about a painting found hidden in the wall of an apartment in Paris. Flashing back to Paris during the occupation of the Nazis during WWII, we learn the history and the importance of painting to Esther and her family.


During WWII Isabelle Valette is working at the Louvre, worried about what the Nazis will do to the artwork of France, a lot of it taken from Jewish families and artists. She works tirelessly trying to save the artwork and what she can’t save she keeps lists of the artwork and where they are going.


I loved all of the characters in this book. I was kind of annoyed with Esther at first, she was kind of a doormat relying on her ex-husband for support. I loved her growth during the story as she gains strength from learning about her grandparent's history, Isabelle Valette, and her resistance work as well as what they went through to protect the painting and the precious art.
This is the first of a series focusing on the Valette sisters and after reading this one I can’t wait to read the next!


Thanks to Bookouture, NetGalley, and the author for this ARC

What a glorious introduction to this new series, Paris Sisters. The heartbreaking struggles these women go through are ones that can’t be imagined. This moving work of historical fiction is one that will stay with me for a while. I can’t wait for the next book in the series!

Thank you, @Suzanne Kelman, Bookouture, & netgalley for my copy! All opinions are my own.

The Last Day in Paris is the first in the Paris Sisters series by Suzanne Kelman and what an introduction it was. This was a tale of great courage, love and devotion especially to the arts at a very dark and tumultuous time for the residents of the City of Light. The book opens with a tense and intriguing prologue with just enough action and drama to have the reader sitting up and paying attention. There is a sense of urgency about a woman as she is hiding something as the Nazi’s draw ever closer. I instantly wanted to know who she was, what she was hiding and why? Over the course of the story the answers are revealed at the perfect pace and the themes explored amongst many are resilience, endurance and strength. The plot deftly moves between the past and the present following three women - Esther, Isabelle and Brigitte but at no point does it become confusing to keep track of who is who nor did the plot never felt disjointed. Instead, it all works seamlessly and makes for a fascinating and fantastic read and one which I really enjoyed.

In the present day Esther is divorced with two young boys. She is not treated very well by her ex and she is struggling to move out from his shadow and gain some independence but financially she is beholden to him as he holds the purse strings when it comes to her beloved house. She receives a call from an art dealer in Paris named Edouard DuPont who says he has something which belongs to Brigitte Goldstein. Brigitte was killed during the Holocaust and her daughter, Sophie, is Esther’s mother. Of course, Esther is intrigued by this news especially given that Sophie now suffers from dementia and can’t tell her about her time in Paris which she left when she was a little girl. Esther despite constant battles with her husband over where she should now live and struggling personally with trying to raise the boys single handedly and provide them with a good life decides to bite the bullet and go to Paris and investigate further.

The city captures Esther’s attention for more than one reason and once there Edouard takes her to the building where Brigitte and her husband Samuel and Sophie once lived. The new residents have found a painting hidden in a wall with a letter attached. The painting is titled The Hayfields of Paris and this will go on to play a pivotal role throughout the remainder of the story. The Painting is one of love, hopes and dreams at a time when oppression was threatening to embrace the magical city. ’I promise no matter what darkness befalls us, we will find the light, and we will rise again’. Esther must now decide what to do with the painting. Should she sell it and perhaps somewhat elevate her money worries, or should she keep it in the family given its history and another important question is it real or an impressive fake? Esther’s story was crucial to forge a link between the past and the present and aspects of her story mirrored Brigitte’s and Isabelle’s. It was like the two women were reaching from the past and pushing Esther on when she wavered. As much as I realise the necessity for Esther’s story it was the chapters set back during World War Two that really caught my attention and had me racing through the pages.

Right from the time we are first introduced to Isabelle, I found her to be an inspiring young woman who was very driven and as the chapters fly by we are drip fed reasons as to why she is this way and when the final reveal comes it is pretty heartbreaking. September 1939 and Isabelle Valette works in the Louvre, war has been declared and all paintings and sculptures are to be taken down and hidden or sent to the country for safe keeping during for the duration of the war. Isabelle is heartbroken that this has to happen and within months the Nazi’s have taken over the city she calls home and life will never be the same again. Fear, unease, sadness, vulnerability and hopelessness all become feelings that never dissipate but Isabelle has something deep inside her which drives her on. ’We can’t let fear dictate our lives. We need to stand up for what’s right, for justice’. This sentiment is a testament to the force of nature that Isabelle is despite the depravity, pain and suffering inflicted by the Nazi’s determined to keep working and she wages her own silent revolution.

As she is transferred to a smaller gallery within the area surrounding the Louvre she is tasked by the Nazi’s to catalogue all the paintings and artwork. They plan to take it to Germany and this tears her apart as she knows it may never be seen again and any Jewish artists work seems to be a real bone of contention. Isabelle played a dangerous game keeping track of what was going where in the hopes that one day it could be returned to France. ‘They were already being stripped of so much -food, safety, freedom - it just seemed so important to find a way to hold onto their humanity. Their culture’. In doing so she became involved in Resistance activities which really do step up a gear towards the end of the book as things come to a very dramatic climax and there is a small element of romance too which was quite downplayed I thought but perhaps more of this will be explored in future books. Isabelle has five sisters which suggests to me there is the potential for five books in this series. There are little titbits given about each sister dotted throughout the book and I was dying to know what each was up to but this was Isabelle’s story and I know with time we will get the answers.

Marina is a character who I didn’t like at all and therefore I have very little to say about her. Yes, she came from the gutter and was attempting to reach for the stars but her manner of doing so was not one I liked and nor did Isabelle or Brigitte. She was so selfish and definitely had a cold, ruthless side to her which fuelled her ambition but she was a character I would just rather forget about. Brigitte on the other hand, similar to Isabelle, was a character that I rooted for from beginning to end. She shared such a deep connection with her husband Samuel and can’t bare that he has been taken away from herself and Sophie and that she is left to continue on without him through the whatever the war will bring to their door.

When Samuel’s painting is taken by the Nazi’s she is distraught and being Jewish puts her even further under the spotlight if danger. But Brigitte is a risk taker and she will do every thing in her power to try and forge a better life for herself and Sophie despite the uncertain waters that lay ahead of them. The painting symbolises so much and she knows she needs to retrieve it somehow before it leaves the country for good. She is clever and creative and getting a jo in the same gallery as Isabelle was a great idea and how she sets about her mission was interesting to read about. Although I doubted the way things were developing would she be successful? I would loved a bit more exploration of the friendship between herself and Isabelle. I felt it only came to the fore rather later in the book but as Isabelle is scared to let anyone too close to her as she fears history will repeat itself in relation to a certain matter I suppose I can understand why this did happen. That said I still would have loved more scenes with them together and a bit more plotting and conniving. This did come but it just felt that little too late despite the fast and furious action-packed climax to the story as a whole.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Last Day in Paris because of the great characters and very good plot but mostly because it was so refreshing to read of something different in the World War Two historical fiction genre. To learn about what happened to the artwork was brilliant as it’s not something I think many of us would have previously given scant thought to and to bring the more human and personal element to it made it that something special. I loved how the ending wasn’t as I expected it to be and very much left the door open for what is to come. It didn’t need all ends wrapped up instead there is plenty to entice the reader back to learn more about these characters and I hope plenty of new characters too.

I enjoyed reading this book, historical fiction is one of my favourite genres. Suzanne has done a wonderful job making the story engaging and interesting. Set in Paris during WWII, it’s centered around saving Parisian Art. Brigitte is mother to Sophie, both are Jewish. Brigitte is desperate to save her husbands favourite painting for her daughter.
It flips between 2010 where the granddaughter Esthers story is explored, and the war years. It is as heartbreaking as it is heartwarming. Many paintings wouldn’t be around today if brave people didn’t save it from the clutches of the Nazi’s. A recommended read.

The beginning of a new series set in Paris during WWII. It’s a touching book about art and filling in the gaps about family history.
I felt bad for Esther, having to rely on financial support from her ex who was a complete jerk.
The flashbacks to WWII filled in the story of Esther’s grandparents and the famous painting,
The destruction of the art was terrible to read about and it was painful.
Yet the French attempted a Herculean effort to save as much as they did, including the resistance and people like Isabelle.
Kelman ended the book on a cliff hanger so I have to read the next one.

The Last Day in Paris is book 1 of a five book series by Suzanne Kelman telling the stories of the Vallete sisters, young adults in France during WWII. There is an additional short story entitled The Paris Orphans which is also available now.
I believe book 2 is due for publication this coming August.
Having read many historical novels about this period, I was attracted to it primarily because it is about the acquisition of art by the Nazis and attempts by the French to prevent its loss to France’s heritage. I didn’t expect to learn any new information, but was happy to be proved wrong. I would however been happy with even more historical detail on the inner workings of the Louvre under German control during this period.
The feeling tone of the book is its best part and really pulled me in. The characterizations of the Jewish and the non-Jewish French who resisted were emotionally gripping. Isabelle, a Vallete sister, is a curator at the Louvre. Brigitte, a colleague and an artist, whose husband, a more prominent artist who has been murdered by the Nazis, assumes an Aryan identity to get a job at the museum, in the hopes that she will find his stolen masterpiece and somehow return it to her family’s safekeeping. Coming from different backgrounds, they share much in the way of past and current trauma which forms the basis for a dramatic conclusion.
There is also a modern storyline about Esther, Brigitte’s granddaughter, which serves to inform detail on the historic storyline.
Thank you to the author, the publisher Bookouture and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an ARC.

Two time frames, modern day England and WWII Paris. A celebrated artist creates his masterpiece and shortly afterward is killed by Nazis. This is the story of his wife, who is also a talented artist and the lengths she went to in order to save his painting from the Nazis. It is also the story of his young daughter, who misses him terribly and clings to her mother. It is the story of that young girl, who was spirited out of Paris in order to save her life. And the modern day story is that of the child's daughter, who is grown, with two children of her own.

It is the story of the Nazis who stole French artwork, and the treasured art owned by families of Jews who were torn from their homes and send to concentration camps, or to their deaths. It is also the story of a young woman whose only concern is the artwork.

The story is gripping, saddening, and it documents real events from WWII. I enjoyed reading it and experiencing the lives of the people who tried to save the important and beautiful works of art during this very bad historical period.

Tense Yet All Too Real. "Book 0" of this series, The Paris Orphans, does a much better job of setting up the overall series than this particular book does - and yet this particular book actually does a far better job of showing what we're in for with the rest of the series. Here, we get an all too real world in both WWII era Paris and 2010s era England. Yes, this is a dual timeline, and yes there are the usual linkages there. There are also multiple character perspectives, but both timelines and perspectives are switched well. The tension throughout both timelines, though wildly divergent (and appropriate for the given timeline) is done quite well, with brief moments of reprieve sprinkled throughout the story before the tension is ratcheted up even higher. The setup for Book 2 is sprinkled in later in the text here, but the Epilogue is essentially a stinger to make you want to pre-order Book 2 immediately. (Which I don't even think is possible as I write this review on release day.)

Overall a solid tale of its type, with an intriguing twist of the idea of having s linked series of sisters and their tales during the war (along with, presumably, a post-war dual timeline of some form). Very much recommended.