Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and or the author for giving me a chance to read The Kennedy Girl.

It was an interesting story but I was confused most of the time while I read it.

The book has a great plot, characters, etc.

1960's Paris and fashion, who could resist? One day Mia is in New York working at a bakery and the next thing you know she is offered an airplane ticket to Paris and model at a fashion house! Out of the blue!!! Not all is what it seems and Mia gets caught up in the Cold War...espionage, cloak and dagger. For me it brought back memories of my visit to Paris...without the added element. I found the protagonist a bit naive, but then she was only 20 years old (although today's 20 year old girls are a lot more "with it" and not quite so trusting). The book was interesting as we read on and watch how Mia gets involved. My thanks to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Net Galley and Sourcebook Landmark for the chance to read and review this book. All opinions expressed are my own.
Mia Walker is recruited to go to Paris and work for the House of Rousseau as a model. At first, she is really excited to be a part of this world. Then she gets a bad feeling about the people around her. She soon realizes she is involved in the world of spies and espionage of the 1960's. Even though she is involved against her will, she can't get out of it.
I thought Mia was a little naive. Who would go to Paris after meeting a stranger offering a modeling job? Maybe it was the time. This story was told during the Cold War of the 1960's. Maybe it was just her naivety. Either way, she became more confident and was able to handle her life. The story became better as I read more, with several twists and turns. I recommend if you like books about fashion and the 1960's.

Very interesting premise with the beauty of Paris!

The Kennedy Girl is set in the 1960’s Cold War Era following Mia Walker who has just been hired out the blue to model for a fashion house in Paris. A girls dream, right? Or is it not all as it seems and who can Mia trust in a foreign country?

This book is definitely a slow burn but I appreciated that because we are able to get to know the characters and understand the set up. I don’t want to give much away but it definitely picks up and things start happening and you’re not sure who to trust. I enjoyed the ending and I overall liked it, it just left me wanting a little something more.

Definitely check this one out if you are looking for historical fiction, espionage, fashion and Paris!

3.5/5

Thank you to NetGalley, Sourcebooks, and Julia Bryan Thomas for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

1960. New York, Amelia Walker works in a bakery, one day a new customer Theo Gillette offers her a job in Paris and as a model. Mia father has just passed away and her mother died when she was eleven, she considers cashing in the plane ticket and Mia has no ties and changes her mind and travels to France. Mia has always admired Jacqueline Kennedy, she been told she resembles the first lady, and she lived in Paris for a year and Mia feels like she's walking the same path as her idol.

Mia is to be a model for the House of Rousseau, she shares a flat with two other girls Maeve and Elisabeth and she meets an older lady Madame Fournier who lives in the same block of apartments. After a quick course in deportment and learning some basic French phrases Mia is shown around the House of Rousseau and measured. Mia struts the runways and sometimes goes to elite parties, to show off the haute couture gowns and it’s part of her job.

A naive Mia strolls the streets of Paris and has no idea she’s being followed and why. The French and American governments are worried about nuclear weapons falling into the wrong hands, and people working at the fashion house could be involved, and Mia’s not sure she who can trust. Looking back she did notice when she first moved into the apartment, Mia couldn’t find her father’s pocket watch and her room must have been searched and her belongings tampered with and she was careful where she kept it afterwards?

Mia is thrown into a world full of fashion and beautiful gowns, glamour and diamonds, spies and secret agents, espionage and she fears for her safety and life and is caught up in a game of cat and mouse.

I received a copy of The Kennedy Girl by Julia Bryan Thomas from Sourcebooks and in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. At times I had no idea if the author had an obvious direction for her narrative, it seemed a bit farfetched and wondered if I had missed something. I’m pleased to say the pace of the story did pick up and made sense and while it wasn’t quite as good as The Radcliffe Ladies’ Reading Club. The 1960’s was a different time and era and girls did spontaneous things and I suggest reading this one for yourself and making up your own mind and four stars from me.

I think the story is interesting. Cold War Era, Fashion in Paris and spies who never know what side you're on.

There are a lot of intriguing parts to this story, but I do think they take a bit to develop. I also think sometimes with the characters, never knowing who is really a good guy can be a bit taxing. At one point, I questioned every character and their loyalty!

I did like the progression of Mia and how she truly found herself. She had to in order to survive. I think she became strong even while people underestimated her. I liked the twists and turns with the her and the story and the author's writing. It kept me in the story.

I also liked the ending and felt like it wrapped up the one relationship I really rooted for. I think a lot of readers will enjoy this book!

Thanks to AAknopf and NetGalley for the eArc!

This author is brilliant with descriptions of Paris and the fashion world. It gave a real sense of the place and time.

1960 and Mia has been “discovered” working in a bakery and is headed to the bright lights of the Paris fashion world.

Mia is a delightful character. Naive, but her story grows as she does.

Throw in a spy mystery and I was hooked.

I enjoyed this one!


NetGalley/ Sourcebooks Landmark January 14, 2025

I've recently started reading and enjoying women's fiction and this was perfect for that! This was everything I was wanting in a book right now!

Spying, fashion, Paris, and so much more! The characters slowly get introduced throughout the book which I think helps a lot with understanding and seeing their dynamics!

4⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Such a fun read! Highly recommend.

Many thanks to Netgalley, the author, and the publisher for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

Julia Bryan Thomas’s book The Kennedy Girl is a tale for all readers who love a bit of fashion with a flood of espionage and a sprinkling of romance. The beginning was a slow burn as the author set up the plot and backstories, but I got an interesting lesson in the Paris fashion industry circa the 1960s Cold War Camelot era.

Mia, an American girl who had lost her mother at a young age and had just lost her father, was working at a bakery in New York when a man approached her with a job offer to become a model for a major fashion house in Paris. The espionage didn’t enter the story until after pages of Mia’s backstory, which was interesting, but the premise of how she became a model had me struggling with realism. Little things piqued her curiosity, causing her to pause, like a missing glove, a roommate with no boundaries, and a misplaced pocket watch, but her naivete seemed almost too contrived for me to empathize with the character. But, by the ¼ mark of the story, I was so intrigued that I stayed up until 3 AM to finish it.

The slow introduction of characters helped with the plot and plot twists, and the settings depicted a fabulous portrayal of the era and the beauty and romanticism of Paris. Slowly but methodically, the author took me through a lounge-chair journey of the tourist traps of Paris and the daily lives and haunts of Parisians, which I thoroughly enjoyed. The plot and twists kept me intrigued.

I can’t say it’s an exceptional read, but it is a great read filled with espionage, fashion, and characters with personalities and missions that are sometimes hard to believe.

But something about the author’s effortless, breezy writing style kept me reading from beginning to end, despite how ridiculously naïve Mia appeared to be. Mia was a study in contrast, as I couldn’t visualize her beyond her anxiety at her predicament and her hero worship of Jackie Kennedy. I loved the characterization of the silent, mysterious neighbor lady. She piqued my interest from the very beginning. However, the fashion house characters seemed flat, although they added a hint of intrigue as the story developed.

Despite a few meandering plot twists that just popped in here and there, the premise of the story and the era pulled me in right away. I give this exciting novel four stars because I couldn’t put it down.

I want to thank Net Galley for the opportunity to read this ARC. My review is voluntary and mine alone.

I was instantly captivated by the story and it stayed that way until almost halfway. It started unraveling from there though. Overall I enjoyed it and would recommend it.

Thank you NetGalley & Sourcebooks Landmark for sending this book for review consideration

Mia is really naive and a bit underdeveloped as a character. The plot didn’t flow for me. Mia annoyed me a bit with her innocence and the story was a bit slow for me but I did truly love the ending.

“The Kennedy Girl” is by Julia Bryan Thomas. This is a historical fiction book, set in the 1960s, when Jackie Kennedy was *the* woman all women wanted to emulate - from her voice to her fashion. The main character, Mia, recently lost her father and is “discovered” working at a bakery by an agent for a Paris fashion house and is given a job as a model. I found the parts discussing Paris to be very interesting (talk about armchair travel!), along with the discussions about fashion and dressmaking. That there is some cloak and dagger stuff I found a bit out there, but after a while it became a bit interesting, if a bit (at times) confusing with seemingly random characters introduced - along with their backstory. I cannot say that this was a great book as I found Mia a bit too naive and innocent, yet at the same time she gets “feelings” and does what seems appropriate in the different situations. I found some of this book a bit draggy (especially in the beginning - and with some of the subsequent backstories), but I think if you like cloak and dagger regarding the Cold War and fashion, this might be a book of interest for you.

Shortly after the passing of her father, Mia is approached by a mysterious man who gives her a plane ticket and offers her a job as a model in Paris. With nothing to lose, Mia ultimately decides to take a chance, however, she's not prepared for the secrets and the danger that await her.

I'm an absolute sucker for the setting, and Thomas did wonderfully with the Parisian imagery and descriptions. The deep dive into the fashion world was fun, and I loved the espionage angle. As a lover of historical fiction, I loved the fact that this story took place during the Cold War.

Mia was not my favorite as she seemed way too naive and trusting at some points but then also put way too much trust in people at others. It made me feel fairly frustrated with her throughout the book. The beginning of the story dragged a bit for me, but I pretty quickly flew through the ending, and Thomas did a great job of wrapping up the story.

Overall, if you're a historical fiction who loves 60s fashion, Paris, or espionage, this one might be for you.

I was excited to read this book because the premise sounded intriguing and because I had read and enjoyed For Those Who Are Lost by this author. In FTWAL, there were multiple points of view, and I cared about most of the characters. The one character in that novel who wasn't very likeable at least had an engrossing character arc. While The Kennedy Girl did have a few points of view from other characters, it mostly centered on Mia. I liked her. She began as naive but sweet, hard-working, and conscientious. She did change a lot during the course of the novel, but somehow I didn't feel as if I really got to see her changing. I saw the events that influenced her, but sometimes something would happen and then the novel would skip ahead a bit in time, not allowing me to see the process of her metamorphosis. The mystery seemed to wrap up a bit quickly. I was satisfied with the very end of the novel, though.

Thank you to Sourcebooks and NetGalley for the early read.

One can never go wrong when picking up a Julia Bryan Thomas book, so I knew I was in for a great read - but even I was blown away by how good this was! Unputdownable and lovely are the two words I would use to describe this!. Fantastic and utterly addictive would also suffice :) Either way, you are in for a treat!

After the death of her father, twenty-year-old Mia is approached by a stranger with an offer to go to Paris and be a model. Mia seizes on the chance to start her life over. Little does she know that behind the Parisian glamour a menace lurks.

What worked: Beautiful details of the 1961 Paris fashion world where evil hides. Mia is still hurting from the death of her only remaining family member so when a chance to go to Paris presents itself, she takes it. Mia at first comes across as too naive and impressionable but as a reader I bought it. Who wouldn't be swept away with being a model in Paris? Add the intrigue and espionage to the story during the height of the Cold War. I was hooked.

Philip's story is woven into this novel. I had a hard time engaging with him and thought he left Mia in a dangerous situation. There is a spark between them. Luca also seems a possible love interest, but the more readers find out about his part in the puzzle, the more mysterious he becomes.


Quick engaging historical thriller set in 1961 Paris.

This book is filled with beautiful Parisian images and a fun insider’s glimpse of the French fashion industry. Glamour and Cold War espionage form the basis of the story. My problem with the book is that the flow and story probability did not flow soundly. First it was hard to relate to a heroine that was so naive and thinking, yet the author tried to portray her as clever and smart. She isn’t supposed to trust anyone yet on a “feeling” she follows along with plans created by people she has no background knowledge or experience with to establish trust. The entire story including the ending had disconnects for me. I do want to thank Net Galley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read and give a candid review of the book.

She can’t be this naive? Can she? My thoughts as Mia flies off to Paris.
From a New York City bakeshop to a Paris Atelier, Kennedy Girl was a fascinating read, that hooked me till the very end! Filled with beautiful Parisian imagery, 1950s glam, and Cold War espionage, I couldn’t put it down. Very much recommended if you like your cloak and dagger dressed in diamonds.
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.