Loved the bakery aspect of this novel. Unfortunately the beginning went slow and then the last 1/3 of the book went much too fast. I did like how this story focused on Paris, I just wish we would have gotten a little deeper into the Resistance and what they were doing to help. Overall, original plot and great recipe descriptions!

What a delightful book. Set in wartime Paris, it covers the relationship between a French woman and a German soldier. Very well written, factually correct and moves seamlessly between the 80s and the war years. Would highly recommend and will look out for other titles by this author.

I was drawn to this book the moment I read the title. I mean, how couldn't I ?! Bakery and the Resistance together?! I love food as much as I love historical fictions related to WWII and this book had both.

I loved the writing style, the relationship between Coralie and her granddaughter, Raven felt like a breath of fresh air. The characters seemed real and relatable.

Female friendships (even with an age gap) are what I live for and value. Coralie and Madame Monteux's friendship had a charm even though, the latter got lost in the background but it was Coralie's love for her that kept her going on.

Books like this make me realise how bad war actually is but at the same time it's the war of the rich where comman men are killed and not everyone is actually your enemy. I'd highly recommend The Resistance Bakery to you. It's a beautifully written novel that will take you on a roller-coaster of emotions.

Thank you @bookouture for the eARC.

Just beautiful! a poignant story, so beautifully written. Stunning, heartbreaking, powerful. Just wow!

En bref, j'ai énormément aimé Coralie et Raven même si on a parfois envie de secouer la seconde au début du roman. Le récit entre passé et présent est très bien fait et addictif, le contexte de seconde guerre mondiale au cœur de Paris et des pâtisseries est vraiment chouette et la transmission entre Coralie et Raven très entrainante. J'ai aimé les mots de l'autrice, la manière dont on découvre chaque instant et les événements qui s'enchainent. Le final répond parfaitement au reste de l'histoire et on referme ce roman avec des sentiments très variés !

The Resistance Bakery is written by Siobham Curham. This is a captivating dual timeline story that will transport readers back to World War II. We see wartime in Paris in 1943.

Coralie holds a leather book that has recipes and code written in it. She’s doing what she can to help push back against the enemy. I always love stories where we see those pushing back. Especially Paris resistance. Coralie works in a patisserie. They specialize in sweets and treats. When the German Intelligence overtake her workplace she decides that the best way for her to survive is to befriend them…… and find out what she can. She was so brave and I loved how even when she wanted to give up she kept going.

Present day Raven is sent to spend some time with her grandmother. She really doesn’t know much about her. She’s shocked when she finds the tattered book full of recipes and code. Her grandmother had never baked for her. Raven knew that she had to uncover the truth. Her grandmother never talks about her past or the war. What will Raven find out?

Perfectly woven together dual timelines. The author has crafted such a captivating story that will draw you in within the first few pages. The author has done careful research to bring this story alive.

Thank you to the author and publisher for allowing me to read a copy of this book. All thoughts are my own.

An outstanding novel of forbidden love lost and found, set in the background of WW2. The story goes between modern day where a granddaughter is trying to learn more of her grandmother's experiences in WW2. The story then goes back to retell the tale. Overall, a great read that should be enjoyed by all.

Thank you to #NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Absolutely loved this book! It showed that even in darkness and in war, love can find its way to shine through, and in the end, that is all that matters.

Coralie and Reinhardt come from different backgrounds. Coralie is a French Pastry Chef and Reinhardt is a German Chef. Their paths intertwine while working together at the Hotel Lutetia during the Nazi Occupation of France. From the moment the two meet, there is an electrifying spark between the two of them - but relationships between the two of them are strictly forbidden. Coralie’s fellow countrymen would deem her a traitor if they knew her feelings. Reinhardt’s fellow soldiers would see him as a traitor for fraternizing with their occupied citizens. Can they defy the odds? Can their feelings withstand war, hate, brutality, and more?

I loved this story so much!

I have read a fair few historical fiction books covering this era but, I have to say, this is one of the best so far and I have read some really good ones.

This one covers two timelines; 1940's Paris and 1980's America and far from this being confusing, it is what makes this book so very good. Both story lines are equally as good as each other - which doesn't happen often - and both are as riveting. The characters of Coralie and Raven are just excellent however, so are all the other characters in this book.

I won't go into the ins and outs of the plot or story but will just say that it's excellent and one I would definitely recommend to anyone who wants to be engrossed and isn't afraid to lose a few hours of your day.

Many thanks to the author, Bookouture and NetGalley for enabling me to read and share my thoughts on this enthralling book.

Siobhan Curham’s new novel The Resistance Bakery takes readers to the heart of the City of Lights, Paris. An intriguing, dual timeline story unfolds of one woman’s determination to do her bit to rise up against the Germans who have occupied the city she calls home. The chapters are short and move back and forth between Paris during the war years and America in 1984. From the outset, I much preferred the chapters set in Paris and found myself rushing through the American chapters in order to get back to the female heroine, Coralie, and her experiences of working for the resistance right under the noses of the Abwehr, the German intelligence service. The first half of the book, truthfully I found to be quite slow going but around the midpoint, the plot picked up and I became more invested for the eventual outcome for the characters.

In 1984, Cindy, although she prefers to be known as Raven, is only 13 but is being shipped off to the grandmother she doesn’t know very well at all so her parents can work on their marriage. Raven was a ball of anxiety not because of the situation with her parents, more so she is worried about the threat of nuclear war. She regularly skips school and has displayed challenging behaviours but deep down I think she was insecure. To be honest, I didn’t care much for Raven as I felt she was so young what would she possibly bring to the story but the further I read the more I came to understand that she was the conduit that would bring the past and present together and things might come full circle. The inquisitive side of her wants to get to know her grandmother Coralie better and when she discovers a photo of the Eiffel Tower and subsequently a photograph album and also a notebook with recipes she wants to dig deeper and find out about her grandmother's past.

Coralie adores baking and cooking and through this medium she slowly starts to forge a bond with Raven and reveals her story. We come to know and appreciate all that she went through during the war but there are still unresolved issues, and something is eating away at Coralie. What is revealed is surprising and shocking and it’s only as I delved deeper into the chapters set during the war that I began to form a clearer and much bigger picture of Coralie. The woman she was during those troubling and difficult times, why she did certain things and why she has kept things and some aspects unresolved.

As previously mentioned, right from the first chapter introducing the reader to Coralie in Paris, this is what held my attention. In fact I wanted these chapters to be longer with more significant events that would have driven the plot further on much earlier rather than at the point at which I felt this occurred. Coralie was abandoned on a doorstep in Paris when she was a baby and adopted by Arnaud and his wife Olive who taught her everything she knows about baking and pastries. They have since died and Coralie is 18 and has worked as a housekeeper for former opera singer Madame Monteux. But now Madame Monteux has gotten her a job in the Hotel Lutetia which has been a refuge for artists, musicians, writers and politicians who have fled Germany as their views go against those of the Hitler and the Nazi’s. But times are changing and soon Coralie’s beautiful city is under Nazi occupation. The hotel once a place where she felt safe and secure and could indulge in her passion for pastry is not what it once was. It has been taken over by the Abwehr and is now the centre for German Intelligence.

Food, baking and in particular cakes and pastries play a prominent role throughout the book and it works very well for it is how Coralie can work for the Resistance. She is given a shop to turn into her own patisserie thanks to Madame Monteux but at the same time her talents do not go unnoticed by the Germans and she is given a job working once a week supplying cakes and pastries for the top brass in the intelligence division. She is astute and knows that this can play to her advantage and yes, she threaded a very fine line throughout the book maintaining one façade whilst working in the kitchen but when not there she was doing her best to protect her beloved Madame Monteux who was Jewish.

It’s obvious Coralie didn’t need to do anything for the war effort but I felt she wasn’t the kind of person who could sit back and let many injustices befall people she held close to her heart but she also hated the way her city was forced to curtail to people who had no right to be there. Fellow resistance members work with her at the hotel and she is also tasked with doing certain things that if discovered would put her own shop under threat. At times, I felt there really wasn’t much happening and with each new chapter months would have passed or it would be a new year. Personally, I needed a little more excitement, secrecy or mystery in the first half and I was longing for it. For as much as I loved Coralie as a character I wanted to see her challenged and pushed beyond her limits a bit more. That came in the later half and yes it was worth the wait.

The second half felt as if it was a different story to what had gone before, I became much involved with the story unfolding. The plot regarding the German chef Reinhardt took a surprising turn and I thought it was divisive and would give much food for thought and opportunity for discussion for readers. It meant a different side to Coralie emerged and she was forced to battle between her conscience, what was morally right and her heart. Initially, I felt anger that she would go against what she stood for and was trying to achieve and then I thought but doesn’t everyone deserve some form of happiness?

The last quarter or so there were plenty of shocks and twists and turns and some jaw dropping moments that shake Coralie to her very foundation and set her on a path very different from the one she first ventured upon when she began to engage in resistance work. I myself was shocked because the author had led me to believe one thing and I was so certain of it and then within a paragraph my opinions rapidly changed. But how does this feed into Coralie and Raven in the present? If you wish to know you’ll have to get a copy of this book and discover the answers for yourself.

The Resistance Bakery, although not my favourite read by Siobhan Curham, brought to light another facet of the war that I knew nothing about. It’s a story of courage, bravery, heartbreak, connections and heroism and a good inclusion to the World War Two historical fiction genre.

Coralie Donnardieu is a talented pastry chef at the Hotel Lutetia in Paris. It is July 1940 and the city of Paris is a city in turmoil. The Germans are coming and people are panicking about what is about to happen. There are those who are fleeing the city and others who believe that they will still be okay. Coralie has nowhere to go, but when the hotel is taken over by the Abwehr (the German Intelligence Service), she knows that she doesn't want to work for them.

When she returns to the kitchen to pick up some of her equipment that had sentimental value, she finds herself coerced into cooking but it will only be for one night, until she realises that having access to the inner workings of the Abwehr might be useful for gaining information.

Soon Coralie is working in the hotel kitchens alongside the German chef, Reinhardt. On the first occasion they meet, Reindhardt is gobsmacked by the sight of real cream as that had not been available in Germany for years due to the restrictions that were in place after the end of WWI, which Coralie didn't realise. Reinhardt and Coralie are soon working together, sharing recipes, and more.

During the week, Coralie is building up her patisserie business. She was gifted this by her Madame Manteux, her Jewish friend, and this becomes part of her front. She does, however, know that her friendship with Reinhardt and the various other activities she is undertaking are a bit incongruous and it won't take very much for her to find herself either on the wrong side of the Germans or of the Resistance.

I was very conscious as I read this book that the way that that some of the characters were being written could almost have had the hashtag #NotallGermans which made me a little bit concern that there was a bit of whitewashing of history happening but by the time the book finished I was googling to find out if certain things were true....and they were!

This is a dual timeline novel where the first timeline is during the war. The second timeline is set in 1984 when Coralie's granddaughter, who chooses to be known as Raven, is shipped out to her in California for the summer while her parents try to sort out their marriage. Coralie is not at all close to her daughter, Suzette, and similarly Raven and Suzette clash regularly. It is a clever choice to choose the 80's as the second setting as it meant that Coralie was only in her 60's so still had plenty of life left in her.

I was surprised by how much I found myself thinking about Raven. Raven is very concerned about the threat of all out nuclear war. I was 13 in 1984, and I knew all about the Cold War, but I don't recall being anxious about the threat of nuclear war. Maybe it was more of a concern for kids in America. There were lots of times I found myself thinking about Sting's song Russians, about the hope that the Russians love their children too.




There were a lot of 80's pop culture references throughout the book. I did also have a bit of an "oh my goodness I am getting old" realisation. Whilst there are a lot of different definitions of historical fiction, if we use the one that says a book needs to be set more than 50 years in the past. We are not that far from the 80's being historical fiction! I am old enough to be considered historical fiction! lol.

As you would expect in a book with this title, there were plenty of foodie references, and I would in fact say that this was the strongest aspect of the story for me. There was so much delicious sounding food all the way through the book. Some of those are delicious French patisserie items, but Reinhardt also teaches Coralie some German dishes, including items like Kartoffelpuffer and onion gravy. One of the things you might need to overlook is the ease with which Coralie was able to obtain the necessary ingredients.

Like so many others, Coralie chose to not share her wartime experiences with her family and that also meant that she no longer cooked. One of the ways in which Coralie and Raven start to bond is over food as she once again starts baking. There is one particularly item that Coralie cooks that I am interested in finding out more about is a Breton cake called Kouign-amann, but there were others too!

I did end up getting over my intiial misgivings and enjoyed the book in the end. It is definitely not one to read when you are hungry as you will find yourself day dreaming about all sorts of delicious treats.

I am sharing this review with the New Release Challenge hosted by The Chocolate Lady's Book Reviews, with Foodies Read hosted at Based on a True Story and with the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge which I host. Be sure to check out other stops on the tour shown below. Thanks to the publisher, Netgalley and Books on Tour for the review copy.

Rating 4/5

This is the 3rd book I’ve read by Siobhan Curam and I’ve loved them all. This book was hard to put down. It is a dual-timeline story in WWII in Paris and San Francisco in 1985. In 1985, Raven is a teenager sent to spend the summer with her grandma, Coralie, who she barely knows. Gradually, she opens up
to her and shares about her time as a baker in Paris during WWII.


Coralie, the main character, was a baker in Paris when the Germans occupied the country. She was horrified at the way they were treated by the occupiers as well as the French government and wanted to join the French Resistance and use her position as a baker extraordinaire to work at the Hotel Lutetita and get closer to Abwher that worked at the hotel. I loved learning more about the food and cooking during that time, both French and German. The author weaves a wonderful story of friendships, forbidden romance, and spying. One of my favorite quotes in this story was “In a world ruled by hatred and fear, happiness is an act of rebellion.” In the face of what was happening to the Jews, Coralie tried her best to keep her close friend's spirits up. So they became happiness rebels trying to find joy where they could. Overall, a great story and I’m looking forward her next story.


Thanks to @bookouture, @netgalley and the author of this ARC

Two interesting timelines. Paris 1943 on the brink of being overwhelmed and then the Nazi occupation. Cora lie is a young woman and does not know how the future is going to be. Even though very young, she is a brilliant baker and this is what draws the attention of the Nazi Abwehr who have occupied the hotel she works in, and forces her to continue. Much against her will. She is ready to do her part helping the French resistance and it is through her baking that she does this.

Fast forward to present day times and Raven is sent to stay with her grandmother for a short time. Rebellious and angry at her forced departure Raven is surly and unhappy making her feelings known. A chance reading of a recipe book and journal Raven discovers a whole world of stories behind her grandmothers younger years and together they unravel a story of sadness, treachery, love and change.

The story highlights the ingenuity of a resistance movement and how far the need to survive goes. History particularly the WWII period was harsh and unforgiving and people did survive. People also became treacherous and deceiving and at the same time helped others at great personal risk and the examples of bravery are so many.

An excellent historical fiction read

The Resistance Bakery is another wonderful historical fiction read by Siobhan Curham. It’s a dual timeline read, which I love and both timelines held my interest the whole way through the book. The fact that the earlier part of the story was based around a bakery in Paris really had my mouth watering at times reading about all the delicious cakes and pastries. However there is a whole lot more to this story as we read how Coralie is helping the resistance and how much danger she puts on herself at times. I also loved reading about Raven in the 1980’s and how she finds our about her grandmothers past life. I was utterly captivated by this excellent book and for me it had the perfect ending .

As the Nazis arrive in Paris many fled to save their lives. The high ranking Nazis in charge take over the beautiful and ornate Hotel Lutetia. The French left the beautiful hotel including Coralie, the hotel’s pastry chef. Soon, she is offered an opportunity to come back to the hotel on Sundays and begin making her pastries again. She accepts the offer and returns to hotel and she becomes an informant for the resistance. Present day, Raven is shipped off to spend the summer with her grandmother, whom she barely knows. Raven finds an old leather-bound book full of handwritten recipes and coded numbers. As Coralie begins to tell Raven of the experiences during the war their relationship grows. The old recipe book holds more than just recipes but also brings healing to Coralie from all those years ago.

The Resistance Bakery, written by author Siobhan Curham is a phenomenal story love and family. I loved everything about this book, from Coralie’s stories of yesterday to Raven and the bond she made with the grandmother she barely knew. This rapid read had me flying through the pages unable to put this book down, I sailed through the amazing end. This was an emotional read from tears to making my hear happy, it hit all the feels. Curham is an exceptional author that pulls the reader into the story from the first page to the last. She is an auto-buy author for me as I am always encouraged and uplifted by her stories. I loved the Resistance Bakery and I highly recommend it.

The Resistance Bakery by Siobhan Curham

I have read many WW2 historical fictions, this is a unique content novel! I am surprised by the author Siobhan Curham.

The story has a clear dual timeline, at the past during the WW2 and later in1984. The author was smartly weaving two timelines and characters. Coralie was working in the hotel bakery which the nazis were there. She had a handwritten leather recipe to hide. Move to the modern time in 1984, Raven went to her grandma place and she discovered there was a photo in the leather notebook.

The secrets of her grandma are going to the surface after hiding for decades.

The Resistance Bakery is definitely a captivating and pageturning novel. I enjoyed a lot of the story and I can't wait to read more the books by this author.

Many thanks to Netgalley, Bookouture and the author for my copy.

Pub date: Sep 24, 2024

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Thank you Bookouture for inviting me to be part of the Books on Tour for “The Resistance Bakery” by Siobhan Curham. This book kept me awake longer than I should have allowed but i just couldn’t stop reading.
This story is told from two points of view.
Coralie- 1943 is pastry chef working in a hotel used by the Nazis. She also works for the Resistance.
Raven- 1984 is Corie’s granddaughter. She is sent to live with her grandmother one summer and sets out to unravel her grandmother's mystery.
This book will really stay with you after you finish reading it. I can’t wait to read more by Siobhan Curham. Many thanks to the author, Bookouture and NetGalley for a complimentary copy of the book. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.
#TheResistanceBakery #SiobhanCurham #NetGalley #Bookouture #BooksOnTour #BookLove #Bookstagram #NewBook #ILoveBooks #BooksSetInParis

Raven is shipped off to her grandmother’s for the summer and discovers who she really is.
I want crazy how Raven snooped in her grandmother’s possessions because her true story comes out in dribs and drabs.
Coralie was gutsy but played a very dangerous game.
I loved all the 80s references and that the book had a happy ending.

I received an advanced copy of this book from Bookouture via NetGalley.

4.5 Stars

This book skillfully intertwines two timelines—Paris in 1943 and San Francisco in 1984—creating a captivating narrative of family, secrets, and survival. The story begins in Nazi-occupied Paris, where Coralie, a brave baker, hides not only her precious recipes but also the coded locations of people she’s secretly been helping escape German capture. Her leather-bound recipe book is her lifeline, and she swears to protect its contents at all costs.

Decades later, in 1984, Raven is reluctantly sent to spend the summer with her estranged French grandmother in San Francisco. Unfamiliar with the woman who has kept her past under lock and key, Raven stumbles upon an old, tattered recipe book filled with handwritten notes and a faded photograph. As she begins to piece together the mystery behind the book, Raven uncovers a connection to her grandmother’s secretive past during World War II.

The alternating timelines are masterfully handled, with each one bringing to life strong, complex women who persevere through their challenges. Coralie’s harrowing experiences during the war and Raven’s journey to reconnect with her grandmother blend seamlessly. The discovery of wartime secrets in the recipe book doesn’t just provide insight into history, but also becomes a means for healing, bridging the gap between generations.

This novel excels not only in its engaging plot but also in its evocative descriptions. The vivid portrayals of Parisian patisseries, with their mouth-watering pastries, transported me into the heart of France, making it almost impossible not to crave a trip to Paris (again). Moreover, I loved the 80s references!

*Warning: Do not begin this book if you have food cooking or housework to do! Your food will burn and your house will stay dirty, because you will not be able to put it down!*
One of the best historical fiction novels I’ve read (and I’ve read a lot of them!)
The author very skillfully navigates between two timelines, Paris during the Nazi Occupation, and the other in 1984. The young protagonist of the 80’s period was around my same age, so the references to pop culture in those chapters brought back a flood of memories. And the strategy of having the grandmother reveal her WW2 experiences to her granddaughter through flashbacks was a brilliant device!
I highly recommend this novel to any history buff!

* I received a digital copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are strictly my own.*