Here’s a thoughtful 4-star review for A Promise to Arlette:

A Promise to Arlette is a heartfelt and beautifully crafted story that pulls at the heartstrings while exploring themes of love, sacrifice, and the enduring power of promises. The author does an excellent job creating a rich sense of place and history, immersing the reader in a world filled with vivid details and emotional depth.

The characters are memorable and complex, particularly Arlette, whose journey is both inspiring and bittersweet. The narrative is engaging, with a balance of tender moments and emotional twists that kept me invested throughout.

While the pacing lagged slightly in the middle, the story’s poignant conclusion more than made up for it, leaving a lasting impression. Overall, A Promise to Arlette is a deeply moving read that I highly recommend to fans of historical fiction and heartfelt storytelling.

It’s the 1950’s and Ida and her husband, Sidney, are living in the suburbs with their two daughters. While at a 4th of July party, Ida sees a photograph that causes her to leave in the middle of the night.

The book begins in 1952 and then jumps back to 1938, pre-WW II, and reintroduces Ida as a young girl who, after a traumatic event, leaves her family home to follow a group of wealthy artists, including Arlette. This decision changes the course of Ida’s life, putting her at the center of the Nazi invasion.

Why did the photograph cause Ida to leave her family? What happened during those years where Ida was caught up in the war? The book has a satisfying and emotional ending where all questions are answered and secrets of the past are revealed.

“A Promise To Arlette” is going to be one of the most talked about books this year, and an incredible addition to the historical fiction genre. It will also make an outstanding book club pick!

Thanks so much for the opportunity to read in advance! This has already taken a place as a top read of the year for me.

This historical fiction follows the life of life of Ida where we find her in a Stepfordesque New England neighborhood in the 1950's. She's unraveling as the result of her abusive childhood in England prior to World War II where her only solace was her violin as well as the devastating choices made in France during the war. However, coming face to face with an image from her past catapults her into fracturing the life she has with her husband and children to wade into a search for redemption and her own identity.

Thank you Atria Books and NetGalley for this ARC. This book authentically deals with childhood neglect and abuse. It also portrays the monied classes and how they viewed the world quite well. I struggled getting into the book and came back to it after a break. Since characters had different agendas in the book I grasped for one to fully enjoy and connect with so had an uneasy read. The historical narrative rang true through different decades and continents and the characters were complex.

This was a good and very interesting book! I can tell it tried to be similar to the 7 husbands books, but this one was still very different. I liked the way it made you wonder what was going to happen, and how things tied together in the end. It was a good book!!

Thank you to NetGalley, to the author, and to the publisher for this complementary ARC in exchange for my honest review!!!

A slow start to this one - the story didn't feel like it really began until a third of the way in. It's an interesting premise but it didn't quite deliver in execution. I think it's because I found Ida so mousy and Arlette so manipulative and bossy. I suppose that was the point, but spending time with these characters was not all that enjoyable. I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was everything that I was looking for and enjoyed the concept of this novel. The characters were everything that I wanted in this universe and how everything worked together to tell the story. Serena Burdick wrote this perfectly and thought the thriller element worked overall.