In France in the 1940s, there were some that resisted Hitler and his Nazis. Marie-Madeline Meric was one of those people. She's a strong-willed, nonconventional woman who enjoys driving, flying, an independent thinking. Marie-Madeline left her high-ranking, controlling, military husband in Morocco under the guise of raising her two children back home in France. When it begins to look like Hitler has set his sights on France, Marie-Madeline vows to defend her county and the beliefs and morals she believes in. She gets involved with a resistance network and quickly becomes an asset because, not only is she smart, she's a woman; and no one would suspect a woman of participating in resistance activity. But Marie-Madeline soon finds herself she leading the once small-group of like-minded men after their leader is arrested. This historical fiction follows Marie-Madeline throughout the worst of WWII for France and tells her story of strength, self-doubt, love, and resistance.

The Mademoiselle Alliance is a wonderful historical fiction that shines light on an overlooked hero from WWII. You can feel the tension and fear through the pages. Natasha Lester's research and writing is interesting and enlightening at the same time. I love that I learned something new while really enjoying the fictional writing surrounding Marie-Madeline and her emotional tribulations. Marie-Madeline's strength is inspiring and, as a woman, her self-doubt is so relatable. The underlying theme of women in a men's world kept me reading and I found myself invested in Marie-Madeline's story.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for the free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

In this well-researched historical fiction, Natasha Lester recounts the courageous life of Marie-Madeline Fourcade during WWII. She became the leader of the largest resistance network in France, supplying the Allies with information aiding the D-Day invasion and Patton’s March across France and Germany to end the war. She was one of the Nazis most wanted adversaries and she overcame endless obstacles to do her work. Both fascinating and heartbreaking.

Natasha Lester has done it again. There's a reason she is my favorite author. The research and love she put into this book to bring Marie-Madeleine's story to life is obvious.

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The Mademoiselle Alliance Natasha Lester is a historical fiction book about France’s only woman commander of a resistance group during World War II. Ms. Lester is an award-winning, best-selling historical fiction author.

This is a fascinating book about a fascinating person. Marie-Madeleine, a Frenchwoman living in Morocco, is unconventional and fiercely brave. She loves fast cars and planes, and occasionally engages in intelligence work.

By the start of World War II, Marie-Madeleine finds herself in Paris, recruited to help build the Alliance Resistance Network by a man named Navarre.

I’m surprised that in all my reading about World War II, I haven’t encountered the name of Marie-Madeleine Fourcade. A brave woman who managed to evade the Gestapo while running a top-notch intelligence network under their noses.

Mrs. Fourcade was a fierce leader of thousands of people. An intelligent, cunning, and resourceful person whose contribution to the Allies’ victory and the war effort is celebrated to this day.

Besides the protagonist, the book is filled with compelling characters who are part of the French resistance. Like Marie-Madeleine, they are French patriots doing their very dangerous part. The author does not sugar coat the emotional toll this type of work takes, especially at the difficult time in France where even food was scarce.

The Mademoiselle Alliance Natasha Lester is, however, a bit of a slog. It was a very slow read, a lot happens on every page, which makes the reading a bit difficult.

I enjoyed the historical aspects of this book. As always, I appreciated the author’s note at the end in which Ms. Lester shared her sources, as well as what part was historical and what part was fiction.

I can’t believe it took me this long to discover this wonderful writer! Historical fiction is one of my favorite genres and thank you Natasha for realizing there are never too many WWII books! There are many stories to tell.
This is a fascinating story about a strong woman, Marie Madeleine Fourcade, and the network of people she creates to save France from the Nazis as they invade their country during WWII.
Marie-Madeleine is a mother and needs to keep her country safe for her children and their future. She refuses to let the fact that she is a woman, in a time that many people didn’t believe woman could hold important roles, hold her back. As her team works with the British Allied forces to share secrets they learn and bring the Nazis down, they put their own lives at risk.
I enjoyed many of the people Marie-Madeleine grew to love like family. She had to make some very difficult choices involving them sometimes, torn between what her heart and her mind were telling her to do. The story shows the grit, the determination people can have to push back against evil and the heartbreaking, devastating losses this can bring. I was definitely in tears.

Only one thing kept me from making this a 5 star book. It was difficult for me to keep track of who is who because there are so many people and with the code names given to them, and the fact that they change multiple times, it made it even harder. (Especially when you need to put down the book and go back to it.). Because it took me time to remember who people were at times, it didn’t have an easy flow.
After reading the author’s note, I discovered that she actually had whittled down the amount of people that were involved in the story she based this novel on. I’m glad she was able to do that!

Thank you to Ballantine/Random House and NetGalley for an ARC of this book. All opinions in this review are my own.

Marie is not happy with simply being a housewife in a crumbling marriage, she wants to help save the world and she does so by becoming part of the WWII resistance spy network.  Eventually she becomes the Alliance's leader and puts her life at risk over and over again while watching her friends die and others become traitors.
I wanted to like this one, I like the author and a good female resistance story but it just fell a bit flat for me.  This may be personal taste because the novel is comprised of a lot of war stories and I don't love reading about the actual fighting, even when it's resistance fighters versus soldiers.  This was a bit of a slog for me. Looking at reviews I seem to be in the minority on this.

3.5

Thank you to Random House and NetGalley for the ARC to review

This book may very well be the best book I ever read! I love historical fiction and Natasha Lester, and she has done an amazing job with The Mademoiselle Alliance. Set during WWII the book takes us with Marie-Madeleine Méric from Morocco to France to London and Germany and back as she builds an alliance of agents across France that between them provide the UK with the information they need to fight back and win against the Germans. Never before has a woman built and let a resistance network such as this, 3000 people strong, men and women, with huge impact. Although it's historical fiction, the emphasis is on the history and actions of this woman and those around her. It reads like a memoir, as Lester takes you along Marie-Madeleine's journey from young wife to spy to leader and ultimately to hero. Her actions can send people to their death and save millions; we see her inner struggles as she has to reconcile the conflicting parts of who she is and what she does. It kept me reading into the night; I devoured every last page and didn't stop until I'd finished it all, including the historical notes. Thank you Natasha Lester for including historical notes, for me it's one of the best parts of the book. (NOTE: if you are one of those who reads the historical notes before reading the book, I have one word for you...DON'T). You need to have the full story before reading the notes, otherwise you will find yourself looking for small things that don't matter,

The Mademoiselle Alliance is a real winner, a great read, a not to be missed, once in a generation kind of book. I'd give it 10 starts if I could! Absolutely fantastic, inspiring story!

Thank you so much to Ballantine for the gifted ARC!

I really liked the premise and the start of this one. While it started out so hopeful, it just ended up dragging on too much for me.

I think maybe it was a me problem and I just wasn't in the right headspace for such a heavy story. I will certainly give her next book a chance though!

This book is out now!

I was hooked from the beginning!!
It was amazing and engaging.
I was instantly sucked in by the atmosphere and writing style.
The characters were all very well developed .
The writing is exceptional and I was hooked after the first sentence.

If you’re a fan of strong woman and historical fiction, add this to the top of your tbr! Based on the true story of Marie Madeline Fourcade, this book tells the story of the only female resistance leader in WWII France. There are honestly no words to accurately describe just how incredible this story is. Not only are the characters amazing, but brave, strong, smart and awe inspiring. There is love, heartbreak, loss and bravery. Lester’s writing is incredibly engaging, the words flowing beautifully. The details and research that went into this book are unbelievable. I am still blown away knowing that this is based on truth. A must read.

Thank you NetGalley for my advanced reader copy.

After enjoying her last two books I was excited to read Natasha Lester's The Mademoiselle Alliance. The book offers a glimpse into the remarkable life of Marie-Madeleine Fourcade, a courageous woman whose real-life heroism deserves recognition. While the depth of research and emotional weight are undeniable, there was just something that didn't connect for me....the story often gets bogged down by an overload of geographic and cultural detail which made it hard for me to stay fully engaged. A solid read for historical fiction lovers, but it lacked the spark to make it unforgettable—for me, a 3-star experience. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC.

YOU GUYS! This historical fiction was SOOO. SO. GOOD! I don’t remember the last time I could have classified historical fiction as a page-turner.

If you’ve read my reviews or recommendations at all you know I love a bad@$$ woman doing things women just didn’t do in her time, and that is exactly what this story is about: Marie-Madeleine Fourcade, the real life WOMAN leader of the French Resistance network “Alliance,” during WWII. At one point the Gestapo bust into her HQ looking for info on the “Alliance,” right in front of her: unwilling/unable to fathom a woman as the leader of the very resistance group they are looking for information on.

During her time as a resistance fighter, Marie-Madeleine (who ended up being known as herisson “hedgehog” in her team with animal code names), reflects on being a mother and how she feels she’s failing as a mother after sending her two children away to keep them safe so she could be more useful...and then not feeling useful enough. Sorry Hérisson, but that sentiment, though not always during WAR, still rings true for many mothers...

Eventually she also has an internal monologue about how what she is doing IS mothering, despite being away from her biological children while she works her resistance ring. She decides she IS mothering: her team of resistors, her country....exactly why mothers should be welcomed into boardrooms and anywhere else decisions are being made: they are able to think of the greater good for everyone involved.

This story was heartbreaking but inspiring, tense but hopeful, full of fear and hate but also honor and love.

TL;DR: I feel like I can’t write a review that does this one justice. I loved this one, all the stars! My bookshelf trophy is on its way to me…you need to read!

I did read this as an eARC from NetGalley.

I love Natasha Lester's historical fiction. This is another great tale of a strong woman, this time Marie-Madeleine, who led the Alliance group of French Resistance during WWII. Every page was interesting and kept me hooked, as she moved headquarters multiple times, recruited, delegated, negotiated, fell in love, and put her life and those of her agents on the line every day as they ran from and went up against the Nazis.
I would have loved a bit of an epilogue farther out from the war's end, but this was so well written and captivating.

I have been a long time fan of Natasha Lester but this book is another level. It didn’t feel like a book but rather an epoch. It was the weight and pain of one woman’s sense of responsibility and duty transformed into feelings, emotions and words. Lester bases the novel around the real life journey of Marie-Madeleine Fourcade, who assumed leadership of a French resistance network code named Alliance during WWII. This book details her journey to save her country along with the trials and tribulations of leading the largest resistance network. There is much emphasis placed on the relationships Fourcade develops over the time frame and Lester richly captures the emotions during such a tumultuous time.

Read this is you’re a fan of WWII historical fiction, if The Nightingale still haunts you as one of the best books ever, if you like stories of kick ass women doing incredible things that we were never taught about. Skip if multiple timeframes and lots of characters aren’t your jam.

Lester is a master at this genre she takes real life events and crafts them into an engaging story you can’t put down but that keeps you reading
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me review the book

THE MADEMOISELLE ALLIANCE by Natasha Lester is a moving and beautifully-written historical novel that will stay on my mind for a long time to come. It is the story of the incredibly brave woman and unsung heroine of World War II, Marie-Madeleine Fourcade. It tells how this remarkable young woman, widely known for her beauty and unconventional adventurous spirit, became the only woman to head a vast resistance network in France known as Alliance. Hiding her identity and her gender, she puts defeating the Nazis above even her own life and in doing so must remain separated from her beloved children for years. She faces being top of the Nazis’ most wanted list, as well as betrayal from within her own network. The story is based largely on historical fact and Marie-Madeleine’s own writings. This is an expertly researched story of the extraordinary courage, sacrifice and resilience of a leader determined to save her family and her country from Nazi rule. Do not miss the enlightening Author’s Note at the end. I most highly recommend this outstanding book. Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the chance to read and review an early copy.

Natasha Lester has outdone herself!!
I read this book in one sitting.
Y heart was in my throat for most of it while the brave participants of the Alliance fought, schemed, and died to liberate France.
I had no idea who Marie-Madeline Fourcard was before reading this book.
Lester is a master at flushing out unsung heroines of history and giving them their proper Homage and due!

To wrest freedom from the hands of monsters...

....you often must sacrifice what you love.

Marie-Madeleine Méric was a beautiful young French woman with an unusual upbringing, raised in Shanghai and both dedicated and talented enough to be a concert pianist. She set aside that dream when at eighteen she fell in love with and married the handsome and brooding Edouard, who worked for the French Intelligence Service in Morocco and was eight years older than Marie-Madeleine. Intoxicated with their love and thrilled at the adventures she believed awaited her, she dove into her new life but soon found that her new husband would not tolerate her free spirited approach to the world. Marie-Madeleine would flee with her children back to France to escape Edouard's controlling behavior in the days when Hitler was starting his march across Europe. She would be recruited by a military intelligence officer who, impressed by her daredevil reputation for racing cars and her work as a journalist (as well as the assistance she had given Edouard in his work in Morocco), foresaw her potential in helping him to form first a newspaper that would alert the French citizenry to the realities of Hitler's dangerous plans and eventually a network of like minded patriots who would gather information to feed to the Allies. She would become the head of this group, Alliance, the only woman to head such an organization in France during the war, Her passion for a free France, her sense of adventure and her conviction that a woman could do anything that a man could do would make possible amazing successes that would help in defeating the Germans. But it meant that she lived a double life,where a single misstep could result in her arrest and execution, and where she would be responsible for making those who worked for her risk and often times lose their lives. The danger would also be directed against those she loved...her family, her beloved children, and the man she would come to love...and she risked it all for her country's, and her children's, future.
The Mademoiselle Alliance is based in large part on the life and exploits of the very real Marie-Madeleine Méric, and author Natasha Lester clearly did a tremendous amount of research to prepare for writing the novel. The world of wartime France, both in the occupied and the "free" parts of the country after the German invasion, is vividly depicted, and the character of Marie-Madeleine is multifaceted in its portrayal. She is a woman, a mother and daughter, a patriot, an idealist, and so much more, and I was captivated by the life she led. Leading a group of people is never easy, and is particularly difficult in turbulent times...to be a woman leading a largely male group during this period in history was exponentially more difficult. I found myself easily drawn in to the story, and while the plot had a few moments when things would slow down a bit it was an engrossing and informative read that I rate at 4.5 ⭐️ rounded up to 5. There have been more than a few books that have been released of late which chronicle the many contributions that women have made in different ways and at different points in history but have been mostly forgotten, and this is an excellent addition to their roster, Readers who enjoy the works of Kristin Hannah, Kate Quinn and Martha Hall Kelly as well as those interested in historical fiction featuring this period should absolutely grab a copy of The Mademoiselle Alliance. Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group/Ballantine Books for allowing me access to the book in exchange for my honest review.

The Mademoiselle Alliance was a fantastic story! Natasha Lester does a beautiful job taking a real person & real historical events and then creating a work of art around what is known of that story. Marie-Madeleine is such an exceptional character, so brave and resilient. I truly enjoyed learning more about her heroic efforts and the huge impact they had on WWII. This story also had a lot of heartbreak and loss but the strength and resilience of Marie-Madeleine and all of the supporting characters was truly inspirational! As always, - if Natasha Lester write it, I will read it!

Thanks to #NetGalley, Natasha Lester, and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for the e-ARC of #TheMademoiselleAlliance in exchange for an honest review.

The Mademoiselle Alliance is such an incredible read! It dives into the fascinating story of a crucial network that teamed up with the British government during WWII to fight against the German advance. What I love about it is that it's based on real people and events, but it’s so much more than just history—it’s a tale of hope, love, and loyalty that really pulls you in.
At first, the story takes its time to introduce Marie-Madeleine, letting you get a feel for her character and what drives her. But hang on tight because once things pick up, you find yourself right in the thick of it, alongside a brave group of people who put their lives on the line to save their country and protect their loved ones.
Natasha Lester has a real gift for crafting complex characters in tough situations. It’s impossible not to get attached to them. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time, feeling every emotion as the tension built, and believe me, the ending had me in tears.
I’d heard about underground networks in WWII, but learning about Marie-Madeleine and everything the Alliance achieved under her leadership was eye-opening. Sure, stories of war can be heartbreaking, but these are the kind of stories we need to remember—the heroes we can’t forget.
If you're into remarkable, compelling tales, you’ve got to read this one. And if you haven’t explored Natasha Lester’s books yet, do yourself a favor and dive in! You won’t regret it!