I think this will be a hit based on a lot of titles I see coming out about young American women both in foreign cities and involved spy craft during WWII or the Cold War. It was a little slow for my taste, but I liked the world building of 1950's Paris.

Thank you to Netgalley for providiing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This review is for the audiobook. I wanted to state that the narration was well done and immersed me into the story. Now for the actual story: The book takes place in the 1960s when Amelia is approached by a male stranger who tells her she should be a model for the House of Rousseau in Paris. The timing is perfect for Amelia as she her parents have died and she is a bit stuck in life without anything to tie her to the US. She moves to Paris and shares a flat with two other models. The book lets you in on the fact that she is being used right away but you don't really know how until the mysteries all start to unravel. No Spoilers. I will say that I was disappointed to find that this book has almost nothing to do with Jaqueline or the other Kennedys. Jackie was fashionable and went to Paris. Amelia wanted to be regarded in the same way Jackie was. I didn't like the title at all in regards to the book. The story was fine and I am glad to have read this book. I would read from the author again. However it wasn't anything truly unique or engaging. 3.5 stars.

Julia Bryan Thomas’s The Kennedy Girl is a dazzling mix of fashion, Parisian glamour, and Cold War intrigue, set against the backdrop of 1960s haute couture.

Nineteen-year-old Amelia “Mia” Walker leaves her New York bakery job for the opportunity of a lifetime: modeling for the prestigious House of Rousseau in Paris. Inspired by her idol Jacqueline Kennedy, Mia quickly immerses herself in the city’s elegance, befriending fellow models and learning the ropes under the sophisticated Madame Laurant. But the glittering world of fashion conceals a darker side.

Mia discovers she has unknowingly become part of an espionage scheme, delivering cryptic messages for Cold War operatives during her social appearances. As the stakes rise, Mia must decide whether to risk her dreams—or her safety—while navigating the blurred lines between glamour and danger.

With richly drawn characters and a vivid depiction of 1960s Paris, The Kennedy Girl expertly combines the allure of high fashion with the suspense of a spy thriller. Perfect for fans of The Secrets We Kept, this novel is a captivating tale of resilience, courage, and the collision of politics and dreams.
The narration was fabulous and the listening experience was exceptional !

Fashion and glamour and spies, oh my. This is a fun Cold War historical fiction set in the high fashion world of the 1960s. It was a fun, fast read. I’ll be looking for more from this author.

I had a lot of fun reading this book about a model who gets recruited to be a spy during the cold war. However, I don't think I'm going to think about this book again. While I was reading it, it was super interesting, but I didn't find myself wanting to read it while I wasn't actively reading. Also while reading it, sometimes I caught little online language which just kept putting me off. The narrator on the other hand was excellent!

Fashion meets espionage in this fantastic work of Historical Fiction from Julia Bryan Thomas. Mia is offered a modeling job at the famous House of Rousseau, moving her from NYC to Paris for a new exciting life. But its the 1960s and Mia has found herself in the middle of the Cold War. I highly recommend.


Thank you Tantor Audio and NetGalley for a copy of this audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

I would give this 3.5 stars rounded up. I am fascinated with the Kennedys, so I was disappointed that this novel really had not much of a connection to the Kennedys. But that aside, the biggest issue that that I had with the book was its unevenness. The first half of the book was focused on the fashion angle. The protagonist was a young woman from the United States that was offered a job as a model at a fashion house in Paris. This fashion house was a ruse for a spy operation that threatened democracy as we knew it, in the height of the Cold War. In the first half of the book, fashion was the main thing and my problem is that I am not terribly interested in fashion. On the other hand, I am interested in Paris and the thing that kept me going were the descriptions of fashion.
The second half of the novel brought out the spy/Cold War historical part of the novel. This is what interested me, even though there were a few things that were a bit far fetched. So, my rating for the first half was a 3 and the second half was a 4, averaging out to 3.5.
About the characters. The protagonist was all right but I did not feel drawn to her. The other characters could have been fleshed out more.
I read this in parts and listened to the audio. The narrator was good, with a pleasant voice.
Thanks to NetGalley, Tantor Audio and Sourcebooks Landmark for providing me with the advanced reading copy and audio in exchange for my honest opinion.

When going through a rough time a young American is offered the opportunity to go model in Paris. Deciding to take a chance she enters the world of the rich and powerful where there is more going on that it seems. Mia must navigate through the power and politics.

This was an enjoyable read and I liked the development of the story and the characters.

Thank you NetGalley and RBmedia for the audio Arc The Kennedy Girl. This was a good read. It does have some dark shocking turns but overall I enjoyed it.

This story follows a young girl, Mia, as she moves from NYC to Paris when offered a modeling job at The House of Rousseau. The job ends up leading her into an unexpected and unintended path of espionage.

This was a fine historical fiction in many ways but had I not done the audio I’m not sure I would’ve kept going. It’s a very very slow burn to the point that nothing big really happened until after 90% in. The fashion aspect was the most interesting part to me.

Thanks to RB Media for the alc via Netgalley.

Set in the 1960s, American Mia moves to Paris when she is offered a modeling job with a famous clothing company. While overseas, she becomes immersed in her new world, but quickly becomes enveloped (accidentally of course) in the world of espionage.

I haven’t read many books set during the Cold War era, so this was an interesting time period to learn more about. While I do feel some parts of the book got away from reality (car chases, random kidnappings) I found myself still really invested. I liked learning about the fashion industry of the 1960s, a time with some much uncertainty due to the state of affairs globally. Overall, an interesting and entertaining read, but reality needs to be suspended a bit, which is not my favorite in historical fiction.

The narration was excellent and I recommend this method of reading to become fully engrossed in the story.

The Kennedy Girl is a historical fiction that takes place in Paris in the 1960's. It follows Mia, an American girl, who is hired and brought to Paris to work for a modeling agency. Set during the Cold War era, the girls at the modeling agency are sent on assignments to cocktail parties and other events where they showcase the couture of the fashion house....and sometimes other tasks.

This book touches on an array of subject matter from fashion, history, politics, espionage to a little bit of romance to round it out. While I found the pace and unfolding of the story itself to be a little slow and drawn out at times, I appreciated the different perspective as most of the historical fiction I have read takes place during WWII. It was refreshing to learn a little about the fashion industry mixed in with some intrigue and a spy ring set in a time period which I am not as familiar with. Once you get through all the historical information and background, things start to pick up. I found a small smile on my face at the end.

This was a good background book for me while doing tasks like driving, cooking, laundry, etc. Something to pass the time and have some entertainment but that did not require my complete focus to be able to follow along.

I would like to thank Tantor Audio for the free advance release copy of the audio version of this book, coming to you January 14, 2025!!

Thanks to NetGalley, Sourcebooks Landmark, and Tantor Audio for the digital copy of this book and audiobook; I am leaving this review voluntarily.

The story follows a young American, Mia, who works in a bakery in New York. She’s recruited to be a model and get this, she gets to go to Paris to work in a fashion house. Sounds like a dream opportunity for a young lady who is obsessed with Jackie Kennedy’s style. She starts working with the House of Rousseau and is adjusting to life in Paris, when suddenly, things turn a bit more interesting, as if that wasn’t interesting enough!

Set in the backdrop of the Cold War of the late 1950s and early 1960s, I thought I’d enjoy this book more than I did. That’s not to say it was bad–far from it! However, the pacing was slow to start. There was a big build up before Mia even gets involved in espionage, and then the story picks up considerably.

You can tell from the writing that this book is well researched, yet sometimes I feel like that was a hinderance to making me love the book entirely. It seemed to get a little bogged down in the middle a bit, then picks up again towards the end. It’s a somewhat unique story, so I have to give the author some credit for the overall arc of the story. If it sounds like I didn’t like the book, that’s not true. It just wasn’t a five-star read for me. More like 3.5.

I thought the narrator, Ri Paige, did an admirable job of narrating the book. I would definitely seek out other titles with her as narrator.

If you like a good story set in France during the Cold War, you should definitely check out The Kennedy Girl.

5 Stars! I LOVED this!! So unsuspecting! I took a chance, requesting a book that didn’t have a cover photo on NetGalley, it was publishing in a week and had what sounded like a fun plot that was right up my “fashion background alley” — and boy, was it!

Such fun! A young woman in NYC is approached by an older man to fly to Paris to represent one of the largest fashion houses. The story was worldly with tours and dress fittings, modeling, private parities, million dollar necklaces, espionage, guns, murder and an explosion! What more could I ask for?! I would totally read something else by this author!

Thanks to NG & the publishers for a chance to read early and review.

I was hoping this book was going to be more about the Kennedy's. It was still a good story but not what I was expecting.

The Kennedy Girl, by Julia Bryan Thomas, is not about Jackie Kennedy as I had originally thought, though she does act as a sort of role model for our protagonist, Mia. Narrator Ri Paige brought Mia to life perfectly in the audiobook as she explores Paris and discovers why she was really offered this out-of-the-blue opportunity. Love the 1960s/Cold War era and found Thomas's novel to be a wonderful blend of history and imagination. Highly recommend!

Julia Bryan Thomas delivers a captivating blend of glamour and intrigue in The Kennedy Girl, a perfect historical fiction that swept me away. Set in 1960, the novel masterfully moves between the dazzling world of Parisian fashion runways and the shadowy undercurrents of Cold War espionage.

The story follows a compelling main character—an American orphan who rises to prominence as a Paris fashion model—through the breathtaking beauty of France. Every detail of her journey is filled with clandestine danger and intrigue, creating a tense and engaging atmosphere. The author’s vivid descriptions and rich characters brought the pages to life, making me feel as if I were right there in the heart of it all.

I couldn’t stop rooting for the heroine, and the story kept me fully invested from start to finish. The audiobook narration by Ri Paige was superb, enhancing the experience with her dynamic and expressive performance. If you love historical fiction with a perfect mix of espionage, fashion, and a touch of glamour, The Kennedy Girl is a must-read!

'The Kennedy Girl' is a thrilling and glamorous novel that gave me insight to the Cold War through the eyes of a naïve American model. At nineteen, Mia seized the chance of a lifetime to join a prestigious Parisian fashion house. Unwittingly, she was drawn into the gripping world of espionage, where danger lurked around every corner. I would have loved to see more complexity in the political intrigue, richer relationships for Mia to navigate, or a deeper exploration of Mia's character development to elevate this book to a five-star read. The story also occasionally followed a male government agent and elderly French woman.

If you enjoy reading women's historical fiction, then I recommend this book to you! Julia Bryan Thomas' writing flows nicely and Ri Paige's narration captures the suspense well. Special thanks to RBmedia and NetGalley for a complimentary copy of this audiobook. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.