The Dressmaker’s Secret

This title was previously available on NetGalley and is now archived.
Buy on Amazon Buy on BN.com Buy on Bookshop.org
*This page contains affiliate links, so we may earn a small commission when you make a purchase through links on our site at no additional cost to you.
Send NetGalley books directly to your Kindle or Kindle app

1
To read on a Kindle or Kindle app, please add kindle@netgalley.com as an approved email address to receive files in your Amazon account. Click here for step-by-step instructions.
2
Also find your Kindle email address within your Amazon account, and enter it here.
Pub Date Jan 27 2022 | Archive Date Dec 27 2022

Talking about this book? Use #TheDressmakersSecret #NetGalley. More hashtag tips!


Description

‘Extraordinary… Brought history alive on the page… A tense and emotional tale, sensitive yet brutal… With the most unexpected end that left me breathless. Wow, just wow… Incredible’ NetGalley Review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Paris, 1941: As Coco Chanel’s assistant, Adèle lives side by side with German officers in the splendor of The Ritz hotel. But Adèle has a secret. She is working for the resistance, right under the Germans’ noses.

As occupied Paris becomes more and more dangerous, Adèle will have to decide if she can risk everything to save innocent lives and protect the man she loves…

Present day: Chloé’s grandmother has never spoken about the war and avoids questions about the legendary designer she once worked for. Now Chloé has come to Paris, to uncover the truth about Adèle’s life. But is she prepared for what she will find? And for the power of her grandmother’s secrets to change her family forever…

An absolutely gripping and heartbreaking wartime story of the enduring power of love, for fans of The Lost Girls of Paris and The Nightingale.

Readers love The Dressmaker’s Secret:

WOW… What an amazing book … Absolutely outstanding… What a page-turner… Outstandingly brilliant and extremely poignant from beginning to end’ NetGalley Review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

My heart was absolutely thumping for most of the book… A truly brilliant novel’ NetGalley Review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Gripping, suspenseful, and addictive… Full of mysteries, twists, turns, surprises… and a dash of romance… Fabulous’ NetGalley Review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Absolutely amazingI couldn’t put it down… I can’t wait for everyone to read this book’ NetGalley Review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘A tale of deception, love and endurance… It kept me reading into the small hours’ Glynis Peters, author of The Secret Orphan

A truly captivating read and what an ending!!’ NetGalley Review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘One hard to put down story!… A great read that had me up way later than I planned I couldn’t put it down’ NetGalley Review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘Extraordinary… Brought history alive on the page… A tense and emotional tale, sensitive yet brutal… With the most unexpected end that left me breathless. Wow, just wow… Incredible’ NetGalley Review...


Available Editions

EDITION Ebook
ISBN 9780008532543
PRICE $3.99 (USD)
PAGES 384

Average rating from 27 members


Featured Reviews

Wow! The Dressmaker’s Secret is a dual timeline story that will keep your attention from beginning to end. I had not read any of Lorna Cook’s prior books but I really enjoyed this one.

The parts of the story that deal with Coco Channel has been thoroughly research. The story of Adele, Theo, Melodie, Cleo and the rest are extremely well written and have been intertwined with Chanel’s that this makes for a spectacular and entertaining story.

Thank you to #netgalley and #harper360,avon for allowing me to read this ARC for an honest review. All opinions expressed above are my own.

Was this review helpful?

A fascinating, gut-wrenching read of the France Occupation during WWII involving Coco Chanel who lived at the Paris Ritz Hotel which housed much of the senior staff of the Nazis. I liked the way this story revolves around the assistant to Chanel and also with a different timeframe story of the assistant’s granddaughter. It is told with the women of Paris and evokes one to question how would I have reacted during that time period. Not an easy-to-digest but a book that will have your attention throughout the book. Thanks to #NetGalley and #Harper 360 for an ARC of this book and my honest review that this is a historical fiction book very much worth reading.

Was this review helpful?

If you like reading about historical fiction or WWII, this is the book for you. It has a dual time line that I usually cannot get into. However, this one flows rather well. Reading about Adele and Chloe both living in Paris at 2 completely different timelines was rather interesting.
Adele is very brave and I enjoyed reading about her. She was torn between working for Coco Channel and the man she loves. What is she willing to risk? Nazi supporter or Resistance?
You also read about Chloe, her grandaughter, and her search to find out what her grandmother never speaks about. She's determined to find out the secrets that her grandmother keeps.
What will she find out? His will she react to the information she discovers? Read this book to find out more. I definitely recommend this one.

Was this review helpful?

A very well done story that masterfully weaves in the story of Coco C's Nazi collaboration with two beautifully told love stories. The story of Coco does not detract from the excellent character building and subplots throughout the story. I would recommend.

Was this review helpful?

The Dressmakers Secret
By: Lorna Cook
Review Score: 4 Stars

Five Key Feels
-I loved the time jumps across Paris.

-It was fun to get a peek into Chanel’s life during that time.

-You could feel the tension in this story as they interact with the Resistance movement.

-Adele felt very authentic, you could feel her loyalty, but also her conflicted feelings towards her employer.

-I enjoyed how the story wrapped up with Chloe.

——

The Dressmakers Secret was kindly provided as an ARC by Netgalley and Harper 360. Thank you for allowing me to read this wonderful book!

Release Date: Out now!

The Dressmakers Secret was such a great book. I really enjoyed the suspense of the story.

Cook does such a good job of taking you into the Ritz during the Nazi Occupation, and then really brings you to the present of trying to decide what really happened, and who to believe.

There were some really great plot twists in this story, and that really added to the overall picture.

I highly recommend checking out The Dressmaker’s Secret.

#bookstagram #books #readingnow #boogiereadsbooks #fivekeyfeels #audiobooks #audiobook #historicalfiction #arcreview #netgalley #thedressmakerssecret #lornacook #harper360

Was this review helpful?

While The name Coco Channel is very familiar, the facts about how she survived WWII are not. Lorna Cook has woven a marvelous multigenerational story around these facts.

With a flashback format, chapters alternate between Adele, Coco’s personal assistant or Chloe, a newly divorced young woman who has come to Paris to try to heal. Cook has masterfully developed all of the main characters such that they all trigger strong emotional responses in the reader.

This historical fiction story is loaded with secrets along with mystery, drama, and romance. From its dramatic beginning to its surprising ending, The Dressmaker’s Secret is a powerful and unusual view of WWII in Paris.

Was this review helpful?

The Dressmaker's Secret is a dual-time line story that takes place in both World War II and 2018. During the WWII chapters, you meet Adele, who is an orphaned young adult that travels to Paris in search of a better life and finds herself working for Coco Chanel. During the 2018 chapters, you meet Adele's granddaughter, Chloe. Chloe is recently divorced and moved to Paris from England for a new beginning. Some of the book focuses on Coco Chanel and her questionable behavior during the war with the Nazi's: was she a collaborator or was she simply a survivor? You, as the reader, get to decide. The other parts of the book focus on Adele and how she survives through the war working various roles for Coco (seamstress, lady maid, secretary etc.) and also in present time focuses on Chloe finding out about her grandmothers mysterious past. Both Chloe and Adele's characters find love during their chapters and it's interesting to see it all intertwine with Coco Chanel's story too.

Although the story was a bit slow at times, I really enjoyed the author's style of writing. They were very descriptive and very easily and effortlessly brought the story to life. The characters were very likable and fun to follow along with. I know a lot of World War II stories often start out with a grandchild on a mission to discover their family history and so the story unfolds from there, this one was well done in that aspect and the storylines meshed together well. Thank you to NetGalley, Avon Books and Lorna Cook for an ARC.

Was this review helpful?

Dual timelines blend fact and fiction with mystery and intrigue. A very good novel.
Many thanks to Harper 360 and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Was this review helpful?

Excellent. This is a great story for a lover of WWII historical fiction. The story line is interesting a full of excitement. The narrator does a great job. I highly recommend.

Was this review helpful?

First, thank you to the publisher and author for providing me with a digital ARC of this title via Netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

I thoroughly enjoyed this title and was grateful for the opportunity to read it. I loved the history it is based on. While, historical fiction and obviously the author had to create portions of the story, it was still interesting to hear about that time period and to learn about the documents and facts that the story is based on. Lorna Cook is a great storyteller and really pulls you into the characters and their lives. I would recommend this to any friends interested in historical fiction, especially surrounding a well known figure during world war II.

Was this review helpful?

A fun sweet read! Highly recommend.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for my ARC.

Was this review helpful?

Readers who liked this book also liked: