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fkshg8465's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I generally dislike WWII novels, so I was deeply surprised by how much I loved this one. I guess it was a story that started in a way, but it wasn’t a story about the war, and perhaps that’s why I enjoyed it. Yes, some holes here and there, but overall, I found it profoundly satisfying.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gaslighting, Grief, Vomit, Fire/Fire injury, Antisemitism, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Toxic relationship, War, Abandonment, and Child death
kerrygetsliterary's review
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Death, Antisemitism, Pregnancy, Violence, Murder, War, Death of parent, Grief, Abandonment, Child death, and Suicidal thoughts
kdixon2's review
emotional
inspiring
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Death, Child death, and Grief
Moderate: War
Minor: Emotional abuse
bradybri's review
challenging
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Child death, War, and Death
daralexandria's review
emotional
relaxing
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Genocide, Grief, Abandonment, Child death, Antisemitism, Death, War, and Death of parent
arthur_pendrgn's review
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
The blurb is misleading, I think.
The book, to me, is about women judging other women for their decisions because of their own fears. It is also about a psychopathology of shock, guilt, and bereavement. The pilot's connection to Juliette was too trite.
The book, to me, is about women judging other women for their decisions because of their own fears. It is also about a psychopathology of shock, guilt, and bereavement. The pilot's connection to Juliette was too trite.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Child death
Minor: War
sarahflanders's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: War, Child death, Grief, Antisemitism, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Blood, Death, Death of parent, and Violence
micasreads's review against another edition
Juliette and Elis become friends after Juliette brings Elise back to her bookshop when she is unwell. Soon, they and their children are inseparable. After Elise's husband, a member of the Communist party, is murdered she is told that the Nazis are coming for her. She makes the most challenging decision a mother can make…to leave her daughter with Juliette to keep her safe. When she returns two years later, her daughter has died and she must learn to go on.
This was a remarkable story of two mothers who have gone through so much and lose their children to war. Kristin Harmel always weaves a beautiful tale that completely immerses you and this one is no different. You can feel the love, hope, and utter despair as these women live with the ghosts of the past and fight for a way to move forward. While I did figure out part of the ending, the last few chapters completely made the story whole in the most unexpected way.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gaslighting, Child death, Antisemitism, Death, and War
kelly_e's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Title: The Paris Daughter
Author: Kristin Harmel
Genre: Historical Fiction
Rating: 3.25
Pub Date: June 6, 2023
I received complimentary eARC from Simon & Schuster Canada & Gallery Books via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. #Gifted #Ad
T H R E E • W O R D S
Harrowing • Idealistic • Predictable
📖 S Y N O P S I S
Paris, 1939: Young mothers Elise and Juliette become fast friends the day they meet in the beautiful Bois de Boulogne. Though there is a shadow of war creeping across Europe, neither woman suspects that their lives are about to irrevocably change.
When Elise becomes a target of the German occupation, she entrusts Juliette with the most precious thing in her life—her young daughter. But nowhere is safe in war, not even a quiet little bookshop like Juliette’s Librairie des Rêves, and, when a bomb falls on their neighborhood, Juliette’s world is destroyed along with it.
More than a year later, with the war finally ending, Elise returns to reunite with her daughter, only to find her friend’s bookstore reduced to rubble. Surviving neighbors tell her that Juliette and a little girl survived. But which little girl—and what happened in the bookstore’s final moments?
💭 T H O U G H T S
I have come to know and love Kristin Harmel's writing style and WWII stories, so her 2023 release The Paris Daughter was an automatic add to my TBR. The premise sounded intriguing, but unfortunately this one missed the mark for me.
There's no denying how meticulously researched and detailed oriented Kristin's writing is. In this novel, we explore themes of grief and loss, friendship and motherhood, especially the unthinkable choices one is forced to make to survive. While the WWII historical fiction sub-genre is fairly saturated, I appreciated the focus on the post-war years and Elise's journey in search of answers. I also loved the bookstore!
While I've loved many of Kristin Harmel's books in the past, this one just came across overly idealistic and quite predictable. These two factors kept my interest from being fully engaged in the story. The idea was solid, yet the execution just didn't pan out. I saw the 'twist' coming a mile away leaving the ending abrupt and underwhelming. Overall, The Paris Daughter didn't pack the emotional punch I've appreciated in some of her other works.
📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• Kristin Harmel fans
• WWII fiction devotees
🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S
"'I think,' he said slowly, 'that sometimes, the roads we don’t know we’re walking are the ones that lead us to exactly where we’re meant to be.'"
Author: Kristin Harmel
Genre: Historical Fiction
Rating: 3.25
Pub Date: June 6, 2023
I received complimentary eARC from Simon & Schuster Canada & Gallery Books via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. #Gifted #Ad
T H R E E • W O R D S
Harrowing • Idealistic • Predictable
📖 S Y N O P S I S
Paris, 1939: Young mothers Elise and Juliette become fast friends the day they meet in the beautiful Bois de Boulogne. Though there is a shadow of war creeping across Europe, neither woman suspects that their lives are about to irrevocably change.
When Elise becomes a target of the German occupation, she entrusts Juliette with the most precious thing in her life—her young daughter. But nowhere is safe in war, not even a quiet little bookshop like Juliette’s Librairie des Rêves, and, when a bomb falls on their neighborhood, Juliette’s world is destroyed along with it.
More than a year later, with the war finally ending, Elise returns to reunite with her daughter, only to find her friend’s bookstore reduced to rubble. Surviving neighbors tell her that Juliette and a little girl survived. But which little girl—and what happened in the bookstore’s final moments?
💭 T H O U G H T S
I have come to know and love Kristin Harmel's writing style and WWII stories, so her 2023 release The Paris Daughter was an automatic add to my TBR. The premise sounded intriguing, but unfortunately this one missed the mark for me.
There's no denying how meticulously researched and detailed oriented Kristin's writing is. In this novel, we explore themes of grief and loss, friendship and motherhood, especially the unthinkable choices one is forced to make to survive. While the WWII historical fiction sub-genre is fairly saturated, I appreciated the focus on the post-war years and Elise's journey in search of answers. I also loved the bookstore!
While I've loved many of Kristin Harmel's books in the past, this one just came across overly idealistic and quite predictable. These two factors kept my interest from being fully engaged in the story. The idea was solid, yet the execution just didn't pan out. I saw the 'twist' coming a mile away leaving the ending abrupt and underwhelming. Overall, The Paris Daughter didn't pack the emotional punch I've appreciated in some of her other works.
📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• Kristin Harmel fans
• WWII fiction devotees
🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S
"'I think,' he said slowly, 'that sometimes, the roads we don’t know we’re walking are the ones that lead us to exactly where we’re meant to be.'"
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Abandonment, Pregnancy, War, Death, and Violence
death of partnermarkedwithanm's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Child death, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and War
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