An American In Paris

Although I finished reading An American in Paris last year 😉 this is my first review of the year. Glad that this book was such a good read, making it an absolute pleasure to review.

An American In Paris

Paris, 1940: Walking through Montmartre that morning was like the eerie calm right before a storm. The roads were deserted. We carried on, arm in arm, and then finally, we saw them. Columns and columns of soldiers, spreading through the streets like a toxic grey vapour. ‘You must write about this,’ he whispered to me. ‘You must write about the day freedom left Paris.’

As Nazi troops occupy the City of Lights, American journalist Florence is determined to do everything she can to save her adopted home and the man she loves.

Florence had arrived in Paris in 1937 and on a beautiful summer’s day, met and fell in love with Otto, a Jewish artist from Austria, who had fled persecution in his homeland. But as swastikas are draped along the city’s wide boulevards, everything Otto was running from seems to have caught up with him.

Both Florence and Otto begin lending their talents to the Resistance, working to sabotage the Germans right under their noses. Florence’s society columns that, before the war were filled with tales of glamorous Parisian parties, now document life under occupation and hide coded messages for those fighting outside France for freedom. While Otto risks arrest in order to pin up the anti-Nazi posters he designs by candlelight in their tiny apartment.

But with every passing day, things become more dangerous for Otto to remain in Paris. If Florence risks everything by accepting a secret mission, can she ensure his survival so that they can be reunited once the war is over?

A sweeping wartime story that will capture your heart and never let it go. Fans of The Alice Network, The Lost Girls of Paris and My Name is Eva will be absolutely gripped from the very first page.

My review:

This story moves brilliantly between two timelines – one a story set in Paris during World War II and the other a modern story. Florence, the brave young woman in Paris, grandmother to Sage, the young influencer struggling in life. Two young women, bound by ties they didn’t know of. Sage only discovers her grandmother after Florence’s death. But her life is changed and challenged by the story of the grandmother she never knew.

The Paris story is told in the first person by Florence who penned down her experiences. Through these writings, Sage discovers the character and sheer gutsiness of her grandmother. I thoroughly enjoyed reading how Florence’s character developed, her love story, her choices and above all her brave contribution to the fight against the Nazis.

While Sage reads through her grandmother’s experience, she discovers herself and finds love, acceptance and family.

The descriptions of Paris, the terrible cruelty of the Nazis, the brave characters who resisted them at great personal cost make a very engrossing story, beautifully told by the author.

I love how the story reinforces the fact that our life choices can have a ripple effect not only within our family and community in our time, but for generations to come.

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Meet The Author

Siobhan Curham is an award-winning author, ghost writer, editor and writing coach. She has also written for many newspapers, magazines and websites, including The Guardian, Breathe magazine, Cosmopolitan, Writers’ Forum, DatingAdvice.com, and Spirit & Destiny. Siobhan has been a guest on various radio and TV shows, including Woman’s Hour, BBC News, GMTV and BBC Breakfast. And she has spoken at businesses, schools, universities and literary festivals around the world, including the BBC, Hay Festival, Cheltenham Festival, Bath Festival, Ilkley Festival, London Book Fair and Sharjah Reading Festival. 

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Thanks to Bookouture and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.