Rhys Bowen is a reliable purveyer of solid historical fiction. The heroine of "The Paris Assignment," Madeleine is a likeable character as she grows a young woman timidly dipping her toes into the life of Paris and the Sorbonne to being parachuted into France to help the resistance. Madeleine's travels take her from London and Paris to the remote corners of the British Isles and Australia as she tries to put her shattered family back together.

Believing in some of the twists of the story took a bit of suspended disbelief, but all in all it was an enjoyable read.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Intriguing story about the horrors of war, particularly from the point of view of orphans sent to Australia. Madeline goes through a lot in the book and we get to travel with her through different parts of Europe during the war, giving us a lesson in what it was like in various regions. The characters are likeable enough but there wasn't much different than other WWII novels and I found the beginning to be very slow; I almost gave up on the story because of it. The last part of it was the most interesting and I enjoyed that part very much.

Madeleine Grant travels to Paris to study at the Sorbonne and ends up returning for another year after meeting Giles Martin. They fall in love, marry and have a child, Olivier, and after several years living in France, Madeleine and Olivier flee to England at the onset of war. A tragic event occurs in Madeleine's life which results in her assignment to Paris as a spy and the actions that she takes as a result.

I was hoping to enjoy The Paris Assignment as much as I enjoyed this author's book, The Venice Sketchbook, but I ended up just liking it. I feel that much time was spent on descriptions of Paris and Madeleine's training in England to the detriment of character development. In addition, some of the events felt too coincidental and improbable although things wrapped up in a somewhat satisfying conclusion. Thanks to Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley for an advance copy.

Thank you Netgalley and Lake Union Publishing for this ARC in return for an honest review.

I did not enjoy this book. I don't think I need to go into a lot of detail about what I disliked - however, I am not a fan of the dialogue between the characters (it all felt naïve and almost childlike).

This story takes place between London, Paris and Australia. The Australia storyline is what I think should have been the entire focus of the story. Rather than giving us another WWII spy story, give us more insight into the farms orphaned children were sent to during the war.

Madeleine's story was just more of the same - and it dragged to get to where it needed to get. Oliver's story was much more interesting.

Either I wasn't in the right mindset to read this - or each time I picked it back up I kept thinking of other versions of a similar story that I connected better with.

1 star.

The Paris Assignment was real page-turner for me. It’s set in the decade before and during WWII, mostly in the UK and France. Told through the eyes of Madeleine Martin and her son Olivier, this is a heart-rending character driven story. At times I felt like crying. At others I railed against the unfairness of fate and the appalling way Madeleine and her son were treated at times during the story. I marvelled at Madeleine’s bravery and that of her husband Giles and was horrified at some of the treatment they each faced. I was impressed with Olivier’s resilience in the face of dreadful adversity. This story is beautifully told and emotional. It really is a gripping read.

Madeleine Grant is studying French literature at Sorbonne University, the lonely young English woman meets a charming Frenchman Giles Martin and he sweeps her off her feet. The couple marry, they have a son Olivier and when Germany invades Poland and Giles is concerned.

Giles has two reasons why he should be worried, he’s part Jewish and he’s also a communist, he wants to join the resistance and he thinks Madeleine and Oliver should go to England. Madeleine and Olivier reluctantly leave, she and Giles promise they will see each other again and once the war is over. Madeleine gets a job teaching French at a secondary school, she has to make a difficult choice about Olivier, she discovers during a war nowhere is safe and mix ups can happen.

Madeleine is approached by the Baker Street Irregulars, as she can speak fluent French, she’s recently lived in France and they want to send women into the country and they can mix in with the population and won’t stand out as much as a man. Madeleine passes her training, she’s given a code name and flown to France. Once she lands Madeleine works as a courier and she passes on messages.

Madeleine discovers that being an SOE is dangerous, they warn everyone during training what the Germans are capable of and unfortunately Madeleine discovers this first hand. Madeleine won’t leave any stone unturned to find out what happened to her loved ones, she travels from London to Paris, and back again and even crosses the ocean to Australia.

I received a copy of The Paris Assignment from NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing in exchange for my honest review. Rhys Bowen has written a fast paced story about one women's quest for justice, the main character Madeleine never gives up, she’s brave and resilient. I did find the parts of the narrative set in France and during the war a little predictable and over the top. However, Ms. Bowen has done considerable research about what happened in Australia, I'm glad she draws attention to this subject her latest novel and three and a half stars from me. Due to be released on the 8th of August 2023 and please read and make up your own mind about The Paris Assignment.

The Paris Assignment by Rhys Bowen is a gripping Historical Fiction book about family, loss, grief and hope with bits of romance during WWII. It is set in France, England and Australia.

While studying in Paris Madeleine (Maddie) meets Giles who is a journalist. They are both young and fall in love. After their son Olivier is born the family decided that mother and son would move to England for safety. However, England isn't immune from the horrors, either. Maddie fights against the Nazis in her own way while Giles joins the Resistance in France. Tragedy happens and lives are forever changed. Loyalties are divided and people aren't all who they appear to be.

Though in my view this is not the strongest novel by Rhys Bowen she remains an auto-read for me. Her writing is consistently thoughtful and she doesn't shy away from the awful realities of war and life. I like the historical elements but the story itself sadly doesn't offer a lot of uniqueness. The romance isn't my favourite, either, but that's just me. It just wasn't convincing and I did not feel the connection I had hoped for.

My sincere thank you to Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley for providing me with a digital copy of this interesting book.

<i> I am ready to volunteer for whatever you want me to do. Anything at all. I’ve nothing to live for here</i>

Madeleine leaves France for England for safety only to lose everything. Her grief turns to a desire to do something, to push back against those threatening the country she lived in with her husband and her home country.

Bowen is a good storyteller. The story moves quickly, even with changing POV. While the dialogue was sometimes awkward and in some places I think more detail would have been beneficial, I did enjoy it. I love a good WWII female spy story, and she brought in the real history of children being sent to Australia, which began before the war and continued after the war. The real history there is pretty disturbing. While all the children didn’t experience abuses, forced labor, and cruelty, many did. I appreciate when authors bring in interesting bits of history that I don’t know a lot about. I would have loved more information in the author’s note.

I was a little frustrated with Madeleine for being so indecisive about what she wants and essentially (in my opinion) letting Giles push her into choices that she didn’t seem wholly committed to making.

I don’t know about anyone else, but I was not a fan of Giles. First, he convinces Madeleine to return to Paris after her planned semester abroad. I was okay with this, but I wish she had determined to return on her own whether or not Giles was there waiting. Then he convinces her to move in with him. This seems like a pretty outrageous choice for your average woman in the 30’s, even one who isn’t religious. His reasoning for it was that they would eventually be intimate because he wasn’t going to be with her otherwise. Yikes.

Then she just decides to go with it and its not hard to to figure out what happens next. He decides to marry her, but its hinted that he is less than faithful. Madeleine just goes along with it because she decides he’s not the kind of man that can be faithful. Later Giles helps with the Resistance because he isn’t completely terrible, I guess. But of course she learns he is carrying on with another woman in the Resistance (so shocked). What he says in his defense was the final straw for me.

He laughs and talks about how this person was just a warm body and she’s been with “half the men between here and Paris,” as if that makes it any better. Actually, it made it more gross to me. I could have respected him more if he just owned it and managed not to dehumanized the person he was having an affair with. I pretty much decided then and there that I was ready for him to leave the story.

Madeleine deserved better.

I want to try another book by this author. I liked this book, even though Giles as a serious love interest almost ruined it for me.

Thank you netgalley, Rhys Bown, and Lake Union Publishing for this free arc. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

As WWII reaches Paris, wife Madeleine and son Olivier are sent to England for safety while husband Giles joins the French resistance. After the devastating loss of Olivier, Madeline returns to France in search of Giles. Well written historical fiction, well developed characters

Sensitive ww2 historical

This is a wonderful ww2 historical novel by an accomplished writer of several series. The Paris Assignment is stand-alone and great reading. The plot is intricate and characters well drawn. It is hard to put down and I read it in a day.

Thank you to the publisher who lent me a time limited e-arc via netgalley with no obligation. This review is optional and my own opinion.

Historical fiction lovers will enjoy this WWII tale of heroism and love. As a young woman, Madeleine Grant is studying at the Sorbonne in Paris when she marries charismatic French journalist Giles Martin. As they raise their son, Olivier, they hold on to a tenuous promise for the future. Then Hitler begins to invade France, and Giles sends Madeleine and Olivier to the relative safety of England while he remains in France to join the French Resistance.

In a twist of fate, Madeline sends Olivier (who now goes by Oliver to fit in with the other boys) by train to the English countryside to escape the bombing in London. But she soon hears that her precious son has been killed by a bombing. Devastated, she becomes one of hundreds of women to join England's efforts to win the war. And because she can speak fluent French, she’s recently lived in France and they want to send women into the country to mix in with the population, Madeline soon returns to France - this time as a British spy.

This is a fast-paced story full of female bonding, spy craft, betrayal and love. I have not read any books by Rhys Bowen before but felt completely immersed in Madeline's story. In spite of insurmountable odds, she remains strong and steadfast in the face of adversity. I was extremely intrigued - and haunted - by the story of orphanages in Australia and their deplorable conditions. Children from England with no apparent family remaining were sent there and in some cases were adopted by families while others ended up in orphanages no better than work camps but for kids. This aspect really tugged at my heartstrings.

While things tie up nicely at the end and Madeline's trials and tribulations in France seemed a bit predictable, I enjoyed this unique look into the life of one woman fighting against the odds to rebuild her life.

3.5★s

Madeleine Grant, half French through her mother, was in Paris studying at the Sorbonne when she met Giles Martin, a young man whose casual way of life drew Madeleine to him, much against her will. After returning to London at Christmas to spend time with her father and step-mother, she informed them of her return to Paris. She and Giles married quietly, and the birth of Olivier followed. But when the war took hold, Giles sent Madeleine and Olivier home to England, declaring he would stay and join the Resistance.

As the Blitz took hold and London suffered through times of bombing, Olivier joined other children in being evacuated to the country. But disaster struck and a devastated Madeleine felt she had nothing left to live for, until she was approached by an officer, requesting her assistance in the war effort. Months of training saw her eventually head to France - she hadn't heard from Giles in years and didn't know if he was dead or alive. What followed was harsh, brutal and inconceivable, and Madeleine wondered if she'd ever see peaceful shores again.

The Paris Assignment by Rhys Bowen was, in parts at the beginning, a book I felt I'd read before. Some similarities, but I knew it couldn't be that as it's a new release. I enjoyed the last quarter of the book the most, and am having trouble articulating why it didn't gel with me as I thought it would. I've enjoyed previous books that I've read by this author, and although I read it completely, it was somehow "bland" in sections. Recommended to fans of historical fiction.

With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my digital ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.

Reading The Paris Assignment I could not stop thinking about all lives that were touched by WWII, the families torn apart, misplaced children, the infamy against Jews, the number of lost lives, and the work of the resistance throughout Europe, and how lucky my family and relatives were by living in South America at those difficult times. Ms. Bowen writes about difficult topics with lightness and humor although passing the exact picture of how things happened at the time. A most interesting plot, well-written, and praise for the men and women who gave their lives to the benefit of others.
I thank the author, her publisher, and NetGalley for the free copy of this book.

The Paris Assignment by Rhys Bowen is a stand-alone WWII story. The story is too complex to give a good summary but Madeleine was an English girl who met a French boy when she did a semester abroad at the Sorbonne. They fell in love and she fell pregnant. His mother wouldn’t allow them to marry but they did anyway and were happy for several years. Then the Nazis invaded Paris and Giles insisted the two of them leave. He couldn’t go because he had to fight for his country. Through a series of miscommunications Madeleine came to believe that both her husband and her son were dead. Since there was nothing to stop her so she trained to became a courier in war-torn France. For a while everything was fine, but then she got caught. The Nazis were not kind or honest, either, and so things for her went from bad to worse until she managed to escape and make her way back to England. Everyone was surprised to see her. Soon the war was over. Her new assignment sent her to Australia where it was believed that the Nazi who had treated her so horribly was hiding. She was to bring him to justice since she could identify him.

This is possibly the grittiest of Bowen’s war novels. It was a good narrative of the inhuman way the Nazis treated people as well as the horrid conditions in orphanages run by nuns in Australia. Plenty of research went into the building of this book, as well as sleepless nights, I am guessing. Madeleine was an excellent character for the many years we followed her. She had unbelievable choices to make and she made them. Her kindness to others turned out to be an asset in her travels. The plot was excellent and intricate. She outdid herself in terms of a historical novelist. I highly recommend this book.

I was invited to read a free e-ARC of The Paris Assignment by Lake Union Publishing, through Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are mine. #Netgalley #LakeUnionPublishing #RhysBowen #TheParisAssignment

I was really anticipating this one. I've read a couple of other Rhys Bowen novels and I really like her writing style. While I liked this one and it started off really strong for me. It lost some of its lustre halfway through.

Madeleine lives in England with her Father and Step-Mother but has been studying abroad at The Sorbonne University in Paris. She is proficient in French (as her late Mother was French.) She meets Giles while at University and falls in love with him and is left pregnant. She begins a life in Paris with Giles and the baby, whom they name Olivier (Oliver.) As War is drawing near Giles urges Madeleine to return to her family in England with their son. He goes off to presumably fight with the resistance. While in England Madeleine is going to send Olivier to school in the countryside to keep him safe from the War. While a great tragedy occurs Madeleine decides to do her bit and is recruited by the Ministry as an SOE Agent. She begins delivering important messages.

There's a lot going on in this story. Almost too much that it took away from the character development. Madeleine is portrayed as a strong and resilient woman which I did appreciate but the story was too long winded. Olivier's story kept me reading. I just had to find out what would happen to him.

While Rye Bowen is an acclaimed author I feel that this one is not her at her best. However, I'll still continue to read her books.

I'd like to kindly thank NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for granting me access to this Advance Reader Copy.

What a fantastic book! This story kept me on the edge of my seat wondering how they were going to survive the horrors they faced. I’m so glad the book ended as it did! I don’t want to give anything away, but anyone who enjoys a great survival story will LOVE this!

Heartbreaking, realistic story about a young woman who had led a good life in England. But her life changed dramatically when she took a semester abroad in Paris in the 1930's. She fell in love - with Paris and with a young communist with big ideals.

Then comes Hitler and WWII and everyone's life changes. Some people decide to fight for their natural or adopted countries. Many gave everything. Some of the characters in this book have heartbreaking endings, some have their lives changed forever.

The author has done her research and presents us with a touching, emotional book with historical accuracy. Definitely a must-read if you enjoy reading about the resistance fighters. There are other pieces of this story that I had never heard about before - also very troubling. I give this a 4.8 rating because it's a great story with well done historical research, but there are some coincidences that make the story work but are a bit too much to believe. I recommend this for young adults and older.

Another winner by the prolific Rhys Bowen. I had difficulty with the beginning of the book, but once Madeleine became a wife and mother it picked up and was hard to put down. We are taken to England, France, and Australia throughout the story, experiencing the terrible ravages and after effects of WWII. It’s an excellent book with love, adventure, depth, sorrow, and hope.

Rhys Bowen has now written several stand-alone novels set in WWII Europe, each with a unique perspective for a female protagonist. I have loved some of them. I wanted to love The Paris Assignment, but unfortunately could not get on board with a key plot line that was just too convenient in setting up the most significant motivational point for the main character. I was really hoping that at the end she would explain this as a true historical element of the story, but the only point she mentions as perhaps not being plausible is one that I found easily believable.

As usual for Bowen, the writing quality was strong, most characters were interesting, and the story unfolded in a well-organized manner. I’d recommend this book to someone who wants a quick read about WWII British spy training, the Paris/France occupation, and a bit about Australia during the time.

Thank you to Lake Union Publishing, Netgalley, and Rhys Bowen for early access to this novel.

This historical fiction read covers the life of Madeleine Grant, beginning in her studies in Paris from England. While in Paris, she meets a charming man named Giles. Madeleine decides to stay in France, marries Giles, and they have a son named Olivier. Once the war begins, they have difficult decisions that must be made, including sending Olivier away on a train for safety, and securing work to aid in the overall war efforts. While Giles is off doing war work and not heard from, Madeleine agrees to intense training and work work herself. The story provides a perspective of war efforts and impacts, including orphan farms and the tie to Australia.