This book is absolutely amazing. It held me captive from the first chapter until the author's note at the very end. A story of love, courage and bravery that will stay with me for a long time. I came to love the main characters, Ruby, Thomas and Charlotte, and hoped there would be a happy ending for all despite the setting in WWII France. There were tender, happy moments, and some had me in tears. Beautifully written and researched, Kristin Harmel is an amazing storyteller and has become a favorite author for me. And this book is going on my Favorites 2018 shelf! The Room on Rue Amélie is not to be missed. I highly recommend it!!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the advance copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

I loved this book so much! It’s a historical novel that takes place during WWII. Ruby is an American who is married to Marcel, a Frenchman, and living in Paris. Their balcony connects with the Dasher family’s balcony and she often chats with Charlotte, the 12 year old daughter.

As the war gets closer and closer, Marcel joins the resistance. He keeps it all a secret but eventually, Ruby finds out and wants to help. Marcel is captured and put to death for working against the Germans. At this point, Ruby starts working for the resistants, helping downed airmen to find their way out of France. Precocious Charlotte insists on helping but Ruby says no until Charlotte’s parents are rounded up and taken to Auschwitz along with other Jews on the street.

The story follows Ruby and Charlotte’s work through the war. Ruby ends up being able to bring Charlotte safely through and undetected. She also has a second chance at love and motherhood. I’m sad this book is over. It was wonderful.

This is my third book set during war this year and I think it is my favorite. I really loved this story. An American woman who marries a French man so they are in Paris during WWII. She begins to help Allied pilots who have been shot down get out of Paris and back to flying. I definitely recommend this one!

This story was fantastic, I don't usually read this type of books but from the moment I read the synopsis I wanted to read it and I'm so glad I did!The Room on Rue Amelie was a heartbreaking and emotional story!The writing was beautiful and flawless and the story touched me in so many ways!

The beginning was a little bit slow in my opinion but after a few chapters I couldn't put it down wondering what will happen next!The Room on Rue Amelie is a powerful story, I was emotional while I was reading it, especially in the end!The characters felt so realistic!I loved Ruby and Charlotte but especially Ruby because she was such a strong heroine!Thomas was also an interesting character!

This book is definitely a must read!If you are looking for a unique story this is definitely for you!

I would like to thank NetGalley, Gallery Books, and the author for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

First, I do not think it wise to compare a new book to one previously published. Women participating in WWII French resistance is the ONLY COMMONALITY between this novel and THE NIGHTINGALE!

The opening scene is captivating, and it set the hook exceedingly well. We are drawn into the bleak days of early 1940’s France resulting in Nazi occupation and Jewish deportations. The tension builds as the protagonists become involved with the resistance, rescuing downed RAF pilots and securing safe passage for them out of France and back to England. The depiction of the escape lines seems well researched and very interesting. Suspense builds as the story progresses as the reader wonders how it all will end. The climax has an excellent, surprising twist. The epilogue is lovely though bittersweet, and offers another twist.

The scenes of bringing pilots to safety went on and on and on. How many examples of the pilots’ plight - and subsequently the protagonist’s dangerous undertaking- does one need to get it. It became redundant, the pace slowed, and I skimmed. Not only is there repetition of all the pilots going on the escape line, there is a lot of repetition of Ruby‘s rumination....about her self worth, validation. Ad nauseam. Additionally, the characters are not well developed. The prologue and epilogue are unique and well written using beautiful imagery and descriptions and dialogue. The aforementioned mid section lowers my rating.

The Room on Rue Amélie, by Kristin Harmel, was a beautiful story! A gripping, powerful, well researched historical fiction novel, taking place during WWII, in occupied France. A story of love, friendship, loyalty and courage. If you loved the Nightingale you'd love this too, I highly recommend it. Thank you NetGalley, as well as the author and publisher for this early edition copy for my honest opinion.

For WWII historical fiction fans, this is a wonderful story with a focus on the French Resistance. Three main characters are the subjects in this story. Ruby is a young American woman, Thomas is a British RAF fighter pilot and Charlotte, a young Jewish teen girl. I fell in love with all three characters. Their lives are interwoven in this fascinating and suspenseful novel. The writing is excellent and it was one of those books that I did not want to put down. The ending left me feeling a bit sad to say goodbye.

The Room on Rue Amelie was a stay up late reading kind of book. Kristin Harmel has penned a tragically beautiful story of the Resistance in Paris in WWII. I am always in awe reading stories of survival during WWII. "I am not sure of anything. But if we don't have hope, we don't have anything."

The Room on Rue Amelie by Kristen Harmel. If you enjoyed Kristen Hannah’s Nightingale then you’ll enjoy this as well.
The book comes out March 27th. I was granted the opportunity to read the ARC for an honest review.

The book begins before the outbreak of World War II. Our main character, Ruby, lives in New York and by chance meets handsome Marcel. They quickly fall in love and Ruby agrees to be his wife. Marcel is French so they move to Paris, against the protests of her parents siting the unrest in Europe. Once she’s in Paris, Ruby falls in love with the city despite the rumors of impending war. Ruby and Marcel live in a modest apartment on Rue Amelie. Here, she befriends her young neighbor Charlotte. Charlotte is ten but far wiser than her years. Lonely Ruby knows no one in France but her husband, Marcel. She begins to feel her husband pulling away from her now that Paris is starting to be overtaken by Nazi’s. She makes the decision to stay with her husband in France even though she is American and at this point in the war could easily have return home to California and to her family.

As the war heats up, Ruby begins to feels so hopeless, useless and even more lonely with everything that is going on. This hopelessness leads Ruby to become involved in a very dangerous escapade. In a secret closet just outside her apartment, she is hiding pilots who have been shot out of the sky and traveled the underground network hopefully to safety. The goal of the network is to get the pilots back in the air in order to defeat the Germans. Without giving too much away, toward the middle of the book, in the midst of war horror a love story emerges. While I’m not a fan of the romance genre, in this setting, it worked. In the author’s note at the end of the book you learn that the character Ruby was based on the life of woman living during WWII.

This story is definitely heartbreaking. I find the strength and endurance of Ruby, Charlotte and later Nadia to be powerful.

The reader will not be able to foresee the ending of this story. I feel the author must have struggled with the fates of Marcel, Ruby, Thomas, Charlotte, Lucien and Nadia to name a few. Kristen Harmal wrote such a beautiful, while not necessary happy ending, that I was compelled to reread the closing chapters again.

So run fast and grab your copy of The Room on Rue Amelie and settle down for a wonderful and historical account of humankind in a war torn setting.

“The sand in the hourglass is running out, flowing relentlessly toward the end. There’s never enough time, not when a person has become a part of you.”

The Room on Rue Amélie by Kristin Harmel is not a book I would usually gravitate towards. It’s historical fiction set in WW2 Paris, but this year my reading is all over the place so I figured why not give it a try.

To my surprise I was immediately drawn in. It was almost instantaneous from the get go. I was always fascinated by this era. This part of history is such an ugly blemish on humanity. I grew up in Hungary and I was always perplexed about Nazi Germany and the countries under their occupancy. The horrors told by the survivors many times committed by their own country men left me bewildered. We all know the tragedy and devastation caused be WW2 or any war really. For me the difference this time while reading this story was that I became the person, I was there. I was there as German occupancy threat lingered in the air, I was there when they arrived and I was there for the brutality and the aftermath of unspoken loss.
I was transported back in time.

From the moment I started the book, I had this foreboding feeling, this dread of the unknown, of what to come.
Kristin Harmel gave us three different points of views. Mainly Ruby, a young American woman who moves to France after marrying a French man. Against her parents concerns and amid unrest brewing in Europe. She is in love and filled with hope for an extraordinary life with a man she adores. But life quickly changes as the war begins, and while she is trying to hold on to some normalcy, it’s hard to as Germans march into Paris in June of 1940.
Her neighbor, an 11 year old young Jewish girl named Charlotte Dacher is another voice that gives the readers a unique and heartbreaking point of view through a child’s eyes as her world falls apart. It was eyeopening to experience it from her side, a view that really never crossed my mind while learning history lessons in school.
Third is a British RAF pilot, Thomas Clarke, a fighter who is shot down over France. Three very different characters brought together by unparalleled circumstances.

“You see, when you look back on things later in life, it’s sometimes easier to see the purpose. So perhaps for now, it’s best to try your hardest to focus on what lies ahead. The future is still something that can be changed, isn’t it?”

Each point of view is so exquisite, they’re all living and fighting a war in their own individual way. Once their paths cross an EXTRAORDINARY story of survival and hope unfolds. A story about resistance and sacrifice. Human strength and resilience shine through the pages even during the darkest hours. It’s HEARTBREAKINGLY BEAUTIFUL. Even through the hopelessness these characters shine with will and goodness. It left me questioning myself. What would I have done faced with the same decisions? Would I be brave enough? Strong enough? Would I have the strength to keep going when there is no hope in sight? The Room on Rue Amélie is a STUNNING and BRILLIANT story about the worst and best of humanity and I will forever keep it in my heart.

“How extraordinary to find love in the midst of war.”

This was my first Kristen Harmel book and her storytelling captured me from the very first paragraph. I need to go back now and read all her books!!

I enjoyed this book about an American living in Europe during WWII. It was beautifully written and I can't wait to read more from this author.

I would like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a review copy in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion of it.

The language is beautiful and lyrical in some places -- I LOVE the first few lines! -- but can border on cliche at others. Maybe a touch more editing could have saved it from that flaw. Overall, it's a lovely, well-researched and well-crafted story of entwined lives during a major historical period.

4.5 stars

I have read two other books by Kristin Harmel. So I am familiar with her writing. I think this books is my favorite so far. This is a story about an American in Paris during WW2. Ruby helps with the escape line of downed pilots.

The only reason that I am not giving this 5 stars is that I felt like there were too many clique sayings in the book especially by Charlotte. It just felt too unnatural. I have read many reviews that compares The Room an Rue Amelie to The Nightingale. It is the same in some ways but different in others. But both made me get a lump in my throat and the tears flow.

Loved it! Kristin Harmel is one of those authors where when I find out she has a new book coming out I make to grab a copy!

I think I’ve been spoiled by Lilac Girls, The Nightingale, and The Alice Network. Now when I read a WWII novel I find myself comparing it to those three. This book specifically had references to escape networks for Allied soldiers and time spent at Ravensbrück. These events were too close to the three aforementioned books that I couldn’t help but compare, and this one just did not measure up. It was a good read, except for one thing I disliked, and a had a page-turning story. That’s why I think I’ve been spoiled by the other great WWII novels I’ve read.

The one thing I disliked was the sudden and unexplained inclusion of God and Christian religion halfway through the book. One of the main characters was Jewish and it was WWII, I know that has to be explained. But the other characters suddenly had Christian thoughts and beliefs that weren’t there before. I can assume that the author added this as the war became harder for everyone but that wasn’t explained. It just randomly appeared.

This story captivated my heart and stayed with me for many days after the last page was read. A beautiful story of courage, resilience, and love that display the type of characters all readers love.

Woman (Ruby's) life takes a dramatic turn after she marries a Frenchmen (Marcel) and moves to France during WWII.

The story opens in 2002 with a very romantic chapter that warmed my heart and immediately made me want to know more about a mysterious couple's immense love for one another. In the second chapter, the story rewinds to 1938 when an American woman, Ruby, meets the man of her dreams, Marcel, a Frenchman, and they marry and move to France.

"I think perhaps I was waiting for you." - Ruby upon meeting Marcel

Life in France starts out as a grand adventure for Ruby and her new husband, but the tide soon changes as the Nazis invade Paris. Alone much of the time, Ruby befriends her 11 year old Jewish neighbor, Charlotte, who is wise beyond her years. In time, Ruby discovers and draws upon a strength and courage she never knew she had.

"You can't always change other people's minds. But you can change whether or not you listen to them, can't you?" - Charlotte to Ruby

Enter Thomas who dreams of being a doctor but instead joins the British Royal Air Force to protect his country and defeat the Nazis. Fate, however, soon intervenes bringing Thomas, Ruby, and Charlotte together in an unforgettable tale of love, loss, and finding the light among the darkness.

"In every place evil dwelled, good could also be found. It was a truth that kept the world moving forward, through all the wars, through all the terrible machinations of mankind." - thought by Ruby

Lastly, I loved that Ruby's nickname was Fleur, which means "She who blooms in the midst of darkness,"—so very fitting!—and that this story was loosely based on the life of Virginia d'Albert-Lake, an American who married a Frenchman, moved to Paris, helped with the Comet escape line, was imprisoned at the Ravensbruck concentration camp, and lived to tell about it, living until she was 87.

Thank you to the author and the publisher for a free advance copy of this book! All opinions are my own.

I absolutely do not want to write this review. So I will make it brief.

At the 32% point I came so close to DNF this book. That being said, I am glad I pushed through. Some aspects were good, not many, but some. I was honestly surprised that this was not a debut book by this author. It read so elementary, not like a seasoned author. And cliches were so many throughout.

I will only post this review at NetGalley, I do not want my review to stop someone from reading this book, as they may love it.

Thank you NetGalley, publisher and author for a free advanced copy.

Kristin Harmel’s The Room on Rue Amelie tells the story of a young American woman, Ruby Henderson Benoit, who uprooted her life to move to Paris with her aloof husband, Marcel at the dawn of the Second World War. As Ruby’s husband creates more and more emotional distance with her, Ruby befriends a 10-year-old, Jewish neighbor named Charlotte. Once Ruby and Charlotte became friends, and Charlotte discovered a secret storage space in the house, I thought I knew what lay ahead. I was wrong, and I couldn’t have been more delighted. Harmel leads us on a journey of love, courage, empathy, and compassion. I found a few parts of the book a bit heavy-handed but overall enjoyed it very much. If you loved Martha Hall Kelly’s Lilac Girls or Kate Quinn’s The Alice Network, you’ll like The Room on Rue Amelie.

This is a fascinating novel about WWII and the French Resistance from the perspective of an American woman who marries a Frenchman, moves to France before the war begins. It is told in an honest manner and certainly looks to be well researched.

I admit that I had a little trouble getting into this book, but after a few chapters I could not put it down! Ruby and Charlotte held my attention completely. Ruby, the young adult woman who marries a Frenchman shortly before WWII begins, is the stuff that the French Resistance was built on. She is a brave young woman who becomes very involved in what is happening in her adopted country. Charlotte is the daughter of a Jewish couple who live close. Their two stories overlap each other.

I read a lot of WWII historical fiction and enjoy most of the books I read. This book, however, made me cry and that's hard to do! Thank you to NetGalley and Gallery, Threshold, Pocket Books for the opportunity to read and review this book.