4.5 fashionable stars

The Paris Seamstress is two lady's stories, told decades apart, yet their stories are interwoven.

This is only my second Natasha Lester read, however what I have learned so far is that she is kick-a$$ at writing strong, independent women who take no crap from anybody.

Both Estella and Fabienne are beautiful, ambitious, strong women. Both are fighting for the career they want, both falling in love, both fighting against the wars of their era.

I was completely swept away with Estella's war time story line.

In fact, I feel that this book would make a fine movie.

There are so many characters who are all involved with each other one way or another, with darker undertones to some of the characters. Secrets, lies, evil villains.The Paris Seamstress has a bit of it all, however none of it felt over the top.

I am not a fashiony kind of girl, but I loved learning more of the war time fashions, especially in the USA.

I an enamoured with Ms Lester's writing, and I can't wait to see what she brings us next.

This book stared a bit slow however it got more interesting and I really enjoyed the story with a twist of mystery which was hard to actually work out until the end. I liked the way the story went between historical and modern day and how times have changed over this time. It was written in a descriptive easy style which kept me reading into the night.

Estella Bissette was a seamstress, working with her mother at the atelier in Paris. It was all she had known, having grown up with a needle in her hand and her mother's fashion by her side. But Germany's approach on France in 1940 saw Estella flee the only home she'd known, heading to Manhattan on the SS Washington - the last American ship to leave French waters.

When Fabienne Bissette arrived in Manhattan from Sydney for the Gala of her grandmother, Estella's work in 2015, she was once again shocked at how her grandmother had aged. Ninety-seven years of age, she was frail - but her strength of mind and love for her granddaughter shone through.

But the recent death of her father had made Fabienne realise there were things she didn't know about her family history - about her grandmother's past. Would Estella explain it all to Fabienne? Or was it destined to remain in the past?

The Paris Seamstress by Aussie author Natasha Lester is, in my humble opinion, this author's best novel to date. Based on fact (some of the characters existed, as do the buildings, some of which are central to the story); I feel at a loss to voice my thoughts...

'When you awaken in the morning's hush I am the swift uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in circled flight. I am the soft stars that shine at night. Do not stand at my grave and cry; I am not there. I did not die.'

What can I say? This is a deeply emotional book which is heartbreaking, while being filled with courage and love; of secrets that were necessary during the German occupation of France - I don't think I have ever read a book so profound and which made me feel so much. An outstanding novel which just makes me say to the author - Bravo!

With grateful thanks to Hachette AU via NetGalley for my ARC to read and review.

I’m giving this 4 stars despite not loving it, because it is good, and it’s not the book’s fault that I wasn’t really in the mood for historical fiction and really only want to read thrillers just now. It it weren’t a NetGalley book, I would have left it for another time. I don’t really read much romance, and had I realised that this was in essence a double love story, rather than the tale of a woman entering the man’s world of WW2 era fashion, I would not have requested it.

Told in alternating sections, this is the story of the titular seamstress Estella (not actually a French name, it should’ve been Estelle) who leaves Paris just before the German occupation in 1939 at the urging of her mother, who stays behind to work for the resistance and moves to New York, and Fabienne, her Australian granddaughter, in 2015. Estella dreams of starting her own fashion company, and alongside her friends Sam and Jamie, achieves just that, which we know because in 2015 she is 97 and pushing Fabienne to take over the business. This took away any suspense of whether she made it or not, and other plot elements were similarly revealed a bit early.

I didn’t like Estella as a heroine: what is suppose to be courage and feistiness came across to me as arrogance and recklessness. Everything comes to her too easily, just by chance - from meeting Alex (we know instantly that he will be the hero because he is described as handsome and muscular) to befriending Sam, and acquiring her house (I can’t detail this without spoilers) and the bad things that happen are all her fault or her choice, from stupid decisions based on not being able to control herself. Every time she tries to help someone, it’s to make herself feel better, and because she is so effortlessly beautiful and talented, it all works out for her regardless.

Fabienne is rather a wet blanket for most of the book, but at least she’s more selfless and her relationship with Will is sweet if rather predictable. The baddie is a complete caricature and the only explanation for his appalling behaviour is madness. His story is not resolved - the authors note at the end states that he and some other characters were real people, so she was perhaps constrained by this and unable to finish him off more satisfyingly.
I liked the descriptions of WW2 France and the dresses, despite not being into fashion at al myself.

Overall this was a well-written drama in the style of Belinda Alexander or Paulina Simons, with a bit of history, so 3.5 rounded up because I suspect romance loving readers will love it, it just wasn’t really my cup of tea, so I will just have to be more careful what I request in future.

Thanks to Hachette Australia and NetGalley for the ARC.

Estella is upset when her mother sends her to New York to get her away from Resistance work and the dangers of war. However, the young and beautiful seamstress soon finds friends and sets up her own sewing business. But she is puzzled by many mysteries. Who is the handsome spy she keeps meeting? Who is Lena and why is she the image of her? Who is her real father? What does the tragic Evelyn Nesbitt have to do with it all?

Fabienne, Estella's granddaughter, also must solve mysteries. Who was her real father? What did Estella do in the Resistance?

This story sweeps between France, New York and Australia in a fast-paced manner and kept me riveted to the page. Natasha Lester deftly combines the worlds of Second World War fashion and the dangers of the Resistance. Esttella and Fabienne are lovely characters while the villain is frightening and the men are handsome and intriguing. I liked the way in which the historical information was cleverly intertwined with the story.

I received this free ebook from Net Galley in return for a free review.

This was a great read! It is the story of Estella and is split over 2 time periods and I have to admit when it first changed from Estella to Fabienne I was a bit sad that we had to veer away from Estella.

In the end I enjoyed both timelines but Estella's was definitely the highlight.

‘Always be who you are right now.’

Two women, Estella Bissette and her granddaughter Fabienne Bissette. Two interconnected stories spanning seventy-five years.

In 1940, Estella Bissette flees from Paris as the Germans advance. She leaves for Manhattan with very little money, one suitcase and her sewing machine. Estella dreams of one day having her own atelier. In 2015, Fabienne Bissette travels from Australia to the annual Met Gala for an exhibition of her grandmother’s work. Estella Bissette had achieved her dream: she is regarded as one of the world’s leading designers of ready-to-wear clothing.

Fabienne knows little about her grandmother’s past and can spend little time with her because of her work in Australia. Estella wants to tell Fabienne about the past but has always been concerned about the timing.

The story unfolds both in the past and in the present. Fabienne has decisions to make, while Estella’s past contains more than a few secrets and heartaches. Two strong and determined women each keen in her own way (and in her own time) to prove themselves.

I enjoyed most aspects of this novel, but one twist close to the end left me cold. I pushed it to the side of my consciousness (it’s fiction, I can do that) and continued on. I found most of the characters interesting and believable and I really enjoyed the descriptions of designing and making dresses. I admired the way in which Estella had carved a niche for herself, and finished the book hoping that Fabienne would do the same.

I’ll be looking out for Ms Lester’s other novels: this is the first of hers I have read.

Note: My thanks to NetGalley and Hachette Australia for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book for review purposes.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

I love this style of book, a historical story, switching between past and present characters with a mystery to solve from the past. Set during WWII, a young girl flees German occupied Paris to New York and sets about starting a fashion empire. When she meets a woman who looks identical to her, she starts to question her past.

I neither loved or hated this book. I was intrigued to read and find out what happened to each character, or more so to make sure I guessed correctly each ending. The second half is better than the first, which I found a bit slow and convoluted. Would be a good book to take on a holiday by the pool.

I received a copy of this book for an unbiased review from Netgalley.

After receiving & reading "Her Mother's Secret" as a gift for Christmas, I was a new Natasha Lester fan. This book the Paris Seamstress was equally as wonderful as the first book I read. I loved the beautifully written story line that shifted from the 1940's to todays date. The beautiful characters (well most of them!), the fashion so exquisitely described, the hardships of living through world war 2 and the complex love that was described between the characters made for a wonderful story book. I read 1/2 the book in one sitting and if time had allowed, would've read the entire book in one go. Thank you for a beautifully written book Natasha Lester. It was also fascinating reading about which characters were actually real people from the past...although very disheartening to realise Harry Thaw was one of them. But appreciated the author in wanting to bring attention to it and why she had written him in as a character.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Paris seamstress
Natasha Lester
I loved this book, my first by this talented author. The two eras it is set in are so different, yet for a woman with creative genius and drive there are similarities. Both eras encompass love, though of course the wartime era is truly one of hardship and loss.

I enjoyed the fashion world the story is set within. I found myself googling specific dresses and fashions to have them in context for the story - I highly recommend this if you are not familiar with them already. The cutting room floor and design details are rich within this story.

The lead women: Estella and Fabienne are well drawn interesting characters who are easy to care about.

My one small quibble is that I was annoyed by decisions they each made at different points in the story, in one case an inexplicably stupid decision given the circumstances. I felt that this needed to feel more likely for such intelligent people. However I also understand the need to create tension and suspense which is certainly the spin off from these choices.

A highly recommended well written book. An engrossing and immersive read with satisfying romance, personal gain and loss and amazing creativity.

There is so much to love about this novel– the settings of Paris and New York, the fashion thread that continues all the way through, the sidecar cocktails, the war and espionage but it’s the strong female characters I loved the best and the profound emotional journey they take the reader on. It is a dual narrative of Estella Bisette in the 1940’s and of her granddaughter, Fabienne in current day. Absolutely loved it and would highly recommend.

The Paris Seamstress starts in World War Two Paris, on the brink of invasion. Estella continues her work at the atelier without much notice of the war, her attention captured by silks and sketches. Soon she is caught in what we must assume is Resistance operations, and she flees the country on her convenient yet unknown American birth papers, leaving her mother behind without much protestation. She leaves Europe without ever convincingly facing up to the horrors of war, much more interested in her clothes and career.

Her single mindedness continues in New York, and she marks out a career based on her steadfast devotion to the cut, the hem, the flourish of fabric, regardless of enemies made, and never particularly bothered by hardship - of her or the world around her. Her devotion to her career, to making it in the New World, must be admired - indeed she does live up to the titular role. But that is where it falls flat, for the book is crafted to fit that title, and combined with all tchotchkes of historical detail and decoration, I found myself unable to believe in a depth of any of the characters.

Jumping to 2015 and Estella's granddaughter, the historical tokens are replaced by name-dropping and scene-building based on what felt like an index of fashion. Overall, I couldn't be suspend my disbelief to jump into this book, although it weaves a thick tapestry of society, fashion, and love.

Thank you to Hachette Australia and NetGalley for this advance copy.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in return for an honest review.

I loved reading both Fabienne and Estella's journeys in their different times.
The struggles that Estella had to stay as the person she was, which was not shy, was tough in times where men were the leaders. But I am glad she did not give up and kept on persevering with wonderfully special people by her side. It was a shock and a joy to discover a truth never expected in her American journey.
Fabienne was worried that she could never fulfill her grandmother's wishes and run Stella Designs. The death of her father sent her on a journey of discovery of family truth and love she never thought would happen.

Thankyou for a wonderfully written book!

I don't usually like this type of book, but I must admit that I did enjoy it, part mystery, part romance, and part fictional biography. The book came alive in the reading, the era was captured beautifully , and the character just felt like one knew them. It was a book very hard to put down and hard to forget.
An extremely well written book which many will enjoy.

From the outset I knew that this book about both the fashion industry and the conditions in France during WW2 promised to be a most entertaining read. The language usage, fluidity of writing and research gave this book an edge.

What do you do when you find out that your whole family history was a lie? Fabienne is about to find out her grandmother's secrets and to learn about her time growing up in France. This is her grandmother's Estella story. Estella lived in France with her mother but that all changed when the Germans took over and she had to choice but to take the last to America and she learns that her father was actually American. Her whole life changes in that moment she doesn't know what to believe anymore. She knows that she needs to find a job soon as she has no means to support herself so armed with her sketches she sets off. But things don't always work out as she wants to design her own clothing not knock offs. And her two friends Janie & Sam want to help her and they push her to think about starting her own company but she is afraid that she won't be good enough. Everything changes when she sees Alex again, she never thought that he would be in America and that he has a woman on his arm that could be her twin. Estella doesn't know what to think as she learns that Lena is her sister and that their father is a rapist and murderer and that they could both be tainted by having his blood. She doesn't know how she feels knowing that Alex is with her sister as she feels something for him and everything changes when her sister is killed and she learns that Alex & Lena have a child together. Can she open her heart to this little boy and raise him as her own? Will she be able to let Alex go or will they have their chance at happiness? Fabrienne realizes that her Grandmother had to make sacrifices that changed her path in life can she do they same? Can she take charge of Stella Designs and make it her own, can she take that chance just like Estella did all those years ago? What an amazing story of love, loss and a determination to never give up. A good solid read. I was lucky enough to receive a copy via Netgalley & the publishing house in exchange for my honest thoughts.