An emotional story of love, the complexities of families, family secrets and the compounding effect of misconstrued communications and perceptions. We are kept in a state of suspense as the story gradually unfolds with a lot of intricate complications that add twists and turns but also adds depth to the characters who hold us spell bound. Set in two time periods of World War II and the present time with locations including Paris and New York with the addition of Sydney, Australia in the present time provides an excellent backdrop for the story.
Easy to read with a flowing writing style which enabled the reader to smoothly follow the story. Excellent character development as you easily became attached to them and their story!
Being a story about fashion the descriptions were vivid and precise but not overwhelming.

An excellent read and comes highly recommended.

Thank you to Netgalley and publisher Hachette Australia for the opportunity to read and review this novel.

This romance was set in the 1940’s and the present time. It switches back and forward from Estella’s life in Paris and New York in the 1940’s and to Fabienne’s life in New York and Australia in 2015.
It is about fashion and designers. World War 2, spies, grief, romance and family relationships.
Estella lives with her mother in Paris at the beginning of World War 2. She has a passion for designing and making clothes. Estella leaves Paris on a ship bound for New York and works in various fashion jobs.
Fabienne travels from Australia to New York to curate an exhibition of Estella’s fashion designs in 2015 and tries to unravel the secrets of her father’s birth and Estella’s life.
I loved the way Fabienne gradually discovered her grandmother’s history and the descriptions of places in Paris that she visits.
This was a quick easy read, lots of action and romance. I loved the characters.

The Paris Seamstress is a dual time line book, that ranges in setting from Paris to New York to Australia. One era is the war years - and the effects on France especially. The other era is one recent and modern. And through the years there is the mystery of family and friendships. It tracks the endeavours of one woman - Estelle and her love of designing dresses and other clothing. When she finds herself in New York her journey begins.

The story is a huge roller coaster. There are highs and lows, at times it is quite dark and other times filled with hope and courage. It is an emotional read that documents the story of two women linked through family, and the people they are friends with and the people they deeply love.

While Estelle had many set backs, she continued on, at times she made mistakes and yet what a woman. I loved when she realises that a bully can have their 'power' taken from them. She is talented, far-sighted, loyal and loving.

Fabienne is hit with many surprises as she learns the story of her grandmother Estelle through various revelations. Fabienne too is challenged to live life to the full, to develop her own talents and believe they can take her places. As well she comes to realise the power and passion of love, and can she grab it or let it flow out through her fingers.

If you like a book with women who have a passion for what they do, you love clothing, enjoy dual time lines and can appreciate a book of highs and lows, secrets slowly revealed - some shocking, then this book is for you.

Natasha Lester writes romance the way it should be written – fierce and passionate with strong men and, most importantly, strong and independent women.

Her third historical fiction novel, The Paris Seamstress, is the story of Estella Bisette – forced to flee France in 1940 with little more than her sewing machine and a dream of creating couture in New York – and Fabienne Bisette, Estella’s granddaughter who, in 2015, uncovers secrets about her grandmother’s past while curating a museum exhibition of her now-famous grandmother’s fashion designs.

While I felt the central theme was definitely the mystery of Estelle’s lineage, the storyline contains plenty of romance – though of a refreshingly modern kind. Estella’s beau, even in the 1940s, understands that without her work she is not herself. Her work is part of what makes Estella the woman he falls in love with:

He stood in the doorway for a moment, seeing her in a different light, in her element, working with her friends and he suddenly understood that she needed them, needed her designs, as much as she needed him; that without her work she wasn’t Estella.

There are, however, plenty of nods to traditional romance novel conventions. The men, for example, are still extravagantly handsome, accomplished and wealthy.

Throughout the war scenes and the love scenes, The Paris Seamstress never lets you forget you’re reading a book about fashion. Even the romance scenes are imbued with fabric references:

"And the simple act of the back of his hand touching hers felt as sensual as silk on skin."

I loved the references to political resistance in the form of fashion trends. Clothes are not just there to cover skin or help a woman attract a man. They are political – Parisian women wore decorated hats as a rebellion against the poverty inflicted by German troops against the French who refused to collaborate. The woman wore threadbare dresses on their starving bodies, but they wore hats that were the height of fashion.

In 2018 we’re still fighting for widespread acceptance of workplace flexibility to allow parents (not just mothers) to work while caring for children. Back in the 1940s, even working after marriage was unthinkable for a woman. Estella, on the other hand, has been raised by a fiercely independent single, working mother. She barely conceals her irritation at being patronised by Janie’s beau and his friends:

"No, Estella wanted to interject, our lives were so dull before you came along. We couldn’t order our own champagne or work out for ourselves if we were cold or make a decision about the lobster without first checking with you."

And yet, for all the breaking of social conventions, this is a satisfying novel to lose yourself in. You know your emotions will ultimately be quite safe – bad people are bad; good people are good.

And if good people do bad things it’s because they were wronged in the past and are damaged now and can’t quite help it.

In this way it’s a wonderful sort of moral escapism from the confusing times we find ourselves in, where even some charity workers exploit the very women they’re supposed to be helping.

If, like me, you love reading novels set abroad partly for the armchair travel element, The Paris Seamstress will certainly satisfy your itchy feet. Natasha Lester went to Paris to research the book, so you can be sure of some wonderful descriptions.

Fabienne heads out to lunch at the Marché des Enfants Rouges – a real place and Paris’s oldest covered market – ‘with its delicious food and handful of rickety tables near the old Carreau du Temple.’ From there she meanders through the Village Saint-Paul ‘home to an eclectic assortment of antique shops, galleries, cafés, vintage treasures and beautiful objects…’

The only problem is the descriptions are so vivid you’re likely to develop a craving for coffee and French pastries:

"She made a cup of coffee. Then she waited, standing silent and still in the kitchen for half an hour until the caffeine hit her veins and her breath evened out."

Oh, and if you’ve read Natasha Lester’s 2017 book, Her Mother’s Secret, you’ll be thrilled to know that Leo Richier, cosmetics tycoon, makes a few cameos and helps Estella on her way.

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.