Cover Image: All the Flowers in Paris

All the Flowers in Paris

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Member Reviews

Thank you for the advanced copy of this book.  My reviews can be read on my GoodReads account here: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1335387-kelly
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Sarah Jio has done it again. I am sitting in my office sobbing.   These are big, ugly tears.  What a beautiful story of love, loss, and redemption.   I don’t want to say much more than that as everyone should read this book to fully appreciate its beauty.  

Many thanks to NetGalley, Sarah Jio and Ballantine Books for the opportunity to read this extraordinary book.
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This was just a beautiful read from start to finish! Sarah Jio weaves a story filled with emotion. When I read a book from her I cannot put it down until I'm finished, and then it haunts me for a long time after. I finished this book months ago and still remember it vividly. I have read many books since, and it is a testament to her storytelling that I can still remember this story when I honestly can't remember a story I finished last week!

I highly recommend reading "All the Flowers in Paris."
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As someone who reads a lot of Historical Fiction, specifically Historical Fiction set during WWII and the Holocaust I went into this book thinking that I knew what it was about and what I knew it was going to be... I was wrong. This book was heartbreaking. 

In it, we follow two different women during two different timelines; Caroline who is living in Paris in 2009, and Celine who lived in Paris in 1943 when France was occupied by Germany. 

One thing that I always find hard about books set during this time is that in many of them there is typically a happy ending or it sugar coats the horrors of the time. 

This book did not do that in any way. This story is real, and raw and does not have a fairytale ending.
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It’s 2009, and Caroline has just come face-to-face with a man from her past – a past she’s been running from. In her mad dash to get away, the bicycle she’s riding collides with a truck. The accident causes amnesia, leaving her wondering who she is and why she’s in Paris. Her apartment also has its secrets. In a spare bedroom, Caroline discovers a stack of unsent love letters from the 1940s. Who was this woman who left her dreams and her love behind?

Running parallel to Caroline’s story is a storm brewing in 1943 Paris. Widowed single mother Céline is helping in her father’s flower shop. When a Nazi soldier enters the shop and reveals he’s heard they have a Jewish relative, Céline’s world is quickly turned upside-down. After her father is attacked, Céline will be left with one impossible choice after another to ensure her daughter’s survival.

Jio starts things off in the most compelling of ways. Our main character, Caroline, has just discovered something upsetting and then loses her memory. Every discovery of Caroline’s past is felt both by her and the reader. Intriguing questions are posed regarding the self, and if Caroline is the same person despite not remembering her past. Additionally, does Caroline like the person she’s learning about? As she pieces her life together, Caroline also uncovers clues about a dark moment that occurred during the Nazi occupation. Enter Céline, whose story is filled with mounting danger. Céline watches the city she loves slowly twist with hatred. Jio balances both women’s lives well, teasing out moments at their most emotionally impactful. While Céline is struggling to survive, Caroline is learning how to live again. This book is full of tension, intrigue, and mystery, making it impossible to put down. Recommended!
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Another fantastic recommendation for lovers of WWII historical fiction. This was a moving and beautifully story from Sarah Jio. I am a huge fan of her books.
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This book...
It was a quick read for me. Literally a single car ride. There wasn't much of a moment's pause, considering I hadn't much else to do. I'd read other books by Sarah Jio, which I loved. I think Violets of March was fabulous, so of course I wanted to give this a try. However.
I probably should have read the description, because I don't typically read books related to WWII and the Holocaust. Just a personal qualm. I got excited to see another book by Sarah Jio, and I was ready.

This book was...decent. It wasn't what I expected yet it was literally everything I'd expected. Sarah Jio's writing is some of my favorite, particularly because she creates these detailed threads that are so complicated to piece together, making it as unpredictable as I like. However this was not the case.

It was an interesting story, the characters were alright. They seemed a bit rushed, a little contrived. The main plot and the subplot intertwined just so, which I enjoyed. The paralleled journeys of Caroline and Celine were interesting. I did not like Victor, although the ending with him made it just a touch better. Certain revelations (without giving too many spoilers) were just glazed over in a book with a main character that had memory loss. To me, it was just alright. Its a good beach read, quick and easy to digest. There wasn't anything too complex.
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Never mind that your regular chores are not done, nor will they be until you finish this exquisite visit to Paris where Jo invites you to smell the flowers and indulge your whimsy to visit Paris in war time as well as the modern day.  This is a novel of determination and resiliency with a forgiveness  at the forefront.  I didn’t want to leave this book or world where I met real people in a time when they had to be.
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All the Flowers in Paris by Sarah Jio is a wonderful work of historical and modern day fiction. This is the author's tribute to the city of Paris, all the good it is and all the heart wrenching history that has taken place there. I loved the author's descriptions and ability to convey such strong feeling. Loved this book! I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher with no obligations. These opinions are entirely my own.
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I loved this author's earlier books but since her divorce her writing style changed and just isn't as enjoyable to me.   Go read Blackberry Winter instead.
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"But what does any of it matter now? Over time, Paris has become my hiding place, my cocoon, my escape from the pain of the past. I blink back tears. And now? Does he really think he can just waltz in and expect to behave as if nothing happened? That everything should just magically go back to the way it was?”

From the intro it may sound like Caroline is suffering from a romantic breakup but her life is a lot more complicated than that. She is soon involved in an accident that wipes her memory and as she visits places near her apartment she realizes that she may not have been a very nice person given how others react to her. If only she could unlock her memories.

The narrative takes the reader back to the same street of Caroline’s apartment but during Nazi-occupied Paris. Celine, her young daughter and father live comfortably and own a lovely flower shop but the menace of war is all around them and soon they won’t be able to escape the enemy.

I admit I was much more interested in the war time setting than the modern day. I also found a few things that just didn’t add up in Caroline’s story but overall did I was totally entertained by this book and would certainly read another by this author.
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Thank you @randomhouse and Ballantine books for my free copy via @netgalley in exchange for my honest review.
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It took me a while to get into this one. It’s told in a dual timeline, Caroline in present day and Celine in German occupied France during WW2.
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I found both stories interesting and I thought the author did a good job of tying them together at the end. The last part of the book was very emotional and I loved how touched Caroline was by Celine’s story.
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If you’re a fan of WW2 historical fiction and enjoy a sad, but also hopeful story, then I would suggest picking this one up.
⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
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Have you read this one? I’d love to hear your thoughts! Swipe to see content warning ⚠️ ➡️
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Caroline is furious. She had dated some but it didn't go great. She feels like a ghost floating through life. She is upset and doesn't want to forgive someone. I couldn't  get invested.
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I really enjoyed this book! Historical fiction (especially set in WWII times) is one of my favorite genres. I also really enjoy dual timelines with one timeline set in present day and one set in the past. Add in that the two timeline stories intersect in someway and I am sold! This book included all the elements and I am so glad I read it. It did start off a little slow for me, but picked up the more I read and I got so engrossed in both of the women's stories that I stayed up way too late reading it in order to find out how it all played out. The author did such a good job of weaving both timeline stories together and including the messages of thankfulness, forgiveness, and love in it that it is a book that will stick with me for awhile. I am looking forward to reading more from this author!
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A rather fine book. This one was just right.
I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley.
I thank you, Netgalley.
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Hallmark movies are made of this and reader's of historical fiction looking for the next Sarah's Key will be disappointed.
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Thank you for the opportunity to read this. I will be posting a full review to Goodreads, Amazon, and Instagram.
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I am so incredibly grateful that the publishers of this book allowed me access to it!  I can't recommend this book highly enough!  Below is my Goodreads review:

“But I have come to learn that we can never lose what we love deeply and truly. It becomes part of us.”
All. The. Feels. What a fantastic book! The characters, the connections, the heartbreak, the redemption...oh so highly recommended!
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Paris, present time; Caroline has just left a Parisian café in anger. Angry because she found her ex husband there. Still angry she sets off on her bike to home. Not knowing that a few moments later she has choose to go left or right. Left where a mother and daughter are walking on the sidewalk, right where a truck is coming her way. No matter what she chooses, there is going to be a crash.
When she wakes up in the hospital, she doesn't remember anymore who she is or anything about her past. Her past that, as the reader learns later on in the story, make her leave her home in San Diego after a tragic accident where she lost her daughter, and the divorce of her husband. During the story, she spends a lot of time in the bistro Jeanty down the street where she meets the waiter Victor, which turns out into a romance and she tries to find her memory back, and learns more about the posh Paris apartment on the Rue Cler she lives in, and what happened there during the war. Her romance with Victor..there is something about him, and Caroline can't put her finger on it, but is she in danger, or is Victor the key to her lost past?

Back in the 1940's in Nazi-occupied Paris, Céline runs a typical Paris flower shop with her father. She has a young daughter, Cosi. When their half Jewish ancestry is found out, life takes a turn for the worst for them. It all starts when a German officer walks in to the store when Céline's father is alone, and he is attacked, then the officer comes back with something more threatening; he shows interest in Céline and blacmails her to become his mistress for the sake of the safety of her family. the love of her life Luc, the son of the owner of Bistro Jeanty is send to the south of France by the army. Then the windows are tainted with a big yellow star, making them lose all their customers. When she goes to bistro Jeanty to asks Luc's mother is she has a job in the bistro for her, she overhears Madame Jeanty talking to the German officer about Celine and her family and that they are planning to arrest them in the next days. Their try to escape fails a few days later, when Celine is separated from Cosi and her father during a raid in rue Cler and while Cosi and her father are loaded into a leaving Nazi truck, Céline is taken as a prisoner by the German officer in his apartment,  and she has to undergo a lot of physical torture. But not before she has found out Cosi escaped the hands of the Germans and is standing in front her in the hall of the apartment, and which she now has to try to hide as long as possible in her room for the German officer finds out..but how do you hide a young child in a small room in silence, when she also is now expecting a baby against her will? Celine has to make difficult choices to protect herself and the one she loves most, will the war be over in time to save her and Cosi?

This book just completely blew me away. I have read the previous books by Sarah Jio, and they all are very good, but this one totally stood out.I really like the switching between the main character, and she just switched to the other one that the story of the other became quite thrilling or made you wonder how this would continue, which really keeps you on the edge of you chair as a reader and made it a page turner. Especially Céline's story was beautiful, moving, entertaing but so heartbreaking and even horrifying in the end. Caroline's story was also entertaining, but I would have liked it even more if there was an even stronger link between her and Céline in the end, like some kind of lost family link or something. This was was also good, and all the dots where connected, but it wasn't the most interesting groundbreaking link between her and Céline. What did connect for her was her own past, which was quite an unbelievable link between her and Victor. I totally didn't see that one coming! And the author did a great job to to highlight the third main character in the book; Paris. You really, especially if you've been there yourself, see Paris coming to life in this book, and everything in it is just totally correctly true Paris.

Without giving away too much more spoilers than I already did, I can ony say more that All The Flowers in Paris is one of the best books of this year, truly recommend to put this one on your reading list, or to treat yourself on a copy of it and just read it right away!!
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Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this title.

I am slowly falling for historical fiction so I was excited to read All the Flowers in Paris. While it takes me awhile to work through historical fiction, I was always eager to pick it back up and read a few pages. Great characters and plot!
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