This is a historical fiction that takes place during WWII in Paris, France. I have to say my feelings about this book is different from most peoples, but this is how I feel about the book. I really had high hopes for this book, and it let me down. The beginning (or first 40% of the book) was very slow moving and some parts I do not think needed to be in the book. I hated the first part of this book. I think after getting through the first 40% of the book made me just feel the last part of the book just ok. I have read a lot of historical fiction books that takes place in WWII, and this one was nothing special. I like a historical fiction book to really be hard hitting and touch my heart, and this one did not do that. I was kindly provided an e-copy of this book by the publisher (Atria Books) or author (Janet Skeslien Charles) via NetGalley, so I can give honest review about how I feel about this book. I want to send a big Thank you to them for that.

This book is a celebration of books, libraries and the extraordinary efforts of the staff of the Paris Library to keep the institution open to its subscribers during WWII and the occupation of Paris. Soileau is the main character and you see her not only in Paris, but also in Montana, where she lives after marrying. You learn more about her through the interactions with Lily a lonely child. Truly a heartwarming read of heroism.

I had the privilege of reading an ARC of The Paris Library through Netgalley. I am a huge fan of historical fiction and The Paris Library did not disappoint. Odile, the protagonist, was an intriguing character and the dual timelines allow the reader to experience Paris in the 1940s and Montana in the 1980s. As an avid reader, I appreciated learning about the American Library in Paris.

While the story did start off slowly (I started it 2 or 3 times before finally finishing), the end is worth it! I love a story with dual timelines, especially in WWII, and library stories are my absolute favorite. Reminded me a little of The Paris Hours and The Lilac Girls.

As a librarian myself, one of my favorite things to read about is librarians. I have a special soft spot for books that present librarianship in different times or places. The Paris Library takes place during World War II, however, it follows two timelines. We follow Odile Souchet, a librarian at the American Library is Paris who is working during a very difficult time. We later meet her in the 1980s where she has relocated to Montana. In Paris, the library is under strict censorship, and Odile and the rest of the library staff must work to protect the library and save books. I enjoyed learning about the American Library in Paris and seeing how no matter the times, there will always be people that protect information, and people's rights to access it. It's also a reminder to treasure human life as the book's backdrop is World War II and the atrocities that took place during that period. Overall, a solid read.

Thank you Netgalley and LibroFM for my gifted copies. Unfortunately I didn't really care for this book. I found myself bored and ready for the book to just be over already. It was a little boring to me. With maybe a few interesting parts here and there.

Thank you to the publishers for allowing me the opportunity to read and review this book. I apologize that it took me so long to complete, but unfortunately, the first 75% of the book was so boring, it took me a full year to get through it. I would read a chapter, then put the book down and read something else. I finally pushed myself to finish it this month and I'm glad I did. At around 75% of the book, I finally felt invested and interested in the story line. At that point I wanted to find out what happened. Overall, I thought the message was good, and the premise is good, I just wish it had gripped me more from the beginning.

I was debating between 3 and 4 stars for this book, but the ending really sealed it as a 4 star. Loved the writing style an da little bit of a different WWII novel.

3.5 stars.

There were some wonderful things about this read, but admittedly it was lacking in some regards. The writing showed talent in a number of ways and the research completed to write the novel appears to have been well done. There were portions of the novel that were incredibly well done, but the same care does not appear to have been taken with the entire narrative. Some portions feel as though they are written by an entirely different author.

The book starts off slow and moves at a bit of a languid pace for at least the first half. This is not all a bad thing, as it does do a great job of setting up the atmosphere and providing background about the protagonists and the library itself. The plot for The Paris Library is told in a dual timeline and multiple perspective format. While I often love this approach and feel like it gives a much fuller and well-rounded nature to the story, in this case I think the narrative may have been better served by staying with Odile's WWII perspective. The writing in these sections is superior and the plot seems to move more seamlessly and with greater purpose. The sections written by other characters lack the same finesse and the chapters written in the modern time take on a bit more of a juvenile feel that detracted from the power of the narrative for me. Still, the plot was good and there was a lot to take in.

Odile was a well-written character, as I felt were all of the characters from the WWII timeline. The modern day timeline didn't feel quite as fleshed out and the characters weren't as realistic for me. Instead, these sections seemed to feel a bit more generic. Still, these characters did play a decent role in both paralleling some of the earlier timeline and expanding the understanding of Odile's character. They did serve a purpose, they just weren't as strong.

The topic was interesting and there were a lot of emotional moments. There was some great historical information and exploration of the nature of humans. Even though they weren't all Nazis, some of the individuals in the book did certainly have questionable morals and there were plenty of instances of a lack of human compassion and the tendency for people to become hateful beings in the face of adversity. There was more than once that the instances in the narrative caused me to simply be disgusted by humanity. The writing does a good job at drawing out this kind of emotional response.

Though not as hard-hitting as some of the WWII historical fiction I have enjoyed, The Paris Library's perspective and presentation is just unique enough to remove the book from falling into the "just another WWII historical fiction" category and makes it one worth taking note of.

* Disclaimer: I received a copy of this novel from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. *

A World War II story that shows another side of war, betrayal, and growth that lead to lifelong lessons that span generations. Told on two timelines, we get the story of a woman, Odile, during the war in Paris, and Lily, a present-day high schooler and neighbor to Odile. While I enjoyed this book, I felt like it was lacking in some character development and a bit of the story lines were lackluster. Overall, 3.5 stars are rounded up to 4!

A truly eyeopening historical fiction book! I had no idea the role librarians played in the American Library located in Paris during WW II. They risked their lives to deliver books to their subscribers and to save the millions of books they still exist today. Fantastic and well written/researched book!!!

I found the chapters with Lily's story to be somewhat of a relief from the tensions of WWII, even though she experiences her own tragedy. Lily is a wonderful character - nosy, curious, looking for a way out of Froid and into the wider world. And Odile is just the person to lead her there. But, it is through her friendship with Lily from 1983 to 1988 that we learn what happened to Odile after the war and how she ended up in Froid, Montana.

I was first attracted to The Paris Library because it was about a library in Paris during WWII. What lifted it out of good book and put it into great book for me was the inclusion of real people who worked in the ALP at that time, like Americans Miss Reeder, the directress, and library trustee Clara de Chambrun, as well as the Russian born head librarian Boris Netchaeff. Even the German library inspector, Dr. Fuchs, was a real person and a professional acquaintance of Miss Reeder. All of this added such a sense of authenticity to the novel and allowed for some interesting history to be worked into the story without seeming forced.

And I loved being in the library with Odile, Miss Reeder, Boris, and everyone else. Even the subscribers who spent their days there, reading, talking, arguing were so realistic, perhaps because they reminded me of the habitués I used to know at the NYPL when I was doing research. Each one of Skeslien Charles' characters were brave, defiant and loyal, even through the darkest days of the war.

If you are looking for a book about books with themes of community, communication, friendship, betrayal and resistance, you can't go wrong with The Paris Library.
You can find a detailed Reading Group Guide courtesy of the publisher Simon & Schuster HERE.

This book is recommended for readers age 14+
This book was an eARC gratefully received from the publisher.

The Paris Library has been on my ARC tbr list for a while. I realized I had been putting it off because I wasn’t sure I wanted the weightiness of another WWII novel. On the heels of two lighter reads, I finally decided to dive into it, switching between audio and ebook. This book was a delightful surprise! Although, it still dealt with the serious and sad issues of a war, there were no vivid battle scenes in this book, which I appreciated. The Paris Library is written in a dual timeline, which really worked in this novel. The story begins in 1939 with the female protagonist, Odile, applying for a job at the American Library in Paris. In the second chapter, the reader is transported to the year 1983 in the state of Montana, where we meet our second protagonist, Lily, as well as a more mature Odile. I enjoyed both timelines, where we see the importance of family, friendship, love, grief, and forgiveness play out. We see Odile offer guidance to Lily based on the lessons she has learned from her mistakes. In this beautiful story, we see how much Odile helps Lily through hardships in her life. However, it not until the end of the book that we understand how much Lily meant to and for Odile’s life. Amid this backbone of the story, readers who love libraries, books, and historical fiction will really enjoy this. I certainly, did. Exceptions? At around the midpoint, the story started to seem to drag. Happily, switching to ebook only, solved the problem for me. The other criticism was the twist that comes in the last few chapters, and how quickly the book ended from that point. I felt that the ending was abrupt and didn’t align with the history of Odile’s personality. That is what prompted me to rate it as a 4 star instead of a 5.
Thank you to NetGalley and Atria books for this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a lovely and emotional story set in two different eras, one in Paris during WWII and the other in Montana in the 1980’s. As a young Parisian woman, Odile loves books and wants to be successful in her own way. When she gets her dream job at the American Library in Paris against her father’s wishes, she finally feels content and begins making friends with all sorts of people, helping make the library a safe haven for everyone during the turmoils of war. Odile and the rest of the library staff intend to protect the books-that is, the ones the Germans don’t demand be burned or banned, and try their best to get and keep books and knowledge into the hands of everyone.

In Montana, teenager Lily lives next door to Odile, now widowed. Over time the two begin an unlikely friendship, with Odile even teaching Lily to speak French. Lily is trying to find her place in the world as a young girl after losing her mother ad seeing her father remarry a girl not much older than Lily herself. Odile, elderly, alone, and worn down from years of keeping secrets of betrayal to herself finally begins to open up to Lily about what she went through in Paris during her youth.

This was such a wonderful novel that any lover of historical fiction based on true events would enjoy. Thank you to Netgalley and Atria Books for my copy.

This book is just so beautifully written and constructed. There is a wonderful elegance to the way the author brings the story to life. For those who love books and libraries, this tale is for you.

The Paris Library is the fictionalized account of what happened at the American Library in Paris during World War II. Several of the library staff are real people while the main character and some of her closest circle of characters are fictional. The story revolves around Odile, a young librarian whose Police Commander father is trying to marry her off. The main story takes place from 1939 to 1944 in Paris with bits of it occurring in 1980s Montana where a young girl Lilly helps to bring Odile out of her solitary life. While the Library staff send books to POWs and bring carrier packages of books to Jewish patrons after they are forbidden to come to the library, the story is more about the person life of Odile, her twin brother Remi, his girlfriend, and Odile best friend. The story spans from the declaration of war to the liberation of Paris and includes so gruesome scenes.

If you like historical fiction that is more about everyday people and their lives definitely grab this one. It is not about soldiers, spies, or resistance fighters but instead young people who still find love and protection and lose it all.

It is always fun to read a novel and learn about something new you never knew about. The Paris Library tells a story of the American Library in Paris before and during World War Two--who knew there was an American Library?? It tells the story of how these library workers stayed and provided not only reading material, but also a sense of community to those citizens who needed them. It tells us how they made deliveries of books so that people had something else to think about and not just the Nazi occupation. In the middle of a pandemic, when libraries had to be closed it reminded me of libraries providing virtual programs, Overdrive, and curbside service for their patrons. But this book is a novel and Odile's story is filled with sadness as well as joy and across the world and decades Lily's story mirrors Odile's as it is filled with pain, but also joy. This is a book that will appeal to both librarians and their patrons.

This was sort of a slow burn but it paid off in the end. The storyline in Paris in WWII was interesting, but the one in Montana felt pointless and very slow for a while. Eventually the author tied the two together in a satisfactory way. Not my favorite WWII historical novel by any stretch, but a worthy read nonetheless. If you like books or Paris at all, then give it a shot.

I really enjoyed this book and thought that it was well-thought-out and well-written. My interest was kept throughout the entire novel and I am thankful for the opportunity to read and review The Paris Library. I look forward to reading more books by Janet Skeslien Charles

The Paris Library was absolutely beautiful and I savored every moment spend within its pages. I wanted to tear through it, but forced myself to take my time - every page read was one page closer to the end. Bouncing between Paris in the 30s and Montana in the 80s, The Paris Library follows a fantastic cast of characters, a beloved library, and secrets brought on by the war. So excellent, completely unforgettable, I'll be waiting to see what the author does next and I'll be first in line for it!