Deeply enjoyable and unique coming of age story set in France, mixing political and family drama beautifully.

Tenía este libro súper pendiente, lo quería leer porque es una historia fuera de mi zona de confort. Sin embargo, no pensé encontrarme con una historia así.

Margot Louve ha vivido su vida como el secreto de sus padres. Durante diecisiete años, su padre, un muy conocido político francés con ambiciones de convertirse en presidente, ha llevado una doble vida: su esposa no sabe que tuvo una aventura con la madre de Margot y que tiene una hija fuera del matrimonio.
Margot cansada de la situación, decide tomar acción, trayendo muchas consecuencias en la vida de sus padres.

La primera parte de este libro me cautivó al 100 porciento, conecté con la protagonista y la comprendí en muchos momentos. Lamentablemente, en la segunda parte, la historia cambia y se vuelve desesperante.

Me produce mucha tristeza porque la niña sufre por las consecuencias de otros y también la hace ver como la villana en ocasiones.

No voy a negar que me gustó mucho la escritura de la autora. Además, hizo que me traslade a París, una ciudad que amo y adoro con todo mi corazón.

TW: grooming, infidelidad

Enjoyed the writing style and complex themes, just felt a bit slowly paced at times. Would read this author again!

Margot has lived her life under the radar as a secret. She has felt unwanted and unknown and wants to be seen. She is the product of an affair and has so many questions about her life and why she must experience the world as she does. When she makes the choice to expose her father, her whole world upends as she suffers with loss, coming of age, and finding a way to identify with her mother. I definitely got the premise of the book and really liked the way the book offered resolution for Margot and a way to move forward. I thought that this book was well written, however definitely had some pacing issues throughout. It was a little too relaxed and just needed to get to the point sooner. Descriptively though, this book was stellar in every sense. Thanks for the ARC, NetGalley.

I really wanted to like this book. The summary sounded interesting and engaging, but as I was reading the book I just found myself not charging about the story or the characters. Not a bad book just not for me. I couldn’t connect.

This took me a little while to get into. It definitely started slow, but the ending was worth it. It was a really lovely and lyrical book.

I have nothing truly negative to say about this book, but it just didn't quite captivate my interest totally or really move me. I would probably be open to reading more from the author if it came highly recommended, but wouldn't necessarily seek more of her books out.

QUICK TAKE: I didn't' know what to expect with this one, but I actually really loved it. A soapy story about a Parisian teen girl who discovers she and her mother are the "secret family" her father kept from his other wife and children. When the father dies, both families must reckon with the fallout. The writing is fantastic, the drama elevated, and the characters deeply flawed. I loved the Paris setting and overall was a big fan of this one.

I wasn't sure if this would be the kind of book I normally gravitate toward, but something about it called to me. I have a thing for coming of age stories and flawed characters, so I dove in. It was nothing like I expected and in the best way. That clear, detailed writing full of texture is my favorite part about reading books and it was hard for me to believe this was a debut. It's the poster child for why I have a favorite kind of story and not a favorite genre.

I’m judging a 2020 fiction contest. It’d be generous to call what I’m doing upon my first cursory
glance—reading. I also don’t take this task lightly. As a fellow writer and lover of words and books, I took this position—in hopes of being a good literary citizen. My heart aches for all the writers who have a debut at this time. What I can share now is the thing that held my attention and got this book from the perspective pile into the read further pile.
Fun.

I initially wasn't going to give feedback on this, but in thinking about it, I feel like I should.

First, I should lead with the fact that this book is probably objectively very good, but just not the kind of book for me. One thing I hate is a good setup and an endless wait to get to the good stuff, and that's how I felt reading this. The writing is actually very good, and the premise is so intriguing. I just felt like I was reading and reading and nothing was happening after a while.

I loved this author's dialogue and style choices, and I think if i was in a more melancholy mood, I might have enjoyed this more. I did not finish it, but I will keep it and give it another chance later on.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this advance copy. All opinions given are my own.

I agree with a lot of other reviewers. The concept was great but the execution itself seemed lackluster. I am impressed by the author’s detailed expression but I simultaneously didn’t like the fact this book was written in the first person. There is a reason why first person is rarely used. Quotation marks were not used when other characters were speaking which was a bit frustrating because it made it difficult to tell what words were Margot’s thoughts vs. actual character dialogue. Would definitely read another book by this author if she chose to write in third person.

The Margot Affair is beautifully written but I just had a hard time staying engaged with the plotline and had to put this one down. My reading has been all over the place during 2020 and has very much been mood-based. After picking this one up a few different times, I realized it might just not be a great fit for me right now.

As always, I appreciate the generosity of this publisher for allowing me the opportunity to review this book.

(I chose my 3-star as the option to be neutral, as there isn't a way to not pick a rating when submitted feedback on NetGalley. Thank you for your understanding!)

Thank you to @randomhouse and @netgalley for the opportunity to read and review The Margot Affair by Sanaë Lemoine!
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First of all, I love the name Margot. Second of all, I’ve been on a kick of reading books set in Paris this year so maybe my subconscious is trying to tell me something...
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This story kept me on the edge of my seat as Margot navigates the murky waters of being the secret love child of a politician and actress longing in Paris. Margot sets a plan in motion attempting to live her truth but finds the consequences of her actions lead to more secrets, lies and heartbreak. At only seventeen years old, she finds herself mixed up in a complicated adult world she is only just beginning to understand.
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You might enjoy this book if you love a Parisian setting and the entanglement of complicated relationships.

Margot Louve is a 17-year-old girl living in Paris, the daughter of a beautiful stage actress and a French politician who is rising to prominence. She's known her whole life that her father is married and that she was the product of an affair, but her father was still involved in her life. He would come visit her and her mother every so often, stealing moments and trips where they could.

Margot is tired of being second fiddle. At the gentle urging of a journalist she meets, Margot tells all. In the span of one day, everything changes - and Margot hides the fact that she was the informant. Margot thought that her father would leave his wife and they would all live happily ever after, but she turns all of her relationships upside down.

Margot, to me, was very unlikeable. She's flawed, selfish, childish, and directionless. She's not very nice to her mother, and she's always trying to escape. I did not like her as a main character, and I don't think I was supposed to. She forms strange relationships with the older journalist she meets and his wife, a complicated, messy thing that leads to even more chaos for her.

The book is very French - I don't know if this is a bad thing or not - but a politician having an affair with an artist, Margot having a sexually complicated relationship with an older couple, Margot's best friend making a feminist horror short film, exquisite descriptions of sumptuous French food - if you like France, you may like this.

Lastly, I think Lemoine does a great job at the core of the book, which is relationships between women, particularly relationships between mothers and daughters. That's certainly the most intricate and complex part of this book, and it's done well. But there is a lot of fat around the bones of this story, and I don't know if I loved the strange places that it goes to.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC!

Family secrets and political scandal are the focus of Sanaë Lemoine's literary debut, The Margot Affair, an intimate, evocative novel that explores the aftermath of a French politician's hidden affair and love child coming to light.

It has always just been Margot Louve and her thespian mother Anouk, except for her famous father, Bertrand Lapierre's occasional visits to their Paris apartment. For her seventeenth birthday, Margot wants nothing more than for her father, the Minister of Culture, to leave his "first family" - the wife he is married to and their sons - and live instead with her and Anouk. Margot recklessly decides to take matters into her own hands, going anonymously on record with a journalist to share her story - that she and her mother exist and that her father has a second family. Little does Margot know that her actions will not bring her father closer to her, as she hopes, but rather put into action a series of events that will change all of their lives forever.

I love a literary fiction novel done well, but am well-aware that books in the genre can often be too highbrow and over-written. Therefore, I approached The Margot Affair gingerly, not quite sure if I was picking up a tale that I could get lost in or a story that would instead lose me. Fortunately, it was the former. Right from the beginning, I was swept up in Margot's life, meeting her family and friends, learning about they way she and her mother live, discovering what life is like for her at her Parisian high school, and exploring her relationship with both of her parents. Lemoine's writing is powerfully palpable and evocative, and I found myself completely absorbed in this story of a family's true life hidden away from public view.

Potential readers of The Margot Affair should know that this book is as much a coming-of-age story as it is a tale about family and the relationship between a parent and child. While scandal is at the heart of this story, it is tastefully done, as you would expect any book set in Paris to be. The drama surrounding Margot's parents' affair is muted, with much of the focus being on Margot's thoughts and actions before and after the big reveal. This story examines how being a secret love child molds and shapes a young woman, and how having a father figure present, but at a distance, affects who she becomes in her life and her relationships.

I listened to an audiobook production of The Margot Affair, and the narrator lent a beautiful, intimate quality to this quiet, thoughtful novel. It comes highly recommended.

The Margot Affair will appeal to readers of literary fiction and those who love coming of age stories. Additionally, readers who like French novels will love the atmospheric conditions of The Margot Affair.

This one didn't quite land for me. I loved the concept, but the execution lacked for me (especially in the middle of the book).

One part that really stuck out for me though was the impact that secrets can have on a family. They're impactful for all involved - including the children, who I feel are often forgot when it comes to evaluating a family's life together.

I was hoping for more impact from this debut, but I appreciate the chance to read it.

I was eager to read this book, and maybe is why I liked it but I didn't love it. The history was good and keep you entertained through the whole book, but I just missed something, I really don't know what, maybe was just that it didn't end as I wish it would for Margot. But overall I can recommend this book.

Margot Louve is the secret love child of an influential French politician and a famous actress mother. Margot has been hidden for years, but now that she's grown up she's desperate to be seen. She meets a journalist who wins her trust, and her impulsive decision to expose her history threatens everything her family has worked to keep hidden. This is a slow moving book heavy on atmosphere, but I enjoyed Margot as a character and really got the sense of place in the French setting. Lots of great food imagery and I loved the ending!

I really loved Sanae Lemon's The Margot Affair. I'm a sucker for books set in Paris, so this was a perfect read for me. I loved Margot's observations, how effectively the secondary characters were woven into the ongoing story and the food descriptions were divine.