REVIEW: The Riviera House by @natashalesterauthor

Natasha Lester is a masterful storyteller of historical fiction. The Riviera House is a dual timeline story - from Paris in 1939, where the Nazi occupation soon occurs, to the French Riviera in the current day. There are two female main characters - Eliane Dufort, who worked at the Louvre pre-occupation, and Remy, an Australian with a vintage fashion business.

Throughout the book we find Eliane trying to survive the occupation and help keep track of the priceless art that the Germans are stealing, and Remy escaping her past but living next to a rowdy and loving family who treat her as one of their own. The women show so much strength - strength of character, and strength in their relationships. They are both required to overcome obstacles and do so with such courage.

I have quickly become a huge fan of Lester and want to read all of her back catalogue!

Thanks to @netgalley and @hachetteaus for the review copy.

Natasha Lester has done it again! The Riviera House is inspired by a true story and features dual timelines: Paris during World War II and the present day.

We meet formidable Éliane, from the French Riviera, at the Louvre, where she is secretly decoding the Nazi's notes and giving this vital information to the Resistance. In the present day, our protagonist is Remy. When her life is in shambles and she mysteriously inherits a home on the Riviera, she flees but soon discovers the house may hold too many secrets. Both of these women were incredibly strong-willed and it was easy to sympathise with their plights.

Lester is an expert at weaving well-researched facts with fiction to create captivating and gripping historical fiction novels. The shifting timelines ensure the story keeps a steady pace and the romance subplots keep things interesting and adds depth to the storyline.

I also love her writing style and how it brings her characters to life. It's beautifully descriptive, emotive and atmospheric. I could picture myself in the Riviera alongside Remy.

With elements of love and loss, betrayal and hope, I highly recommend The Riviera House to historical fiction fans.

Another winner from Natasha Lester. I don't think she can ever go wrong.
This book delves into the Nazi party stealing artworks during WWII.
Its a dual timeline novel where the story weaves seamlessly between the war and the present day. Both stories are linked due to the house on the French Riviera.

This book is stunning! Visually rich in the descriptions of locations and clothing and settings - I could see it all in my minds eye and I loved this!

It also reminded me why I love historical fiction. I adore learning about the past and doing so through an engaging storyline.

That being said - this book is set in two different timelines - one in the 1940's during World War II and one set in 2015. I adored the earlier timeline. So well researched and so descriptive and beautiful. I felt sadness, happiness, awe and just really enjoyed all of those chapters.

The 2015 timeline was good - I didn't love it - purely because of some issues I had in regards to Matt and Adam. I felt like Matt got painted as the villian very quickly and Remy was super quick to judge him. It made me not like them as much as I think I needed to to be fully invested in that storyline.

However - overall I really did love this book and would recommend it to others.

This time-slip story will keep you reading late into the night, and amaze you with its tale of huge courage about those who hid invaluable paintings from the Nazis.

In the darkest days of the war in Paris,Éliane helps Rose Valland in her French Resistance work saving France's precious art from the Nazis at huge risk. She struggles to get over her love for Xavier, a young artist, but when she sees him with high-ranking Nazis, she wonders if he has thrown in his lot with the other side. She also has to pretend to fall for the Nazi Konig, a hard task for this young, innocent girl.

A few generations later, Remy escapes to her house on the beautiful French Riviera, and starts to wonder about the truth of a mysterious painting there. Battling deep grief, she meets handsome Adam, who is also suffering from past hurts. Can she discover the truth, and, more importantly, can she open her heart to love again?

Natasha Lester always writes poignant and well-researched historical novels. She is one of my favourite authors!

I received this free ebook from Hachette Australia via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

This book is probably my favourite book from Natasha Lester! She is a phenomenal storyteller!

Riveria House had a mix of history and present day. Lester always covers my two favourite places, Paris and New York. Lester sucks me in from the opening page and holds me in her amazing world until the very end. I was thinking about these characters for a while after reading this one. Especially Xavier and Elaine.

Beautifully written and elegantly atmospheric!
Wonderful dive in part of the world's history and the French Revolution that i didn't know much about!

Definitely pick this one up! Can't recommend it enough!

After facing one of the worst things a parent and wife can face, Remy is recuperating and taking time out at a lovely home in the Riviera that had been left to her when she was adopted as a baby. When she meets the family staying next door, she is encouraged to find out the secrets behind her biological family and discovers some war time heroes in her lineage whilst at the same time discovering herself after tragedy. A beautifully written story that tells the tale of Remy and also her biological grandparents in German invaded France in the 1940s. Loved it.

Natasha Lester is one of my favourite historical fiction authors and I think this one is her best book yet. I absolutely loved every page. Usually with a dual timeline I prefer one story over the other, but I was equally invested in both Eliane and Remy’s stories, and I loved how they both tied together in the end. This book had that magical ability to transport me so completely through time and space that I barely noticed the passing of time – I picked it up to read one chapter before bed and suddenly hours have passed and I’m still immersed in the French Riviera. It is impeccably researched, the mystery is intriguing and the characters will find their way into your heart. It is also so, so beautifully written. This story broke my heart, but it also filled me with joy.

Absolutely adored this one and very highly recommend

Natasha Lester's stories are always such a wonderful read. The Riviera House is another dual-timeline historical fiction set during WWII and the present. Frenchwoman, Eliane Dufort's story is set between 1939 and 1944, and follows her and her sibling’s courageous resistance efforts during the war. The story focuses on the theft of priceless artworks by the Nazi's. In the present day, Remy Lang has always owned a painting connected to the collections stolen by the Nazi's without knowing its origin. While on a break in France, Remy discovers some family secrets that can no longer be left hidden.

Thanks to Netgalley for a copy of this book for an honest review.

Not often a book will break your heart, put it back together and then break it again and again!! This book has done that and I love it!

I love that Natasha Lester incorporates real people into her stories, allowing these heroic women to have recognition, often for the first time! I'm always excited to get my hands on her books.

Natasha Lester, New York best selling author, has delivered her seventh masterpiece The Riviera House. Now while I haven't read Natasha's previous books I can just tell how magically immerse I will become by just reading The Riviera House.


The Riviera House by Natasha Lester transports us back to 1939 and 2015. In the 1939 we are in the majestic heart of France's capital city Paris in WW2 and in 2015 we are set in the French Riviera along the picturesque coastline looking out into the Mediterranean Sea of France. Absolutely breathtaking scenery right?

The two main female characters Elaine (1939s) and Remy (2015) stories were similar but they had two different personalities. Elaine is a brave, courageous woman working against the Nazis for her passion of artwork in war-torn Paris. Can she record artworks while being undetected by the Nazis when they are in the same building as her?
Remy, finds herself and can she find love again after suffering the loss of her husband and daughter two years ago? And why is her painting back at home, in an old art catalogue for missing paintings back in WW2?

Even though this book is historical fiction, it's based on the real life events of WW2 in Paris. Natasha's love for art, vintage fashion and France really shone throughout The Riviera House, making the book itself a valuable piece of art. (In my opinion of course)

Through reading the book The Riviera House I was able to see a different side of WW2. I didn't realise that artwork was a huge aspect in the war. So reading this book really made me open my eyes and made me do some research of my own into the art industry of Paris back in the 30s/40s.

I highly recommend reading The Riviera House for anyone who loves Historical Fiction. For anyone who loves France, Artwork, Vintage Fashion or even WW2.


Thank You to Tandem Collective and my reading buddies for this read along. A huge thank you to Hachette and Netgalley for gifting me a copy of The Riviera House in exchange for an honest review, and thanks again for allowing me to read this book for the Readalong.

Natasha Lester has given us another exquisite story with The Riviera House.

Told during both WW2 and the current day, she weaves a heartbreaking, beautiful story of love and loss - not just of the human kind.

Told by Eliane in WW2 and Remy in the current day, their lives interweave in ways that no one would have expected back in the 1940s, and the heartbreak of back then is still alive today.

Ms Lester always does so much research into her stories, and as I am reading along, I am Googling the things she is telling us about. It is like homework, but with things that I really am interested in.

My heart hurt as the story moves along, but the last chapter or so really brought on the tears.

There were a few twists and turns that surprised me along the way.

I was swept away with this story, and you will be too;

I fell in love with Natasha Lester’s writing when I read The French Photographer, she sparked an interest in Historical Fiction so I sought out more. Then when I read The Paris Secret and I just knew I would always enjoy her work.

I finished The Riviera House a few weeks ago, but I have struggled to find the words to do this book justice, I still can’t find the right ones to describe just how amazing this book was.

Set in Paris over two time periods, beginning in 1939 and present day.

Eliane Dufort lives in Paris, works at the Louvre, she works hard to support her family, but things become much more of a struggle for her when the Nazis occupy the city.

Remy Lang escapes her grief back in Australia and finds herself in a stunning private estate on the French Riviera.

This book made me feel such overwhelming emotions, I was so heartbroken for both Remy and Eliane, and at the same time being in awe of the strength both these women had.

I love how the dual timeline was so cleverly crafted that the full story was only fully revealed at the end, I was kept guessing, and found myself nodding yes as I read how everything and everyone were connected.

The Riviera House is extremely well researched and lead me to google a lot of the events and places mention throughout the book. A lot to the events in Paris during the Second World War I wasn’t familiar with, the suffering, the courage, the hardships and betrayal. It is hard to imagine living through that, but through the words on the page I was completely drawn in and gained a far greater understanding.

Sometimes, if I think about things too much, it surprises me where the gaps in my reading are. For example, take Natasha Lester. This book is her ninth book (I think), she's a bestselling author, she is Australian, she writes historical fiction, and several of her books are set during WWII. Oh, and Paris!! This should make her an autobuy for me. And yet, this is the first book I have read by her.



"Art reminds us that there's a world opposite to the one we live in."





Eliane and her brother Luc both love art. He spends time fraternising with other artists whereas Eliane attends art school in the morning, works in the Louvre in the afternoon and then works in the family restaurant at night. As rumours of an imminent invasion of Paris by the approaching German army intensify, they both assist with the removal of many of the treasures of the Louvre. Many pieces were evacuated to secret locations to keep them from falling into the hands of the Germans.





Once the Germans do arrive in Paris, they may not be able to confiscate art owned by the State, but the art that is owned by influential and wealthy German families is fair game, with the most famous pieces being sent to Hitler, as long as they met his standards of decency, and other powerful leaders.





Thanks to Eliane's art knowledge, she is perfect to assist with the cataloguing the art. What the German officers in charge don't realise is that she understands German, and together with others performing similar work she is able to record the information about where these masterpieces have ended up. This was vital work which helps reunite owners and their art after the war. It is dangerous work. She has to maintain her detached manner so as to not draw attention to the dangerous work that she is involved in. One person who can betray her is her former love Xavier Laurent who is closely working with the Germans, much to Eliane's disgust.






In the modern storyline we meet Remy. She has retreated to the house that she inherited after suffering a terrible tragedy in her life. She just wants to be left alone in the glamourous house and to work on her lookbook for her successful vintage fashion business. Unfortunately, the family next door intrudes on her solitude. Luckily, Adam Henry-Jones is a fashion photographer, albeit one that Remy has no interest in working with, but fate has other plans.







When she finds a mysterious catalogue of art she is shocked to find that the painting that has always hung on her wall at home in Australia is included. Remy and Adam therefore need to find out who the artist is and what the connection is to the Riviera house and to Remy herself.





Whilst I enjoyed both parts of the book, it won't be that much of a shock to know that it is the WWII section of the book which I enjoyed more. Part of the reason for that is that I am not really that interested in fashion, unlike the author who has a background in fashion, and so if you describe a Pucci or a whoever dress or a 1940s bikini I am not that great at picturing it in my mind.






There are so many great passages in this book about art and fashion, love and betrayal, sacrifice and more. I thought I would share one. I have left a little bit out so that there are no spoilers





"Do you remember, " Eliane said quietly, "when we stood at the bottom of the staircase at the Louvre and watched the Winged Victory of Samothrace carried downstairs?"


She pressed on, seizing the small advantage. "Do you remember that everyone held their breath in case she fell? Why did we do that? What does it matter if we lose a hunk of stone, or chip a piece of marble? What would Paris be without her Winged Victory, xxx? Think what Paris is now with only the grey of the Nazi uniforms, the brown of their boots, the never-ending shout of their Heil Hitlers. When Victory descended the staircase, we were scared but we were hopeful too - hopefuly that she would make it unscathed. If she'd broken, every one of us there would have cried."
And then

"Didn't Schiller say that Art is the daughter of freedom? When we stood together watching the Winged Victory we were all connnected by something beyond ourselves. Art is all we have when words fail us, when mankind fails us and when we each fail each other. If we don't save these works, we can't save ourselves."






At the beginning of this review I suggested that Natasha Lester should be an autobuy author for me, so I thought I would finish by asking the question that no one else is really asking....yes, I will be reading more from Natasha Lester. Maybe I can learn a bit about fashion from reading her books. Who knows.



Rating 4/5

Eliane Dufort lives in Paris, her parents run a brasserie or small restaurant, and she has an older brother Luc and four younger sisters. Eliane loves art, she works part time at Louvre and as a waitress. France declares war against Germany in 1939 and the city of Paris falls to the mighty German army in 1940, and Eliane’s world is now full of uncertainty and fear. Rose Valland and Eliane are employed by the Germans to catalog priceless paintings, tapestries and statues at Jeu de Paume. The German's are stealing the nation’s treasures and art from rich Jewish people and it makes Eliane furious.

They have no idea she can speak German, Eliane and others in the small resistance group are keeping records about the stolen art, decoding notes and passing on information to the resistance. It’s hard to know who she can trust, Xavier Laurent and Ernst Konig are both working for the Germans and they make her feel uneasy. Xavier’s family own a beautiful villa on the French Riviera at Cap Ferrat, and Ernst wants Eliane to attend a Nazi party function with him and stay overnight!

Remy Lang, lost her daughter and husband in a tragic accident. Two years later she’s struggling, not sleeping and living in a world full of sadness. She owns a vintage fashion business called Remy’s Closet and she decides to work on her new collection at her villa on the French Riviera. Remy's adopted, included with her paperwork as a baby, are the deeds to the villa and a painting she has hanging in her childhood bedroom in Sydney. Remy discovers a catalog of artwork stolen during WW II by the Germans and she’s stunned to see a picture of her painting included in the booklet. Remy has no idea about her real family, she worried what she will discover and she’s not sure she can deal with decades old secrets.

The book has a dual timeline, it seamlessly flows between Paris during WW II, the present time and it's fascinating reading about the following aspects in the story. The Germans easily invading France, ruling the country, taking what they wanted, sending stolen treasure back to Germany, the suffering and deprivation the French people endured for four years and how they resisted. The divine vintage clothes and jewellery Remy sells in her business, how the luxurious villa and the painting ties everything together. The Riviera House is thoroughly researched, beautifully written, rich in detail and reading about the beautiful vintage fashion is always a highlight in Natasha Lester's books.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley and Hachette Australia in exchange for an honest review, it's brilliant and five stars from me. I have posted my review on Goodreads, Twitter, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Edelweiss, on my Facebook page and my blog.

The Riviera House is a superbly crafted and meticulously researched dual timeline novel set partly in WWII Paris and partly on the French Riviera in 2015. The story flows effortlessly between the two timelines, along the way unveiling the chilling history of Nazi art theft during the war and providing a healing journey for vintage fashion aficionado Remy Lang, who lost her husband and daughter in a car crash two years earlier.
There is so much to love about this book that it’s hard to know where to start. Of course the horror of the Nazi occupation of Paris, the beauty of the Mediterranean and the exquisite elegance of the House at Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat provide stunning backdrops to the stories unfolding here but there is so much more to this book. The emotional stories of both Éliane during WWII and Remy in 2015 along with their respective love interests are utterly engaging. I felt the fear that Éliane felt as she spied on the Nazis. I felt the suffering Remy experienced as she dealt with the death of her daughter. The exquisite beauty of Remy’s vintage clothes was beautifully detailed on the page as was the emotion invoked by the art that Éliane catalogued in the Jeu does Paumes. This story made for compelling reading. It is a book that I feel privileged to have read and can highly recommend.

I have read all of Natasha Lester's previous books and I have to say that this is her best so far. Once I started it, I could not put it down. This book features the dual storyline that is common to Lester's books and both were incredibly engaging (I find that the modern storyline in historical novels can drag a little). I wanted to know more about how both Eliane Dufort in 1939 Paris and Remy Lang in the present day were connected. I loved learning more about the Nazi theft of priceless French (and European) artworks and once again Lester's detailed historical research raises this book from interesting to a unique and memorable story. Thanks to Netgalley and Hachette for my advance copy.

Another amazing dual timeline novel by our Australian queen of Historical Fiction Natasha Lester!

This time we are taken to Paris during WWII when the Nazi's were accumulating masses of artwork from french citizens and their museums for their own pleasure.

Eliane and her family are french citizens and Eliane works at the Louvre. By day the Germans think she is cataloguing the pieces of artwork for them, but she is actually recording the whereabouts of all these paintings in the hope that in the future they will be returned to their owners. The Germans don't know that she can speak and understand German so she is playing a very dangerous game.

Meanwhile her family have had to move away with the love of her life, so she is shocked to see him return as an advisor to the Nazi general!

Meanwhile in the present day Remi is wanting to escape her life in Australia and retreats to the Riviera House that she has inherited, therein lies many secrets that begin to unfold and link up with the past.

I think this is one of my favourite books of Natasha's so far. I thoroughly enjoyed both time-line settings and characters, and the research she has obviously done translates so well to this novel. Again fashion features, but it is the compelling storylines that kept me turning the pages until the shocking conclusion. All hail Natasha - thank you for writing these wonderful books. Thank you to Net Galley and Hachette Australia for the copy of this book to read and review. 5*.

Another fabulous story from Natasha Lester, one that is based on fact and then told in a way that pulls at the readers emotions as they see the courage and strength that ordinary people possess in times of struggle and need, I have never been dis appointed by one of MS Lester’s stories and this is another one to add to the keeper shelf.

Paris 1939 and the Germans have arrived in Paris Eliane Dufort has a hard life caring for her younger siblings while her parents run a brasserie she is also studying art in the mornings and works at The Louvre in the afternoons then in the brasserie at night, she is close to her older brother Luc who is an artist. Everything changes when the Nazi’s arrive at the Louvre to help themselves to the art works. Eliane convinces them that she can help them catalogue the works and here starts her work helping protect the art with the help of Rose Valland, it is a dangerous position to be in and then the man, Xavier who she thought she loved has arrived to help the Germans.

The Riviera 2015 Remy Lang has arrived at the house she inherited to try and get on with her life two years after the tragic loss of her husband and child, Remy runs a vintage fashion design business and is here to do a photo shoot then when she meets Adam Henry-Jones, photographer staying with his family next door Remy discovers a book a catalogue of Goring’s artworks from World War two and is shocked to discover that a painting that she inherited is in that book, how does this relate to her, who are her real family and with Adam’s help Remy discovers a lot about her past and this helps her move into the future.

This is a gorgeous story over two time lines, so beautifully written with heartfelt emotion courage and strength, MS Lester brings these characters to life and puts the reader in the seat of intrigue, daring and bravery as ordinary people do what they can to save precious artefacts for future generations. It shows what people will do for the people they love in a page turning story that was hard to put down.

I loved the fashions that Remy has and the house on the Riviera is just gorgeous in both time lines so many memories there and the characters, there are so many of them that made this story so good, and the romances in both time lines added to the emotions. This is a story that I would highly recommend, clear some time because you are not going to want to put it down as you get to know these people from the past and present.

My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher Hachette AUS for my copy to read and review.

Éliane Dulac was the eldest child, so spent most of her time mothering her four siblings while their mother ran the restaurant with their father, who was a drunken bully, brutal and unkind. Éliane studied art during her mornings, then worked at the Louvre gallery in the afternoons to earn some money to buy food for her family. With the Nazis close to invading Paris, food was becoming scarcer, and it was a daily struggle to find enough to feed them only a small portion each. When the decision was made for Éliane’s mother and sisters to flee Paris, Éliane decided to stay as she could do more good against the Germans. Luc, her brother, was an artist and part of the resistance; Éliane’s focus was on doing the same.

Joining Rose Valland to catalogue priceless artworks at Jeu de Paume that the Germans were bringing together in order to ‘safeguard’ it (read - steal it for their own collections), Éliane didn’t let on that she understood German. And so began her subterfuge of finding out as much as was humanly possible, which she passed on to the Resistance workers of whom there were many. With one of the Nazis, Ernst Konig, offering affection, Éliane shuddered and played the game. The danger was when she was invited (ordered) to go to the French Riviera to a villa called Cap-Ferrat with the Nazis. Could she continue to get away with it?

Remy had inherited a villa in the French Riviera – a mystery she wanted to solve – so her journey there was fortuitous as she was still hollowed out with grief. Remy owned a vintage fashion business called Remy’s Closet which she ran online, and her discovery of stolen artworks led Remy to search out details of her biological family, of which she had none. Did Remy really want to delve into the past? Her emotions were all over the place; perhaps she should leave it all in the past…

Based on fact, The Riviera House is another exceptional historical novel by Aussie author Natasha Lester, which I loved. I don’t think I’ve read one of this author’s books and not loved it! The characters, as always, were well-written and played their parts well. Angelique, one of Éliane’s sisters, is a strong and determined young woman (not unlike Éliane), and Éliane continually outdid herself with her strength and sheer resolve under extremely difficult circumstances. Highly recommended.

With thanks to NetGalley and Hachette AU for my digital ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.