I have read a lot of historical fiction books but this one just didn’t really stand out for me. I enjoyed the historical fiction part of the story in Paris during 1940 but I could have done without the present day characters and storyline. They didn’t really seem believable in many ways.

Laurence owns a book store in Paris. Known as the book doctor she enjoys giving book and poem prescriptions to her customers.
Jeanne finds out at her mothers funeral that her mother wasn’t really her biological mother. Her father explains what had happened and they embark on a trip to Paris France to uncover who her mother really was,

The narration was well done but again the present day characters kind of threw me for a loop. I didn’t understand why Wendell had such a southern drawl but his daughter didn’t. It seemed out of place compared to the American and French accents of the rest of the characters.

This one was just ok for me.

Thanks to Bookouture audio and Net Galley for the advanced copy.

This is an amazing book, which really touched me. It is historical fiction, set in France during the war, and in America in the 1990's. Laurence lives in and runs a book shop in France, and we see her story of what happens during the war, and how brave she was, as she tried to save her people. Years later, Jeanne inherits the book shop, and along with her father, she travels from America to France to see it, and find out more about what happened to Laurence.

I loved this story and it felt like I was on a big adventure, which was happy and sad at the same time. The story is emotional, powerful, heartbreaking and inspirational, and it really engrossed me. It reminded me of the book The Nightingale, and the writing was just as good as that one. This is a superb book, which I recommend highly, and I am sure it will be a success in the literary world.

Many thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Great atmospheric historical fiction, a lovely read and I learnt a lot.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for letting me access an advance copy of this audiobook in exchange for my feedback.

3.5 Stars!

Good story with a few inconstancies which make it hard to be fully absorbed in the story.

The narrator certainly grew on me, she did a great job in the end. But I was confused as to why her dialogue was American but when she spoke to people she spoke in a French accent. Very strange and it makes is hard to distinguish which time line you are on if you have zoned out!

It also took a long time to get to the point of the story - probably half way through so there is a lot of character building, but the character knowledge is vague - how old are they etc?

It is however a good story with multiple timelines which tie in together well.

Laurence Sidot owns a book store inherited from her parents amid escalating stories of war in 1939. Unfortunately, it isn’t long before the Germans arrive and demonstrate the atrocities they rain down on the people in her little village outside of Paris.

When she begins to see the people of her town either taken way, shot, or hanged, she realizes she absolutely cannot stand by and do nothing. She learns of the French resistance and begins a consistent campaign of both passive and aggressive resistance in one case meeting a downed American airman, whom she rescues.

In 1993, Jeanne, a former detective who, following the death of her mother, learns she has inherited a book store in a village outside of Paris. Her father can tell her very little of Laurence, though it’s obvious he loved her and claims that Laurence was a hero. She and her father travel to the village to claim her inheritance, discover the truth of what happened to Laurence, and determine their mutual connection.

I loved the 1939 timeline. Jeanne, on the other hand, was still smarting over being “retired” against her will. It’s an uneven timeline, heavily on the side of Laurence (thankfully). I didn’t particularly like the character of Jeanne.

Based on true events, a revelation about the determination and the many ways the women of the resistance provided support. I loved the story and it kept me hooked and listening until the final heart-rending reveal. Powerful, emotional statements of individuals on both sides of a war and my recommendation to all who enjoy historical fiction as well as the indomitable spirit of people in horrific circumstances. 4.5 stars

Wow so many family secrets bringing an emotional and heart wrenching story. Jeanne & Laurence are both such strong women. The tie they have together explains it. What a gift this book is. Make sure to read it.

Loved the wonderful narration of #LaurenceBouvard.

Set in WWII, in occupied France, this tells the story of Laurence and her heroic deeds in resisting the German occupation of her country. There are many historical facts which will interest those who are unfamiliar with details of France's occupation and capitulation to the Germans. Of great interest to me was reference to the Imprimerie de Minuit. (Midnight printers, a publishing organisation who organised printing of banned and ‘subversive’ books.) I read ‘Le Silence de La Mer’ for ‘A’ level French. It was good to revisit this text as Laurence was reading it for the first time, it being published in secret during the war. Many books referenced in this book are now on my TBR.

Much of Laurence’s acts of resistance centre in receiving messages hidden in forbidden books, or reading banned books with her friends. Therefore this book is a bibliophile’ s dream: a book about the beauty and power of the printed word, the strength that can be derived from sharing and reading meaningful books and poems. The personal strength gained by rejecting the confines and hate of the oppressor by reading books which they fear and have banned. Seeing truths which the enemy wish to suppress or hide.

Laurence and her female friends were resourceful and showed great strength of spirits. Many resisted the occupation through non-violent subversive means. The constant fear of trouble, or being discovered by German soldiers is well conveyed, and there are many moments when it seems their luck may run out.

Told across two timelines, Laurence in occupied France, and her daughter Jeanne in modern times, this works well. The gradual release of information relating to the war time experiences of the French is well handled, with the use of different voices.

Thanks to #NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook in exchange for an honest review

I loved this audiobook! The intertwining stories of Laurence and Jean told 50 years apart was incredible. The awful occupation of France was presented in such a tense way and you just had to find out what happened to Laurence and what she did to empower the people of her village to resist. I would definitely recommend for all historical fiction lovers!

"I am not afraid. I was born to do this."

This was a powerful and emotional story that I found myself being drawn into but only the historical sections; the more recent sections I didn't particularly think added that much to the story as a whole.

I listened to the audio book and whilst I think the narrator did a good job, I did find her interpretation of some of the French characters' voices was a bit jarring. I also found it odd that the main character of Laurence, who is French, spoke to other characters in a French accent however, her inner-dialogue was American.

Having said all that, I was captivated by Laurence's story and loved the way books played a pivotal and vital role in this book; this was unique for me and I really enjoyed it.

Thank you to Bookouture Audio and NetGalley for my copy in return for an honest, unbiased and unedited review.

I listened to this one on audio and I really enjoyed the story very much, although I did feel there was something missing with the later of the dual time zones, not sure what though.
Based in a book shop on the outskirts of Paris, which is always going to be a winner for me.

The narrator was 75% there, until the character change in my opinion.

I would recommend you listen or read it to see what you think.

This is the book we need right now! As a librarian in Indiana concerned about censorship, this book was so much more than compelling read. Here we have a protagonist that runs a book store in a Nazi occupied French Village. As she learns about books added to the Nazi "not to be read" list, she questions, she wonders what they are afraid of her reading in the books, what information they are hiding.
This book just has all the feels and is a MUST READ.

The book takes place between two timelines 1939-1944 and 1993. I had no real notion of how life was in France during the Second World War. I’ve read other books set in this timeframe but they were from other perspectives. I found the story interesting, but I struggled with how the historical timeline was dragged out. I like the bookstore setting and how it gave hope to Laurence and her countrymen.
I learned things I didn’t know about the books banned by the Germans during the war.
I like Jeanne and was interested in her story. I feel like a bit more time could have been spent in the present.
I would have liked to understand more about Wendell’s viewpoint.
Laurence is well characterized but many of the others from the 1939-1944 period were more flat.
I cried at Laurence’s fate.
The narrator had a challenge with the different accents. I think the audiobook was well done.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to listen to the audiobook.

The portions of this story that were told in France were alive and thrilling. Unfortunately, I had a hard time staying in the story when it involved the Americans. I think it was a misstep to have the Americans be so ignorant of the war and the resistance. It took me out of the story each time we stepped to the current time period and made me not particularly want to pick it up again.

I greatly preferred the resistance timeline to the daughter's story. I enjoyed reading about how Laurance was able to resist through books. Her determination and relationship with the townspeople were incredibly powerful. However, I felt like the story really lost steam towards the end. I would've preferred to just read about her story without the addition of the romance or the second timeline.

In comparison, Jean's story felt stilted with conversations that made no sense purely to add suspense. Her character was grating and ignorant at times. The second timeline seemed like it served only to reveal moments in the resistance timeline and did not have enough substance to stand on its own.

Laurence is a young French woman who owns a bookstore in 1939 France. When Germany occupies the country, she draws strength from the books she reads to resist the occupation in ways both big and small. In the early 1990s in America, Jeanne is forced into early retirement from her career as a cop. When the woman she has known as her mother dies, Jeanne learns the astonishing truth – her mother was a French woman her dad met during World War II. Together, the two return to France to find out exactly what happened to her mom.

For me, Laurence’s part of the story was much stronger than Jeanne’s. I feel like Jeanne could not have existed, and the book would be stronger standing on only Laurence’s part of the story. I did love the way Laurence wrote “prescriptions” for those around her, with passages from books or poetry to meet the emotional needs of those around her. Unless I missed a reference to Laurence’s resistance group being called the Paris network, I don’t quite understand the title. She does make a few trips to Paris, but most of the people she collaborates with are in the country/smaller towns like her.

Those who want to read World War II stories that do not have graphic descriptions of the atrocities that went on may enjoy this book. However, overall, I would say there are better World War II stories out there that I would recommend over this one. If Jeanne’s part of the story were removed, I would be more likely to recommend this book.

Many thanks to NetGalley for providing me an audio ARC of this book.

Paris 1940, Laurence owns a bookstore in war torn France. She hides coded messages in between the pages of books from her bookstore. She goes out in the middle of the night, in the bitter cold to meet her resistance contact. She passes the books to them with the coded messages inside. And one night an allied plane with its tail on fire suddenly crashes, she knows she must do everything she can to rescue the pilot. But deviating from her plan could mean risking not only her life but many others who are depending on her. Many years later, in America Jeanne finds an old box in her father’s garage. She discovers that she has inherited a bookstore in France from a woman she knows nothing about, named Laurence. Her father never told Jeanne about the woman. So, she travels to France to find out anything she can about the mysterious woman. Jeanne finds the bookstore in a little village in Paris. The bookstore is in complete shambles, is boarded up and in need of so many repairs. Jeanne uncovers the amazing and incredible story of Laurence and discovers the hero of who she was. This book was so moving, heartbreaking and inspirational. I was on the edge of my seat and couldn’t wait to get to the end to find out what was going to happen next. This story was based on true events and that made me feel so pulled in to the story that I forgot where I was. I couldn’t put this book down as it was so full of inspiration, hope and heartbreak. This time slip historical fiction is an absolute must read. Words cannot describe how phenomenal this story was.

Thank you Siobhan Curham for such a wonderful and beautiful story filled with inspiration and hope. This story was so emotional and unputdownable I didn’t want it to end but I couldn’t wait to see how it was going to end. I loved it and I highly recommend it.

Oh this book! This reminded me so much of the nightingale! It really pulls at the heart strings but oh I wish it never ended! I highly recommend!

The story is written in past and present between two different people.

Laurence lives in a small village in France during WW2 when the Germans took over there town, she is a fierce and courages women who owns a bookstore. She is determined to resist the nazi and does so by forming a small book club and reads ban books. She enters in working for the French resistance by sneaking books and codes along the way.

Jean is a retired cop and never felt loved by her mom, when her mom dies and aunt tells her that under the circumstances she did her best which lead her to ask her father what she was talking about. It’s reviled that the mother she thought was her mom wasn’t.

Thank you NetGalley for the advance copy of this audiobook for my honest review!

In a Nutshell: The historical part of this book is very good (not excellent, but definitely good.) The rest of the book, nope.

Story:
1939 onwards, somewhere near Paris: Laurence runs a little bookstore with a twist. She calls herself the book doctor and loves to give “prescriptions” of books/poems to her customers as per their emotional requirements. When the Germans come to her town in 1940, she finds the changes in her life overwhelming and thus begins resistance against the Nazis, both through her own little ways of protest and through an underground resistance network. Taking inspiration from her role model, Laurence decides to do what she can to see her beloved France free of the Germans.
1990s USA. On the funeral day of her mother, Jeanne seems to be uncovering some family secrets. One of these is through a box her father Wendell gives her. It contains the deeds to a bookstore in France, owned by someone named Laurence. What connection Jeanne has with Laurence is what you will discover on reading the story.
The story comes to us in the first person perspective of Laurence and third person perspective of Jeanne.

Where the book clicked for me:
✔ As a book lover, I relished the attention and love books gets in this story. While their impact may have been a bit exaggerated, they still get a pride of place in the plot, right from the bookstore to book club discussions, to books published clandestinely to banned books to authors. I enjoyed every book-related reference.
✔ The historical timeline starts off like a typical WWII fiction but soon becomes interesting. It provides an interesting glimpse into the French resistance fighters. Their strategies, their minor and major acts of defiance, and their planned organisation all make a good impact.
✔ Laurence makes for an interesting leading lady. While all alone in the world, she still makes the best of her situation and uses her brain and her guts more than her emotions alone. I simply loved her progress through the book.
✔ There is no forced romantic track in the contemporary timeline. Much appreciated decision, this. I am fed up of seeing every single woman mandatorily having to find a guy by the end of the story.

Where the book could have worked better for me:
❌ The 1990s timeline was a big dud for me. There are so many flaws in it, and so many things are just unbelievable. Like, would an arthritic man in his late70s-early80s who uses a cane to walk, be able to climb a wall?
❌ Why are all the revelations dragged out? If you knew your father knows some details related to your past, would you allow him to keep his silence, go all the way to France, and then discover the secrets over the period of a few days, OR would you pester him until he is badgered into revealing everything he knows? The whole timeline could have been over in ten minutes flat if everyone just revealed whatever they knew to Jeanne as soon as they met her.
❌ There are so many essential bits of information not revealed. For me, knowing a character’s approximate age helps a lot in understanding their behaviour. Laurence’s age isn’t revealed at all. Why Wendell didn’t come to France earlier even though he thought that the information given to him about someone crucial was false, not revealed. How Lorilee came into the picture, not revealed. Why Jean was asked to resign from her job, not revealed. Jeanne is supposed to have a brother named Danny. He hardly even makes an appearance in the whole book.
❌ Jean is supposed to be almost fifty years old, yet she acts so immaturely. It was tough to accept her as a middle-aged woman as she sounded like a stubborn and ignorant teenager in almost every scene. There is a constant reference to her police background but looking at the way she interviewed everyone, she must have made for a very poor detective as not a single person gave her complete information immediately. Her skills come in handy only once in her entire track, yet we are reminded of her career time and again.
❌ There seem to be some anachronisms in the dialogues. For instance, would a person in 1940s France use the phrase “be an item” to denote dating? When did “Ooh La La” become a phrase used to express shock?

The book would have worked far better for me if it had ditched the contemporary timeline altogether and stuck to the historical story. Yes, the book would have been shorter, but it would have been far more impactful. Jeanne’s story could have been put as a prologue and epilogue to provide a foundation and closure respectively to the WWII events.

The audiobook experience:
The audiobook clocks at about 14 hours and is narrated by Laurence Bouvard. She has a lovely voice, but let’s just say, her task was difficult because of the dual French and American perspective. And she further added to the complication by voicing some of the characters with accents. Unfortunately, it is not easy to switch between accents and the inconsistency stands out glaringly. I didn’t understand some of her narrative decisions. Like, if Wendell has such a strong Southern drawl, how come Jeanne speaks in a neutral American accent? Laurence’s timeline is in first person and Laurence is French. So her entire timeline could (should?) have been narrated with a French accent. Instead what we get is, internal monologues narrated in an American accent, Laurence’s first person dialogues narrated in a mixed French-American accent, and the other French characters dialogues narrated in a French accent. It is just distracting to hear the constant switching on and off of French accents within the French timeline. Furthermore, her accent is not always spot on. For example, the French pronounce Paris as “Pah-ree”, not “PariS”. Can’t blame her entirely, it was a complicated audiobook to narrate. Having two narrators might have helped, maybe?

Overall, not as good an experience for me as I had expected. The historical timeline gets 4 stars, but the contemporary one just about merits a 2. Hence, 3 stars. Of course, I read a LOT of historical fiction, and hence a story really has to stand out if it has to impress me. Maybe those who aren’t regular readers of this genre might enjoy this book more. The strong GR rating seems to suggest that many readers enjoyed it, so do read other opinions before you make up your mind.

My thanks to Bookouture Audio and NetGalley for the ALC of “The Paris Network”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the audiobook.

This is a story set during the German occupation of France and how some ordinary citizens chose to fight back in whatever way they could.
It is told in 2 different timelines one in 1940s France, in the midst of WWII and the German occupation of France, and the other in 1993 when an American woman named Jeanne travels to France to discover more about her past. Raised by her biological father Wendell & his wife, retired police detective Jeanne has only recently discovered that her biological mother was not the woman who raised her. Travelling with her elderly father, she travels to France to find what happened to her biological mother Laurence, a bookshop owner and member of the French resistance.
The switches between the timelines is well done, with Jeanne uncovering an aspect of her mother’s story & the book switching to fill in that part of Laurence’s life. Wendell is the link between the two stories and plays a part in both, linking them together but also giving Jeanne a new understanding & respect for her father as she learns about the part he played in the war.
I found the book quite slow initially but once the two timelines started to connect, it kept me interested as I wanted to know what happened. However the ending felt very rushed, especially after such a slow start to the book. I would have liked to
Whilst I liked many of the 1940s characters (Laurence, Madame Bonneur, Michèle the Parisien bookseller and of course Père Rombert) who had a family-like bond, I didn’t warm to 1993 Jeanne or really to Willard who seemed very one dimensional. Jeanne seemed remarkably naïve for a police officer, and completely uneducated about WW2.
I enjoyed the focus on books, and the way that they played such an integral part in the story – from “book prescriptions” that Laurence dispenses to give hope & support to her customers, to a way to connect with the community, a book club that reads & discusses banned books and secret messages being passed in the pages of books. It is through books that Laurence gets involved with the resistance movement “the Network”.
I listened to the audio of this book and my biggest struggle came from the narration, or perhaps it was the words used by the author? The accents were ok & did help to differentiate the characters, but I couldn’t reconcile Laurence’s “internal monologue”/thoughts being done in an American accent! In addition some of the phrases/words used don’t quite work. Being an American, Jeanne would use a flashlight not a torch (though Laurence would correctly use the more British terms). It just made the story a little more jarring.

Overall, I liked that this was a “clean” book with the violence/horrors of war gently done, no swearing or explicit sex, and that the romance was the secondary theme in the novel not the primary focus despite the fact that we were seeking the truth about Jeanne’s birth.
I believe that the book was inspired by true events during World War II and it is ultimately a story of friendship, love, courage, and a fight for liberté. I liked it, but didn’t love it.

My thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for partially allowing me to listen to this book,but unfortunately when I went to try to listen to this on Saturday morning Feb 19th it was no longer on my shelf to give full review.

Interesting partial review on how a girl who went to her mother's funeral found our her mother was not her mother and was left a book store in France from her real mother. Told in past and from 1993 to tie story together to explain.