This is a must read for any film buff who has ever wondered what the first Cannes Film Festival was like. Complete with stars, glitter, glamour, spies, and political unrest it makes for a fun, fast read with an HEA.

This historical novel, set in 1939 on the French Riviera, is perfect for those who love to see cameos of real life characters pop up in the plot. A young woman who works at a fancy hotel gets to meet all kinds of famous actors and movie business types who have come to the first Cannes Film Festival. Mae West hangs out at the pool, and the guy our protagonist agrees to type for turns out to be F. Scott Fitzgerald. The pacing of this novel was a bit slow, but this was an interesting and fun read. Great for summer beach reading.

I absolutely loved Camille's last novel and this one did not disappoint! It was so cool to learn about the origins of the film festival, I love how Camille weaves in all of the elements of the historic fact and fiction

In 1939 in France, the Cannes Film Festival is set to make its debut. However, Europe is on the brink of war and the area is filled with spies and Hollywood stars. At the Grand Hotel, Annabel is working for her uncle and is asked to work with 2 stars, and of course no one is quite who they seem to be. Based on actual events and loaded with stars, F. Scott Fitzgerald included.

I thought I had read about every possible angle of World War II in the dozens of titles I’ve read in the past few years, but this was a new one for me. Camille Aubrey drew me right into this story about the first attempt to hold the famed Cannes Film Festival in 1939–which was interrupted by Germany’s invasion of Poland.

This book had it all—spy intrigue, romance, a murder mystery, and lots of juicy Hollywood gossip which kept me Googling far into the night. I had a good time with this one!

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

The Girl from the Grand Hotel by Camille Aubray is a delightful historical novel set on the French Riviera in 1939. Europe is on the brink of war, but the area is excited and abuzz as celebrities arrive for the very first Cannes film Festival.
“I…would give my life for three years in France.” (F. Scott Fitzgerald.)
For Annabel it is a dreamy time. A twenty-something New Yorker, she leaves the US and now works for her uncle at his famous Grand Hotel on the Riviera. She loves her uncle, the job, and the people of the area. But with the threat of war, there are also some sinister types, mostly German army officers, at the hotel, throwing a damper on some of the excitement of the new Cannes’ “Celebration of the Stars.”
As in her previous novels set in France, the author shows she knows well the country and its history. There is copious name-dropping and tidbits about celebrities as the movie types and even a famous author (!) come to stay. Balancing the frivolity of that subject, there is a more serious tale of wartime activity with intrigue and personal danger for many.
I enjoy Aubray’s vivid descriptions of the place, the time, and the people of the area! The story telling is charming in its simplicity, and the arc of the story is nicely wrapped up in the revelatory epilogue.
I recommend this novel to readers who like 20th century French history seen through the prism of old-time glamour and a bit of melancholy for the lovely days in the sun before the gathering clouds of war.

Thank you to Blackstone Publishers and NetGalley for the ARC. This is my honest review.

Welcome to the Grand Hotel.

The onset of WWII looms on the shores of southern France, as Hollywood's elite gather for the first Cannes Film Festival. A young American girl loses everything, and comes to live with her uncle in the hotel. A schooled young women, she's assigned various secretarial tasks with an actor and screenwriter. Then the Nazi's arrive...

This story is inspired by real life events pre-war in southern France. The writing was gorgeous with its locale, but the cast of characters was daunting. It almost felt they were inserted to add glitz to the story, maybe a bit too much. The romance, and mystery takes a bit for the story to unveil, so this is truly a slow-burn story.

Thank you, Blackstone Publishing

The Girl From the Grand Hotel by Camille Aubray is set in the French Riviera during WWII and oozes old Hollywood glamour. American Annabel moves from her home country to her uncle's home in the Mediterranean. She's lost almost everything and seeks a new life. She is employed at the Grand Hotel where the first Cannes festival takes place and becomes enmeshed in Hollywood acting and writing circles. Included in the list of big names who stay at the hotel are Mae West, Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald and Marlene Dietrich. When Nazi officers arrive, the atmosphere crackles with angst.

The synopsis sounded fabulous but the story inspired by real events didn't captivate me as I had hoped. I didn't enjoy the characters or romance. But the writing is gorgeous, bits of mystery are intriguing and the setting believable. Other than the writing which took my breath away, my favourite aspect was learning more about the Nazis banning movies and studios for offending Hitler. Interesting stuff.

If you are enamored by Hollywood's Golden Age in an original setting, this may very well be for you.

My sincere thank you to Blackstone Publishing and NetGalley for providing me with a digital copy of this enthralling novel.

Thanks to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishers for the eARC of this book!

This is the story of a young woman named Annabel who moves to France from the US on the eve of WWII following the death of her parents. Her uncle runs the illustrious Grand Hotel on the Côte d’Azur so she takes on a job there for the summer of 1939. During this time, the Grand Hotel is hosting the inaugural Cannes Film Festival. Annabel encounters starlets and spies, writers and actors, heirs and Herrs. 😜

Annabel has the ability to and an interest in producing the various arts. Through this novel we get a glimpse at a bit of this in both the theatrical and literary fields with some big names in both that many readers will be familiar with! Drawing upon real events in a historical fiction is necessary, but accurately depicting a character whom really existed and doing them justice is less common and what really pulls this one up to the full 5-star rating for me. The background of this novel is researched SO well and, as a historian I appreciate that a lot!

I know, I know—another WWII historical fiction! There are so many, right? However, I felt like this one definitely stood out from others I have read. I tend to avoid giving novels 5 stars (sorry @ authors 🫣), but I really can’t come up with any reason to deduct even half a star from this one. This novel had some mystery and intrigue, glamour, great pacing, and a tiny bit of romance that ACTUALLY contributed to the plot (it’s so hard for me to find romances I actually like LOL)!! I can’t wait to read more from Camille Aubray now!

This book brought 1939 Hollywood to life. I didn’t know much about the beginnings of the Cannes Film Festival prior to reading this so it was interesting to read about it from the perspective of someone on the outside looking in. I’ve always enjoyed reading WW2 historical fiction but this was something new for me to experience since it takes place on the cusp of the war as it came to France and what that would’ve been like for some people during that time. I especially enjoyed the perspective on F. Scott Fitzgerald and his life and writings.

Annabel Faucon’s parents pass away and her grandmother won’t give her tuition to finish school at Vassar, her boyfriend breaks up with her, so in the summer of 1939 she goes to work for her Uncle at The Grand Hotel in  Côte d’Azur, France. During the summer she works with F. Scott Fitzgerald, and movie stars such as Marlene Dietrich, James Cagney, and Mae West. The hotel is brimming with guests and as the summer goes on more and more Nazis.

This was a fun historical mystery to read! I didn’t want to put it down.

Thank you NetGalley and Blackstone publishing for a copy. Perfect read for the spring and summer.

I really enjoyed this book. It was different than anything else I've read recently. I couldn't put it down! I will keep an eye out for this author's future work!

I would definitely recommend this book to fans of books set in this time period, particularly to those with an interest in film. The author used the prologue perfectly to create excitement for what is to come. While the earlier chapters did not contain much to sustain this interest, I did enjoy the later half of the book. I was unable to put it down once the more exciting events began to take place at was got closer and the efforts of Annabel and JP began to escalate. I also appreciated the use of real people as characters in this story, especially F. Scott Fitzgerald.

This was a different story than I expected. It is a mix of like Rebecca with the Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and something else I can’t think of.

This book has a little bit of everything. Some mystery, romance, espionage. It is a slower pace of reading but it was still good.

I haven’t read of lot of books from right before the war so it was interesting to see how some people reacted in different situations.

I’ve struggled on with this book, but felt it never really got into its stride. The characters felt shallow & events just a little too distant and detached from each other for the story to really flow, despite some passages being really nicely written.
Thank you to NetGalley & the publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for a fair & unbiased review.

I had enjoyed other books from Camille Aubray, and this had that historical feel that I enjoyed from the other books. I enjoyed the idea of the first Cannes Film Festival. The concept worked with the characters and had that feel that I was hoping for. I enjoyed the history elements of these hotels and that we had famous people in this story. I was engaged with the story and that everything worked in this world. I enjoyed the way Camille Aubray wrote this and can't wait for more.

The author did a great job with details of the setting and I felt like I was able to clearly picture the location in my mind. At points the story was a little far-fetched and cheesy, but overall it was an easy read.

I enjoyed The Girl From the Grand Hotel. The glamour and horror of the era were both dramatically portrayed as well as the glitz and glitter of the Hollywood stars. There were scenes with romance, murder, intrigue, loyalty, along with a surprising ending.

Thanks to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for the opportunity to read this ARC.

Not my cup of tea. I appreciate the writing, but this book just wasn't something I could really get in to.

Historical novels are 0ne of my favorite types of book, because you feel like you are reliving events from the past. I found this book easy to get into and it flowed throughout, This was my first book I read by this author but I look forward to future ones.