I have read many WWII historical novels so was not certain that I wanted to read another one. However, as Natasha Lester is one of my favorite authors, I decided to go ahead and am so very, very glad that I did. I recommend this book most highly.

In this novel readers meet Marie-Madeleine Meric who was a true historic personage. Readers follow her in the 1920s in Morocco and later during WWII when, with bravery, she faced unimaginable risks.

Marie-Madeleine married her husband somewhat impulsively thinking that they would have a life of great adventure. He went to Morocco to gather intelligence and relied on MM to translate for him. However, it also turned out that he was quite controlling and MM eventually left him to go to France.

Readers should know that even when Edouard tried to control her, MM had a mind of her own and for example twice took part in a famous road race, had her own friends and helped in a women's clinic. Also,unlike her husband, MM was compassionate and deeply loved her son and daughter.

When WWII was brewing and came, MM became involved in the intelligence gathering process, eventually becoming the head of the Mademoiselle Alliance. Through this work, readers meet a wide cast of characters with whom she worked. Two of the most important were Leon and Navarre. They and many others faced unimaginable danger and heartache in these pages.

Natasha Lester is a writer who animates history. She vividly describes setting sand imbues her characters with life. This author made me care so much for MM and those she cared for.

Note that some readers may find resonance with present day life in the rising of Hitler as a dictator who used the military to achieve his ends and who persecuted untold millions. This adds extra resonance to this story.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House-Ballantine for this title. All opinions are my own.

Every time I read one of Natasha Lester’s books I’m in awe of the dynamic women she brings to life. She shows us their courage, determination and resilience in the face of adversity. She also shows us their humanity and the love they have for their people.

No one would expect a woman to be leading the Alliance resistance group in France but Marie-Madeleine does it and does it so well. She sacrificed herself time and time again to ensure a future for her young children, the love her found in a time of war and her country. My heart hurt as a mother and as a woman for what Marie-Madeleine went through and all she lost.

I will definitely be thinking about this book for awhile and it has earned a spot on my favorites of the year list and it’s only half way through


Thank you @ballantinebooks and @netgalley for this eARC in exchange for my honest feedback

I have read many, many books about WWII including books about the resistance and this may be my favorite. This book felt so much more personal, maybe because the leader of the Alliance, a huge network of resistance workers, was a woman. Character development was excellent, story line moved well, horrors of war are obvious but don't overwhelm the story which is focused on dedicated people willing to sacrifice their lives. I had not understood from other books how important the resistance information was to the British and how impactful that was. There is a bit of a romance which only brings more into focus the sacrifices made. Marie-Madeline Meric, the resistance leader, was a real person who lead an extraordinary life. I will definitely recommend this book to others. It's excellent. Thank you to Netgalley for allowing me to read this ARC.

This was such an interesting read! I always love to learn about significant historical figures, and this book is no exception.

It was so interesting to learn about Fourcade, and see how she went from a vibrant woman to the head of an underground agency.

Lester really brings you into the time. Even though this is Historical Fiction, it really engages with so much truth of the time.

A great historical fiction story about a spy network headed by a woman during WWII in France. It was evident that a lot of research was done but boy, there sure was a lot of details. I felt that I needed to draw a map to keep all the players straight. The characters were admirable for their courage and passion in the cause but there were so many. At times I got lost, but I made it through to the end. An amazing story but sad too, the toll it took on families. If you enjoy reading about the underground and espionage during war, this would be an interesting read of you. Many thanks to #netgalley #natashalester for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I’ll admit that I got bit lost in the weeds of the spy network, but I’m glad I read this book simply to learn the name Marie-Madeline Meric, and the incredible work she did as the leader of the French Resistance movement Alliance. The most compelling part of the book was Marie-Madeline’s struggle over how to be a good mother—stay with her children or leave them to fight for a better world?

Marie-Madeleine’s story will resonate with readers long after the final page.

Married at eighteen and living in Morocco, Marie-Madeleine is an adventurer. She flies planes, races cars, and even aids her husband in his intelligence work. The young Frenchwoman forges many friendships in North Africa but continually disappoints her more traditional husband. When she becomes pregnant for a second time and suspects she’s carrying a girl this time, she flees back to France—determined to give her daughter the freedoms and rights she would be denied in Morocco.

With experience gained from assisting in intelligence work, a chance meeting with a military man named Navarre changes Marie-Madeleine’s future forever. Working alongside him, she helps build a resistance network to fight against the Nazis as they sweep across Europe. What begins with a few hundred men and women grows into a powerful network of over three thousand—reporting directly to Marie-Madeleine, la patronne, who takes over leadership after Navarre’s arrest. By war’s end, her network has uncovered the V2 rocket program, mapped the French coastline for the Allied invasion, and thwarted multiple German offensives.

Once again, Natasha Lester brings a forgotten woman of history to vivid life. Despite Marie-Madeleine’s enormous contributions to the war effort, she was never recognized by Charles de Gaulle. Lester tells her story with clarity and grace, balancing scope and emotion without overwhelming readers in detail. The personal sacrifices Marie-Madeleine made for her country are staggering. Her leadership and bravery are nothing short of extraordinary. Her story belongs in the history books, and Lester ensures the resistance hero receives her due.

Thank you to NetGalley, Ballatine Books, and of course the author Natasha Lester for the advanced copy of the book. The Mademoiselle Alliance is out now. All opinions are my own.

The Mademoiselle Alliance by Natasha Lester is a historical fiction novel about the real, Marie-Madeleine Fourcade, who was the only female leader in the French Resistance movement during WWII. The story covers from when she gets acquainted with French Intelligence through to the end of the war.

I feel so much more educated after reading this book. You'd think that with so many people covering WWII in both fictional and non-fictional settings, you'd think you've heard it all. But Lester shows that is not the case with Marie-Madeleine's story. Lester aptly captures the larger-than-life figurehead that was "la patronne", as well as the vulnerable human who just wanted to live a life without war with her children. It is clear even before reading the Author's Note of just how extensive the research must have been that went into this.

The only drawback for me is how difficult it is to keep track of the extensive cast of characters that come in and out of the story. The Alliance was indeed a large network of spies, so I can see why the desire is there to include as many of them as possible for accuracy's sake. (The author also admits to having to omit even more characters for the sake of not overwhelming readers.) But with the mixture of real names and code names, it is hard to remember the relevance of every character when they are mentioned. It would have been helpful to include a list of characters and their roles in an appendix so that readers can keep them all straight. (I'm speaking solely based on my knowledge of the ARC, not the published version.)

Regardless, Lester does Marie-Madeleine's story justice by putting this unique WWII narrative out in the world. Women's voices are very underrepresented in war history, especially the ones that history either intentionally or unintentionally omit. So to be able to learn about Marie-Madeleine's existence, especially in such a captivating way, is a win.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for providing me this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Mademoiselle Alliance is available now wherever books are sold.

Thanks to Ballantine Books for a copy of The Mademoiselle Alliance by Natasha Lester.

I've really enjoyed other Natasha Lester books in the past and Marie-Madeline Fourcade was absolutely fascinating and more people should be reading about her, but this one was just okay. It was a little too long for me and while I appreciate all of her research it was too much.

Natasha Lester always delivers on a beautiful, well written historical fiction with a badass female lead. I always look forward to her releases. I found myself not connecting as much with this one. The jumping timelines were hard for me to keep up with.

The release of a book by Natasha Lester means that everything else gets put on hold. Her historical fiction is beautifully written and her story reflects the extensive research that she has done on her subject. In The Madamoiselle Alliance she introduces you to Marie Madeleine Meric. At a time when women faced social restrictions, she was an adventurer, learning to fly and participating in road rallies. In 1928, at the age of eighteen, she arrived in Morocco with her husband, where she assisted him in gathering intelligence. He was controlling and limited her activities. When she became pregnant with their second child she returned to France, leaving him behind. By this time Hitler was coming into power. As a journalist working on an anti-Nazi paper she placed herself and her children in danger. After meeting Navarre, a hero of the Great War, she sent her children to live with her mother and they opened a reception center for French ex-soldiers. It was here that they began gathering intelligence to bring to the British so that they would be recognized as a reliable source to receive supplies and support. It was the beginning of Alliance, an intelligence network that spread throughout France.

Lester's story is heartbreaking. As the war continued, Meric recruited and ultimately lost hundreds of agents, including Leon Faye, her lover and the father of her third child. She was an incredible woman who was awarded the Order of the British Empire, yet her accomplishments were ignored by DeGaulle. This was one of the most moving books that I have read in a while and one that will stay with me for a long time. I would like to thank NetGalley and Random House - Ballantine for providing this book.

A fascinating, if heartbreaking account of a brave and heroic woman, a leader of the French Resistance Alliance group. Marie Madeleine Fourcade was certainly a force to be reckoned with, as she led over 3,000 agents throughout Vichy and Nazi occupied France, working to free their country of the Nazis. Her relationship with Leon Faye reflected the dangers and risks they both took to work to free France. There were many characters and logistical details that at times made the book challenging , but the story is such an important one. As a history major and a student of the era, I never heard of Marie Madeleine; I am grateful to the author for bringing her story to light. Recommended. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

A fascinating, high stakes look at a woman from history who I wasn't aware of before reading this book. It doesn't shy away from the realities of war and the stakes of the work the Alliance is doing, but also captures the way love and connection can still happen.

I am a big fan of Natasha Lester books usually but this WWII historical fiction story based on the real life of French resistance worker/wife/mother/spy ring leader and pilot, Marie-Madeleine Méric , just felt a lot like many other books I've read in the genre. Her life and actions were risk-taking and brave, for sure, but the story itself just didn't grab me like I wanted it to or like past Lester books have. Great on audio (of course) since it was narrated by Saskia Maarleveld (one of the hist fic greats) and recommended for fans of authors like Kate Quinn. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy and @prhaudio for a complimentary ALC in exchange for my honest review!

This is a wellwritten and great book about French intelligence network during WW2.

This is the historical fiction story of Marie-Madeliene of France who was the only female resistence network leader in France during WW2. If you read the story, read the authors notes as well to give you additional information for how incredible this woman was.

This story is one of hope, one of resilience, but also of sadness. It is the hardest part about reading historical fiction from periods of time such as WW2, that are shrouded in so much pain, and over such a relatively long period of time. I definitely recommend reading this book.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley and so glad I was able to read it.

Absolutely fantastic, from start to finish. I highlighted so many of Natasha's quotes. She writes so beautifully. Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to read and to review this book!! She is one of my go-to authors, and I love promoting her to my audience on Bookstagram. Many thanks!

In France in the 1940s, there were some that resisted Hitler and his Nazis. Marie-Madeline Meric was one of those people. She's a strong-willed, nonconventional woman who enjoys driving, flying, an independent thinking. Marie-Madeline left her high-ranking, controlling, military husband in Morocco under the guise of raising her two children back home in France. When it begins to look like Hitler has set his sights on France, Marie-Madeline vows to defend her county and the beliefs and morals she believes in. She gets involved with a resistance network and quickly becomes an asset because, not only is she smart, she's a woman; and no one would suspect a woman of participating in resistance activity. But Marie-Madeline soon finds herself she leading the once small-group of like-minded men after their leader is arrested. This historical fiction follows Marie-Madeline throughout the worst of WWII for France and tells her story of strength, self-doubt, love, and resistance.

The Mademoiselle Alliance is a wonderful historical fiction that shines light on an overlooked hero from WWII. You can feel the tension and fear through the pages. Natasha Lester's research and writing is interesting and enlightening at the same time. I love that I learned something new while really enjoying the fictional writing surrounding Marie-Madeline and her emotional tribulations. Marie-Madeline's strength is inspiring and, as a woman, her self-doubt is so relatable. The underlying theme of women in a men's world kept me reading and I found myself invested in Marie-Madeline's story.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for the free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

In this well-researched historical fiction, Natasha Lester recounts the courageous life of Marie-Madeline Fourcade during WWII. She became the leader of the largest resistance network in France, supplying the Allies with information aiding the D-Day invasion and Patton’s March across France and Germany to end the war. She was one of the Nazis most wanted adversaries and she overcame endless obstacles to do her work. Both fascinating and heartbreaking.

Natasha Lester has done it again. There's a reason she is my favorite author. The research and love she put into this book to bring Marie-Madeleine's story to life is obvious.

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The Mademoiselle Alliance Natasha Lester is a historical fiction book about France’s only woman commander of a resistance group during World War II. Ms. Lester is an award-winning, best-selling historical fiction author.

This is a fascinating book about a fascinating person. Marie-Madeleine, a Frenchwoman living in Morocco, is unconventional and fiercely brave. She loves fast cars and planes, and occasionally engages in intelligence work.

By the start of World War II, Marie-Madeleine finds herself in Paris, recruited to help build the Alliance Resistance Network by a man named Navarre.

I’m surprised that in all my reading about World War II, I haven’t encountered the name of Marie-Madeleine Fourcade. A brave woman who managed to evade the Gestapo while running a top-notch intelligence network under their noses.

Mrs. Fourcade was a fierce leader of thousands of people. An intelligent, cunning, and resourceful person whose contribution to the Allies’ victory and the war effort is celebrated to this day.

Besides the protagonist, the book is filled with compelling characters who are part of the French resistance. Like Marie-Madeleine, they are French patriots doing their very dangerous part. The author does not sugar coat the emotional toll this type of work takes, especially at the difficult time in France where even food was scarce.

The Mademoiselle Alliance Natasha Lester is, however, a bit of a slog. It was a very slow read, a lot happens on every page, which makes the reading a bit difficult.

I enjoyed the historical aspects of this book. As always, I appreciated the author’s note at the end in which Ms. Lester shared her sources, as well as what part was historical and what part was fiction.