Grab the tissues! This sweeping historical fiction novel is the definition of “tear jerker.” I was so inspired reading about Marie-Madeleine’s sacrifice, determination, and fierce perseverance during WWII.

An incredibly inspiring and emotional read!

I could not think of a better book to have just read during Women’s History Month. Natasha Lester weaves together facts or as near to fact as know with as she refers to it a dash of fiction. This is the incredible story of Marie-Madeline Meric (Fourcade), the only female leader of a resistance network in France during WWII. As with all books set in war time, they are incredibly emotional, the acts committed, the conditions, the politics, gut wrenching. What is also evident, are the sacrifices made, the resilience and perseverance of individuals.

Be sure to read the editor's note at the end of the book for a detailed account of the research for the book and the liberties taken with characters and events to create this work of fiction. There is no doubt though, that Marie-Madeline was a remarkable woman. Through the courage, determination and love for her country, she and “The Alliance” she created and ran, played a significant role in creating freedom, to bringing a close to WWII. Lest we Forget.

Book releases early April.

The story begins in 1928, Morocco. Marie-Madeleine Méric, a spirited eighteen-year-old, is married to a man eight years older than her, an army officer working for the French Intelligence Service. By 1936, the marriage has deteriorated, and the adventurous Marie-Madeleine, now a mother of two, is helping to build a new French resistance network, to be named Alliance, and she will soon become its head, something unprecedented for a woman. From 1940 to 1945, the Alliance became a source of valuable intelligence as its more than 3,000 agents faced danger and possible death.

Natasha Lester is a must-read historical fiction author who writes about daring, remarkable women during WWII and post-war times. The Mademoiselle Alliance is a fictionalized story inspired by Marie-Madeleine Fourcade, a historical figure who was the only woman ever to lead a resistance network in France during World War II. This well-researched book sheds light on resistance efforts and a brave, intelligent woman who should be more well-known. After finishing the book, I immediately searched online to learn more about her life.

I am a Natasha Lester fan, no doubt there. And I loved this book. I love books about real women that are in a format that many more people will take it in, and recognize what women have been up against, and how they come through. This book is the story of primarily one woman, though there are many in the book, who changed the world, though most people will never know her name. Thanks for bringing her amazing story to light. The struggle, the family drama, the continued fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants decision making and the endurance shows what can be done by sheer will of the human spirit. It's beautiful.

This was an interesting historical fiction story - strong female lead that takes you on a journey. I read it while in Paris so appreciated thinking about the history that this story revolves around. At times the writing was a little hectic and timing jumped around quite a bit.
Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for access to this eARC.

The Mademoiselle Alliance by Natasha Lester, an impressive work of historical fiction, tells the incredible true story of Marie-Madeleine Fourcade, the fierce head of Alliance and “the only woman to lead a resistance network in WWII France.”

Marie-Madeleine’s story is one of a mother, a patriot, a woman and a warrior. As always with her books, Lester’s research shines, her writing remains beautiful. This tale is a love letter to France, and to the woman who helped save her country from near certain defeat. It is also a moving, epic love story.

More people should know Marie-Madeleine’s name. And this remarkable book is a great place to start.

The Mademoiselle Alliance by Natasha Lester comes out on 4/8.

A sincere thank you to Random House Publishing, Ballantine and NetGalley for the ARC.

Read this if you like:
•strong females
•powerful story
•slow burn

I’m a huge fan of Natasha’s books. However this one just didn’t hit the same and was just okay. I think the inherent story was interesting, especially with the strong female character, but I found myself becoming disengaged at times. Thank you random house for eARC

I’m not the biggest historical fiction fan, but I am a fan of Natasha Lester books. And THE MADEMOISELLE ALLIANCE is everything we’ve come to love about her books - badass female main character, France, history and a little romance. Such a good book!

🕵🏻‍♀️ The Mademoiselle Alliance - Natasha Lester

3 ⭐️ - This pains me! I wanted to love this one more than I did. After reading Lester’s last two books, I instantly became a huge fan. Her books have strong women, romance, historical fiction, fashion, war, and mystery. I was into it all!

This one just fell flat for me. While I loved the female badass main character and I love that Lester finds these women in history to talk about, it just got lost. There’s a lot of France - by that I mean towns, language, names, etc - which I knew going into it. It just felt overwhelming in this one. And there’s a lot of characters with multiple names (read the synopsis to find out why) that are hard to keep track of. I wanted to love it, truly I did, I just ended up feeling meh. BUT I won’t let this stop me from reading Lester’s backlist, which I still have a few left to conquer.

Thank you Netgalley and Ballantine Books for the early ARC. This one comes out 4/8!

Finally, a very courageous woman gets the recognition she deserves with this remarkable story.

Marie-Madeleine Méric was the leader of a 3,000 agent Resistance network in France during WWII. With intense research, Natasha Lester revealed how she ended up with this role during a time when most women were housewives taking care of their children. Not Madame Méric.

She was participating in car rallies with her husband’s disapproval. She wanted to be free and rather than stay with him in Morocco, she left with her two children and went to Paris. In 1940, at 30 years old, she had to do something about the Nazis taking control. She ended up stepping into the greatest journey of her life.

I almost didn’t get past the first page when it mentioned what would happen if she was arrested by the Nazis. It hit me hard thinking about the world news of today with fear spreading rapidly. This book had a progressive timeline of changes in Paris from 1940 to 1945.

Certainly, there was a lot going on and it had to be a difficult task to decide what to include in this story. It started strong yet, in the middle, there was a lot of detail and number of agents that made it move at a slower pace.

The best part was at the end when I wanted to reach out and hug this woman who was so brave. The Author Notes were full of warmth and wisdom like experiencing a wonderful dessert after a good meal.

My thanks to Ballantine Books and NetGalley for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book with an expected release date of April 8, 2025.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for this eARC in exchange for my honest review!

This is not your everyday WWII historical fiction novel. This book focuses on Marie-Madeleine Fourcade, France's only female resistance leader during WWII. I had never heard of her, and after reading this book and learning about all she contributed and sacrificed during the war, it's awful that her name is not in every history book telling her story. Lester did a great job of highlighting some of her triumphs while also discussing the battles she faced with people who were on the same side as her but did not value her input or opinions because she was a woman.

I have read other books by Lester, and she always does an overwhelming amount of research for her novels, which shine through and bring the story to life. This book is no exception to that. I appreciated the Author's Note that explained that Marie-Madeleine's memoir had conflicting information, material that was left out, and issues with translating it to English. Lester is honest that the whole truth of what this woman accomplished and went through is unknown.

The book was a little too long for me, particularly in the first half. It wasn't until about 50% that the story started picking up, and I was more engaged. The beginning was slow and sometimes repetitive. Once I made it to the second half, it picked up, I became more attached to the characters, etc. But this is not a quick read by any stretch of the imagination.

Also, know going in that there are a LOT of characters, who have multiple code names, so it can be hard to keep track. I understand why there are so many characters. In fact, Lester explained that she even combined multiple people to try to make things less confusing, but I had to go back and remember who was who a couple of times.

The focus of this book is so different from most WWII historical fiction books. This is not another read about people surviving the horrors of concentration camps (not that these books aren't important, they are, and you should absolutely read them!), in fact the camps are mentioned only in passing. Lester did a great job of picking her subject and sticking to it, Marie-Madeleine and the resistance work she and her agents were conducting.

Overall, I enjoyed the book once I got through the beginning. I am a fan of Lester's writing, but this is not my favorite of her books. I think my opinion would be different if the book was edited down a little more, so it wasn't almost 500 pages. But I loved Marie-Madeleine and this book has inspired me to learn more about her.

Thank you to @netgalley and Random House for this ARC. 1928: Marie-Madeleine Méric was in Morocco at her husband's side as he is gathering intelligence for the French government when she realizes she has a gift for spying. 1936: With her marriage at rock bottom, she is living in France when she meets an unlikely contact who thinks she would make an amazing spy. This true story of Madam Fourcade and the largest network of spies across France during WW2 is one that is still talked about. The way she functioned, recruited and all die hard allegiances she had regardless of her being a woman is fascinating. Great read! #TheMademoiselleAlliance #NatashaLester #RandomHousePub #April2025

wow! Wow! WOW! Natasha Lester just keeps getting better and better. The Mademoiselle Alliance follows the remarkable Marie-Madeline Fourcade, who was a resistance fighter in France during the Nazi occupation leading the Alliance under the code name Herrison. Because Marie-Madeline was a real person, Lester had the opportunity to let her dazzling research skills really shine throughout this novel, which was rich with details and quotes from Fourcade’s memoirs and contemporaries.

In Lester’s previous novels, we are often given multiple POVs at different points in time, but in The Mademoiselle Alliance, Marie-Madeline is centered. Her narrative jumps between her younger married days and WWII in the first section of the book, but then stays firmly in the 1940s for the remainder. I loved how Lester brings to life real people who did remarkable and amazing things in order to stop the Nazi regime. The amount of sacrifices those in the alliance network gave really touched my heart and I feel compelled to read more about them. Thankfully, in true Natasha Lester style, her author notes are rich with additional reading. I love that! I wish we would have gotten a little epilogue with some additional details for those who survived the war, but I understand the narrative choice for how Lester wrapped up the story.

5 enthusiastic stars and a HUGE thanks to Natasha Lester, Random House-Ballantine Books, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this gorgeous novel.

Natasha Lester has done it again! Marie-Madeleine Fourcade was a remarkable woman. She ran a resistance network, named Alliance, in France during WWII, in command of more than 3000 men and women. Underestimated as a woman during that time, she was extraordinarily fearless and strong, and it’s a shame she is not better known in history. Natasha Lester has written an exceptional book, very well researched, bringing Marie-Madeleine to life, noting her role as mother and French fighter of the Nazis. I cannot recommend this book enough! With thanks to Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for this ARC. My opinions are my own. susanh_bookreviews. @natashalesterauthor

very well researched tale about a fiery, determined, woman who became one of the most successful leaders of the French Resistance. 5 stars. tysm for the arc.

The Mademoiselle Alliance by Natasha Lester was a significant disappointment. As someone who enjoys historical fiction and has read my fair share of WWII stories, I found this novel lacking depth. Lester provides no room for readers to interpret the emotions or motivations of Marie-Madeleine (the narrator)—everything is laid out plainly, leaving little to the imagination.
Additionally, the novel is written entirely in the present tense, with a heavy reliance on lyrical prose. Instead of immersing the reader in a thrilling spy narrative, it felt as though the author was trying to craft one memorable line after another, which became off-putting.
Another issue I had was with the pacing and structure of the plot. The transitions were jarring, with Marie-Madeleine suddenly finding herself in a completely different location or situation without any clear progression from one moment to the next. Moreover, several lines appeared to be lifted directly from Madame Fourcade’s Secret War by Lynne Olson, a book Lester references in her author notes. This felt like a missed opportunity for original storytelling.

3.75. An interesting historical fiction on Marie-Madeleine Méric, a remarkably talented woman who led a part of the WWII French Resistance network The Alliance. I liked it but I thought it was a bit too focused on one of her relationships which I felt distracted from the story. Otgerwise, a very good read

Thank you to Net Galley for the ARC. I think WW II buffs will enjoy this story. The main character, Marie-Madeleine, was the only female Resistance leader and the first woman to be honored with a funeral at Les Invalides. I had some difficulty staying engaged in about the first 50% of the book but once I managed to get through the first half then the story moved a bit quicker. There are a lot of code names to keep track of in the story but it wasn't difficult. There is a lot of detail in the story regarding the French Resistance's movement through France and England. Marie-Madeleine risks her life and gives up her role as a mother of three children to lead the French Resistance. She's a true hero.

What an incredible book! From start to finish, this story is utterly captivating and impossible to put down. Natasha Lester’s storytelling is exceptional, seamlessly bringing to life the gripping journey of Marie-Madeleine, Keon, and the rest of the Alliance members. This is a must-read that will keep you riveted until the very last page.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for my advance reader copy.

I would like to thank Net Galley and Random House for the opportunity to read this as an ARC. I have read several of Natasha Lester's books, and have always enjoyed them. This is an exceptional book. I thought I had read everything about the French Resistance during WW2, but I had never read anything about this particular woman and her group. This is a book about 1 brave group of resistance fighters in France, from their establishment to the end of the war. It is a book about war and the horrors of war, but also about love , and trust , and loss and devotion. It is sad, touching, terrifying and caring, all in one. I am glad I decided to read"one more book about WW2".