Margaux once lived a bold life in German-occupied Paris, but everything changed the day a single photo landed her in Nazi propaganda. Her lover was arrested. Her family’s reputation shattered. Decades later, in 2008, Margaux is in a retirement home, and her granddaughter Barbara is left behind in their old apartment, renting out a room to stay afloat and escape her own messy reality.

Enter Roger, a photographer with more curiosity than social grace, who shows up uninvited on Barbara’s couch and brings a storm of questions with him. When a snowstorm locks them inside, long-buried family secrets start surfacing, forcing Barbara to reckon with the past she didn’t know she inherited. Told across two timelines, What the Light Touches explores war, memory, and the strange ways strangers sometimes bring us home.

Spillin’ the Book Tea:
Let’s just say it — the first chunk of this book was tough to get through. Barbara and Roger’s story dragged, and I started to wonder if this was going to be one of those “it gets better, I swear” books. Spoiler: it did. Once Margaux entered the picture, I was pulled in. Her voice had the weight, the intrigue, and the emotional depth that kept me listening.

This one has multiple timelines and a wide cast, so it takes a bit of mental bandwidth, but it’s worth it if you like historical fiction that leans into family connections and hidden truths. It’s also clearly a translated work, and I think some of the bumps in rhythm and tone probably come from that. It didn’t ruin the experience, but it definitely made some of the early dialogue feel stilted and a bit of a struggle to get through. Still, the grandmother-granddaughter relationship really stood out, warm, rich, and believable without being overly sentimental. Thank you to Brilliance Publishing | Brilliance Audio and NetGalley for the ALC and the opportunity to provide this candid review.

The Vibes It Brings:
📚 Dual timelines across generations
🕰️ WWII-era backdrop
👩‍👧 Grandmother-granddaughter connection
🌍 Cross-cultural themes
🔍 Family secrets
🇫🇷 Resistance-era Europe
🧠 Requires patience, pays off
📖 Translation quirks
🧩 Woven perspectives

Narration:
Caroline Hewitt handled the emotional layering well and made the characters feel distinct. Her delivery fit the tone of the book and added just enough gravity to make you lean in. That said, the accent situation had me scratching my head. There were moments where the American accent would slip into something else and then back again, which was distracting. It wasn’t a dealbreaker, but it did pull me out of the story a few times. Whether that was a choice or a production direction, I couldn’t say, but it could have been tighter.

TL;DR:
What the Light Touches is a thoughtful, layered novel that rewards patience. It starts slow but finds its strength in Margaux’s journey and the emotional ties between past and present. Historical fiction fans who enjoy multi-generational stories with real emotional payoff should give this one a shot. Just be prepared to push through the rocky start.

I love historical fiction and this one did not disappoint. This is a dual timeline novel. My only complaint is that I wanted more Margaux! She was the star of the book and such an interesting character!. The narrator did a great job!

Many thanks to Net Galley and Brilliance Publishing for an audio ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Review is ONLY regarding narration as I’ll give this book a chance with a physical read. The narration was dry, but what really threw me was the seemingly random accents used with an otherwise American narrator. Everytime I heard Barbara pronounced “Boa Boa” it threw me. Didn’t realize her name was Barbara until she was on a Swedish conference call??

I am a big sucker for historical fiction, particularly if it takes place in Paris. I loved the duel timeline narrative and finding out a family secret narrative. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who likes 1940s historical fiction. The romance between the main characters was well developed as well.

The first part of the story with Barbara and Roger is a bit slow but it soon picks up as Margaux's story starts to play out.

The narrator does an excellent job of bringing the story to life, but I personally didn't like how she told the story in an American accent, only to throw the odd word in a heavy French accent/pronunciation.

Thank you to Netgalley and Brilliance Audio for providing me with a copy of this title in order to give an honest review

An emotional story of a granddaughter and her grandmother, years apart, but connected. Barbara learns about her grandmother's life during the war and holocaust, no one can be trusted, everyone is on edge and the simplest things and happy moments in life are, in reality, quite difficult and fleeting in existence. The story starts with Barbara in the present and then switches to her grandmas story, telling of the past before it links back to the present. I had a hard time following the as it switched timelines, something that may have been easier had I been reading versus listening. The narrator was easy to listen to, I enjoyed the experience, but I didn't find myself captured by the story, and thus found that my attention would waiver. There is a love story in both timelines, prominent in the grandmothers story, but a bit awkward feeling in Barbara's story. The ending left that part of her story a bit undone and I didn't find myself feeling the chemistry between the two. The story did offer a unique viewpoint through the lens of musicians and the orchestra during the war, that I don't feel I have read before. I would have loved an authors note to know if the entire book was fiction or if any portions of it were closely based on a true story.

Rounded up to three stars for me!

What I liked:
- multiple POV
- multiple timelines
- historical fiction (ww2) and family drama
- grandmother/granddaughter relationship

What didn’t work for me:
- I felt like it was slow to progress at times and felt very dragged out
- wish they tied in the grandmothers POv earlier, but I understand the author had to give some background

*NetGalley gave me the opportunity to listen to the ARC-equivalent audiobook. Thank you!*

I thought that this was a good book, combining a more present day and history together. It was delightful for a granddaughter to learn more about her grandmother's story, both good and challenging parts, and to see how that story could enlighten so many with an art gallery exhibit. As a sucker for WWII historical fiction, this book showed a variation of what the struggles were like for someone to lose a loved one to a concentration camp, have them return, and take on the future together. It was inspirational, but I feel like the story line didn't give me enough suspense or something else to really satisfy. It felt like something was missing or held back, but I can't put a finger on what that aspect is.

Needless to say, I would read/listen to this book again and I will consider reading more from these authors. The audiobook narrator was good too, although I wish that the NetGalley app allowed some different interval speeds for listening, to make it easier to find that "sweet spot".

This was my first Xavier Bosch novel. While I enjoyed it I found it a bit difficult to follow at spots throughout. A bit of it just seemed somewhat unreal.

Seventeen-year-old Margaux doesn’t realize one photo could change the course of her life. But in German-occupied Paris of 1940, nothing makes sense anymore. Margaux fears the worst when her lover is arrested. And when her photo appears in Nazi propaganda, her family’s reputation—and prospects—suffer the consequences.

In 2008, Margaux moves into a retirement home, and her granddaughter Barbara comes to live in her Paris apartment. Eager to escape unhappy circumstances, Barbara works remotely for a publishing company and rents out a room in “Mamie” Margaux’s apartment to help pay the bills.

One day, Barbara finds a stranger on her couch. Roger, who’s a curious photographer, uncovers shocking secrets about Barbara’s family. And when a snowstorm triggers a lockdown, he opens the door to tempting new possibilities.

I am choosing not to rate this book because I don’t think it is a book problem. I listened to the translated version on audio. I’m sure that the original text is a beautiful story but I felt no connection to the characters because it just seemed to be an unrelated connection of events that was hard to follow. The narration was also odd in that it would occasionally throw in French accents but not in the speech. No one had an accent except on some words.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy. The thoughts and opinions in this review are my own.

This book was a touching read. Interlacing the love stories of two different generations of women while also focusing on the relationship of grandmother and granddaughter.

This book tells the story of Barbara and her grandmother Margaux who has just moved to a retirement community. Barbara works for a publishing company and is living in her grandmother's apartment in Paris where she has a tenant renting out the spare room. One day she comes home to find a strange man on the sofa. His name is Roger, and he is the brother of the tenant who is out of town on business. He gave Roger the key and told him he can stay in his room while he is gone. While he is there, Roger finds a box under the bed with Nazi propaganda pictures and newspaper clippings which he later finds out are of Barbara's grandmother. When he shows them to her, the two set out to find out the story behind them. They go to Margaux who takes them back to a German occupied Paris in 1940 and tells her story of love, tragedy and family.

While a portion of the story is set in WWII and the author took great care in painting a realistic picture of the times and the struggles the people of Paris were faced with, he gave the reader enough information to understand but not so much that it overshadowed the characters themselves. This allows the reader to connect more with the characters and fall deeper into the storyline.

Overall, I thought this was a lovely read. It took so many elements and wrapped them up into a well-balanced book. From richly developed characters, educational and historical elements, complexity of relationships, gut wrenching decisions, and so much more. With two strong women as the main characters I also appreciated that the male characters were also good and kind men who were caring and thought of others beyond themselves. It was very refreshing. I walked away from this book feeling fulfilled as a reader.

I would like to thank Brilliance Publishing for the free copy of the audiobook for review.

This is a captivating read for anyone who appreciates historical fiction, family drama, and the complexities of human nature, particularly those who enjoy stories that explore the resilience of love and the power of secrets to shape our lives.

I was approved the eArc of this before the audiobook, unfortunately the audio version hasn’t improved anything. I found the narration to be quite wooden, I don’t know if that’s because it’s translated or just because I couldn’t connect with this book. Unfortunately still not a book for me.

Original review on eArc:

“ I don’t doubt this is a beautifully written book but for some reason I found it hard to connect with the story & with the characters. Unfortunately this one wasn’t for me.”