Thank you Harlequin Audio for the ALC!

Last Twilight in Paris was a little out of my normal selections for WWII books with the little bit of mystery in it, and I’m glad I read it! It was just enough intrigue to keep me glued to the story without overtaking the rest of the plot and characters. The narration on this was superb, I felt like I traveled across the world and was standing there next to Louise and Helaine as their stories unfolded. Beautifully written and wonderfully voice acted!

We’ve read & loved so many WW2 stories. I was particularly taken with this tale of life not only after war but the beginning of parenthood and all the expectations that go along with it. Add in a curious mystery and follow along as the covers are pulled back and things are dusted off and brought into the light.

Last Twilight in Paris by Pam Jenoff is a historical fiction novel set in 1953. The story follows Louise, who finds a necklace in a shop that reminds her of her time during World War II. The discovery leads her to investigate the mysterious death of her friend Fanny. As she digs deeper, she learns about a dark chapter in history involving a Parisian store used by the Nazis. The book is mystery and romance, with a well written plot that keeps you hooked until the end. This story deals with themes of love and loss and resilience and survival.

Thank you to NetGalley and Park Row for the advance listening copy in exchange for my honest review. These thoughts are my own.

I received this book as an audiobook from NetGalley. I love hearing about the history of WWII and am pleasantly surprised when I still learn new things. Thanks for the opportunity to hear this book. I love the narration and love the accent.

What appealed to you the most in this story?

This book is the perfect example of why I love to read historical fiction! It's about the little known Levitan, a former Parisian furniture store where during WWII Jewish prisoners were forced to sort and sell what was stolen from Jewish homes. Jenoff took this little-known piece of information and built a dual timeline (around 1943 and then about 1953) story around it. Not only did I learn about Levitan, but I learned terms such as oflags and stalags and learned some things about the Red Cross as well. It reminds us of the evils of war as well as the aftermath. In my opinion, it's also a story about the power of love and the lasting effects of human choice.

What to expect:

Dual Timelines
Dual POV
Suspense
Mystery
Family drama
Historical Fiction
All the emotions

How was the pace?

Steady

Do you recommend this book?

If you are a lover of historical fiction, then dive into this story and get ready for an emotional ride!

Pam Jenoff writes an interesting story based back during the WWII era and the early 50’s It moves around in time and character. Both the current book era with Louise's unquenchable thirst for closure in finding the owner of a necklace she is sure she saw once while helping during the war. The other character was Helanie and her experiences during the Holocaust in Paris.
I both read and listened to the audio of this book. The narration done by Thérèse Plummer; Saskia Maarleveld, was better for me as a listener because the pronunciation of names and places was accurate and not my interpretation. It helped keep in the mood of each character. The book was harder to differentiate the switches from one character and era to another it it left me confused at times. The narration was done extremely well and made the story for me.
The story portrays the war-torn Paris and its atrocities to a small degree, (it was not overly descriptive that might trigger a reader), and the way it affected the folks of Paris plus the transformation that was happening to the women's place in the home in the early ’50s
I do recommend this book but caution it's not my normal type of genré and it seemed to drag for me. I could not relate at first and that is another reason I tried the audio as it kept my interest more.
I appreciate the chance to read and listen to this book this is my honest opinion. Thank you, NetGalley and Harlequin Audio, and Harlequin Trade Publishing.

I don’t read a lot of historical fiction but I was mesmerized by this book! Full of intrigue, mystery, romance, and friendship spanning decades and multiple countries backlit by the start and end of World War II, Last Twilight in Paris is a stunning novel.

Told in alternating POV’s and timelines, I was captivated by the characters’ journeys and the way this story unfolded. Based on true events, this book had sweet moments, shocking moments, tearful moments, and was overall a beautiful exploration of two characters’ experiences and resilience during a horrific time in history.

I really enjoyed Jenoff’s writing style and will definitely be reading more of her work!

🎧 The alternating narrators for Louise and Helaine did a lovely job, bringing emotions befitting the story. I really felt like they made the story come alive.

Fantastic story! Such a well researched and beautifully written book. I’m pretty burned out on ww2 fiction and this was so powerful that I’m glad I listened. Pam Jenoff was so respectful in writing about an unknown to me history in Paris.

I have never read any books by this author before, but I know this one will not be my last. I was enthralled with this story! It was heartbreaking but I loved it.

“…because I was waiting for you.”

“People’s stories matter, and how they end matters.”

“I swore I would never forget.”

“A prison in a department store? Who would believe it!?” (This was a truth of WWII that is seldom told (except it was a furniture store), I’ve never heard of it until now)

Betrayals are uncovered and in spite of this horrific & shameful time in history love remains.

Pam Jenoff does a really good job of setting the tone for this novel and the unease with which people would awake each morning, never knowing what atrocity would come next and then layering on that you really never could tell who you could trust.

I loved the “small acts of defiance” it made me cheer for the women “working” in the store.

I also liked the incorporation of the musical elements and the necklace’s travel across many years.

The way everything comes full circle made everything tie up nicely in the end.

This was a really good audiobook but I think for my own brain I would’ve done better reading the physical book. I still really enjoyed it, it’s just a reading preference thing. The audio narrators did a great job.

So the displeasure I have with this book is the breathy and romantic sequences of the narrator. Look up the details of who is the narrator, I discovered that there are two. Honestly, I could not distinguish between the voices as it only seemed like one to me. I have read another book by this author and been very pleased. I like that she takes history and turns it into a story. I guess I have only myself to blame for not seeing that this book has been listed in the category of romance and women’s fiction. I assiduously avoid those kind of categories but based on the author, I just assumed this was historical fiction. Thanks to NetGalley for a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for my honest review

I can't believe it has taken me so long to read a book by Pam Jenoff, but I am so glad I finally did! Last Twilight in Paris touches on a piece of WWII that I was not aware of (the Lévitan furniture store) and takes the reader on an adventure through two viewpoints and dual timelines. I was thoroughly invested in both Louise and Helaine’s stories though Helaine’s ending felt more unsure throughout and thus provided more tension. I liked the way Jenoff tied up the two storylines, and the mystery of the necklace and what happened to Franny made for quite the ending.

The audiobook for Last Twilight in Paris is phenomenal and definitely the way I recommend reading it. Thérèse Plummer & Saskia Maarleveld are both fantastic narrators in their own right, and having the two of them for Louise and Helaine was the perfect choice. They were a match made in heaven, and I got completely lost in the story thanks to them. I will say this didn’t hit me as hard as I thought it should given the horrific subject matter of the Holocaust, and there was an emotional disconnect somewhere whether from the writing or something else. Extremely well-researched though and the author’s note is a must read!

Read this if you enjoy historical fiction blended with mystery, learning about little known pieces of history, and touching endings.

Book Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Audiobook Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

This book is captivating. I was immersed in the stories of the Parisian department store turned into a labor camp for Jewish people. A pendant separated and found by Louise years after the war. Her need to find out what happened to her friend Frannie and the connection to the pendant. This book had me in tears. The atrocities the Jewish people went through is just horrible. It breaks my heart. The author is a must read. She does an excellent job with fictional stories in real history. The narrators did a fantastic job making me feel like I was a part of the story.

The Last Twilight in Paris in Paris is a historical fiction piece based during WWII. One of the main characters of the story is a necklace and the mystery of the necklace uncover the secrets, betrayal and power of love.

Like so many pieces of this era it’s heartbreaking the read the horrific acts that took place in Europe during the reign of Hitler and Nazi Germany. This story follows the life of a young woman living in Paris that finds love during the brink of war and how her life is thrown into turmoil. She has to discover a strength snd resilience she probably didn’t know she possessed. This is the story of love, betrayal, survival and of the fight for humanity.

A dual timeline that is just about a decade apart. A sweet love story of Helaine and Gabriel who were torn apart when the war was at Paris doorstep. Helaine gives Gabriel a family heirloom, a necklace that has a matching piece to the one she wears. As he goes off to play his Cello in an orchestra in Germany. She as a Jew needs to learn to adapt to the horrors of living within a country that hates her for her beliefs. Taken prisoner she was treated slightly better by being forced to work in a recycling facility. All that was confiscated from the Jewish community now was sorted by them to send to Germany or be resold to German soldiers.
Louise is adjusting to life after the war. Married, raising her twins and working in a charity shop. There she finds a necklace that she knows she has seen before. Somehow that necklace is connect to the mysterious death of her friend who volunteered for the Red Cross with her during WWII. Not able to let go of the past she heads to Paris for answers. Reconnecting with her former Red Cross boss who she had once feelings for, she hopes with his help the could solve the mystery surrounding the necklace.
The audio narration was excellent! The spellbinding story of the hardships suffered during the war was gripping. The hope of survival by Helaine and all that was reveled made this an excellent read. Thank you #NetGalley for this ARC. All opinions expressed are my own. #LastTwilightinParis

This was a decent historical fiction. I love anything set during WW2 as well as in Paris. It was an interesting take on the holocaust era.

I love a good historical fiction and this book didn’t disappoint. The way that all timelines were connected by a necklace was incredible.

I went through a rollercoaster of emotions, I felt mad, sad, hopeful.

The mystery part in the book was very well written and it made it very hard to put the book down.

The narrator was incredibly!

I highly recommend for people who like World War 2 books.

As soon as I started listening to this, I was immediately sucked into the story, it’s told by two female main characters, Louise, now a post-war housewife, who volunteered at the Red Cross during WW II, and Helaine, estranged from her family, who was imprisoned in Lévitan, formally a high-end department store.



I enjoyed this story, and following the mystery of the necklace that Louise found and how it linked back to Lévitan. I never knew about this Nazi prison and found it very interesting and heartbreaking. This story had a great balance of history, romance, and mystery. About halfway through the book I bought a physical copy because I needed a copy for my bookshelf!

Thank you, NetGalley and Harlequin Audio, for the audiobook arc of Last Twilight in Paris.

In her latest WWII historical fiction novel, Last Twilight in Paris, Pam Jenoff uncovers the dark history surrounding Lévitan, an upscale department store in Paris.

During the war, Louise worked with the Red Cross in Nazi-occupied Europe. When we meet her in London in 1953, she is now trying to adjust to her postware life as a housewife. While at a secondhand shop, Louise spots a familiar necklace in a box marked Lévitan and becomes convinced it’s her friend Franny’s necklace. Franny died under mysterious circumstances during the war and Louise is convinced this necklace and Lévitan are the keys to finding out what really happened to her, and becomes determined to learn the truth.

Jenoff also crafts a second timeline that is set during the war and follows Helaine, a young Jewish woman who is living in Paris when the Nazis occupy the city. She and her husband Gabriel, a talented cello player, are trying to build a life together but are forced apart when Gabriel is sent to another country in Europe to play in an orchestra for the Reich. Through Helaine, Jenoff vividly portrays the challenges of living as a Jewish woman in Nazi-occupied Paris, including how her French citizenship does not protect her from being sent to Lévitan but how her inner strength keeps her going no matter how hard things get.

So what is Lévitan’s dark history? It housed Jewish prisoners during WWII and the prisoners had to sort through and sell all possessions confiscated as Jewish families were removed from their homes.

I was thoroughly engaged by both Louise and Helaine’s stories and flew through the pages waiting to see how their stories would ultimately become connected & solve the mystery of Franny’s death.

Thérèse Plummer & Saskia Maarleveld narrate, and were both so good at portraying the various emotions the characters experienced, from the desperation to the resistance & determination I always look for in WWII historical fiction.

The queen of historical fiction has done it again! One thing I love about Pam Jenoff is that she finds little-known facts about WWII and brings light to them so they will not be forgotten in history and time. In her latest novel, she introduces Levitan, a Jewish department store turned German work camp.

The novel follows two FMCs. The first is Helaine, a Jewish Parisian during the German occupation. Separated from her family and husband, Helaine, who has never had to fend for herself, learns to survive when it seems like the whole world is working against her.

Across the English Channel, years after WWII, we meet Louise, a housewife trying to settle into the life of wife and mother after her service with the Red Cross in WWII. Her husband, a veteran, has his own demons, and it seems the two can't seem to put the past in the past. When Louise finds a mysterious necklace she is confident she saw in Germany during the war, she decides it is finally time to get answers. What happened to her friend Franny in Germany, the mysterious man at the concentration camp who gave Franny the necklace, and how years later it wound up in England within a crate marked Levitan?

This novel beautifully weaves the two females' stories until they intertwine in the current time. You can't help but feel for both women, be shocked and angered by the actions of the Germans, and root for those resisting in any way. I will forever recommend Pam Jenoff to any lovers of historical fiction. The detail, dedication to research, and compassion she shows to the real people who lived through these events are evident in every story she writes.