⭐️⭐️.5

The premise—post-war Paris, OSS secrets, and a tie-in with Julia Child—had so much promise, but the execution fell a little flat for me. The pacing dragged a bit, with too many shifts in timeline that made it difficult to stay engaged. While the historical details were interesting, I struggled to connect with the characters. Ultimately, it didn’t deliver the emotional or narrative depth I was hoping for but if this is your genre worth a read!

Where to begin. This book had a little of everything. Mystery, romance, sadness, suspense, twist, food. It is a must read if you like spies, ww2 and the post war era. The narrator did an awesome job.

An intriguing and unique look into WWII France and the post-war life, this story kept me guessing. There was a little bit of romance, plenty of suspense, and some heartbreak.

I listened to the audiobook. It was well done, but this story has so many moving parts (including the timeline) I think I will get more out of it when I read the book!

🧑‍🍳 ❤️ 👩🏻‍🍳 One of the Best audiobooks for 2025 🧑‍🍳 ❤️ 👩🏻‍🍳

The French Kitchen by Kristy Cambron and narrated by Saskia Maarleveld was Superb Historical Fiction. This was an audiobook/book that just stole my heart from the very beginning to the very end. i ended up listening to this audiobook all day until I had finished and I loved it. The French Kitchen is Inspired by the life of Julia Child who was famous for introducing French cuisine into American homes back in the 1950's. I have been fascinated with her since I watched her series on the Tele and had to purchase her books. . . .But, did not know anything about her life before she became famous, so this audiobook was a treat, and luxury treat.

We follow two women on alternating timelines as they navigate France, from 1943 to 1953 which was still hard times as the WW11 had just finished and everyone was trying to rebuild their lives and homes.

Rue, 1943. . . . . Deep in the heart of Nazi-controlled northern France, Manon Altier shifts between working for the enemy by day, as a French chef at the famous Château du Broutel, where names like Himmler, Rommel, and Goebbels frequent the guest list and running with underground networks against the Vichy regime at night. Working undercover to filter information to agents within the burgeoning OSS, Manon digs deep into the glitz and glamour of a Nazi stronghold that has her teetering on the edge of being discovered at any turn. But when an intriguing stranger appears at the chateau claiming to work with the French Resistance, Manon must lean on her instincts to judge whether to run and hide or stand firm--even as a terrifying discovery tests her resolve to continue the fight.

"What a dangerous life she lead and scary!"

Now, in Paris, 1952. . . . . An ex-pat wife living in Paris signs up for a cookery class taught by an American chef with an indomitable wit and decidedly French airs who is an instructor by name of "Julia Child". Amongst classes of the L'Ecole des Trois Gourmandes, with pots and pans and prim Paris wives learning to sauté in the French way, Kat Fontaine learns much more than she bargained for.

Now Still haunted by the years she spent serving in the American Office of Strategic Services (OSS) during WWII, Kat soon finds a simple cookery class unearths the tangle of gut-wrenching memories of war and questions about the high-ranking society husband whose past is as murky as her own. But when the puzzle pieces start to come together--and her carefully crafted Paris world begins to fall apart--Kat must confront her own secrets against the mounting suspicions of the husband she thought she knew . . . . . . .

"WoW. . . . What a life!"

🧑‍🍳 ❤️ 👩🏻‍🍳 I can not recommend this audiobook/book enough this just took my breath away. . .. Superb and the narrator Saskia Maarleveld was 5 ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ just like this audiobook which was another 5 ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ 🧑‍🍳 ❤️ 👩🏻‍🍳

BIG thank you to NetGalley and Thomas Nelson and Zondervan Fiction Audio | Thomas Nelson Fiction for my Audiobook/book x


🧑‍🍳👩🏻‍🍳 🧑‍🍳👩🏻‍🍳 🧑‍🍳👩🏻‍🍳

The audio book of "The French Kitchen" is an enjoyable listen. The narrator does an excellent job making subtle differences in her voice to differentiate the characters. She spoke English and French clearly. She is one of my favorite narrators.

The book has well developed characters and is an enjoyable read. I enjoyed learning more about the role of women in the OSS. With switching between timelines and some characters having more than one name, it was difficult, especially at the beginning of the book, to keep all of the characters straight.

I listen to Netgalley audiobook. Saskia Maarleveld does a marvelous performance! The story is captivating with intriguing resistance and spying! So many secrets in the making only to be discovered after the war.

Kristy Cambron’s newest release, The French Kitchen, has consumed me over the past couple of weeks. Though I read this story much more slowly than I usually do, every time I got a chance to come back to the book it felt like an indulgent treat. There were so many twists and turns and some truly fantastic tension between characters. I’m talking slow burn at its finest. (Three words: marriage of convenience.)

The character that truly sold this book for me was the main character Kat, also known as Celene (her undercover name). Her flaws and weaknesses became her strengths and I appreciated her choices and grit. The scenes where Kat interacted with Julia Child, though not as prevalent as most of the book summaries would have you believe, are delightful and paint a thorough picture of the famous chef. So much so that when my husband and I visited the Smithsonian Museum of American History on our recent vacation, I spent a lot of extra time in the exhibit about food. Peeking into Madame Child’s replicated kitchen was like seeing a scene from this book come to life.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for sending me a copy to review. I flitted between audio and ebook and both presentations were extremely well done (and it was nice to know how to pronounce all the French names!).

I thoroughly enjoyed The French Kitchen. This historical fiction really had it all: a clear and interesting setting, a mystery plot, suspense, dual timelines, family ties and loyalties, well thought out backstories for the main characters, a love story in the midst of war, and of course, even Julia Child. 😁

The dual timeline, going back and forth between the characters’ more glamorous life in the 1950s and the middle of the war in the 1940s was really well done, and it also gave some perspective to the entire story. The double life the characters were living in both timelines was very intriguing and added a lot of suspense to the entire story.

Although I would have liked to have seen more of a cooking setting around Julia Child in the 1950s, as well as with chef Manon in the 1940s, or I would have expected more of it from reading the synopsis for this book, in the end it didn’t really bother me that the story focused more on the political and spy aspects of the characters,

A very nice read, I will definitely be checking out more of Kristy Cameron’s books.
Also, Saskia Maarleveld did a terrific job with the narration of this audiobook!

Thank you NetGalley, Kristy Cambron, and Thomas Nelson and Zondervan Fiction Audio for this audio ARC in return for my honest opinion!

I've got to be truthful here. I really thought I would love this book. In the end I just liked it.

Ok there's an intricate spy story going on throughout the book and the story is good and unravels piece by piece. My problem lies with the story being complicated and confusing for me. I listened to the audio and it was very well done by one of my favourites - Saskia Maarleveld but unfortunately she couldn't save it for me. I don't think I would have enjoyed reading it as well as it would have needed a lot of note taking to keep everything together. I don't enjoy that. I like to just read or listen and let the story flow.

It's a dual time line story and those are among my favourites. There's one taking place in 1952 post-war Paris. I did mostly enjoy this one. The second timeline is 1943 in Boston and then 1943 in Paris during the war years. These timelines were interesting but there were more than one POV in each timeline. I found it confusing although they were marked very well in the chapters. It was just hard to keep track with who was who and what was what. The story did get interesting and I liked that ending! Julia Child makes some cameos and that was fun!

If you like a good spy war story with strong female leads and you don't mind taking notes than chances are you will really enjoy this one.

*I'd like to reference that I think this book is wrongly labelled as "Christian Fiction." I don't usually read that genre and I didn't realize it was until I started it. There really were no faith elements in the story and it probably shouldn't have been labelled as that. Just an FYI.

I'd like to kindly thank NetGalley and Thomas Nelson and Zondervan Fiction Audio for granting me access to this Advance Listener's Copy.

Wow! This was an incredible novel! Most of the dual time line novels that I've read about WWII are set closer to the present day and also during the war. The French Kitchen is set during the war and also in 1952, during the aftermath of the war. I found the way that the characters worked through their feelings and memories to be super interesting, especially in a cooking class by Julia Child. Hearing about the french cuisine that they cook also makes the book all the more interesting to read. I listened to parts of this book via audio, and I found the narration to be very French. It was a treat to listen to!

If you like spies, secrets, french cooking, and learning abour WWII, this book is a book for you! Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the advance ebook and audio of this book. A review was not required.

In 1952, Kat
tries to settle into her life in Paris after years of working as a spy in WWII.
While attending a cooking class with Julia Child, memories come flooding back, these have to do with the war, her missing brother and her husband who has secrets.

In 1943, Manon, a chef, is forced to cook for the enemy at Château du Broutel. During the day, she serves Himmler and Rommel, but at night, she passes information to the Resistance.

This is a dual timeline story that twists together well. The storytelling is also excellent. The danger, tension, and angst that came off the page made it so good to read. I loved everything about the impossible choices the characters had to make and the espionage that happened. It all kept me unable to stop listening until the very end.

Kristy Cameron’s new novel, THE FRENCH KITCHEN, is wonderful. It is the ideal read on a rainy afternoon, when you’re on the couch, wearing your favorite cardigan, and sipping a mug of hot tea. Well written, good character development, captivating plot. The story is ready-made for a TV series adaptation.

4.5

"It's how we know we're still alive, when love hasn't gone completely from our hearts."

This dual timeline story has a little of everything: Historical narrative, undercover resistance work, brother/sister bond, an enemies to lovers storyline, cooking with Julia Child, twists turns and surprises at every page turn, along with heartbreak and healing.

Planning your perfect future doesn't always get the results you so carefully crafted. Instead you find yourself joining the war effort to be able to search for a missing brother, marrying the enemy, learning to cook so you can work as a spy in the kitchens of a hot bed of Nazi activity, and double agents that you aren't sure who to trust. All in a war's work. Adjust and carry on.

“In occupied France you lived by your wits or died the moment you abandoned them.”

The book was fast paced and full of information and history. Personally, I was never 100% clear when the timeline changed and it took me a minute to catch up. That is the only reason I gave it a 4.5 star. Having said that, I would 100% recommend the story. I enjoyed it, and I couldn't stop reading it.

"War was not for lovers, nor courage for fools."

Thank you to NetGalley for the arc of the story.

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas Nelson and Zondervan Fiction Audio for an advanced listening copy of The French Kitchen in exchange for my honest opinion. The French Kitchen was released to retailers on August 5, 2025.

I love world war 2 historical fiction. This is the first book I’ve read about France World War 2 that connects true historical figures. This book was inspired by Julia Child’s life as an OSS operative, while peppering Julia in during the 1950s France time periods as a chef teaching cooking lessons. The two time periods were easy to distinguish between each other. The two heroines, and the two heroes, it’s easy to see their relationships and that there will be relationships.

The plot twist at the end I did NOT expect and made up for the slow start. I appreciated that there was zero spice. The plot was so suspenseful that spice wasn’t needed. I really liked the narrator with this audiobook. She did a good job going between English and French accents. I also like how she went deep with her voice for the male parts. Saskia Maarleveld was great! This was my first book by Cambron, and it won’t be my last!

I did a fair split between the audio and physical. The audiobook was great and the narrator was perfect. The way she was able to change her accents and voice with the characters was so impressive. I love WW2 historical fiction, but I'm picky about it. I need a story that is unique. Not something I've read over and over. THIS one gave me that. Inspired by the real life of the American chef, Julia Childs, she does make appearances in this book. Taking place over two timelines, 1943, Rue Manon Altier, cooks for German officers and runs an underground spy network. And in 1952, post WW2 intrigue, and family drama. There was mystery, espionage and romance. I loved reading about Kats work during the war and her mission to find her missing brother. This one was excellent. It sounded so good and I just knew I was going to love it and I was right.

Thank you to the publisher, netgalley, and Uplit Reads for the gifted copy. All opinions are my own..

Split into dual timelines this novel features interesting characters, suspenseful espionage, and glimpses into the early life of Julia Child. There are many mouthwatering descriptions of French cuisine to enjoy and some romance sprinkled in. A solid historical fiction with phenomenal narration by Saskia Maarleveld!

Outstanding narration. This story has it all. Love, betrayal, espionage, and mystery. This is dual timeline. During WWII and after. Intriguing and kept me engaged throughout. Julia Child even makes an appearance in her work during WWII and later as a world famous chef. There was a double agent and this caused so many twists. Highly recommend.

I was blessed with an ARC. The opinions expressed are my own and unbiased.

The French Kitchen is a fantastic book that tells a story of growth and love during WWII. Following Kat through her time in occupied France and then post war Paris as she struggles to determine who is hiding information that would help with her search for her brother while trying to impact the outcome of the war as a member of the OSS. Kristy Cambron's storytelling showed me a part of the world and history that is not shown frequently when reading about this time in history. Using french cooking, and having Julia Child as a character shows that this story was based on lesser known aspects of the war, and women's role in it.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing this eARC.

Inspired in part by the life of Julia Child, The French Kitchen follows two women on alternating timelines as they navigate France -- and food -- during and after World War II.

I don't know much about Julia Child, or much about the particular French experience of WW2, but it is clear from The French Kitchen that this is history Kristy Cambron is well-versed in. For me, that was my number one takeaway, that this simply read as a well-researched and fully realized piece of historical fiction. The plot itself felt fresh and original, and the characters were relatively compelling. I did enjoy the alternating timelines, but I found it a bit difficult to keep up with who and when we were while listening to the audiobook. As the book went on and I learned more character and place names, I grew more accustomed to it, but I did find myself wishing more than once that I had a physical copy to refer to.

Overall I thought this was a solid read with a strong historical foundation, compelling characters, and a sweet romance subplot.

I love Kristy Cambron's books! I love how she weaves stories from two or three time periods and becoming invested in all of them to seeing how they all connect together! Amazing!

This book pulled me in and had me wondering how all of these characters were going to connect. Especially with the beginning scene and the way the author set up the story!

I loved how it all pulled together! Paris in 1952 and Rue, France in 1943! The talk of the spy network and the culinary aspects were very intriguing! I felt like I was there enjoying all of the flavors, and then my heart would be racing the next moment as I was hoping the spies would be safe and accomplish their missions successfully!

The twists and reveals were amazing! I started to make guesses the further into the book I got and some of them I figured out and others I was surprised by! I love when that happens while I'm reading and invested in a book!

I read and listened to the audiobook of this one! I really enjoyed the narrator. This was the first book I've listened to that she narrated and enjoyed how she brought the French aspects to life!

I thought after reading the synopsis that Julia Child would feature more in the story than she did and that she was going to be one of the main characters. Turns out she was a secondary character in the story but I loved the moments she was on page. I had read another book that was about her and her time during WWII that releases in a month. It was fun knowing more about her life and service while hearing some of it in this one. She's an incredible woman!

There is a sweet love story that is a slow-burn one but will have you loving how it all comes about!

Content: Clean. Some moments of mild peril. Sweet love story with a fade to black scene, it was kept very clean.

I received a copy of the digital book and the audiobook from the publisher/producer, Thomas Nelson Fiction, and Thomas Nelson and Zondervan Fiction Audio, via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions in the review are my own.

Happy Reading & Listening!!!