Title: The Last Fashion House in Paris
Author: Renee Ryan
Major Themes: France, Paris, Spies, Rescues, World War II
Synopsis: When Paulette must flee her home and move to Paris to work in a fashion house, she learns a lot about herself and about life.
Two years ago, I discovered that I liked Renee Ryan’s writing style. Sometime around then, I listened to The Widows of Salzburg. Because I listened to it rather than read it, I was not able to write a review, although I enjoyed most of the story (except when someone was killed). This year, I was offered an advance copy of The Last Fashion House in Paris since I had reviewed The Secret Society of Salzburg.
Publisher’s description:
In the heart of occupied WWII Paris, an elegant fashion house is the unlikely headquarters of a daring resistance network. Behind closed doors, courageous women vie to save loved ones and strangers alike from the Nazis in this powerful story of survival, friendship and second chances.
France, 1942
Once, Paulette Leblanc spent her days flirting, shopping and drawing elegant dresses in her sketch pad. Then German tanks rolled into France, and a reckless romance turned into deep betrayal. Blaming herself for her mother’s arrest by the Gestapo, Paulette is sent away to begin a new life in Paris, working as apprentice to fashion designer Sabine Ballard.
But Maison de Ballard is no ordinary fashion house. While seamstresses create the perfect couture gowns, clandestine deals and secrets take place out of sight. Mademoiselle Ballard is head of a vast network of resistance fighters—including Paulette’s coworker and friend Nicolle Cadieux—who help escort downed military men and Jewish families to safety.
Soon Paulette is recruited as a spy. Working as a seamstress by day, gathering information at glamorous parties by night, Paulette at last has a chance to earn the redemption she craves. But as the SS closes in, and Nicolle goes missing, Paulette must make life-and-death decisions about who to trust, who to love and who to leave behind…
My thoughts:
I didn’t realize until I started reading The Last Fashion House in Paris that it is a sequel to The Widows of Salzburg. That immediately increased my interest in it—and for the most part, I was not disappointed. Paulette was a fairly minor character in the first book, except for her major, tragic mistake near the end, but this book is all about her. Suddenly, this spoiled teenager is on her own in a cruel world and must grow up.
The story is also about Nicolle and her underground work. That was fascinating. I think my interest in that started about 35 years ago when I picked up an old copy of a book called Paris Underground. In that book, a woman told about how she and a friend or two helped to spirit British airmen to safety. The Last Fashion House in Paris tells a fictionalized version of that work. It really brings occupied Paris to life.
This book is called Christian fiction. I did not find any references to faith, however. The general feel was clean, but there were no references that I noticed to belief in God and doing what they did because of that. It was more that there were people in need, and they were being helped in order to undermine the Nazis who had invaded the country. I did really enjoy the story and had a hard time putting it down. It is very well-written and gripping!
I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley, and these are my honest thoughts about it.
WARNING: I didn’t plan to write a review for this site, so I didn’t keep detailed notes. It is a war story, so there are mentions of the Gestapo doing terrible things—although there are no details. There are references to the way German officers used women; one woman is a mistress to a high officer. There is also a lot of lying. The worst scene, in my opinion, was one where a woman killed a man in self-defense. There may have been a couple of kisses, but they didn’t stand out. For a war story containing two romances, it was pretty clean.
Age levels:
Reading Independently—Ages 15 and Above, Adults
Links to buy this book:
Amazon: Paperback | Kindle | Audible Audiobook (unabridged)
AbeBooks: View Choices on AbeBooks.com
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