What I’m Reading: The Paris Orphan

I had put a few books on my hold list and then started the LONG waiting game to get them.  The book I waited for, The Paris Orphan, by Natasha Lester.  I have a thing about reading WWII books so this was an obvious pick for me.

The book is good.  It shifts between modern time and WWII time.  I very much enjoyed the book but what I liked the most was the afterword.  The author tells how her story came to be.  She tells of the research she did around the topic of female photographers during WWII and how she incorporated it into the story.  I like the story, was shocked by a few things in the story but later learned they were based on real-life events.  I appreciated the work the author put into the story.

I did guess the ending early on but was interested enough to follow the book to the end to make sure I was right.

Here is what Amazon had to say:
“New York City/Paris, 1942: When American model Jessica May arrives in Europe to cover the war as a photojournalist for Vogue, most of the soldiers are determined to make her life as difficult as possible. But three friendships change that. Journalist Martha Gellhorn encourages Jess to bend the rules. Captain Dan Hallworth keeps her safe in dangerous places so she can capture the stories that truly matter. And most important of all, the love of a little orphan named Victorine gives Jess the strength to do the impossible. But her success will come at a price…

France, 2005: Decades after World War II, D’Arcy Hallworth arrives at a beautiful chateau to curate a collection of famous wartime photos by a reclusive artist. It’s the opportunity of a lifetime, but D’Arcy has no idea that this job will uncover decades of secrets that, once revealed, will change everything she thought she knew about her mother, Victorine, and alter D’Arcy’s life forever.”

Amazon readers gave the book 4.5 stars.  I am going to agree with the 4.5-star rating.  It was a good book!

The author has other books.  I’m off to check out and see if any of them are available through my online libraries.

You can find the book HERE on Amazon.