Today, I am on the blog tour for The Paris Network by Siobhan Curham for Bookouture. Thanks to Bookouture and Netgalley for the copy of the book to give you my unbiased review today.
Paris, 1940: He pressed the tattered book into her hands. ‘You must go to the café and ask at the counter for Pierre Duras. Tell him that I sent you. Tell him you’re there to save the people of France.’
Sliding the coded message in between the crisp pages of the hardback novel, bookstore owner Laurence slips out into the cold night to meet her resistance contact, pulling her woollen beret down further over her face. The silence of the night is suddenly shattered by an Allied plane rushing overhead, its tail aflame, heading down towards the forest. Her every nerve stands on end. She must try to rescue the pilot.
But straying from her mission isn’t part of the plan, and if she is discovered it won’t only be her life at risk…
America, years later: when Jeanne uncovers a dusty old box in her father’s garage, her world as she knows it is turned upside down. She has inherited a bookstore in a tiny French village just outside of Paris from a mysterious woman named Laurence.
Travelling to France to search for answers about the woman her father has kept a secret for years, Jeanne finds the store tucked away in a corner of the cobbled main square. Boarded up, it is in complete disrepair. Inside, she finds a tiny silver pendant hidden beneath the blackened, scorched floorboards.
As Jeanne pieces together Laurence’s incredible story, she discovers a woman whose bravery knew no bounds. But will the truth about who Laurence really is shatter Jeanne’s heart, or change her future?
Inspired by true events, an epic and emotional novel about one woman’s strength to survive in the most difficult circumstances and the power of love in the face of darkness. Fans of The Alice Network, The Nightingale and The Lost Girls of Paris will be completely gripped from the very first page.
A novel that is inspired by true events is always a winner for me. I love the historical aspect and the fact that it’s founded from fact. The fact that it is also a dual timeline just made this even more of a captivating story.
USA 1993, Jeanne and her father are trying to find out more information about Jeanne’s mother. In the 1940s in France, there is Laurence, a bookseller, working with the resistance.
I enjoyed both the historical timeline and the one set in the 1990s. I was so eager to discover what had happened to Laurence. The fact that she was a bookstore owner just made me warm to her immediately. The fact that she used books in her role in the Resistance made for such an intriguing read. Siobhan Curham has so finely balanced the book with the trauma and the horror of World War 2 against characters and the lightness created by their relationships.
Jeanne’s journey to discover who her real mother was takes her to France, to a village where she has to attempt to piece together what actually happened. This leads to her understanding so much more. Everything about this book tugged on my heartstrings and didn’t stop until I turned the final page.
I always love a historical fiction book as I ways feel like I am entertained alongside being educated. I have finished this book, knowing so much more about the resistance in France. It is an absolutely beautiful story that will linger in my mind long after the book has been finished.
This is the first book I have read from Siobhan Curham, and I don’t think it will be the final one that I read either. Her research is clearly intensive, and the historical details along with the beautiful way she has written the story held me captive from start to finish.
Author Bio
Siobhan Curham is an award-winning author, ghost writer, editor and writing coach. She has also written for many newspapers, magazines and websites, including The Guardian, Breathe magazine, Cosmopolitan, Writers’ Forum, DatingAdvice.com, and Spirit & Destiny. Siobhan has been a guest on various radio and TV shows, including Woman’s Hour, BBC News, GMTV and BBC Breakfast. And she has spoken at businesses, schools, universities and literary festivals around the world, including the BBC, Hay Festival, Cheltenham Festival, Bath Festival, Ilkley Festival, London Book Fair and Sharjah Reading Festival.
https://www.facebook.com/Siobhan-Curham-Author-398343120181969
https://www.instagram.com/SiobhanCurham/
https://twitter.com/SiobhanCurham
Buy Link:
Amazon: https://geni.us/B09NDWYHWMsocial
Audio:
UK: zpr.io/cSqeybP5cfya
US: zpr.io/bS7LKZ5hXuVG
Listen to a sample here:
https://soundcloud.com/bookouture/the-paris-network-by-siobhan-curham-narrated-by-laurence-bouvard
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