The Three Lives of Alix St. Pierre by Natasha Lester

 

Quite the book - with a lot of depth. Other than marketing, Alix is so much different than I am that I was truly an observer, watching her work her magic and get results. She is an orphan raised by a wealthy family, like a sister to Lillie. She later becomes a writer for a fashion magazine, in WW2 is recruited to be a spy and goes to Switzerland. It's very interesting to read how things went in her spy world, many based on real facts from the author's research. After the war in Paris, she goes to work for Christian Dior as he comes into the spotlight. A fascinating world. And meets Anthony as she is trying to find a Nazi war criminal who had set her up in her earlier life. She's looking for answers and revenge for the people who were killed after a message she had relayed during the war. She's strong and quite courageous as well as vulnerable. Hard to put down, easy to get fully immersed. Very, very well written. A small amount of bad language throughout that was irritating and I could have done without.

I received this book free from the author, publisher and NetGalley book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

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The Book of Lost Names by Kristin Harmel

 

Precious. Expertly woven story based on what some talented people did during the war, to save lives. Eva escaped Paris with her mother to a small town in the safe zone. She was artistic and forged papers for them, that worked. Then she met some people who pointed out her mistakes. Although she was supposed to go to Switzerland, when she saw the condition of where Jews were being held in Paris, she knew she had to do something to help. She was welcomed into a ring of the resistance, and they shared their talents to do forgeries. In the process she became close to and eventually fell in love with a man she worked with, who ended up moving into other positions. A fascinating story that kept me up extra hours reading. I had family that left Germany before the war started. I can picture several of these talented people doing this kind of work, which makes it all more real to me. It shows what people can do when they bring their talent, intelligence and determination to fight back against injustice. This is a keeper. Definitely a stand out read. 20 stars.

I received this book free from the publisher and NetGalley book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. 

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A Picture of Hope by Liz Tolsma

 

Riveting. Heart wrenching. Nellie is a photographer/reporter from America, anxious to make a difference and get the message to Americans about what was happening in the war Hitler had brought. The story starts as D-Day takes place. They didn't give permission to women to go into France, so she blended in and got herself there. The things she found once there were unthinkable, including a village where the Germans forced the women and children into a church and set them on fire. But she also found a little girl hiding, a girl with Down Syndrome. One that the Germans considered imperfect and needed extermination. She was able to get a perfect photo of her in front of the burned out church after the village was deserted again.

There she ran into Jean Paul, a member of the French resistance fresh out of prison. His father was a German officer who was angered that he stayed with his French mother and fought against him. Together they get to a convent where they housed a few other children with Down Syndrome and they all worked to get the small group out of France and across the border into Switzerland. Not an uneventful process. Constant danger and tension. 

Both Nellie and Jean Paul are also fighting an internal battle from things in their own lives that motivate them to make a difference and not accept the way things were, not just stand by even though they risked their lives. 

Excellent read of love and sacrifice with a Christian message throughout. Showing true beauty where others rejected,  hope and love, innocence shining through. Often I didn't like Nellie because of stupid, headstrong choices that she made, but Jean Paul liked her (wink), and the end results turned out well.

I received this book free from the publisher and NetGalley book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.
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