MY THOUGHTS AND BOOK REVIEW
Set in Paris, a beautiful city day and night, during World War 2, The Last Train from Paris is an engrossing, and intriguing dual-time thought-provoking novel. Loved the awesome writing style of the author and the pace at which the sequences take place.
1964: Iris wants to know who she is, she was visiting her adopted mom Nora at St Mabon's Cove, Cornwall as she is visiting from London. She could ask questions to her mum as she held her certificate of adoption she had first seen. No mother, No father, No hint of who she might have been, or even an exact place of birth. It seemed such a vague statement of her existence in the copy she had in her hands. She was born in 1939 the year war was declared in a country that is unlike Cornwall. She had always known that she was adopted but seeing Mum Nora and Dad named on an unofficial document had made it real. The adoption certificate was dated 1950, five years after the war had ended.
1939: Sabine and Nora become friends through letters, they never met until in German-occupied France just before the war broke out. Sabine was a Journalism student who lived in Colmar. Nora leaves London to study in Paris to become a chef as her father has finally been persuaded. A heavily pregnant Sabine with her husband Emil who was working in the enemy country Germany, gives birth to twins - Valerie and Violette in Paris. Sabine deeply loved her twins and she could do anything, fight anyone to keep her children safe. Violette had to get an operation done as the child had a disability when she was born. As things in Europe looked uncertain where war was inevitable. Sabine gives Violette to Nora as she leaves Paris and goes back to London on a train and thereafter on a ferry boat as the war is prepared to break out in France.
In the midst of intense war, Nora's bravery and heroic actions, Sabine fleeing Paris forcefully and Nora when she finds herself on a ferry in the middle of the channel are entangled with how Violette grows up to become Iris. The whole story revolves around how these characters survive and struggle through war-torn Europe.
Thanks to Netgalley and Rachel Random Resources and Storm Publishers for an advance digital copy for my honest review.
BOOK DESCRIPTION
The Last Train from Paris
For Iris, each visit to her mother in St Mabon’s Cove, Cornwall has been the same – a serene escape from the city. But today, as she breathes in the salt air on the doorstep of her beloved childhood home, a heavy weight of anticipation settles over her. Iris knows she’s adopted, but any questions about where she came from have always been shut down by her parents, who can’t bear to revisit the past.
Now, Iris can’t stop thinking about what she’s read on the official paperwork: BABY GIRL, FRANCE, 1939 – the year war was declared with Nazi Germany.
When Iris confronts her mother, she hits the same wall of pain and resistance as whenever she mentions the war. That is, until her mother tearfully hands her an old tin of letters, tucked neatly beside a delicate piece of ivory wool.
Retreating to the loft, Iris steels herself to at last learn the truth, however painful it might be. But, as she peels back each layer of history before her, a sensation of dread grows inside her. The past is calling, and its secrets are more intricate and tangled than Iris could ever have imagined.
The year is 1939, and in Paris, France a young woman is about to commit a terrible betrayal…
A beautifully written and addictively compelling historical novel about the terrible choices ordinary people were forced to make in the horrors of World War Two. If you loved The Tattooist of Auschwitz, The Alice Network and The Nightingale, you will devour this book.
What readers are saying about Juliet Greenwood:
“This was fantastic! Perfect for a Kate Morton or Lucinda Riley hangover, this book will draw you in and won't let go until you've read the last page. This book was unputdownable – fascinating characters, excellent writing, and a plot that keeps you turning the pages. I loved every second of it." Reader review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
“I found myself reading chapter after chapter, unable to put it down. A first-time read by this author but certainly not the last.” Reader review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
“For readers of Kate Morton and Lucinda Riley, this book will be one of your favorites… A historical novel that will keep you reading until the end.” Reader review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
“An absolutely brilliant read. I could not put it down…I loved how the war changed everyone and it was a gripping story... I really loved it. Cannot recommend it enough.” Reader review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
“Did everything that I was looking for… it left me wanting to read more from Juliet Greenwood.” Reader review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Purchase Link - https://geni.us/290-al-aut-am
Author Bio –
Juliet Greenwood is a historical novelist, now published by Storm Publishing. Her first novel was a finalist for The People’s Book Prize and two of her books reached the top 5 in the UK Kindle store. Juliet has always been a bookworm and a storyteller, writing her first novel (a sweeping historical epic) at the age of ten. She lives in a traditional cottage in Snowdonia, North Wales, set between the mountains and the sea, with an overgrown garden (good for insects!) and a surprisingly successful grapevine.
Social Media Links –
Storm: https://stormpublishing.co/
Website: http://www.julietgreenwood.co.uk/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/juliet.greenwood
Twitter: https://twitter.com/julietgreenwood
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/julietgreenwood/
.jpg)
