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adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Natasha Lester is one of my favourite historical fiction writers. Her books are always so well researched, beautifully written and full of emotions. I really do not know how to do this book justice. There is so much that I loved about it and I learnt so much about the French efforts to save their art. Absolutely fantastic and highly recommend to lovers for this genre.
Natasha brings her characters to life with her writing. They become people that you would like to be friends with (or kill, depending on the circumstances) As always, we have a dual timeline happening in The Riviera House and I love both parts of the story.
In 1939 Paris we meet Elaine Dufort and her family. She works at The Lourve and she finds love with a painter, Xavier. But then the Nazi's take over the city and he flees for England. Elaine send her family away to safety and remains in Paris to help protect the city and the artworks from the Germans. But life for a young woman in Nazi run Paris is hard and she has to do what she has to do to survive, even if she cannot bear to think it.
In the present day we meet Remy Lang. She is grieving and travels from Sydney to her home on the French Riviera to take some time away for herself and work on her business. The home was something she inherited but has no idea from who or why. She find a catalogue of artworks and discovers a family connection that she cannot ignore.
Both women are incredibly strong and worthy women. I felt for them both and the situations that they were in. I wanted things to work out for them both but always fearful of what the story would unfold.
Natasha, I loved it. It will make you cry and it will make you appreciate the freedom of the world that we live in today.
Thank you Hachette Australia for sending me this advanced copy. Released in Australia September 1st.
Natasha brings her characters to life with her writing. They become people that you would like to be friends with (or kill, depending on the circumstances) As always, we have a dual timeline happening in The Riviera House and I love both parts of the story.
In 1939 Paris we meet Elaine Dufort and her family. She works at The Lourve and she finds love with a painter, Xavier. But then the Nazi's take over the city and he flees for England. Elaine send her family away to safety and remains in Paris to help protect the city and the artworks from the Germans. But life for a young woman in Nazi run Paris is hard and she has to do what she has to do to survive, even if she cannot bear to think it.
In the present day we meet Remy Lang. She is grieving and travels from Sydney to her home on the French Riviera to take some time away for herself and work on her business. The home was something she inherited but has no idea from who or why. She find a catalogue of artworks and discovers a family connection that she cannot ignore.
Both women are incredibly strong and worthy women. I felt for them both and the situations that they were in. I wanted things to work out for them both but always fearful of what the story would unfold.
Natasha, I loved it. It will make you cry and it will make you appreciate the freedom of the world that we live in today.
Thank you Hachette Australia for sending me this advanced copy. Released in Australia September 1st.
You can also read this review on my blog at https://thebashfulbookworm.com/book-review-the-riviera-house-by-natasha-lester/
The Riviera House by Natasha Lester is a beautifully written, historic novel, with dual timelines set in France during WWII and the present. I was entranced and blown away by the beauty of the writing and the stories inside.
The first timeline starts in Paris in 1930 and follows Éliane as she struggles to go to school and learn about art and art history and also helps care for her sibling. She also falls in love with Xavier, an Englishman who trades fine art, however, he disappears just before the Nazi invasion and breaks her heart. Once the Nazis invade she works at a museum, cataloging fine art pieces. The Nazis don’t believe she knows understands German and she’s free to pick up information and pass it on to the Resistance.
In the present-day timeline, Remy discovers she inherited a stunning villa on the French Rivier from her birth parents that she never knew. Remy is has a vintage fashion business but is also still grieving the loss of her young daughter and husband in a car accident nearly three years ago. Once in the Villa, she meets a boisterous family next door, who all have their own secrets. She also discovers that an old painting she’s had with her since her childhood was once stolen from the Louvre by the Nazis in World War II. How did she get that painting?
The Riviera House is a stunning and beautifully written story about unimaginable courage and survival during one of the most horrendous times in our history. The Riviera House is also two of the most enchanting love stories I’ve read in a while. This book is huge at 480 pages, but I zipped through this book in only two sittings because I was enthralled by the story from the very first page. The descriptions of the exotic settings in this book are stunning.
Often in dual timeline books, one of the timelines is better than the other, but in The Riviera House, I found both stories equally enthralling, for different reasons. I loved the past timeline and was fascinated with the historical details as well as the courage and bravery of Éliane and her friends and family. In the present timeline, I was drawn to Remy and empathized with her grief and sadness, but I was also interested in her vintage fashion business. The neighbors next door, especially her love interest, Adam, were interesting and realistic. I thought the author did an excellent job at describing the beautiful scenery, the villa, and the vintage clothes.
What I also found surprising about this book was the unexpected twists and turns the story takes. I could not guess the ending, nor the relationships between the timelines until the very end. I received a complimentary copy of this book. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
The Riviera House by Natasha Lester is a beautifully written, historic novel, with dual timelines set in France during WWII and the present. I was entranced and blown away by the beauty of the writing and the stories inside.
The first timeline starts in Paris in 1930 and follows Éliane as she struggles to go to school and learn about art and art history and also helps care for her sibling. She also falls in love with Xavier, an Englishman who trades fine art, however, he disappears just before the Nazi invasion and breaks her heart. Once the Nazis invade she works at a museum, cataloging fine art pieces. The Nazis don’t believe she knows understands German and she’s free to pick up information and pass it on to the Resistance.
In the present-day timeline, Remy discovers she inherited a stunning villa on the French Rivier from her birth parents that she never knew. Remy is has a vintage fashion business but is also still grieving the loss of her young daughter and husband in a car accident nearly three years ago. Once in the Villa, she meets a boisterous family next door, who all have their own secrets. She also discovers that an old painting she’s had with her since her childhood was once stolen from the Louvre by the Nazis in World War II. How did she get that painting?
The Riviera House is a stunning and beautifully written story about unimaginable courage and survival during one of the most horrendous times in our history. The Riviera House is also two of the most enchanting love stories I’ve read in a while. This book is huge at 480 pages, but I zipped through this book in only two sittings because I was enthralled by the story from the very first page. The descriptions of the exotic settings in this book are stunning.
Often in dual timeline books, one of the timelines is better than the other, but in The Riviera House, I found both stories equally enthralling, for different reasons. I loved the past timeline and was fascinated with the historical details as well as the courage and bravery of Éliane and her friends and family. In the present timeline, I was drawn to Remy and empathized with her grief and sadness, but I was also interested in her vintage fashion business. The neighbors next door, especially her love interest, Adam, were interesting and realistic. I thought the author did an excellent job at describing the beautiful scenery, the villa, and the vintage clothes.
What I also found surprising about this book was the unexpected twists and turns the story takes. I could not guess the ending, nor the relationships between the timelines until the very end. I received a complimentary copy of this book. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
challenging
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Child death, Death, War
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
It’s SO good. SO SO good! The only reason it’s only 4.5 stars is because there were 2 minor subplots or way something about the characters that were written in a way that didn’t feel as genuine as the rest of the book. It’s a seriously minor complaint though.
I might like even more than Kristin Hannah’s The Nightingale. Incredibly similar.
I’m sorry but other than the very important subject (art and resistance in France during WW2) this book was not good at all: unrealistic characters (perfect Adam, Xavier, Angélique), no character development (Luc), very shallow in the representation of grief, the childish form of perfect love directing the whole story, the women were kind of dumb and naive… it could have been so good but after All the lights we cannot see or The book thief, this just disappointed and made me cringe.
Ps. The perfect relationships by perfect dark haired and muscled men made me barf
Ps. The perfect relationships by perfect dark haired and muscled men made me barf
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I won a Goodreads giveaway for a kindle edition of this book and was so excited to read it! It did not disappoint- I LOVED this book. I felt connected to both of our leading ladies in each timeline, and actually cared about both of their stories. In a lot of books that feature the dual-timeline, one always interests you more than the other. I was more interested in Elaine’s story, but I also really enjoyed reading about Remy and how facts revealed in her timeline got me thinking about what would happen in the WW2 timeline.
I did notice some odd formatting issues in the kindle edition of this book, and a few very small grammatical errors, but they did not distract from the story at all and they didn’t bother me.
I did notice some odd formatting issues in the kindle edition of this book, and a few very small grammatical errors, but they did not distract from the story at all and they didn’t bother me.