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4.27 AVERAGE
4.27 AVERAGE
This author always thoroughly researches her subjects, then fits fictional characters round real life people. The novel has a dual timeline, with Eliane and Xavier the main characters during WWII in Paris, while Remy and Adam are the couple in 2015 on the Rjviera. I found the historical sections most interesting, centering on the efforts by the Nazis to steal famous artwork, particularly the collections of Jewish owners, which they felt entitled to. Eliane works with Rose Vallard, the real person who was able to catalog what the Nazis were stealing. The more contemporary storyline centers on Remy and Adam’s developing relationship, as well the mystery behind Remy’s inheritance of the Riviera house. I recommend this novel, and thank NetGalley for the ARC. There is a lot of substance here, and the writing is well done.
Decent storyline that made you reflect on the art world of ww2. I struggled to stay focused on this book though and felt the ending was rushed in comparison to the rest of the story.
Three stars is being generous. Natasha Lester obviously appeals to many readers judging from the reviews on here, but sadly I found her style as cloying as gorging on a box of cheap chocolates. What attracted me to the book was the history that inspired it and which was indeed well researched. The fictional characters though were all trite, stereotyped and totally lacking in credibility. Purple prose worthy of Barbara Cartland coloured almost every scene and if the amount of tears shed by every character in every conceivable situation were real the pages would have dissolved.
emotional
informative
tense
medium-paced
3.5 stars
Per usual with split timeline historical fiction, I would've liked more of the history and less of the present day narrative. I'm also not a fan of romance novels, which both timelines were heavy in. I love both how it ended and that it ended...
Per usual with split timeline historical fiction, I would've liked more of the history and less of the present day narrative. I'm also not a fan of romance novels, which both timelines were heavy in. I love both how it ended and that it ended...
The Riviera House is split between two main characters in two separate eras: Eliane, an Parisian art student who works at the Louvre as France stands on the brink of invasion in World War II, and Remy, a grieving widow and mother who has recently lost both her husband and her child, and who is spending time at a home in the French Riviera which she inherited from her mysterious birth parents. As Eliane’s world descends into the terrifying occupation of Paris, she secretly works to safeguard the precious artworks that are being stolen by the Nazi occupiers. And as Remy slowly heals and learns to love again, we learn more about her birth family and her mysterious connection to one of the paintings chronicled in a book of artwork once stolen by Goering, Hitler’s second-in-command.
This book is clearly very thoroughly researched – it's rich with details about things like French art, vintage clothing, and the Riviera. It also has a lot of historical detail about things like what life was like during the occupation. The historical sections kept my attention much better than the contemporary ones, maybe because Remy’s story was a lot less interesting to me than Eliane’s, at least in the beginning. It’s not that Remy is an unsympathetic or unlikable character, or that I’m indifferent about her tragic backstory - quite the opposite. I just didn’t really care about her vintage clothes, or about the Henry-Joneses and their rich people problems, especially when compared to a character risking her life in the midst of the Nazi occupation. I was only really interested in the ways that the 2015 story fit into the 1940s story. That being said, I did like Remy’s storyline more as the book went on, and it focused more on the intersection of the two narratives than the minutiae of vintage clothes and life on the Riviera.
All in all, a good book, though I can’t give it higher than 3.5 just because I felt so disinterested in the contemporary narrative unless it connected to the historical one.
This book is clearly very thoroughly researched – it's rich with details about things like French art, vintage clothing, and the Riviera. It also has a lot of historical detail about things like what life was like during the occupation. The historical sections kept my attention much better than the contemporary ones, maybe because Remy’s story was a lot less interesting to me than Eliane’s, at least in the beginning. It’s not that Remy is an unsympathetic or unlikable character, or that I’m indifferent about her tragic backstory - quite the opposite. I just didn’t really care about her vintage clothes, or about the Henry-Joneses and their rich people problems, especially when compared to a character risking her life in the midst of the Nazi occupation. I was only really interested in the ways that the 2015 story fit into the 1940s story. That being said, I did like Remy’s storyline more as the book went on, and it focused more on the intersection of the two narratives than the minutiae of vintage clothes and life on the Riviera.
All in all, a good book, though I can’t give it higher than 3.5 just because I felt so disinterested in the contemporary narrative unless it connected to the historical one.
Rating 3.5
Paris 1939. The Nazis are stealing valuable art collections and they are unaware that Éliane is decoding, taking notes and smuggling information to the Resistance. By doing this, she is putting everybody around her including herself in danger. While Present Day, Remy is still recovering from a tragedy, she inherits a mysterious house in the Riviera and busies herself with her vintage fashion business. When she discovers a catalog of artworks stolen during WW2, she sees a painting in the catalog that is the same one hanging in her bedroom. She wonders if and how her family is connected to the mysterious painting.
Though the story tells a different angle in WW2, one that is well-researched, important and fascinating, I think I have my fair share of reading WW2 stories and it somehow sound and look all the same to me. I kind of predicted where the story is leading with its past and present day timelines. Though the author writes well and is a good story teller, I find this bit long and can probably be shorten a bit.
I prefer the story of Éliane in 1939, which I think for me in most stories with past and present timelines, I prefer the past stories as they get more details and in-depth as far as story goes. Élaian story is more interesting and exciting and I wish there are more details on her story towards the end. When it comes to Remy’s, I am not as fascinated with her story and I feel her story is more of a romance and the fact that she is reeling from a tragedy, she falls in love too easily.
I love historical fiction, it’s one of the genre I love after mystery/suspense but I think I will pause my reading into WW2 European setting and delve into other historical fictions.
Paris 1939. The Nazis are stealing valuable art collections and they are unaware that Éliane is decoding, taking notes and smuggling information to the Resistance. By doing this, she is putting everybody around her including herself in danger. While Present Day, Remy is still recovering from a tragedy, she inherits a mysterious house in the Riviera and busies herself with her vintage fashion business. When she discovers a catalog of artworks stolen during WW2, she sees a painting in the catalog that is the same one hanging in her bedroom. She wonders if and how her family is connected to the mysterious painting.
Though the story tells a different angle in WW2, one that is well-researched, important and fascinating, I think I have my fair share of reading WW2 stories and it somehow sound and look all the same to me. I kind of predicted where the story is leading with its past and present day timelines. Though the author writes well and is a good story teller, I find this bit long and can probably be shorten a bit.
I prefer the story of Éliane in 1939, which I think for me in most stories with past and present timelines, I prefer the past stories as they get more details and in-depth as far as story goes. Élaian story is more interesting and exciting and I wish there are more details on her story towards the end. When it comes to Remy’s, I am not as fascinated with her story and I feel her story is more of a romance and the fact that she is reeling from a tragedy, she falls in love too easily.
I love historical fiction, it’s one of the genre I love after mystery/suspense but I think I will pause my reading into WW2 European setting and delve into other historical fictions.
Historical fiction book set in France and WW2 that also bounces back to present day, about the story of ordinary people and the risks that they take to document masterpieces of art that the Germans stole and the importance of preserving culture. I liked that it shared an angle of history that I wasn’t aware of, and shed light on the every day lives of ordinary citizens during the Occupation. The modern day storyline was a little more forced and exaggerated in my opinion.
What is the value of a piece of art?
Lester’s five-star historical fiction explores the Nazi’s ruthless plunder of precious masterpieces during WW2 and features the brave women who arduously worked to save them.
Inspired by the true story of Rose Valland and her daring work as an art saviour at the Jeu de Paume Museum in Paris, Lester spent months in Paris meticulously researching this complicated history. In this dual timeline, the journey of the masterpieces is featured in the wartime narrative while the Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild is showcased in the contemporary narrative.
This five-star read will have you wanting to find out more about these real people and events. Both timelines will force you to do some introspection, too.
“So many things worth preserving have been ruined.”
“Instead of saving paintings, we should be saving people.”
You’ll need to read to find out if Rose and Eliane’s efforts to save the paintings were worth the danger of spying on the Germans and if there’s a possibility that war might bring out the best in some people. You’ll be moved reading about one woman’s courage to start over and how Rose and Eliane’s sacrifices helps her during the lowest point in her life.
Romance, danger, sacrifice, grief and loss lurk around every corner in this spectacular read. We can learn from the tenacity of these women and appreciate the beautiful French setting while concluding that not everything is as it seems.
As always, Natasha Lester’s books are eagerly anticipated and sumptuously enjoyed!
Lester’s five-star historical fiction explores the Nazi’s ruthless plunder of precious masterpieces during WW2 and features the brave women who arduously worked to save them.
Inspired by the true story of Rose Valland and her daring work as an art saviour at the Jeu de Paume Museum in Paris, Lester spent months in Paris meticulously researching this complicated history. In this dual timeline, the journey of the masterpieces is featured in the wartime narrative while the Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild is showcased in the contemporary narrative.
This five-star read will have you wanting to find out more about these real people and events. Both timelines will force you to do some introspection, too.
“So many things worth preserving have been ruined.”
“Instead of saving paintings, we should be saving people.”
You’ll need to read to find out if Rose and Eliane’s efforts to save the paintings were worth the danger of spying on the Germans and if there’s a possibility that war might bring out the best in some people. You’ll be moved reading about one woman’s courage to start over and how Rose and Eliane’s sacrifices helps her during the lowest point in her life.
Romance, danger, sacrifice, grief and loss lurk around every corner in this spectacular read. We can learn from the tenacity of these women and appreciate the beautiful French setting while concluding that not everything is as it seems.
As always, Natasha Lester’s books are eagerly anticipated and sumptuously enjoyed!
I enjoyed this read, but did find I could put it down and walk away, and then when I got back to it, had to go back & read some former chapters as it can be confusing to keep up with the whos & whats and the years jumping around.
Being a widow, it did bring tears in some parts of the book, and the atrocities of WWII always do that as well.
Being a widow, it did bring tears in some parts of the book, and the atrocities of WWII always do that as well.