by Ella Carey
Publisher: Bookouture
Pages:
Format: eARC
Buy the Book: Amazon
Goodreads: Paris, 1918. The end of war is in sight, and young seamstress Vianne Pascal is longing for the day when she can stop sewing military uniforms and start creating the beautiful dresses that she has been dreaming up in her head.
But just when it seems like peace is within reach, Vianne’s mother and sister are killed in a terrible air raid. To make matters worse, Vianne’s brother has returned home a changed man. Controlling and cruel, he presents Vianne with an ultimatum; give up her dreams of becoming a designer, or be forced onto the streets, penniless and alone.
With nothing left for her in Paris but sad memories, she decides to sail for New York. Determined not to look back, she throws herself into her new life—spending her days sewing dresses for wealthy Upper East Side women, and her evenings dancing the Charleston to Duke Ellington in the new downtown clubs. When Vianne meets handsome Italian Giorgio Conti, he encourages her career, and she feels safe for the first time since she lost her family.
Then news of a terrible accident compels Vianne to suddenly return to France, where she discovers proof of a wartime secret that changes everything she thought she knew about her family. Facing the threat of sickness and ruin, the people who forced Vianne out of her home now suddenly need her help.
Kritters Thoughts: Vianne is living in Paris and there is hope that the war will end soon, but not soon enough as she leaves church to finish a project only to have that church bombed killing her mother and sister. Sending her family in a tailspin, Vianne decides to escape to America to forge a different path for her life and to make it on her own. After some chance encounters and a lot of hard work she is heading in the right direction when news from Paris will send her home to confront the things she ran from.
First, I started this book with reading the synopsis and I am so glad that it didn't spoil all the good bits, so I won't do that here either and I suggest before you read to not dive too deep into any reviews, so you can experience the book with only the information in the synopsis, it is worth the ride.
With that said, my thoughts will be brief. I loved Vianne as a character. A woman at a time where they were either to be home growing a family or in the workforce plugging the holes in society left by men off at war. Vianne was strong and a woman who wanted more for herself than what society laid out and had dreams to become the next fashion designer and create pieces that women can wear and love. I would love to have a sequel that takes Vianne into the next phase of her life and to see where she ends up.
While the war was a catalyst in this book, I appreciated that it wasn't the sole focus for the events in the book. I have become quite a fan of Ella Carey and I hope she has many more stories to tell.
Rating: definitely a good read, but can't read two in a row
Ebook 2021 Challenge: 156 out of 100
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one copy of this book free of charge from Bookouture. I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.
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