Book Review: The Paris Dressmaker by Kristy Cambron

Publisher: Thomas Nelson

Release Date: February 16, 2021

Genre: Historical World War II Fiction

Based on true accounts of how Parisiennes resisted the Nazi occupation in World War II—from fashion houses to the city streets—comes a story of two courageous women who risked everything to fight an evil they couldn’t abide.

Paris, 1939. Maison Chanel has closed, thrusting haute couture dressmaker Lila de Laurent out of the world of high fashion as Nazi soldiers invade the streets and the City of Lights slips into darkness. Lila’s life is now a series of rations, brutal restrictions, and carefully controlled propaganda while Paris is cut off from the rest of the world. Yet in hidden corners of the city, the faithful pledge to resist. Lila is drawn to La Resistance and is soon using her skills as a dressmaker to infiltrate the Nazi elite. She takes their measurements and designs masterpieces, all while collecting secrets in the glamorous Hôtel Ritz—the heart of the Nazis’ Parisian headquarters. But when dashing René Touliard suddenly reenters her world, Lila finds her heart tangled between determination to help save his Jewish family and bolstering the fight for liberation.

Paris, 1943. Sandrine Paquet’s job is to catalog the priceless works of art bound for the Führer’s Berlin, masterpieces stolen from prominent Jewish families. But behind closed doors, she secretly forages for information from the underground resistance. Beneath her compliant façade lies a woman bent on uncovering the fate of her missing husband . . . but at what cost? As Hitler’s regime crumbles, Sandrine is drawn in deeper when she uncrates an exquisite blush Chanel gown concealing a cryptic message that may reveal the fate of a dressmaker who vanished from within the fashion elite.

Told across the span of the Nazi occupation, The Paris Dressmaker highlights the brave women who used everything in their power to resist darkness and restore light to their world.

My Review 🖤

An endearing premise and a gorgeous cover had me eagerly awaiting to get my hands on The Paris Dressmaker by Kristy Cambron. When looking at the reviews I can see I am in the minority but I really struggled with this novel, to the point that I did even complete it, only skimming to find out the outcomes of one of the plot lines that had slightly intrigued me.

This is the first book that I've read by this author and though her writing is engaging, the dual plot lines had my head spinning! I didn't have time to read for long periods of time, so every time I picked it back up it took a few pages to get my bearings (or even flipping back to the beginning of the chapter to see who I'm reading about and what timeline they're in). Normally dual time lines do not bother me, and I actually enjoy them, but I got lost so much, buried in so much information, that I fought the entire time to connect with their characters or their unique plights.

As I ponder this novel, my mind keeps going back to why the author felt like she needed two different timelines for this story? I could've seen either story actually being strong enough on their own, as the overall premises are quite intriguing, I just felt like the bond that connected the two stories together was just too weak, and would've preferred reading them separately.

Another item to note is the fact that the market is completely saturated in World War II historical fiction, which I do not mind at all, but since there are so many you need something special about your war story that is going to grab the reader and leave an indelible mark and The Paris Dressmaker only left a mark of disappointment.

My Rating: ★★★

Other Books by the Author

About the Author

KRISTY CAMBRON is a vintage-inspired storyteller writing from the space where art, history, and faith intersect. She's a Christy Award-winning author of historical fiction, including bestselling novels, THE BUTTERFLY AND THE VIOLIN and THE PARIS DRESSMAKER, and nonfiction, including the Verse Mapping series of Bibles and Bible studies. A self-proclaimed history nerd, she loves to chase all things research, going behind the scenes at a Ringling Bros. Sarasota mansion, touring a former TB sanitarium, making bee friends at a working honey farm, or embarking on a back-roads jaunt across Ireland being a few.

She holds a degree in Art History/Research Writing and spent 15 yrs in education and leadership development for a Fortune-100 corporation, partnering with such companies as the Disney Institute, IBM/Kenexa, and Gallup before stepping away to pursue her passion for storytelling. Her work has been named to Publishers Weekly Religion & Spirituality TOP 10, Library Journal Reviews’ Best Books, RT Reviewers’ Choice Awards, received 2015 & 2017 INSPY Award nominations, and received a 2020 Christy Award for her novel, THE PAINTED CASTLE. Her work has been featured at: Cosmopolitan, Publishers Weekly, Once Upon a Book Club Box, Frolic, Book Club Girl, BookBub, Country Woman Magazine, Jesus Calling, FaithGateway, CBN, Lifeway Women, MICI Magazine, Faithwire, (in)Courage, and BibleGateway.

Kristy lives in Indiana with her husband and three sons, where she can be found penning her next stories in a beloved coffee shop corner with kayaks on the wall. (She's only bumped her head twice...)

To connect with Kristy, visit: kristycambron.com | versemapping.com

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*I have voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received from Thomas Nelson through NetGalley. All views and opinions expressed are completely honest, and my own.