I absolutely love WW2 historical fiction, and this book was a solid 5 stars for me. Eva and her mother escape Paris to a small town in south France after her father was taken by the police for being a Jew. She uses her talents as forger to make false papers for the children they are trying to smuggle out to Switzerland. She is distraught that with their new papers and identities, they lose their original names so she and her partner Remy create a code and record their names in a book.

This is a fascinating story. It starts off slow and then the pace builds. It was an emotional read.
The storyline was so gripping. The ending left me in tears.
A fantastic book

I must firstly apologise for the amount of time it has taken me to provide a review of this book, my health was rather bad for quite some time, something that had me in hospital on numerous occasions and simply didnt leave me with the time I once had to do what I love most.

Unfortunately that does mean I have missed the archive date for many of these books, so It would feel unjust throwing any review together without being able to pay attention to each novel properly.

However, I am now back to reading as before and look forward to sharing my honest reviews as always going forward. I thank you f0r the patience and understanding throughout x

An intreguing concept, but the execution didn't work for me, so unfortunately it was a DNF with only 3 stars

Synopsis:
Eva Traube is on the run. Being a Jew in 1945 Paris is not easy . Her father has been captured by Nazis and she and her mother has to flee to Switzerland. Her destiny awaits her at Aurignon, which neither she not the world around her would forget.
Review: I was putting off reading this book for a long time because world war II fiction is quite often emotionally draining. If you are putting off this for the same reason, I would say this is actually a lighter version of what we expect.
The story was fast paced and catches the reader's attention from the very beginning. The life of forgers during the world war is a less explored territory and this book does justice to the same. I fell in love with the writing style. The author has effortlessly conveyed the multitude of emotions of the characters and sketched the peaceful and beautiful town of Aurignon. There is a poignant love story which forms the central plot of the story. Though I'm not a fan of romance novels( you guessed it right- I've read some trash romance novels as a result of which I did stopped reading altogether) , I enjoyed this innocent love story and connected well with the characters. The urgency of the situation , the loveable characters were all brilliantly crafted. I loved Remy the most . Though I did read some reviews suggesting Eva's character lacking depth , I felt it was more of a depiction of a teenage girl's confusion and helplessness.
What could have been better:
Though the climax was heartwarming , I felt it didn't do justice to the title- it was like a work left incomplete.
Do pick this up if you need an emotional yet lighter World War fiction. Also I feel kristinharmel 's writing can make me fall in love with my least favorite genres.
Rating: 4/5

Great book. I loved this book about the French Resistance and Forgers in WWII. Very well written and gripping story line the whole way through. I was hooked from the first page, I found I just wanted to get back to reading more throughout the day.

This was my first Kristin Harmel book, and what a fantastic introduction to this author!
I got immediately hooked into the story, and Harmel created a great balance between historical facts and literary fiction.
I had to do my own little bits of research as I was reading this, which I think is a great sign! World War II fiction is heavily saturated now, and yet this book effectively found an area I knew nothing about.
The actual substance of the novel, the Book of Lost Names, was beautiful. Heartfelt and heartbreaking, I loved hearing about this. Eva's passion for the 'forgotten Jews' who had to change their identities in order to escape, was so powerful to read.
I did feel like the pace dropped a little in the middle, but I was soon engaged back into the story again.
I loved this book!

Thank you netgallery for giving me a chance to read this novel before it’s published.

Big praise for this novel.

I don’t think we’ve seen a view point like this very often. And honestly, there are many that fail. But this has come out rather nicely and I’ve enjoyed reading The Book of Lost Names. I rather hoped it was real... would be great as a tv show or movie.

This book is beautifully written and gathers pace as it follows the story of Eva Traube in WW2 France and in modern day America.
The WW2 resistance and the hiding of Jewish refugees from Europe is one of my reading passions and this book didn't disappoint in its depiction of the time and situation. I thought the characters were well constructed and believable, and begin to tug on your heart strings as they try to escape the clutches of Nazi occupation.
After narrowly escaping a round up of Jewish citizens in Paris, Eva and her mother flee to a small French village near the border of Switzerland. While trying to locate the whereabouts of her father, Eva falls into the intricate details of forgery, making links with the priest and fellow Resistance fighters.

There are many near misses in the book as Eva tries to stave off captures and discoveries (probably one or two too many but...) but the ending more than makes up for it!

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I will be looking for more of this author's books.

I've read some books about World War II but it was delight to read The Book of Lost Names because it covered topics I didn't know much about. Like I knew there was a Resistance but I didn't realise the extent they went to to get Jewish children out of occupied France. It was very detailed and I am impressed with Harmel's research which made the story come alive. It is a bittersweet story of love, loss, resilience and remembrance with a very capitivating ending.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this title in exchange for an honest review.

Oh my word this book is one of those that everyone should read. Set in France during Second World War Eva Traube a Jewish girl gets caught up not only in the rounding up and transportation of Jews but in tge resistance. Running for her life and that of her mother after her father is arrested she ends up in a small town and becoming a master forger for the resistance. Unable to reconcile the thought that she is erasing the true names of the Jewish children she helps escape she finds a way with her co conspirators to record the names in a old religious text. Many years in the future the book is found amongst items stolen by the Nazi's and no one has been able to decipher the code. Eva knows she must face her past and claim the book restoring those lost names.

The book of lost names
By Kristian Harmel
Pub Date April 29 2021

Such a lovely book made me smile made me cry I loved the story beautiful written and the characters were amazing such a book every one would love 💜

High expectations can often destroy what would have been a good read. It started so well and I found myself strongly reminded of The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah but by the time we reached the middle the shine had worn off.

I so wanted to adore this book. I was engaged from the first chapter as it opens with a first person account from elderly librarian, still working at 83 despite the disapproval of her colleges. The next chapter and most of the book is written in the third person and set in Nazi occupied France with occasional short chapters in the contemporary timeline.

Even though the heroic story of Eva is very interesting I never felt much of an emotional connection to her. For me the writing lacked something, it was all a bit dry.

There is a love story in among all this heroism but it seemed a bit sterile and I never really understood what she saw in him. It was almost as if editors advised her to include a romance in and tried to shoehorn it in.
Eva’s Jewish heritage seemed a bit incongruous and the character of Eva’s Mother seemed to be almost a caricature of an older Jewish woman and a bad one at that. I never felt much consistency with how Eva felt towards her faith and it didn’t feel particularly genuine. For instance at one point she looks at Jesus on the cross and says a prayer, would a Jew be inspired by a christian symbol? I would be interested to know what Jewish readers would think.

The book does have a strong plot however, there were plenty of twists and turns to make this an entertaining read and the ending was a saving grace but overall not a book I would read again and I won’t be reading any of her other work, sorry.

However mine is an unpopular opinion and that most people who read and reviewed this book on Goodreads don’t agree with. It has an average rating of 4.36 stars with over 40 thousand ratings but I can’t love a book that didn’t quite work for me.

(Review scheduled for 3 June 21)

Eva and her mother flee Paris after being added to the list of Jews to be rounded up. Having to make their way to the Swiss border with forged papers, Eva discovers a talent in forgery. Eva and her mother settle in to village life, and before long Eva joins the resistance, forging papers to help other people escape the Nazis.
The Book of Lost Names is informative, descriptive and well researched. I really enjoyed learning more about how the paperwork forgeries were done and the resistance that moved children away from the Nazis. The romance in the book builds up well, and makes it a lighter read than a lot of WWII novels. The characters are all well developed, fit in with the story and connect you how they should. I loved the twist at the end and felt is was a fitting end to the story. I always love a female heroine and Eva is the perfect heroine for this.
I did feel Eva probably had too many close calls and almost-but-not-quite getting caught moments.
The Book of Lost Names has definitely kept me thinking about the people who really did this and the children they saved by risking their lives.
All in all a really good, lighter than usual, historical fiction.

A wonderful story. I won't sum up the plot as others have done that already, but the elderly librarian being patronised by the manager for talking to herself had me hooked from the start. A real character. Lovely to then hear her story from 60 years earlier. Definitely recommend this book - beautiful.

Another brilliant historical novel by Kristin Harmel, set predominantly in the 1940s in France.
Superbly written, I was hooked from the start and found this a compelling read.
Due to the subject matter, this was a difficult read in places, but the characters were believable and interesting.
A book about love, hope, resilience, compassion and strength of character.
If you like historical fiction of this type then would highly recommend reading.
5 stars

This was lovely story following the resistance during the Second World War. Eva flees Paris when her polish jew father is arrested and manages to take her mother with her. Eva begins to forge papers to help Jewish children to escape to Switzerland. She also falls in love with fellow forever Remy.
When Remy disappears Eva is again at a loss.
The story is written in the past and present. In the present a book is discovered in Germany with strange entries so the media hope to find its owner. In the past we find out how the book came to be.
This was great story but I did feel the ending was a bit rushed so Iwould of liked more time to be spent on this. Thanks to Wellback publishing UK and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks netgalley for allowing me to give you an honest opinion of this wonderful book.
I have read many books about the Second World War, but this one really got to me.
It was a love story revolving around Eva and Remy.
Eva specialised in forging papers to let people escape from France to Switzerland including many children and Remy was in the resistance
They met fell in love a d faced many hurdles before they were split apart both thinking they were both dead.
Eva had put all the children she had saved in the book of lost names, so should could find what had happened to them after the war.
But a wonderful,book loved it.

In 1942, Eva is forced to flee Paris after the arrest of her father, a Polish Jew. Finding refuge in a small mountain town, she begins forging identity documents for Jewish children escaping to neutral Switzerland. But erasing people comes with a price, and along with a mysterious, handsome forger named Rémy, Eva realises she must find a way to preserve the real names of the children who are too young to remember their own identities.
When Rémy disappears and the resistance cell they work for is betrayed, the records they keep in The Book of Lost Names become even more crucial to remembering the truth...
A present day discovery of the book leaves researchers fascinated by its origins and desperate to decipher its codes. Only Eva holds the answer but will she have the strength to face old memories and help reunite those lost during the war?

Historical fiction is becoming more and more popular and so it should.

This book is based on a real life events that took place in Switzerland. This book was an easy read in terms of writing and I read this book in a day. I always find these books to be fascinating. They are written as a piece of fiction, however, it is always a harrowing thought that these events took place. It is unimaginable to think what these people actually went through.

The book is very emotional, a story of true bravery and extremely captivating. This author has clearly done her research and this shows in the writing. I really enjoyed reading this book.

A powerful tale of another side of WWII - those who helped, fought and protected the victims of Nazi genocide. Vichy France is a bit of a demon for me as my grandparents managed to get out and across to England. This novel helped me to start to understand what it must have been like for them as sadly they are no longer here to tell their stories.

I found myself warming to Eva who lands on her feet but goes through some terrible hardships too. Some elements were just too good to be true but I allowed myself to be swept up in the story. I didn’t care for all of the characters - and some could have been a bit more three-dimensional (hence the reduction to 4*) but overall this cast of characters built a convincing story.

Any novel with books at the centre usually appeals to me… and this was no exception. I can’t remember where I first heard about this book (probably #TBConFB) but from the opening pages where Eva spots an old Catholic text in a newspaper photo, I was hooked!

Raced through, couldn’t put it down - restored my reading mojo!!! Now I have a book hangover though.

4*, would have benefited from more description especially some characters and locations. The desolation and beauty doesn’t come across and would add depth and drama to the book.

Recommended especially for a different perspective on WWII