The book is set against the backdrop of Nazi-occupied France where a mother and daughter reunite after years of separation. While Capucine, a prisoner in work camp, struggles against her Nazi captors, her daughter, Mathilde, battles against the prison her well-meaning grandparents had put around her. When they eventually break free of these, they are able to reunite and repair the mother-daughter ties that they had thought were long gone.

This is my first Juliet Blackwell novel and I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised with how well-written it was and how easy it was to follow the events taking place between the two main characters. In other historical novels I've read, it can get confusing when authors switch back and forth between characters that I find I have to go back two chapters just to catch up on where the character left off. I also liked the focus on the work camps within France itself. It made me look up Levitan online and see another aspect of the war. If you're like me, I like that I am also learning something new as I read.

I highly recommend this to anyone who is into historical fiction., mother-daughter relationships, and human struggles and triumphs.

3.5 stars

I read a lot of WWII-era books, but this was a bit different in its premise. I've never heard or read about Nazi work camps in Parisian department stores. Blackwell's descriptions pull the reader in, and well-crafted characters and themes of survival and second chances keep them engaged. I enjoyed the multiple POVs, and each one was well written. Fans of historical novels will likely want to add this to their to-be-read pile.

In 1944 Paris, Capucine is a POW in the work camp situated in the attic of the Levitan Department Store. She is a single mother who had been living and working at her father’s haute couture fan shop. She had given her daughter Mathilde into the care of her well-to-do paternal grandparents believing they would give her a better life. They disdain Capucine. Told in two points of view, the reader learns of Capucine’s past and Mathilde’s present. Mathilde has been sheltered by her grandparents who ally themselves with Germany. She has two very different girlfriends- one with a German officer as a beau, the other whose family is struggling under the German occupation. As Capucine survives in the Levitan, Mathilde is coming of age, asking questions, and making choices that will affect her future.

This is a welcome addition to the WWII historical fiction canon as it relates a little known story of the work camps located in the heart of Paris. I will definitely be recommending this title. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read this arc in exchange for an honest review.

The Paris Showroom
by Juliet Blackwell
Berkley Publishing Group
Pub Date: April 19.

This was such a fascinating twist on WWII novels, told from the alternating POVs of Capucine and her daughter Mathilde.

Capucine once made gorgeous haute couture fans with her father until both were arrested by the Nazis. She was sent to Lévitan, a Nazi camp in a Paris department store, where workers were forced to sort through, repair and sell items stolen from Jews to German customers. For all I've read on the war, Lévitan was unknown to me.

Mathilde, living with her grandparents who did well under the Nazi occupation, decides instead to join the Paris Résistance.

I gained new insight into the War and its impact through their alternating chapters, written so compelling that I found myself completely absorbed. A must-read for historical fiction fans wishing for something new on WWII, especially set in Paris.

Thanks to the author, Berkley Publishing Group, and NetGalley for the ARC. Opinions are mine.

#TheParisShowroom #JulietBlackwell
#berkleypublishinggroup #netgalley

Told in alternating chapters, this is the story of Capucine, a prisoner of war in Paris during World WR II and her daughter Mathilde who has been raised by her grandparents, collaborators with the Nazi. Not always easy to read but always a fascinating story of survival and growth.

Thank you so much for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Star Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: Historical Fiction
Pub Date: April 19, 2022

This was a really nice historical fiction story. I appreciated the book because it told an aspect re: WWII that I didn't know about; I had no idea about the camp inside the department store, and I learned so much reading this one. I felt all the feelings the characters felt during this story, and I was so invested in the outcome. I fell in love with these characters, and the story itself is really beautiful against a heart breaking setting. I think fans of historical fiction will really fall in love with this story. This story is told in dual POVs, and I think each story is given full attention to detail. I felt like each POV really pulled in the reader in. Overall, this story was engaging and interesting, and I'm so glad I read this one.

Finally! Something different in the world of World War II fiction. Juliet Blackwell's The Paris Showroom can be forgiven its flaws, because it's offering an entirely new premise. Blackwell examines the experiences of the people who were forced to sort the belongings of their deported friends and neighbors, but in Paris rather than at Auschwitz (the most common site for books in this very specific genre). Her characters are absorbing and interesting. It's not the best World War II book I've ever read, but I think that people who read heavily in this genre will appreciate the freshness of the plot. Recommend.

We meet Mathilde and Capucine during the occupation of Paris....mother and daughter.

Mathilde lives with her grandparents who are doing well under the Nazi regime. She has lived with them for years because her mother had left.

Capucine and her father Bruno were taken away.

Bruno went to a concentration camp, and Capucine was sent to a camp that was in a Parisian furniture store...Levitan.

In this store the Jewish prisoners were made to sort and then sell the items the Germans had taken from the homes of Jewish families who were evacuated from their homes. The German officers would "shop" in the store.

Some of the workers found the things from their families and made their time in the furniture store even worse.

The prisoners also confiscated personal papers they found for anyone who may survive and have something of their loved ones. That was one way they could defy the enemy.

We follow Mathilde and Capucine both present and past through alternating chapters.

Loved learning about the gorgeous fans Capucine's father made before the war and that spoke to others simply by where the fan was placed on one's face or heart.

You will LOVE the characters as we also meet men and women in the French Resistance.

You will be amazed at how the prisoners in this furniture store camp worked together to keep spirits up.

I had never heard of this camp and what was going on inside.

Such interesting facts and research but that obviously included the heartbreaking situations of WWII.

THE PARIS SHOWDOWN will keep your interest even though it is a bit confusing at first with all the characters.

Another book Juliet Blackwell fans won’t want to miss. 4/5

This book was given to me by the publisher via NetGalley for an honest review.

I have read many historical fiction books that take place during World War II; so much so that the premise really has to offer something different for me to have interest.

This story about a Nazi work camp within a Parisian department store is compelling and moving; details about wartime Paris life and the department store are woven into a story about survival and second chances. The narratives switches between Capucine and her distant daughter, Mathilde; occasionally, multiple narrators makes for a confusing and uneven narrative. In this case, Juliet Blackwell balances both women's unique stories so that the reader is drawn to both storylines.

Librarians/booksellers: Historical fiction fans will be drawn to this unique story, even if they have read many WWII stories.

Many thanks to Berkley and NetGalley for a digital review copy in exchange for an honest review.

Riveting story filled with detail and pulled from real life events during the Nazi occupation of Paris. A window into a little known history told through the eyes of engaging female characters.

Did not have time to read this book will try the hard copy when it is released. Still would like to read.