I won't soon forget Daisy Blakely, a vivacious eighteen-year-old American who arrives in Paris in 1938 to apprentice with Coco Chanel but soon finds herself in the middle of Europe's searing war. This is a rich, suspenseful, and heart-rending historical novel.

I do love a good historical fiction and this one grabbed my attention and reeled me in. So much so that I read it in a day as I just couldn't put it down!
This is a story of war, love, life! I love the writing as it made this story come alive with its research, they way the characters were developed and the setting.

I can't say enough about this book as it got to my heart and the emotion to me head. It is a wonderful, thrilling and compelling read and I highly recommend it.

Thank you NetGalley and Joffe Books for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

💌Review: Stardust

🍨Review: 5 Stars! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

☕Praise: What a thrilling and heart pounding tale! Can you imagine becoming an apprentice for the elegant and cosmic Coco Chanel?! And then World War II enters your life and you have to fight for everything you see that is beautiful and fight to preserve it?!

🧁 The setting of the book was described so beautifully I felt as if Old Paris was right in front of me and all I had to do look around and be memorized! I definitely related to the character a lot when it comes to your life changing. I felt Daisy's emotions lighting up and dimming down at times. The bravery was all these characters give me a historical glimpse into what our ancestors fought to keep! Love and Freedom! With fashion and all it's glory lighting up everything in the dark!

📖Characters: My interest in the characters grew with each chapter and each event that happened! Sometimes you think you know a person but then you realize there's more to them that meets the eye in any circumstance. The love story growing between Daisy and her two gentlemen had me on the edge of my seat!

💗Extra/Tropes: I truly loved how fashion not only played a part in this historical treasure it was a heartbeat spreading the threads of its tapestry to every moment or person in the book. I would not only recommend this book for everybody to read but to cherish it and to cherish any writing this author presents in the future.

🍪 Historical Fiction
🍪Romance
🍪Must Read!

A beautiful love story during WWII. Very well researched. I fell in love with it right away. Hope Tarr is a go to author for me.

This was a well written historical fiction novel. I liked the inclusion of real historical characters in the book. I thought there there might not be such a predictable ending. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the early read. I enjoyed it very much.

My rating:

Plot: 4 out of 5 stars
Writing: 4 out of 5 stars
Character development: 4 out of 5 stars
Overall: 4 out of 5 stars

Recommended for readers of:

Historical Fiction

Review:

This is the coming of age story of Daisy a young American girl, heir to her family’s department store who is given an apprenticeship with Coco Chanel in Paris just before WWII. She starts as a young innocent girl who quickly has to grow up as she is faced with the horrors of war; the heartbreak, despair and injustice. As times goes on she becomes a brave young woman with a strong sense of justice. The book is well written and very captivating; once I started I found it hard to put it down. The main character is fictional but a lot of the other characters are based on real life historical figures and facts, which appear to be well researched and are nicely interwoven in the story. This added an extra dimension to the plot and made the story more interesting.

Overall:

A story that is both interesting and captivating, well written and the characters are portrayed realistic. I enjoyed reading it. .

Review copy provided through Netgalley at no cost to me.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. The description immediately drew me to the story and I did finish it in one day. The historical aspect was well researched and was a perfect read for anyone who is drawn to historical fiction, specifically WWII. I wish Fritz’s character was more developed and the reader was able to gain better insight into his involvement in the war. I felt like I was getting whiplash when it came to the two love stories and the pacing seemed a bit off.

1938 Paris and Daisy Blakely is given an extraordinary birthday present by her grandmother She will be staying in Paris for at least 6 months but the cherry on top of the cake...she will be an apprentice for Coco Chanel. As the heiress to her grandmother's famous department store, Daisy will be learning the ins and outs of the fashion world, the world of haute couture. However, Daisy will be learning much more.; she will be learning about love. There will be two men in her life, Jean-Claude Jacobs a Jewish doctor she met in the emergency room at the American Hospital and another, a young German soldier whose name is Fritz. While she is drawn to both men, she knows Fritz is an enemy of France as war is looming. As the German soldiers march into Paris, Daisy realizes Fritz is not what he seemed to be at their first meeting. With the background of Paris at war, Daisy matures as she leaves her world of innocence trusting her instincts while becoming strong and helping with the resistance. This novel has everything you would enjoy in a book about WWII. We learn about the fashion world as well as the world of Coco Chanel. Highly recommended. My thanks to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest opinion.