The Paris Daughter

By: Kristin Harmel

Narrated by: Madeleine Maby, Kristin Harmel

Length: 12 hrs and 7 mins

Publisher's summary

Instant New York Times bestseller!

From the bestselling author of the “heart-stopping tale of survival and heroism” (People) The Book of Lost Names comes a gripping historical novel about two mothers who must make unthinkable choices in the face of the Nazi occupation.

Paris, 1939: Young mothers Elise and Juliette become fast friends the day they meet in the beautiful Bois de Boulogne. Though there is a shadow of war creeping across Europe, neither woman suspects that their lives are about to irrevocably change.

When Elise becomes a target of the German occupation, she entrusts Juliette with the most precious thing in her life—her young daughter, playmate to Juliette’s own little girl. But nowhere is safe in war, not even a quiet little bookshop like Juliette’s Librairie des Rêves, and, when a bomb falls on their neighborhood, Juliette’s world is destroyed along with it.

More than a year later, with the war finally ending, Elise returns to reunite with her daughter, only to find her friend’s bookstore reduced to rubble—and Juliette nowhere to be found. What happened to her daughter in those last, terrible moments? Juliette has seemingly vanished without a trace, taking all the answers with her. Elise’s desperate search leads her to New York—and to Juliette—one final, fateful time.

An “exquisite and gut-wrenching novel” (Lisa Barr, New York Times bestselling author) you won’t soon forget, The Paris Daughter is also a sweeping celebration of resilience, motherhood, and love.

©2023 Kristin Harmel Lietz. All rights reserved. (P)2023 Simon & Schuster, Inc. All rights reserved.

Critic reviews

"Fascinating, meticulously researched, and utterly unique." (Kelly Rimmer, New York Times bestselling author of THE WARSAW ORPHAN)

"What a triumph! Not since Alice Hoffman's The Dovekeepers, have I read such a spellbinding and immersive tale of a people's will to survive." (Stephanie Dray, NYT Bestselling author of The Women of Chateau Lafayette)

Boring!!!

Sadly, this book was not for me. To be honest, I didn’t like the sample narration, and usually don’t purchase anything if that’s the case, but I wanted to hear the story and just hoped the performance would improve with time… It never did! As for the story itself, I didn’t feel connected to it nor emotionally invested… Definitely didn’t pull at my heart strings like other books often do. At no point did the tears come. For me, I think it’s time to return this book and find something more suitable.

Spectacular as always!

Another great read from Kristin, can’t wait for the next! Loved the connections to Book of Lost Names

I wanted to love it.

I’ve loved every Kristin Harmel book so much that I pre-ordered this one and dug right in as soon as it was released. Her writing is beautiful, as always, but I figured out the story “twist” immediately so I was disappointed. I don’t want to say more since the book was just released. This just wasn’t up to her previous work in my opinion.

Wonderful story, just wonderful

Loved this book. As sad and heart wrenching as some parts were, the ending was perfect.

Loved everything about this book!

This is a fabulous book! The story, the culmination of history and the different stories interwoven make this a charming, heartfelt yet tear jerking story. I love the narration as well!

Another masterpiece!

I can tell that the author did her research, and appreciate it. This is my favorite genre because I always learn something. She brings history to life, even if it was a dark time in history. We should never forget how fragile life is.

Great story, but difficult to listen to.

I almost returned this book, but decided to slog through because it was a great story. The narrator is very difficult to listen to. Her delivery was choppy and over animated. I’ve learned my lesson; I will always listen to a sample before purchasing.

Worth reading the book

Very interesting and heart touching historical fiction. Well researched.
A detailed accounting of two women and the trauma both experienced with their families during WWII France.
My only negative comment was it’s narration. I thought it was read by a Bot I’ve listened to other books by this author using the same narrator - ok sounding - but I struggled with narrators voice and inflections, as did several in my bookclub. But her voice didn’t keep me from finishing this interesting story.

I hate giving any review but a perfect one but I can’t this time

I like this author. While the story was kinda good. I felt it was way too long and predictable and repetitive. . Although I did learn more about the art world . The audio couldn’t hold my interest . As a mother myself I do know there can be a fine line between healthy even sacrificial mothers love and unhealthy obsession . I’ve listened to the authors other work and really enjoyed it. Great narrator .

Loved this!

I am a huge fan of World War II era fiction and this was one of my favorites!