The Paris Daughter
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Average rating5
Paris, 1939: Gazing out at the glittering skyline, Evelina clutches the letter from her love in shaking hands. “I know I do not deserve you, my darling, but I pray that you will change your mind. You have my heart, and I hope that nothing will keep us apart…”
London, present day. Blake gazes down at a scrap of shimmering silver velvet attached to a faded dress design, tracing the details with wonder. They were left with her grandmother at Hope’s House, a home for unmarried mothers, before she was adopted. Now her beloved grandmother has passed, the beautiful fabric and the designer’s signature are the only clues Blake has about her biological family. Will she be able to unravel the decades-old family secret?
Blake can’t get the intricate drawing, and what it could reveal about her family, out of her head. Armed with a plane ticket, a Paris address and the details of a handsome fashion curator named Henri, Blake is determined to find out the truth about her talented great-grandmother Evelina’s life. Perhaps doing so will help Blake get her old spark for designing back, after her dreams have sat forgotten for so long.
Soon Blake is walking down the Champs-Élysées and enjoying intimate dinners with Henri,who is researching Evelina’s work as one of Paris’ most celebrated designers, whose bold designs rivalled Coco Chanel’s. As Henri and Blake grow closer, they uncover Evelina’s legacy, and her forbidden romance that set the fashion world ablaze.
As Blake discovers the impossible choice that caused Evelina to flee the most romantic city in the world, she wonders if she too could risk everything for love. Could hearing tales of her great-grandmother’s bravery encourage her to take a chance on a new life with Henri? Or will the fallout of Evelina’s heart-wrenching past drive Blake back home?
A completely addictive and emotional novel about family secrets, forbidden love and having the courage to follow your dreams. Perfect for fans of Santa Montefiore, Lucinda Riley and Victoria Hislop.
This novel can be enjoyed as a standalone.
Series
Featured Series
5 primary booksThe Lost Daughters
The Lost Daughters is a 5-book series with 5 primary works first released in 2022 with contributions by Soraya M. Lane and Soraya Lane.
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This was the fifth book in The Lost Daughters series. It was another great story although this story did have a couple of differences to the other books in the series but I won't give anything away. I received an ARC of this book - thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture.
(Mostly) Solid Next Entry In Series, Brings Us Closer To Finale. What seems to be clear with this series is that our final book in it will seemingly be the origin story of Hope House, the very entity that essentially started the entire series - which itself would be an intriguing dynamic, storytelling wise. This book does a phenomenal job of bringing us that much closer to that tale... possibly as soon as the next book after this one???
Otherwise, this book largely works to the same degree and in the same ways that its predecessors do - they all manage to superbly combine both elements of Soraya Lane's romance writing prowess and her historical fiction writing prowess (as Soraya M. Lane). In this particular book, yet again both elements are particularly strong, though I might perhaps give the edge to the historical side - Evaline is truly one of the more assertive (in the best of ways) ladies Lane has ever created in a fictional period, and yet Evaline is also true to her times - she manages to have that steel hand wrapped in velvet that women of earlier times were well known (at least in some circles) for, and yet nothing is actually out of place here. The modern timeline is another of the "writer writes about her life" trope, and yet again, it works well with Lane writing it.
I say "Mostly" in the title because the back part of the tale just felt like it was missing... something? I'm not even sure what, exactly. Maybe more time with Evaline post-war, rather than the way we (the readers) get that information here? Even then, I'm not *sure* that's what I felt was missing, I just know that the ending ultimately felt a touch abrupt and not as complete as these tales have been, for some reason. But you, the reader of my review, should absolutely read this book and maybe help me figure out what I missed here?
Ultimately truly another excellent entry combining both of Lane's strengths.
Very much recommended.
Originally posted at bookanon.com.
