"The Forgotten Bookshop in Paris", by Daisy Wood

This fiction goes back and forth between Paris 1940 when the war was closing in on the city and the modern day life with Juliette and her husband on a romantic getaway to the city of light.

The story in a few words:

1940:

In the midst of Nazi occupation, while his wife in hiding, Jacques the owner of the bookshop “La Page Cachée” had to make tough decisions and risk everything to save those persecuted or in need of refuge. The story in time tells us how Jacques managed to rescue many of these poor souls.

Forward to Modern day:

On her romantic getaway Juliette and her husband Kevin realized how far they’ve grown apart. She is craving for a new adventure in Paris while Kevin heads back home. On a walk exploring the city she happens to come across a tiny abandoned shop .....”La Page Cachée” this forgotten bookshop was the answer to her dreams but this little abandoned gem had more than met the eye....

My thoughts:

The dual time narrative works well and is easy to follow. The pacing unravels at a moderate pace and stays that way all through. I enjoy the story but I didn’t find much mystery to it. The “déjà lu” experience kept popping in my mind in fact I know I read something similar in the past. It seems a bookstore during the war was an important place for the résistance to do their exchange...at a risk of evil and betrayal....Nevertheless I liked this detailed and vividly said story, you can picture what is going on, in whole very engaging. Ms. Daisy gives her characters honor roles which they played out beautifully.

In many ways “The Forgotten Bookstore in Paris” is a thought-provoking tale I enjoyed quite a bit.

Thank you Avon UK Books and Netgalley for this ARC