Monday, August 8, 2016

The French War Bride: Wedding Tree by Robin Wells

Paperback, 432 pages
Expected publication: August 2nd 2016 by Berkley

World War II Paris serves as the backdrop of a story of compassion, betrayal, and forgiveness from the national bestselling author of The Wedding Tree . . .
 
“I never knew what he saw in you.” 

At her retirement home in Wedding Tree, Louisiana, ninety-one-year-old Amelie O’Connor is in the habit of leaving her door open for friends. One day she receives an unexpected visitor—Kat Morgan, the ex-fiancée of her late husband, Jack.

Kat and Jack were high school sweethearts who planned to marry when Jack returned from France after World War II. But in a cruel twist of fate, their plans were irrevocably derailed when a desperate French girl overheard an American GI’s confession in a Parisian church. . .

Now, Kat wants to know the truth behind a story that’s haunted her whole life. Finding out how Amelie stole Jack’s heart will—she thinks—finally bring her peace. As Amelie recalls the dark days of the Nazi occupation of Paris,
 The French War Bride reveals how history shapes the courses of our lives. . .for better or for worse.

My Thoughts…

WW II is my favorite.  I love to read the history of the war, the history of the people in Europe and how the war affected them, the history of the people in the US  left behind by the soldiers fighting the war in the but mostly I love to read about women in the war.    I love to know how women coped with their men leaving, what those who were living with the fighting going all around them, and how life can go on with all the horrors they are witnessing.    The French War Bride has everything I love within its pages.  

This story was uniquely written.   There are two points of views.   Both women had a love in common, Jack.   I was enthralled with Amelie’s story of war, Joshua, being a spy, and being a woman in Nazi occupied Paris.     Her story was heart breaking, eye opening, and truly remarkable.     She lost her entire family in WWII yet she never gave up on life.      The friendship with Yvette, her best friend, was amazing.   From childhood neighbors and best friends to both working against the Nazi’s during the war their friendship never wavered.    The way the two of them worked together and trusted each other is amazing.     Kat, the one Jack left behind, is jilted.     With her death, due to cancer, looming in the near future she is looking for closure.   She wants to know why she was jilted.   I felt like Kat was extremely selfish.    She listened to Amelie tell the story and jumped on anything that was said in a positive way about her.     I didn’t dislike her; I just didn’t really like her.  I felt like she was the prom queen, mean girl who just assumed everything revolved around her.      The war affected both women in different ways and caused changes to their lives that were not expected.   

The French War Bride is fiction yet there was so much history in it.    Robin Wells did her homework.   The descriptions of the war planes in the sky, the treatment of Jews, and so many other happenings were true to life.    There was so much description in the paragraphs that I could picture the life that those in France were living with the Germans in charge.     This is an incredible WWII story.   I recommend everyone who loves this era as much as I do to pick up a copy today.

Book Links

See my thoughts on Book One HERE

Praise for the Wedding Tree series by Robin Wells:

“Vibrant characters and a beautifully detailed storyline combine in this compelling tale spanning generations. The alternating POVs are intricately woven together in this tale of love, loss, forgiveness and renewal.”—RT Book Reviews TOP PICK

“Women’s fiction fans will appreciate this character-driven story of two generations of women.”
Library Journal

A Heroes & Heartbreakers “Women’s Fiction Best Bets for December 2015”


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