...from the publisher...
As the Nazis march toward Paris in 1940, American ballerina Lucie Girard buys her favorite English-language bookstore to allow the Jewish owners to escape. Lucie struggles to run Green Leaf Books due to oppressive German laws and harsh conditions, but she finds a way to aid the resistance by passing secret messages between the pages of her books.
Widower Paul Aubrey wants nothing more than to return to the States with his little girl, but the US Army convinces him to keep his factory running and obtain military information from his German customers. As the war rages on, Paul offers his own resistance by sabotaging his product and hiding British airmen in his factory. After they meet in the bookstore, Paul and Lucie are drawn to each other, but she rejects him when she discovers he sells to the Germans. And for Paul to win her trust would mean betraying his mission.
...my thoughts...
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It is a heart wrenching, suspenseful novel of such a time when the world was so uncertain. Times when worlds collided, and people were praying that the war would end and somehow the world could return to peace once more.
Until Leaves Fall in Paris, by Sarah Sundin is a compelling read, especially today. Full of wonderfully complex characters, once again Sarah has done impeccable research. Lucie did her best to keep Green Leaf Books open until she had to return home to the states. But until that time, she was creative in her ways to keep customers coming back to her little haven among the shelves. It was just that spirit of creativity that captured Paul's attention when he took his young daughter Josie to the story hour. Filled with puppets regaling children’s tales, Paul took notice in how Josie came to life at the bookshop and resolved to return each week to give her some joy.
It was amazing how Paul and Lucie found each other under trying circumstances as the situation became ever so dangerous in wartime Paris. To the outside world, they led double lives in order to survive. Their courage and love are captured by an author who can keep you in suspense while making you keep turning those pages until the very end.
I recommend Until Leaves Fall in Paris, a story as timely today as it was close to eighty years ago. A time when so many lives were changed forever by a world that was out of control.
