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A review by natbaggett
The Paris Maid by Ella Carey
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
I found this book very difficult to finish but I am SO glad I did. The ending had me in tears. I wish I had appreciated the entire story as much as I did at the end.
Spoilers below
What I didn’t like:
- I found some details pretty far-fetched. The many family connections are just too coincidental/unrealistic. Also, the way the characters know at least two famous people- Arletty and Coco Chanel. Then they come across Ernest Hemingway. It just seemed like a reach to me.
- For me, it was hard to follow. There were a lot of characters here, several going by other names as well.
- Some important details felt rushed. It needed more to fully develop.
- Finally, it had to many similarities to The Nightingale for me (i.e. estranged sisters, a father who had become a drunk and abandoned his family after WWI only to actually be fighting against the Nazis, extreme bravery as several females rescue and protect displaced soldiers, the main character’s children not knowing their parent’s brave past, etc.). I’m sure this wasn’t the author’s intention but with so many similarities to an extremely popular book, it comes across as trying to also reach that level of popularity without being original.
Big spoilers:
I loved the shock at the end. I was completely stunned to find that their grandmother/mother was actually Sasha. And to learn that the Louise we had believed escaped and lived a wonderful life had actually been murdered- devastating. I cried. I especially cried reading the epilogue. I wanted so badly to find that Charlie and Louise did in fact end up together after the war and that Charlie was their grandfather/father. To know that he always loved her was so sad and beautiful.
I was tempted to give this book just two stars because it was so hard for me to get through for the reasons listed at the top of this review, but that ending really did me in. 3/5 for me!
Spoilers below
What I didn’t like:
- I found some details pretty far-fetched. The many family connections are just too coincidental/unrealistic. Also, the way the characters know at least two famous people- Arletty and Coco Chanel. Then they come across Ernest Hemingway. It just seemed like a reach to me.
- For me, it was hard to follow. There were a lot of characters here, several going by other names as well.
- Some important details felt rushed. It needed more to fully develop.
- Finally, it had to many similarities to The Nightingale for me (i.e. estranged sisters, a father who had become a drunk and abandoned his family after WWI only to actually be fighting against the Nazis, extreme bravery as several females rescue and protect displaced soldiers, the main character’s children not knowing their parent’s brave past, etc.). I’m sure this wasn’t the author’s intention but with so many similarities to an extremely popular book, it comes across as trying to also reach that level of popularity without being original.
Big spoilers:
I loved the shock at the end. I was completely stunned to find that their grandmother/mother was actually Sasha. And to learn that the Louise we had believed escaped and lived a wonderful life had actually been murdered- devastating. I cried. I especially cried reading the epilogue. I wanted so badly to find that Charlie and Louise did in fact end up together after the war and that Charlie was their grandfather/father. To know that he always loved her was so sad and beautiful.
I was tempted to give this book just two stars because it was so hard for me to get through for the reasons listed at the top of this review, but that ending really did me in. 3/5 for me!