Goodnight From Paris by Jane Healey #bookreview #audiobook

Thank you Brilliance Audio for the ALC and Get Red PR , #partner, for the advanced copy of Goodnight From Paris in exchange for my honest review.

Publisher: Lake Union Publishing / Brilliance Audio

Published: March 7, 2023

 

Summary:

In Nazi-occupied France, an American film star takes on the most dangerous role of her life in a gripping novel about loyalty and resistance, inspired by a true story, from the Washington Post and Amazon Charts bestselling author of The Secret Stealers.

Paris, 1939. Hollywood actress Drue Leyton, married to Frenchman Jacques Tartière, lives as an expatriate in love. But when her husband is dispatched to Brittany to work as a liaison for the British military, Drue finds herself alone with her housekeeper, adrift and heartsick in her adopted city. With her career and fame forty-five hundred miles away, Drue accepts an opportunity that will change her life forever.

Befriended by seasoned wartime journalist Dorothy Thompson and urged on by political operative Jean Fraysse, Drue broadcasts radio programs to the United States. Her duty: shake America from its apathy and, as Nazis encroach and France is occupied, push for resistance and help from the US. As Drue and Jean fall under suspicion, Hitler sends his own message: when Drue’s adopted country is conquered, she will be executed.

In a Paris that is no longer safe, Drue’s political passion is ignited. She’s prepared to risk anything to fight the enemy no matter how dangerous it gets—for her, for everyone she loves, and for everything she’s fighting for.

 

My thoughts:

This is the third book I’ve read by Jane Healey and it was just amazing. It was completely captivating and quite inspiring, to be honest. It’s books like this that make me love reading historical fiction.

This latest book by Healey is based on the real life of Drue Leyton Tartiere and I loved how she brought her story to life. An actress from Hollywood, Drue finds herself  living as an expatriate in Paris during the war. When her husband is recruited to help the British military, she is faced with two choices, return to America and do some acting to help earn some money or take a job in Paris as a radio broadcaster, helping to get news to America. Little does she know that by taking the broadcasting job, she is about to change her life as she knows it.

What I love about Healey’s books is that she takes stories about real women that most people don’t know anything about and brings to life all the amazing things they did. How we did not learn about Drue Leyton Tartiere in school I will never understand, but this is why I cannot get enough of these WWII stories. And not only Drue’s story, but also the other women that worked alongside her. This story is about courage, loyalty, and fearlessness in the face of uncertain, dangerous times. How would you be able to work for the greater good knowing there was a death warrant issued against you? And yet, Drue doesn’t let that stop her.

I am so excited that this is our April #GetRedPRBookclub pick. Yes, I have already read it as it comes out tomorrow and I wanted to be able to celebrate the release of the book. But I am equally excited to have our bookclub discuss this one and have Jane join us to talk about the book. Jane is one of my favorite historical fiction authors and this one just might be my new favorite of her books, though The Beantown Girls is still high up there!

 

Audio thoughts:

I was given an early audio copy of this book and I loved listening to it. The narrator, Kristina Klebe, did a great job bringing this story to life and she gives all the characters distinct personalities and voices. She had quite a few different accents she needed to voice and I thought she did a great job with them. This book is on the long side, but I was so caught up in it that I ended up listening to most of it in one day, finishing the last quarter of it the next morning.

 

*** I am hosting a giveaway for 2 copies of this book on my Instagram page…the only caveat is that if you win, you agree to join our bookclub discussion on April 19th. Head to this post for more details.