Monday Reads [36]

The Room on Rue Amelie Published by Gallery Books by Kristin Harmel
on March 27, 2018
Pages: 400
ISBN: 1501171402

For fans of Kristin Hannah’s The Nightingale and Martha Hall Kelly’s Lilac Girls, this powerful novel of fate, resistance, and family—by the international bestselling author of The Sweetness of Forgetting and When We Meet Again—tells the tale of an American woman, a British RAF pilot, and a young Jewish teenager whose lives intersect in occupied Paris during the tumultuous days of World War II.
When newlywed Ruby Henderson Benoit arrives in Paris in 1939 with her French husband Marcel, she imagines strolling arm in arm along the grand boulevards, awash in the golden afternoon light. But war is looming on the horizon, and as France falls to the Nazis, her marriage begins to splinter, too.
Charlotte Dacher is eleven when the Germans roll into the French capital, their sinister swastika flags snapping in the breeze. After the Jewish restrictions take effect and Jews are ordered to wear the yellow star, Charlotte can’t imagine things getting much worse. But then the mass deportations begin, and her life is ripped forever apart.
Thomas Clarke joins the British Royal Air Force to protect his country, but when his beloved mother dies in a German bombing during the waning days of the Blitz, he wonders if he’s really making a difference. Then he finds himself in Paris, in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower, and he discovers a new reason to keep fighting—and an unexpected road home.
When fate brings them together, Ruby, Charlotte, and Thomas must summon the courage to defy the Nazis—and to open their own broken hearts—as they fight to survive. Rich with historical drama and emotional depth, this is an unforgettable story that will stay with you long after the final page is turned.

25Welcome to Monday Reads! Where I just spend a few minutes sharing with you my current read and a snippet or two from my current chapter. Please let me know what you’re reading right now, too!

I’ve been on a HUGE historical fiction kick lately–especially dealing with WWII. So far this book has me hooked! I’m loving it! And the characters are fabulous!

“‘Clarke.’ It was Thomas’ CO, his expression weary.

‘Sir? Has something happened?’

The CO hesitated for a moment. ‘It’s your mother, Clarke.’

Thomas’ vision went blurry for an instant. ‘My mother, sir?’

‘Her home was hit,’ the CO said, not quite meeting Thomas’ eye. ‘She didn’t make it. I’ve just received confirmation.’

Thomas’ mouth went dry. ‘Sir, you’re saying–‘

‘She died, Clarke. I’m very sorry.’

‘No, no, that can’t be.’ How many flights had he flown over London? How many plots had he chased off, how many planes had he downed? He had fooled himself into thinking that he could keep his mother safe. After all, there were signs that the RAF was regaining control of the British skies. And every time he soared over the city where he had been born and raised, ever time he saw the dome of St. Paul’s, he imagined that he could see his childhood home below the smoke and clouds. ‘When?’ he asked. ‘I thought there hadn’t been a major attack since the twenty-ninth of December.’

That was the night the Nazis had dropped more than one hundred thousand bombs on London, pummeling the city’s heart.

His CO hesitated. ‘She was injured that very night, Clarke. Apparently, her home was hit directly. It took rescuers a long time to sift through the rubble, and she was barely alive when they found her.’

Thomas wanted to scream, but he was paralyzed. ‘Do you know–‘ He took a deep, shuddering breath. ‘Do you know exactly when she died, sir?’ What good was he doing in a cockpit if he was powerless to save the person he cared most about in the world?

‘Six days ago. I’m very sorry.'”

 

What are you reading, today??

 

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