An American in Paris

Book excerpt: Paris, 1940: Walking through Montmartre that morning was like the eerie calm right before a storm. The roads were deserted. We carried on, arm in arm, and then finally, we saw them. Columns and columns of soldiers, spreading through the streets like a toxic grey vapour. 'You must write about this, ' he whispered to me. 'You must write about the day freedom left Paris.' As Nazi troops occupy the City of Lights, American journalist Florence is determined to do everything she can to save her adopted home and the man she loves. Florence had arrived in Paris in 1937 and on a beautiful summer's day, met and fell in love with Otto, a Jewish artist from Austria, who had fled persecution in his homeland. But as swastikas are draped along the city's wide boulevards, everything Otto was running from seems to have caught up with him. Both Florence and Otto begin lending their talents to the Resistance, working to sabotage the Germans right under their noses. Florence's society columns that, before the war were filled with tales of glamorous Parisian parties, now document life under occupation and hide coded messages for those fighting outside France for freedom. While Otto risks arrest in order to pin up the anti-Nazi posters he designs by candlelight in their tiny apartment. But with every passing day, things become more dangerous for Otto to remain in Paris. If Florence risks everything by accepting a secret mission, can she ensure his survival so that they can be reunited once the war is over? A sweeping wartime story that will capture your heart and never let it go. Fans of The Alice Network, The Lost Girls of Paris and My Name is Eva will be absolutely gripped from the very first page. Readers LOVE An American in Paris 'An enthralling story that puts readers in the middle of the chaos surrounding World War Two... Grabs readers from the beginning and won't let them go until they finish the last page... I loved absolutely everything about this novel and won't hesitate to claim it as my favourite historical fiction read of 2020.' Goodreads Reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐