I enjoyed the concept of the setting of Paris during the Franco-Prussian war which I knew nothing about prior, and then post-WW2 with 2 female family members from multiple generations. While I’m not real familiar with french pastries, the summarized recipes gave me a nice context and visual with what was involved that would not have made sense otherwise.

However, I didn’t care for either main characters, if I’m honest. I also struggled with the way the setting was conveyed and the dialogue played out because it felt very British, not French, which created some disparity for me in the scenes. The cultures typically feel very different in the books I’ve read with each, and even some of the words and phrasing used were also very British, not (to my knowledge tho I could be wrong) French (“knackered”, “bloody”, etc) or were even too modern for the time period.

Lisette felt very gullible and flighty. She either did whatever she was told or suggested to do without argument or immediately declared her beliefs in something else and ran without considering anything. The almost-ending for her, especially, frustrated me.

I did love that her heart was to help others and look out for those around her tho, so in that I respected her character.

Micheline’s character felt childish in her obsession, causing more harm than good for everyone with it. Again, also very naive. She seemed so beat down and wouldn’t accept anyone pulling her up or coming along side her in a deep friendship or emotional way.

Thanks to Netgalley for the advanced copy of this book. All opinions are mine.