Michelle Gable

20% of the way through this book I decided to set it aside as I was not connecting with the characters or the story line.

I was drawn to this book largely because of the gorgeous cover, the promise of Paris in the title, and the blurb of the book. The book is classified as "general fiction"; however, I think it leans more toward the romance/women's fiction category. That can be a broad category, and depending where on the spectrum it falls I'm either drawn to those types of books or not. I think that this may just be one of those books where I'm not exactly the right audience.

This book is generally getting great reviews, so I'd encourage readers who like romance/women's fiction to read the blurb and other reviews to see if they'd be interested.

I'm not giving any stars as I didn't finish the book. I wish the author the best of luck with the book.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for a galley of this book in exchange for an honest review.… (mehr)

Fascinating! Even without a war, a mystery, a murder, or spies, this was a captivating novel based on actual people during a not-so-long-ago time period where the characters’ names are still familiar to many of today’s readers: Jackie Kennedy, Lilly Pulitzer, Wendy Vanderbilt, and iconic photographer Slim Aarons.

Inserting fictional Margo Hightower into the world of Palm Beach society during the 1960s, author Michelle Gable gives readers a glimpse of the jet set from the perspective of an “everywoman.” Margo considers herself a failed debutante after her boyfriend calls off their engagement, her family is involved in scandal, and she is left with almost no money and no moneymaking skills. Thanks to a friend who convinces photographer Slim Aarons to hire Margo as his assistant, the premise had me settled in to read a guilty pleasure. And I was not disappointed.

Slim is famous for his photos capturing high society, royalty, and Hollywood stars in their habitat. Against the backdrop of the photo shoots, Margo “becomes swept up in the city’s social circle – and into a friendship with heiress and rising fashion designer Lilly Pulitzer.” (taken from the book jacket).

In addition to the recounting of Lilly Pulitzer’s ascent to resort-wear fame and photographer Slim Aarons’ career as photographer to the rich and famous, Gable shows the life behind the façade of last century’s privileged class. Seen through Margo’s somewhat naïve eyes, the novel is a page-turner that offers many thought-provoking topics and would make a great book club read.… (mehr)

Margo’s engagement has been called off. She is out of money and out of options! She takes a job as a photographer’s assistant and this changes her world in more ways than one.

I loved Margo. She truly came into her own as this story moves along. She knew nothing about working or about photography. But she has an eye and Slim Aarons, photographer extraordinaire, capitalizes on it on more than one occasion.

I had no idea about several of these famous characters in this novel. Lilly Pulitzer is definitely famous down here in the south. She was one of the most intriguing figures in this story. Her intelligence and charisma comes through the pages and puts everyone to shame!

Need a good tale about some famous people…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today.

I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.… (mehr)

This WWII-era novel features the OSS and in particular a branch known as Morale Operations - dedicated to distributing misinformation behind enemy lines to lower morale and increase the number of surrendering troops. Nikola is Czech-born, speaks several languages,holds multiple degrees, and eager enough to join the OSS that she does so against her husband's wishes. Stationed in Rome, Nikola is part of a team creating fake newspapers and other materials designed to impact Nazi morale. This novel makes for a compelling read and wasn't precisely what I expected from a novel focused on spies, but I did learn new things about OSS and its operations. Highly recommended for fans of WWII historical fiction.… (mehr)