The Noisette and de Crécy families are among Paris' wealthy and elite at the beginning of the Franco-Prussian War in 1870. Camille Noisette and Mariele de Crécy are future sister in laws who want to fight for what is right and protect their family and city during the time. Camille finds her place as a nurse in the Odeon theatre alongside Sarah Bernhardt, quickly Camille becomes accustomed to blood and amputations as she realizes that more and more of Paris' men are dying around her. To help even more, Camille agrees to go to radical meetings with family friend Andre Laborde and report back on anything dangerous that the women's factions are planning. Camille then recruits Mariele to help her brother Victor at the local church taking care of children whose parents are fighting and being forced to work longer hours for meager pay. Mariele finds that she loves spending time with the children and that caring for them comes naturally to her. She also finds a heightened sense of compassion and courage to keep the children safe.

Paris in Ruins is the engaging story of two women who dared to care for the people in their city in a time of war when they had the means to escape. Camille and Mariele are both women of means who have been protected their whole lives. After seeing the effects of the war on the people of Paris and the stark contrast between their families and the poor of the city, they are both compelled to open their hearts and homes to help. I was very interested in the Paris Commune group that was able to overtake Paris after the war. I would love to know more about the war from the Commune's point of view other than just Camille's time within the group. It was wonderful to see Camille and Mariele change their attitudes and behaviors due to their involvement in the war and I wish I could have seen how they continued to change their behavior to help the divide in Paris. I was very interested in The Franco-Prussian War is not a time period that I know a lot about, I was glad that the writing was rich in historical detail. I loved learning more about the eccentric actress Sarah Bernhardt and her amazing work to turn the Odeon theatre into a hospital. Overall, a compelling story of two courageous women during the Franco-Prussian War.

This book was received for free for an honest review. ( )

This was not only a fantastic book but I also learned about a time in history that I knew little about. I found myself goggling frequently to get more information.

The year is 1870 and Napolean has just abdicated when Prussia begins the siege of Paris. The people are suffering both from bombs but also from lack of food and sickness. Immediately after the end of the Prussian war, there is another war in the streets of Paris between the government and a group of radicals who want to overthrow the government Paris spent over 2 years in shambles as a result of both of these wars. The author immerses her readers in the tumultuous struggles through two main characters.

Camille and Mariele are both part of the elite in Paris. They live the good life and could have just stayed in their roles as pampered females. Camille had always been outspoken and starts to nurse the wounded at a hospital in the Odeon theater run by Sarah Bernhardt. She also spies on the group of people who want to overthrow the government, Her brother is engaged to Mariele who seems to be a very quiet obedient daughter until she is asked to help take care of the children who are destitute. As she becomes involved in their lives, she begins to question the gap between the rich and the poor. Both of these women change from being pampered debutants to being strong viable women who want to help the people of Paris as much as they can. The stronger they both become, the more their friendship grows.

This was a fantastic historical fiction book about a time in history that is rarely written about. The author has done extensive research and it shows on every page. The two main female characters are distressed about the wars and how they are affecting the people in the city that they love but they both grow to become strong resilient women willing to do whatever they can to save their city and its people. I highly recommend Paris in Ruins.

Thanks to the publisher for a copy of this book to read and review. All opinions are my own. ( )