In France, just as The Great War was beginning in 1914, Aurelie de Courcelles makes a choice of leaving Paris behind and staying with her father, Comte Sigismund de Courcelles. Just as the war begins to heat up, the duo is forced to deal with unwelcome guests, including a Maximilian von Stenburg, a German acquaintance that Aurelie had known in her more carefree days. As the months drag on and more sacrifices are needed, what will Aurelie de Courcelles choose: her country or her illicit love?
Margaret "Daisy" Villon has always done her best to be a dutiful wife to her husband Pierre, even when Pierre dares to work for the Germans at the start of WWII, and is one of the many responsible for orchestrating the Vel' d'Hiv Roundup of Jews. However, a family secret causes Daisy to don the notorious mask and to do whatever she can to help the Resistance. Along the way, Daisy falls in love with another man and is forced to make an ultimate sacrifice for her country.
In 1960s, Barbara "Babs" Langford is a widow with three children whose husband was haunted by his WWII experience, including a mysterious woman named La Fleur. One day, Babs is invited to travel to France to help unravel the mystery of La Fleur and help a young man clear his dying father's name from wrongdoing. As they travel through Paris and they learn the mysteries of the de Courcelles family and La Fleur, Babs is asked more and more to let go of her old life and seize the day. Will she be able to do it, or will the ghosts of the past destroy her budding happiness?
Going back and forth between different timelines, it is evident that the three authors, Beatriz Williams, Lauren Willig, and Karen White, are truly masters of their craft, especially in terms of collaboration because the details are perfectly written. Whether its 1914, 1942, or 1964, I strongly enjoyed all three time periods and ALL THE WAYS WE SAID GOODBYE is a tale that is impossible to put down for a minute.
What I most appreciate about ALL THE WAYS WE SAID GOODBYE are the stories and the lessons gleaned from these truly heroic and unforgettable women that will long haunt the reader lucky enough to delve into their world: that of seizing the day amidst tragedy, that of bravery and doing the impossible.
For readers seeking a story about France or the Ritz, as well as seeing history through three unforgettable heroines, ALL THE WAYS WE SAID GOODBYE by Beatriz Williams, Karen White, and Lauren Willig should be the right fit for a day of comfort and longing.
The New York Times bestselling authors of The Glass Ocean and The Forgotten Room return with a glorious historical adventure that moves from the dark days of two World Wars to the turbulent years of the 1960s, in which three women with bruised hearts find refuge at Paris’ legendary Ritz hotel.
The heiress . . . The Resistance fighter . . . The widow . . . Three women whose fates are joined by one splendid hotel
France, 1914. As war breaks out, Aurelie becomes trapped on the wrong side of the front with her father, Comte Sigismund de Courcelles. When the Germans move into their family’s ancestral estate, using it as their headquarters, Aurelie discovers she knows the German Major’s aide de camp, Maximilian Von Sternburg. She and the dashing young officer first met during Aurelie’s debutante days in Paris. Despite their conflicting loyalties, Aurelie and Max’s friendship soon deepens into love, but betrayal will shatter them both, driving Aurelie back to Paris and the Ritz— the home of her estranged American heiress mother, with unexpected consequences.
France, 1942. Raised by her indomitable, free-spirited American grandmother in the glamorous Hotel Ritz, Marguerite “Daisy” Villon remains in Paris with her daughter and husband, a Nazi collaborator, after France falls to Hitler. At first reluctant to put herself and her family at risk to assist her grandmother’s Resistance efforts, Daisy agrees to act as a courier for a skilled English forger known only as Legrand, who creates identity papers for Resistance members and Jewish refugees. But as Daisy is drawn ever deeper into Legrand’s underground network, committing increasingly audacious acts of resistance for the sake of the country—and the man—she holds dear, she uncovers a devastating secret . . . one that will force her to commit the ultimate betrayal, and to confront at last the shocking circumstances of her own family history.
France, 1964. For Barbara “Babs” Langford, her husband, Kit, was the love of her life. Yet their marriage was haunted by a mysterious woman known only as La Fleur. On Kit’s death, American lawyer Andrew “Drew” Bowdoin appears at her door. Hired to find a Resistance fighter turned traitor known as “La Fleur,” the investigation has led to Kit Langford. Curious to know more about the enigmatic La Fleur, Babs joins Drew in his search, a journey of discovery that that takes them to Paris and the Ritz—and to unexpected places of the heart. . . .
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