I couldn't put it down, I so wanted to know what was happening. When I was with Lily I yearned to know how things were with Odile and vice versa. .This is the story of two girls growing up in completely different circumstances. Lily in Montana in the 1980s, a small town, dying of boredom and coping with her mother's death and father's remarriage. Odile was her saviour, her next door neighbour and practically a recluse. But Odile story was years before in Paris during the years of the occupation in World War Two. In so many ways their lives were different but in the end maybe not so much.

I really cared for the two main characters and I enjoy the pace of the story and the historical information as the end brought the whole thing together and I was not expecting it - fascinating. I can't see anyone not enjoying this read - I will be passing it on to all my firends.

I devoured this book over the course of one day. Anything that is set in Paris always draws me in. The book is set within the American Library in Paris in war times. The incredible characters and their love for their friends primarily being books is incredible. The journey taken to keep literature alive during such difficult times is astounding. Each character had their own story to tell which made you want to turn the pages even quicker. I loved this book and I am thoroughly disappointed I have completed it. So well told with a focus on the actual history of Paris and German occupation, this is a book everybody should read as soon as possible. Thank you for this opportunity!

I simply loved this book, The Paris Library. I am a complete bibliophile and the settings and descriptions of the library itself, the homes of book-lovers, the meanings they derived and shared from their reading were nectar for my heart and soul. I could really sum this book up with 'WOW' as that was my reaction when I finished it, but it deserves much more than one short exclamation.
The relationships and characters - Lily and Odile, Odile and her family, Lily and her family, the diverse library community and all the complexities of war, adolescence, loss and grief, love and envy, cruelty and kindness, make this an epic work which manages to cross time, at once detailed and expansive.
War, peace, continents, societal cultures, languages, trends and class - all skillfully depicted, taking the reader on a powerful journey which paradoxically, one never wants to end, yet urgently needs to know what happens next.
So, WOW, again., from me.

Wow, I loved this and read it in a day! If that's not a good recommendation I don't know what is!
When I was 15 I did work experience in a library and one afternoon me and one of the older librarians were mending damaged books. She told me to always respect books and look after them, which is pretty much what this book is all about and probably why I liked it so much!
I loved that even in wartime people felt the need to save books and risked their lives to take books to the Jewish population who were no longer allowed to use the library. The camaraderie amongst the staff at the library was great. What a shame that war came just as Odile's life was beginning with such promise. I enjoyed Lily's story too as I grew up reading American books so it reminded me of my youth too with books such as Little Women, Little House on the Prairie, Forever and the trauma of girls having better clothes, lack of boyfriends, feeling left out etc etc.
If you are a lover of books and WW2 (without too much gore) and to an extent the 1980s then this is the book for you. I wish there was a list of the books mentioned as I kept heading over to Goodreads to look them up!

It's 1939 in Paris, Odile gets her dream job in the American Library Paris. We follow her journey through first love and friendship; loosing loved ones, betrayal, and the struggle to keep the ALP open through the German Occupation.

In 1980's America, high school student Lily looses her mother and watches her father find his second wife less than a year later. Lily struggles at school when she prioritises looking after her baby brothers when her step-mother is crippled by post-natal depression, and learning French from the mysterious Parisian next door.

One of the things I loved about this book was the way it started. Odile muffs up her interview when her nerves get the better of her. She tells her father she does not need to marry and he brings a different man home from work every Sunday for dinner. We are told of these events with light humour. Of course, given the location and period of the novel we can easily predict that things wont stay that way. I also fell in love with the characters love of books and the way they can transport us to any where and any when.

The book deals with a lot of different themes in a really engaging way. To steal from the book a little - I was sad when it ended because although I can read the book again, I will never discover it again.

Normally asleep by 9pm I was awake until gone midnight on two consecutive nights because as soon as I picked the book up again on the second evening there was just no putting it down until I finished. I found it absolutely wonderful. If I had started reading this on a Saturday morning I would have just consumed it without stopping.

Cons: I would have liked more from Odile after Lily finishes school. Perhaps there is room for a sequel where Odile goes to Paris In 1990, reconnects with her history and heals old wounds.
There are a lot of errors in the format. Paragraphs start in the middle of sentences and sometimes in the middle of words. I understand that I am getting this as a pre-release which is why it was more of an irritation than something that has really affected my rating. But, I can not review a book without mentioning the glaring mistakes in the format which will hopefully be corrected for the release version.

Really good wartime novel set in a Paris Library, the cover is lovely as was the characters in the book.

Thank you to Netgalley and John Murray press for this ARC in return for an honest review. Beautifully written and heartfelt book. Unforgettable story of friendship, love and the power of a good book. Odile's story will stay with me for a very long time.

I have read a number of books of female roles in world war 2, but this was the first linked to books. As we all know know, books were very controversial in that war and mass burnings were common. As an avid reader, one who learns lots from what she reads, I find this side of war very troubling. I loved the female spirit in this book, fighting for their rights and turning to the resistance to help the war effort. I just love to read about savvy girls. Thank you for writing about the amazing people who won the war and our freedom. So enjoyable.

As I love to read so much, this book really resonated with me. A different book to the usual WW11 books but just as fab