ARC REVIEW The Paris Orphan by Natasha Lester

The Paris OrphanA beautifully told story that sweeps you away to a time of war, a place where women struggled for equality. Photojournalist Jessica May sets out to photograph the war from a woman perspective, but what she got was a bunch of men  who thought the war was no place for a woman, unless you were a nurse. It took a year of hassle but finally women journalist were finally allowed on the front line. Jess attached herself to Dan Hallworth's battalion over the previous year they became good friends and he more than once help get her out of trouble and always treated her as an equal. Along with Dan and his men Jess also befriended Dan's adopted niece, Victorine. Victorine was orphaned and taken in by Dan's brother who died shortly after leaving Dan to take care of her the best way he could in the middle of a war. 

2004: D'Arcy Hallworth comes to France to organize and oversee the transportation of a famous anonymous photographer's collection for its first ever showing in Australia or anywhere else. D'Arcy was hand picked to do the job what D'Arcy finds are the published and unpublished works of her idol, a war time photographer who disappeared after the war and her connection to D'Arcy's mother and father; a history she never knew.

I loved Jess's story, it was beautifully told and so realistic. The historical elements, the atrocities of WWII are hard to fathom at times and it takes the photos and the stories which aren't always pleasant to hear about to remind up this actually happened. Natasha Lester captures that time frame and those events on the front line and military politics concerning women so well and throwing in real people adds to that. Jess and Dan's friendship blossoms into something beautiful and I absolutely loved their story. D'Arcy on the other hand I thought it seemed rushed. I didn't quite feel the connection between D'Arcy and Josh as much as I did Jess and Dan and the ending seemed very abrupt and I was a little disappointed with that. Overall, it's a brilliant story.