Until Leaves Fall in Paris - Sarah Sundin

Sarah Sundin’s fiction can best be categorized as Christian Romance, but the author specializes even further by setting all of her novels around the World War II period. Sundin has won numerous awards for her work, including having Booklist name two of her novels to the “101 Best Romance Novels of the Last 10 Years.” Frankly, I knew none of those things about the author before I began reading Until Leaves Fall in Paris Again or I would have very likely never read it at all. I want to be completely honest here by saying that I am definitely not part of the target audience for this author’s work, and that I never will be. 

That said, I was attracted to Until Leaves Fall in Paris because I do enjoy historical fiction, and — although WWII historical fiction seems to be everywhere these days - I usually gain some insight into that period from good storytellers who have done the research necessary to make their novels meaningful. Too, I found it interesting that Until Leaves Fall in Paris is partially set inside a Paris bookstore that, in 1941, is still selling English language books despite Paris being occupied by the German army, and I was curious to learn more about how that may have worked. And, come on, who could resist that cover?

The plot of Until Leaves Fall in Paris involves two very different Americans who have decided to stay in Paris despite the greater and greater certainty that the city will eventually fall to the Germans. Lucie Girard, a young ballerina with the Paris Opéra Ballet for the past ten years, has lived in Paris since she was a child. Lucie was raised above Green Leaf Books, a bookstore she decides to purchase from the Jewish couple who opened their home to her so that the two will have the money to escape to America before it is too late to get out. Now, Lucie has quit the ballet to run the bookstore in hope that the couple will one day have something to return to. Paul Aubrey, recently widowed, and his four-year-old daughter have remained in Paris at the request of the US government so that Paul can keep his factory open. The government is hoping that Paul will be able to gather useful intelligence information via his contact with the German military who now want him to produce trucks for the German army. 

Neither of the Americans, however, is what they seem to be to the outside world, or even to each other. Paul believes that Lucie is simply a kind woman who was willing to do anything to protect the couple who made it possible for her to reach her ballet dreams. Lucie, on the other hand, believes that Paul is a despicable collaborator, and despite adoring his young daughter, Lucie wants nothing to do with the man. Both of them are doing everything possible to slow down the German war effort; the question now is whether either of them will survive long enough to learn the truth about the other. And what happens if they do?

Bottom Line: Until Leaves Fall in Paris has all the makings of a thriller encased inside what is, in the end, a typically predictable romance novel. As I’ve said, it is not to my taste, but I recognize that Sarah Sundin is a good storyteller and writer. Readers looking for gritty realism in their historical fiction will not find it here, but readers who enjoy novels about strong women during wartime — with a heavy dose of romance thrown into the mix — are going to like it. Those readers will be pleased to learn, also, that Sundin has an extensive back catalog to be explored. 

Sarah Sundin

 Review Copy provided by Revell Books

Anticipated Publishing Date: February 1, 2022