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All the Ways We Said Goodbye: A Novel of the Ritz Paris
by Beatriz Williams, Lauren Willig, Karen White

Published: 2020-01-14
Hardcover : 448 pages
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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 ...

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Introduction

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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All The Ways We Said Goodbye
by Silversolara (see profile) 01/09/20
Three women, three different time periods, three different situations, but they all find the Ritz of Paris to be their comfort zone. We meet Aurelie in 1914 who lived at the Ritz with her mother. She needed to get away and had the perfect excuse. She drove her fiancée to the front, and on her way back, her car was shot up. She thankfully was near her father’s estate and walked there to only find she would be stuck there because the Nazis had arrived and had taken over the estate. We meet Daisy in 1942 who was raised by her grandmother at the Ritz and who eventually helped her grandmother with the resistance. Then we meet Babs in 1964 whose husband had been in the war and had befriended La Fleur who was a resistance fighter. Babs wants to find out who La Fleur was since her husband called out her name a number of times before his death. She also meets at the Ritz with an American lawyer who is also looking for La Fleur. There are quite a few characters to keep straight, but the main characters are strong, brave, and very likeable. Babs was my favorite...her story had me laughing at some of the things she did and said. Aurelie’s story was the most interesting because of her situation but was the most upsetting. I admired Daisy for what she was doing for the French Resistance, and enjoyed reading about another way things were secretly done. The 3W's did it again!! ALL THE WAYS WE SAID GOODBYE is another marvelous, well-researched, difficult-to-put-down tale. We readers are again treated to their detailed writing, terrific story line, and smooth transition from one author to the next, but have a notebook handy to keep all the characters straight. Do not miss reading this gem. 5/5 This book was given to me by the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.

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by Elizabeth P. (see profile) 01/09/20

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