Review - - After Paris

After Paris

by Mary Ellen Taylor

Publisher: Montlake

Release Date: May 13, 2025

Reviewed by PJ

 

At twenty-five, Ruby Nevins has already endured more than most. But after two years of battling cancer, she’s warily determined to move forward. Researching a new project about a French actress, she soon uncovers an old diary that will change her life forever…

Cécile, the “it” girl of early 1940s French cinema, vanished from Nazi-occupied Paris in 1942. Sylvia Rousseau, Cécile’s dressmaker and confidante, left that same year. Working to piece together the truth behind Cécile’s disappearance and Sylvia’s extraordinary life, Ruby recognizes the women as kindred spirits. They risked their hearts and lives to aid the Resistance, and each day was a struggle to survive.

Ruby knows her cancer could come back, but she’s learning to embrace the future rather than fear it. If Cécile and Sylvia could live their lives in the shadow of death, so can Ruby. Because she knows there’s so much life―and love―to fight for.

PJ's Thoughts:

Mary Ellen Taylor has written a compelling, thought provoking, dual-timeline story that immersed me into the lives of three remarkable women - two in the past and one in the present. Opening with a harrowing scene in the days following the liberation of France, she then moves to present day, setting the stage for Ruby's story before returning to the past and the unfolding journeys of Cécile and Sylvia before, during, and after the German occupation of Paris. 

The transitions between past and present felt organic and seamless as both stories unfolded. I was equally immersed in both timelines as well as the fates of the characters. Ruby may not have been caught in the life or death consequences Cécile and Sylvia faced at the hands of the Nazis but her life or death battle with cancer was no less consequential. I enjoyed her journey and the twists that awaited her, both personally and in her professional quest to discover the fates of Cécile and Sylvia. I especially enjoyed her unexpected romance (yes, there's a happy ending).

What strength all three of these women exhibited in the face of danger. Taylor doesn't hold back in showing readers all sides of them, especially Cécile and Sylvia. Their courage, vulnerability, morally questionable actions, wants, desires, and fortitude are all important parts of their human story. 

A portion of this book with which I was not familiar was the path taken by the French film industry during WWII. I was not aware of the number of people who were compelled to work with the Germans during that time even though they were against everything the Nazis stood for, how they were forced to straddle two worlds without alienating either side. It's a fascinating part of the book. 

If you enjoy dual timeline stories featuring complex women with the courage to face seemingly insurmountable obstacles, told with strength, compassion, emotional depth, and undying hope, pick up a copy of Mary Ellen Taylor's After Paris. I highly recommend it.