The French Kitchen by Kristy Cambron

The French Kitchen by Kristy Cambron 

3.5 - 4 Stars

Read if you love:
- Historical Fiction
- Undercover Operations
- Julia Child 
- Hidden Identities 
- Dual Timeline
- WWII Fiction
- Paris/France Settings
- French Language 
- Kitchens and Cooking in Books

Kristy Cambron really has the attention to detail in her books and this one was really interesting! We follow Kat, who is recruited by the OSS as an agent in 1943. She is hoping to find her missing brother and agrees to go to France as a spy. Years later in 1952, she is still searching for her brother and becomes acquainted with others she knew during the war time. We see different timelines here for the same characters, with multiple identities and plans. 

I really liked Kat's character, she is very sharp and in her undercover operations she is working in a kitchen that caters to the Nazi elite. She is tied in with the resistance and there is a lot of suspicion. 

In 1952, we see her marriage to Gerard, a man she married for several reasons...but not love. Kat does not truly trust him and their marriage is very unique in tension, small bits of affection but not a huge romantic one. 

As others have mentioned, this book takes a lot of brain power to keep up. We have many timelines, different POVs and code names that took me out of the story at times. I loved the writing style, the characters and food/kitchen bits, but I did struggle to keep up with what was going on. If I am honest, I believe I missed several pieces and this book deserves more of a deep dive, re-read from me one day. 

The ending was great to see so much resolved and the bit of romance development that occurred. 

Regardless of those things, this is a very immersive story that you should take time to sit with and anyone who enjoys a good WWII fiction story will like it. I think the added layer of Julia Child was also nice because so many know of her from her cooking/kitchen days. 

Thank you to Thomas Nelson, NetGalley and Kristy Cambron for a complimentary copy of the audiobook and ebook to read and review. I have this one pre-ordered as well and look forward to meeting her at our local bookstore on her book tour! All thoughts are my own.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7569676359
Baker Book House: https://bakerbookhouse.com/products/619927
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3Uy94Oi

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The Italian Ballerina by Kristy Cambron

The Italian Ballerina - Kristy Cambron - 4 Stars - An Emotional WW2 Story

What an ending 😭❤️ my heart. Very slow start and hard for me to keep up at first with what was going on but loved the last 50%. Such a great story and beautiful characters who had a common goal to keep this precious young girl safe. 4 stars. 

This is a dual timeline, christian historical WW2 fiction novel set in Rome, 1943 and Present Day. We follow 3 different people - British Ballerina Julia Bradbury who is stranded and forced to take refuge on Tiber Island as she risks everything to rescue Italian Jewish people from the Holocaust. She is working at the hospital posing as a nurse as they make the Germans believe in the fake "Syndrome K" disease - a disease used to save Jewish people from the Germans. When one day, a young little girl who dreams of being a ballerina one day shows up at her door and Julia, plus several others are determined to reunite the young dancer with her family.

Then we follow Private Courtney Coleman - a medic during the war and his journey in 1943 and 1941. It starts off with him trying to escape German Soldiers with a young girl - jumping back and forth in the timeline we see this little Jewish girl being kept safe by Court and his friend AJ - when they meet up with Julia along the way. The timeline back and forth can be a bit confusing but once everything comes back together, it all made sense. These people have a common goal to keep this little girl safe and get her back to her family. 

In the present day timeline, we follow Matteo and Delaney as Matteo contacts Delaney to let her know that her late grandfather has some items that belonged to his grandmother and she would like to see them again so he offers to fly her out to Italy with the items. Delaney isn't too sure what to think or make of this but she agrees as she finds letters written in Italian in her grandfather's things and believes Matteo in his story....when she gets there, Matteo and Delaney start piecing everything together as his grandmother's story unravels from her past.....

I really liked this story overall - the only reason this wasn't a 5 star read for me was I was fairly confused at the beginning and some parts were a bit long for me, but overall, what an powerful story. I cried! If you like WW2 stories with emotional endings and good faith element throughout the story, pick this up.

Goodreads Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5619078372

Amazon: https://amzn.to/42KD0Z7

Baker Book House: https://bakerbookhouse.com/products/418275

YouTube Review Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NlfoIBkAmlc&t