Book Review: The Paris Notebook by Tessa Harris

“‘How do you escape the great wave?’ Viktor explained. He seemed genuinely interested.

Katja’s gaze locked on to his. ‘I read novels, sir,’ she replied. ‘They take me to different places. Help me forget.’”

Tessa Harris, The Paris Notebook

Review:

I enjoyed Tessa Harris’ book The Light We Left Behind so I was optimistic about The Paris Notebook as well — especially with such a vibrant cover! While I can’t say it surpassed The Light We Left Behind for me, it was still quite an interesting read. 

When Katja takes a job at a clinic. Doctor Viktor assigns her the task of typing up secret medical records belonging to Adolf Hitler. She is persuaded by the doctor to take the manuscript to Paris with him. They do so at great risk, having to evade the Nazi spies. 

I didn’t click with the characters as much as I would have liked to. The plot was interesting and unique, however, I didn’t feel myself hanging onto every word. Still, it was an enjoyable read. I always enjoy finding WWII fiction that can stand out against the typical formulas. 

A huge thanks to Harper360 for sending me a free (US) ARC of the book!

Likes & Dislikes:

What I liked:

• I enjoyed a lot of the different literary references.
• I found this to be a unique plot for WWII fiction.

What I didn’t like:

• While it was in theme with the literary theme, comparing Hitler to Frankenstein’s monster and Dracula made me want to throw the book.
• The writing didn’t feel as strong as it could be. That had been something I really enjoyed about The Light We Left Behind.

Afterthoughts:

I ended up purchasing the Kindle edition of the book as well as it was on sale and I like being able to save my annotations to Goodreads. I was glad of it too as I ended up reading the book in one sitting while stuck at the garage!

Where to buy the book: