Joyce Shaughnessy, author

 

I am giving four stars to An American in Paris by Siobhan Curham. I write historical fiction and have become obsessed over books about WWII. The only reason I am giving the book 4 instead of 5 starts is because of the over-the-top portrayal of the people in Arkansas. The story is about a young American dancer from Arkansas who moves to pre-war Paris, Florence, and her encounter with Otto, an Austrian Jewish artist. They fall in love and eventually marry. Sage is a British woman in 2019 who doesn’t realize that she has a family in Arkansas. She earns money through social media. My favorite part of the book were Florence and Otto’s story and the heartbreaking portrayal of WWII Paris. The author rounds out her characters and portrays them in a way that made me quickly turn the pages to find out what happened next. I will definitely read this author again!