My Review: I am firstly sorry for my late blogstop, my laptop went for a walk and has only just been found.

I love a good dual timeline and this story did not disappoint, it stabs at your emotions and makes you feel sad, and horrified by situations we could never fathom. The author brings the characters to life beautifully and has you gripped from the start.

Its told from the perspectives of Nina, Odette/ Odelia and in present day, Fleur’s.

Such a good story, and then there’s the appearance of Coco Chanel.

Recommended, how could twins be separated like that and why?

Book Description:

AN IMPOSSIBLE CHOICE

France, 1944. In an opulent hotel room above the streets of Paris, a mother sobs and clutches her twin daughters tight. A German officer says, ‘Give me the emerald, and I will only take one of your children. The choice is yours.’

AN UNBREAKABLE PROMISE

Five-year-old Nina weeps for her sister. But a warm, familiar hand strokes her golden hair. ‘The jewel, the Emerald Lake, it brings people together. You will find her.’

THREE GENERATIONS OF SECRETS

South of France, present day. Fleur arrives at a beautiful villa by the sparkling Mediterranean, devastated at the loss of her grandmother Nina. She has no other family. Why did Nina never tell her she owned this place? Then, tucked away in the villa, she finds a faded missing poster showing a little girl, blonde hair tied with red ribbons, holding a message: Do you know my twin sister?

The accompanying newspaper clippings about jewellery auctions throughout the years tell Fleur that answers lie in the replica emerald ring that Nina wore every day, now adorning her own finger.

Local gem expert Nicolas is the only one who can help find the truth. But as they uncover a heartbreaking story of a family torn apart by war, the pair face danger from an unexpected place. And Fleur must ask if her grandmother kept her secrets for a reason…

An absolutely devastating, epic and unforgettable read that will sweep you through the generations and whisk you away to the cobbled streets of Paris and the turquoise waters of the South of France. Anyone who loves Rhys Bowen, Fiona Valpy or Lucinda Riley will be utterly captivated.

Author Bio:

Helen Fripp is fascinated by history and by women who have made their mark against all the odds. To her, the past really is another country, where the architecture, art and customs of the time are sumptuously and lyrically evoked and where her female characters rail against the social constraints to which they are subject. Epic in scope, but human in scale, the motivations, flaws, loves and everyday lives of her characters are what Helen loves to imagine and create, against sweeping historical backdrops.

Helen lives in Bath, but will find any excuse to take off and research a captivating location or person for her next story. She has worked in Paris and spent a year with her family in a fishing village in South West France.

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Buy Link:

Amazon: https://geni.us/B0F2WS6SWNsocial

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