All the Ways We Said Goodbye: A Novel of the Ritz Paris

Enjoyed everything about this book. Great story with lots of twists and turns and characters well developed and great interaction between them. Highly recommend this book

I love this format - three stories happening that are each intriguing on their own - each one affecting the other stories and then finally intertwining together at the end. Well done.

“All the Ways We Said Goodbye” spans three different times and events. The authors did a good job with historical detail. It was easy to determine the family ties and the secrets; the intrigue was bringing it all together. That said, I was disappointed in how some important characters seemed to fade away without mention. What became of the maman / grandmier? How did the daughter who was legendary in WWI just suddenly ceased to exist? We read she died, but wasn’t there something more? Did she ever reunite with the German officer? Did Daisy really become strong; what happened after evacuating? And more unanswered questions.It’s tricky to do history interchanging between two time periods; pulling three made it hard to really fulfill the characters and their stories. Each era and the characters had so much potential to unfold.But, I enjoyed a brief journey through the lives of French noblemen, independent women and a glimpse of the Paris Ritz hotel.

1914: The start of WWI positions Aurelie, French heiress and holder of a national relic, to spy for the resistance, leaking out bits of information she overhears from the German officers who have acquisitioned her family’s castle. With her mother at the Ritz in Paris and her father trying to keep his estate afloat, Aurelie’s ties to her parents waver. Eventually, her heart leads Aurelie down a much different path than she imaged—straight into the arms of German officer, Max von Sternburg.1942: Marguerite “Daisy” Villon delivers much more than books to her grandmother at the Ritz. Sickened by her husband’s involvement in rounding up and shipping out Paris’s Jewish population, Daisy befriends forger and spy, Legrand. In a secret section of a local bookshop, they collaborate for the underground resistance to provide Parisian Jews with forged identity papers and passports. However, Daisy cannot untangle her heart from Legrand’s, endangering them both and all whom she holds dear.1964: With the death of her husband recently behind her, Barbara “Babs” Langford goes in search of her suspicions—that her husband had been in love with a spy of renown, La Fleur, whom he met in Paris in the 1940’s. Babs’s search for the legendary spy coincides with lawyer, Andrew “Drew” Bodoin’s. Through the romantic atmosphere of Paris and a little help from a woman Babs meets at the Ritz, Drew and Babs form much more than an investigative alliance.Is there a future of Aurelie and Max? Can Daisy and Legrand keep up their cover and their romance, while diverting watching eyes? Will Babs set aside her past bonds to embrace Drew, who loves her unapologetically and unconditionally.Which of the three women, Aurelie, Daisy, and Babs—whose lives have revolved or evolved through the doors of the Ritz—will say a permanent goodbye to the love of their lives?

I have enjoyed all her books, Karen White. I get a little confused with the 3 characters, but eventually get the hang of them. All 3 of the women did an outstanding job. I’m just more of a Karen White reader.

Three authors have combined to write a novel of three periods of time—World War 1, World War 2, and Paris (briefly England too) in the 1960s—and three women. Well, more than three women but three voices, Aurelie, Daisy and Babs. There are other women in the book—the Comtesse, Precious, Diana, others—and there are three men—Max, Kit and Drew.So, yes, this is a romance, three romances. And, for those of you who are familiar with my reviews, I don’t normally like romances. However, this book is so much more than romance and actually romance isn’t the right word, the right word is passion. Not the kind of roll in the hay passion (although there is that) but the desperate passion people feel for each other when the word, their world has gone crazy. When they don’t come from the same world. Aurelie is French, Max is German in World War 1. Daisy is French and Kit is a downed English flier in Paris. Babs is English, Drew is American. Their stories are doomed and we know they are doomed. Except, in the end, love persists and remains.Sorry if that sounds corny because this book doesn’t deserve to be looked at as corny. It is rich, it is full of history seen from women’s points of view. Formidable women. I have highlighted so many passages that I will re-read in the future, to remind myself of how enraptured I was for the past several hours. Women can write great fiction; this is one proof.

This was my first read from the 3 “W’s”. I have read Lauren Willig’s Pink Carnation Series and loved them all. I was a bit sceptical about reading a book with 3 authors but I have to admit that I loved the collaboration between the 3. It was genius. Well done ladies!!

I loved the three stories coming together. Great writing. I enjoy period pieces based loosely on true facts. I experienced many emotions reading this. I really wanted happy endings for Diasy, Kit, Max and Aurelie. Such is life. Great read

Really enjoyed the different stories forwarded side by side but during different times. Very exciting to see how they all intertwined in the end. Loved the strength in the women characters.