The Gist: History, romance, and feminism are masterfully woven into a captivating WWII espionage tale.
Series: Standalone
Release Date: September 28, 2022
1943. After spearheading several successful advertising campaigns in New York, PR wizard Alix St. Pierre comes to the attention of the U.S. government and finds herself recruited into a fledgling intelligence organization.
Enlisted as a spy, Alix is sent to Europe where she is tasked with getting close to a Nazi who might be willing to help the Allied forces–but there’s also the chance he might be a double agent.
1946. Following the war, Alix moves to Paris and takes a position as head of publicity for the yet-to-be-launched House of Dior. But when a figure from the war reappears and threatens to destroy her future, Alix realizes that only she can right the wrongs of the past and bring him to justice.
The Three Lives of Alix St. Pierre is a thrilling, sumptuous work of historical fiction told in three timelines: before, during and after WWII. This completely immersive story takes readers from the dangerous, intrigue-filled rooms in Switzerland where elites of both sides mingled and schemed during the war, to the glamorous halls of the House of Dior in the golden age of French fashion and journalism.
• BIPOC characters
• LGBTQIA+ characters
• characters with a disability
And doesn’t address fatphobia
• Classism
• Sexism
• Alcoholism
• Reference to abduction
• Description of war crimes, including r@pe, dismemberment, and torture
• Allusions to and brief mention of suicide
• Grief
• Does have OW drama
– Alix presumes that Anthony slept with the woman who’s out to get her (Alix was incorrect)
– misunderstanding where Alix thought Anthony slept with a woman he hired (again, Alix was incorrect)
• Does have OM drama
– Anthony is a friend of Alix’s dead fiancé
• Does have the Hero and Heroine pushing away
• Does have a brief separation between the Hero and Heroine
• See Ending for HEA status.
• See Possible Triggers for Abuse and OTT sad parts.
Format: Paperback
Rating: 5-stars
•••
The Three Lives of Alix St. Pierre was an amazing historical fiction book with just the right amount of romance and action. The story alternates between three timelines, each representing a different “life” of Alix’s: her life before she’s recruited as a US spy in WWII, growing up orphaned and a rich girl’s companion, her time working as a spy for the US against fascist Italy, and present day, living in post-WWII Paris as the new public relations director tasked with helping launch the (fashion) House of Dior.
This book was the perfect example of the author’s research without the book coming across as a thesis (looking at you, Babel – don’t worry, I still gave that book 4.5 stars). The author uses real historical figures – including Christian Dior and Allen Dulles (before he became the director of the CIA), to name two – to situate Alix’s story in the real efforts of the Allied powers in WWII. Of course, because The Three Lives of Alix St. Pierre is situated in real history, the author only had so much leeway in depicting the end of WWII. It was a victory, but I appreciated how the author leaned into the criticisms of how society almost went back 20 years to compensate for women becoming principal economic actors during the war. In fact, the main conflict of this book is Alix’s encounters with a Nazi who she developed as an informant during the war and who has sprung upon again in her present day. This mystery around the informant felt realistic and didn’t veer into rewriting history.
Romance and Feminism
I loved the slow-burn romance and how the Hero was pulled into the present-day mystery of Alix’s espionage past. While Alix and Anthony initially get off on the wrong foot, circumstances force them to work together (forced proximity, anyone?), and slowly, they develop a great friendship that turns into more. I especially enjoyed the soft touches of feminism: the remarks about how it was illegal for women to wear trousers in Paris post-WWII, how it was considered gauche for a woman to work, or how Alix was immediately considered Anthony’s mistress rather than his equal because of their differing economic backgrounds were all feminist concerns contemporary to the 1950s but also resonate today.
In Conclusion
The Three Lives of Alix St. Pierre blew away my expectations. It was incredibly evident how much research the author did to craft such a rich WWII espionage story. However, as the reader, you couldn’t tell what research vs. fiction was, which is how fiction books are supposed to feel, as it makes the atmosphere and plot so much more realistic. A lot is going on in this book with the three different timelines, but I thought the author did such a great job tying them together. This book is 400 pages, and I read it in one sitting, which is a testament to how much I loved this story. While some of the plot twists were a bit predictable, and the fact that there was the stereotypical third-act breakup, neither was enough to detract The Three Lives of Alix St. Pierre from being a 5-star read. In fact, this book is my leading contender for my favourite read of 2023!
Buy The Three Lives of Alix St. Pierre
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