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Mireille

6/17/2015

3 Comments

 
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About the Book: 
  • Paperback
  • Publisher: Lake Union Publishing (June 9, 2015)
Near the end of World War II, seventeen-year-old Mireille de Jouarre flees the home of her stepfather, a Nazi collaborator and abusive drunk. She finds shelter with her childhood friend Stefan, and the two fall deeply in love. But as the fighting escalates, Mireille must escape alone to Paris, where she discovers she’s pregnant and lacking a way to provide for her child.

So begins her new life as l’Ange—the Angel. After an unlikely meeting with a wealthy aristocrat in a Parisian hotel—and her acceptance of his solicitation—Mireille becomes the most celebrated poule in all of France, eliciting huge fees and invitations to exclusive parties. At one of these events, Mireille meets Oliver Jordan, an American womanizer and film producer, and is soon launching a promising film career. As her star rises, Mireille is determined to bury her past. But her success isn’t as carefree and glittery as it seems, and when her daughter’s future is threatened, Mireille must make a deadly decision in a desperate attempt to finally choose her own path.



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Review: 
Mireillle grew up in the French countryside during the Nazi occupation.  After her father passes, life becomes difficult and she lives a Cinderella-like existence with a jealous stepmother and her abusive boyfriend.  Mireille narrowly escapes the cruelty of her home life to find solace with a childhood friend, Stefan.  They become lovers and Mireille believes she has found happiness.  Stefan dies as part of the Resistance and Mireille is left pregnant and poor.  She finds herself penniless in Paris and difficult to find work with a new baby, Stephanie.  Just as her luck has seemed to run out, Mireille meets a rich man who will pay her for an hour of her time and the use of her body.  He refers Mireille to Madam Renee’s where she is transformed into l’Ange, the most sought after prostitute in Paris.  Mireille’s new profession allows her to care for her daughter and send her to school in Switzerland.  It also introduces her to several Hollywood movie producers which gives Mireille a chance to leave behind prostitution for acting.  Her new life seems glamorous, but the choices Mireille has made affected her daughter and Mireille will have to choose her own path.

Mireille kept me entertained and enchanted throughout its almost 600 pages.  Mireille’s journey is almost like a fairytale where she rises from an abused country girl to high class prostitute to movie-starlet, except we get to see that it is not all glamour and perfection. There are plenty of cliché’s throughout the story, but Mireille's character is intriguing and never boring.  Her struggle, rise and fall and her determination to protect her daughter and remember Stephan are what kept me reading. You do have to be ok with a lot of sex, language, rape and drug abuse to be able to enjoy this book.  Mireille also took me through a lot of history and around the world, from the end of World War II in France to high class prostitution in Paris to the making of Spaghetti Westerns in Rome and the Golden Age of Hollywood. My favorite part of the story was the very beginning where Mireille was with Stephan, I also think she was bravest after he died.  It was interesting to see the parallels between Mireille’s life as a prostitute and her life as an actress.  Overall, a sweeping story of survival, overcoming obstacles and remembering your purpose in life. 

This book was received for free in return for an honest review.

 



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About the Author: 
Molly Cochran is the author of more than twenty novels and nonfiction books, including the New York Times bestseller Grandmaster, The Forever King, The Broken Sword, and The Temple Dogs, all cowritten with Warren Murphy. She is also the author of The Third Magic, and she cowrote the nonfiction bestseller Dressing Thin with Dale Goday. Cochran has received numerous awards, including the Mystery Writers of America’s Edgar Award, the Romance Writers of America’s “Best Thriller” award, and an “Outstanding” classification by the New York Public Library. Recently she published a series of young adult novels, Legacy, Poison, and Seduction, and two novellas, Wishes and Revels. Legacy won a 2013 Westchester Fiction Award.

Visit Molly at her website, mollycochran.com.


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3 Comments
anne
6/17/2015 03:30:22 am

This captivating novel interests me greatly because it is profound, a story of survival during the most horrendous era, and meaningful. Mireille, her daughter, her career and life sounds unforgettable and fascinating. Your review was excellent. Thanks for this great feature and wonderful giveaway.

Reply
Christina Riggs
6/20/2015 11:02:47 pm

I like that she carves a life for herself in a very difficult time, and with the loss of Stefan.

Reply
Heather J @ TLC Book Tours link
6/21/2015 08:34:36 am

Thanks for being a part of the tour!

Reply



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    Hi there! I'm Stephanie and I obviously love reading.  As, the title suggests, I read at least one hundred pages a day.  I enjoy most book genres; however, my favorites are historical fiction, fantasy, science fiction, thriller, horror and YA.  I also read a lot of non-fiction science and gardening books for my occupation.  I enjoy reviewing books and as always, any book that I receive for free is read in return for my honest review.  

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