Until Leaves Fall in Paris by Sarah Sundin

Until Leaves Fall in Paris

Publication Date: February 1, 2022

Two Americans in Nazi-occupied Paris.
A bookstore unites them. A war divides them.

As the Nazis march toward Paris in 1940, American ballerina Lucie Girard buys her favorite English-language bookstore to allow the Jewish owners to escape. Lucie struggles to run Green Leaf Books due to oppressive German laws and harsh conditions, but she finds a way to aid the resistance by passing secret messages between the pages of her books.

Widower Paul Aubrey wants nothing more than to return to the States with his little girl, but the US Army convinces him to keep his factory running and obtain military information from his German customers. As the war rages on, Paul offers his own resistance by sabotaging his product and hiding British airmen in his factory. After they meet in the bookstore, Paul and Lucie are drawn to each other, but she rejects him when she discovers he sells to the Germans. And for Paul to win her trust would mean betraying his mission.

Come to the streets of occupied Paris to discover whether love or duty will prevail.

Praise

[Open] [Close]

*Starred Review!* “Sundin is a master at her craft, and avid readers will devour this in one sitting. With meticulous historical research and an eye for both mystery and romance, Sundin rises to the top of World War II fiction in this latest novel.”

*Starred Review!* “Sundin returns with another sure-to-please standalone novel…Sundin expertly captures the nuanced reactions of the expatriate and local communities to America’s shifting role in the war and uses them to intensify the plot’s personal, social, and political tensions. Lucie and Paul are an especially charming duo and enliven the novel’s look at the challenge of having to balance creativity and pragmatism.”

“Fast-paced and rich with historical detail, Sundin’s narrative captivates by leaning into the complexity of what it means to live by Christian principles in a morally compromised world. This potent synthesis of history, love, and faith will delight romance readers, religious and nonreligious alike.”

History Behind the Story

[Open] [Close]
German Luftwaffe officers at café on Boulevard Saint-Germain, Paris, 1941 (German Federal Archive: Bild 101I-247-0775-38 / Langhaus / CC-BY-SA 3.0)
German Luftwaffe officers at café on Boulevard Saint-Germain, Paris, 1941 (German Federal Archive: Bild 101I-247-0775-38 / Langhaus / CC-BY-SA 3.0)
Tell me more about everyday life in occupied Paris

Please see my article on Winter in Wartime Paris.

A Free Gift for You

Make It Do - The US Home Front in World War II

When you subscribe to my monthly enewsletter, you’ll also receive “Make It Do – The US Home Front in World War II,” a collection of my popular blog posts. As a subscriber, you’ll also be the first to learn about my upcoming novels.

Thank you for subscribing!