Review: The Three Lives of Alix St Pierre by Natasha Lester*

  *I received a copy of this book in eBook format via NetGalley in return for this review. All reviews published on Yours, Chloe are completely honest and my own, and are in now way influenced by the gifting opportunity.

Title: The Three Lives of Alix St Pierre
Author: Natasha Lester
Genre: Historical Fiction

Trigger warnings:  War, Violence, Guns, Domestic Violence, Suicide, Death of a Partner, Death of a Parent, Parental Loss

Rating: ★★★★ 

 A compelling and lavish novel from the NYT bestselling author about a young woman striving to forget her part in the war by building life anew as the publicist at the just-launching House of Dior in Paris

1943. After spearheading several successful advertising campaigns in New York, PR wizard Alix St Pierre comes to the attention of the US government and finds herself recruited into a fledgling intelligence organisation.
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 to run the Service de la Presse for the yet-to-be-launched House of Christian Dior. But when a figure from the war reappears and threatens to destroy her future, Alix realises that only she can right the wrongs of the past and bring him to justice.

The Three Lives of Alix St Pierre is the latest historical fiction work from New York Times best-selling author Natasha Lester. It is a captivating, beautifully written novel told in three timelines: before, during and after WW2. The story is impeccably researched and historical details were seamlessly woven into the narrative.

In Alix, we have a really strong female protagonist who is witty, headstrong, courageous and had me truly enchanted. Like all of the supporting characters in the novel, she is beautifully complex and we see her trying to recover from the trauma of a failed mission towards the end of the war and the responsibility she feels for it.

Although I was drawn to The Three Lives of Alix St Pierre for the WW2 aspect, I also really enjoyed the time period which focused on Alix’s PR work for House of Christian Dior. The exploration of Parisian post-war fashion and the experiences of women such as Alix navigating post-war Paris were really interesting and really set this novel apart from other WW2 historical fiction works.

The narrative started off with a slower-pace as Alix established herself in Paris and within Christian Dior and I will admit that during these chapters I found it quite hard to fully engage with. But I’m glad I stuck with it because as the novel progressed it became fast-paced and had me completely hooked by around the halfway mark. Natasha Lester effortlessly builds tension and has the reader on the edge of their seat before switching back to one of the different timelines and making us hold out for answers.

Although I feel like The Three Lives of Alix St Pierre didn’t necessarily need a romantic element, I did enjoy the slow burn enemies to lovers relationship between Alix and Anthony. In the earlier timeline, it was also beautiful to see the connection between Alix and Matteo blossom even if it was a typical short-lived right person, wrong time relationship. My heart was completely torn between which love interest I adored the most, with both Anthony and Matteo being strong competitors I just couldn’t get enough of. I did feel like some of the scenes between Alix and Anthony could have done with being a little bit spicier but I appreciate that this isn’t the style of all authors.

Unfortunately, I was disappointed by the ending as (whilst being mindful of avoiding spoilers) the apparent resolution surrounding the Nazi agent they’d been trying to track down felt really anti-climatic and lacked the drama and tension I craved. Natasha Lester did a good job of making sure all loose edges were tied up and it was interesting to see how different aspects of the story linked but unfortunately quite a lot of this was predictable. This was a shame as until the final chapters the book was a 5* read for me but my dissatisfaction at the ending reduced this rating.

Overall, The Three Lives of Alix St Pierre is a powerful and incredibly gripping piece of historical fiction which is both heart-breaking and heart-warming. It is a must-read for fans of WW2 historical fiction who also have an interest in Parisian fashion.