Home Feed
Home
Search
Search
Add Review, Blurb, Quote
Add
Activity
Activity
Profile
Profile
Last Christmas in Paris
Last Christmas in Paris: A Novel of World War I | Hazel Gaynor, Heather Webb
92 posts | 77 read | 79 to read
Amazon Indiebound Barnes and Noble WorldCat Goodreads LibraryThing
Pick icon
100%
review
MissyD
post image
Pickpick

At first this book was a little hard to get into the groove of reading. It‘s told through letters between friends during WW1. But after sticking with it for a little bit, the voices of the characters began to come to life. I couldn‘t put the book down. It‘s not a typical “female doing her part for the war” book. But rather a love story that unfolds before our eyes, through letters. It was a very moving book. Big ugly cry at the end.

review
Bookwormjillk
post image
Pickpick

This book was quite the tearjerker, whew. Luckily this little pup has been following me around since I got to my family‘s house in Ohio so I had some company.

Last Christmas in Paris is a WWI book and is mostly told through letters. It was a good, quick read.

51 likes2 stack adds11 comments
review
bthegood
post image
Pickpick

A beautifully perfect story of the relationship between Evie and Tom, the effects of war on love, friendship and family (and so much more) - told through their letters to one another during WWI.

#GangstaWrappers team book (well worth the read everyone)
#WinterGames
Make a great day everyone 🎁

Bookwormjillk I‘m glad you liked it! I‘m going to start this one next. 3mo
bthegood @Bookwormjillk thank you for picking it, I would not have read it otherwise and it is probably my favorite for the year!! 😊 3mo
Gissy I loved that story❤️ 3mo
bthegood @Gissy 👍 3mo
32 likes5 comments
blurb
bthegood
post image

This is how I feel as I spend a lot of time trying unsuccessfully to #wgguessthebook

#WinterGames #GangstaWrappers

Make a great day everyone 🎁

PuddleJumper 🤣 3mo
Bookwormjillk 🤣🤣 3mo
Traci1 Haha! 3mo
See All 10 Comments
ChasingOm 🤣 3mo
peanutnine 🤣🤣 3mo
Ruthiella 😂😂😂 3mo
dabbe 🤩🤣😍 3mo
Jerdencon 😂😂 3mo
JessieKB 🤣🤣❤️💚 3mo
WJCintron 😂🤣😂 3mo
26 likes10 comments
blurb
bthegood
post image

Getting close to some #BookSpinBingo and #ISpyBingo and have 2 read from #CloakandDaggerChristmas - so far so good!

#WinterGames #GangstaWrappers

Make a great day everyone 🎁

blurb
bthegood
post image

I think I'm a little of all of those (although I would buy not bake cookies 😂)!! Grades are in - taking a day for just reading today!! Life is good - so grateful!

#WinterGames #GangstaWrappers

Make a great day everyone 🎁

Bookwormjillk Enjoy! 4mo
Jerdencon School psychologist here - I‘m definitely the count down one! 10 more wake ups til break! 4mo
WJCintron Yay! Enjoy the day! 📚😃🙌 4mo
See All 6 Comments
dabbe 💙❄️💙 4mo
bthegood @Jerdencon love it 😍 4mo
28 likes6 comments
review
Jerdencon
post image
Pickpick

Finished our team read #gangstawrappers
Enjoyed it a lot - liked that it was in letter form.
Also - ended up with 3106 points for week one!
#wintergames @Bookwormjillk

Bookwormjillk I‘m glad you liked it! 4mo
bthegood 🎉🎁 4mo
26 likes1 stack add2 comments
blurb
Birdsong28
post image

Twenty Fourth prompt completed for @melissajayne #readyourTBR challenge.
#2023challenge

Which means I have completed the challenge 🎉🎊. Thank you for hosting this Melissa 📚📖

review
Birdsong28
post image
Pickpick

Good. Not really a Christmas book but it does have some Christmas elements to it. Full of romance and heartbreak. Told mainly through letters so it's a quick read, but it still manages to convey its powerful message of true love.

#PS
#HarperCollinsPublisher
@HarperCollins

blurb
bthegood
post image

Finished one book and started reading a few others - thanks for hosting #20in4 @andrew65 🙂

#BookSpinBingo #GangstaWrappers #WinterGames

Make a great day everyone 🎁

Andrew65 Excellent 🎄🎄🎄🎊🎉🍾🥂 4mo
bthegood @Andrew65 🎄❤ 4mo
27 likes2 comments
blurb
Jerdencon
post image

Started this for our team read for #wintergames #gangstawrappers and loving it so far.

@Bookwormjillk @Traci1 @MidnightBookGirl @fandom_hellspawn99 @Alora @bthegood @Pigpen_Reads @JessieKB

Off to catch up on my photo challenges and advent calendar and games. Went away for the weekend to Longwood Gardens in Pennsylvania so not a lot of reading but I did watch 3 hallmark movies too this weekend so need to tally up my points!

Bookwormjillk Glad to hear it‘s a good one! 4mo
bthegood 💙 💛 4mo
22 likes2 comments
blurb
bthegood
post image

Thank you @dabbe for the beautiful interactive advent calendar !! A perfect way to start #WinterGames with #GangstaWrappers -

Make a great day everyone 🎁

AmyG I have this, too. First thing I do every morning is check it. It‘s quite fun. (edited) 4mo
dabbe This makes me so happy. 🩵❄️🩵 4mo
dabbe @AmyG Yay! 🩵❄️🩵 4mo
See All 7 Comments
AmyG @dabbe It reminds me of Downton Abbey 4mo
dabbe @AmyG 🤩🤣🤗 4mo
bthegood @AmyG 🙂 4mo
bthegood @dabbe 😍 4mo
36 likes7 comments
blurb
Aimeesue
post image

I like that the story in this epistolary novel is easy to follow, made easier because it‘s a full cast narration. Takes me back to when my husband was deployed in war zones - the never being sure, the home front news cycles, the friends lost. At least they can call on satellite phones these days, which helps a bit. As ever, war is hell.

blurb
bthegood
post image

Combining my #BookSpinBingo for #WinterGames team #GangstaWrappers and my #CloakandDaggerChristmas list :
1. The Christmas Appeal 2. Nine Lives 3. One Corpse Open Slay 4. The Case of the Deadly Toy 5. Girl in the Blue Coat 6. Christmas Candy Corpse 7. Mrs. Mohr Goes Missing 8. A Nancy Drew Christmas

@Bookwormjillk @Ruthiella @TheAromaofBooks

Make a great day everyone 🎁

AllDebooks Great choices 👌 4mo
Bookwormjillk Looks like a good reading list 4mo
See All 14 Comments
Jerdencon Great list! 4mo
merelybookish Nice! I'm also read Mrs Mohr Goes Missing. Just started it last night. 4mo
TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!! 4mo
kwmg40 Nice list with lots of Christmas themed books! 4mo
jlhammar I was considering Girl in the Blue Coat for that same prompt! Look forward to your thoughts. I can‘t wait for The Christmas Appeal. 4mo
Ruthiella Tantalizing list and a great way to make the books do double duty! 😃 4mo
LeahBergen This sounds like a fun list! 👏 4mo
Bklover Oh I may have to pull a few from your list! Great picks!!💜 4mo
bthegood @jlhammar Christmas Appeal has a wait list and Girl in the Blue Coat looks “heavy“ so both may be a next year read - we'll see 🙂 4mo
bthegood @Ruthiella Thanks - that's my plan!! and thanks for putting this together - 4mo
33 likes14 comments
blurb
Eggs
post image

Tough to rate. I had eye surgery today so I put the earbuds in to listen. I fell asleep here and there …
It was good but not earth shaking. I‘d say above-average HF, dual time line WWI and 1968 with themes of women journalists, war, long distance love (epistolary).

#RushAThon Day 30
#20in4Readathon Day 4

@Andrew65 @DieAReader @GHABI4ROSES

marleed I hope your surgery went well! 5mo
Andrew65 Wishing you a speedy recovery. ❤️ 5mo
Eggs @marleed @andrew65 Thanks Marlee and Andrew❣️ I can scarcely believe how colorful and crisp my vision is now; it‘s better than I had 35 years ago 🤩☺️🤓 5mo
DieAReader 🥳🥳🥳 5mo
Eggs @DieAReader 🥰🥰🥰 5mo
58 likes5 comments
review
steph_phanie
post image
Pickpick

4.5⭐️
This epistolary novel is the perfect holiday gift for fans of historical fiction. The letters back and forth between Evie and Tom and a handful of their acquaintances reveal far more than a budding romance; they reveal much about the impact of World War I. (Cont'd in comments)

steph_phanie (1/3) We witness the evolution of weaponry and warfare, the fight between propaganda and truth-telling, a mental health crisis among the soldiers, and the advancement of women's rights as England comes to rely on women to fill roles once held by the men now at war. 6mo
steph_phanie (2/3) The heart of the novel, however, is the friendship-turned-romance between Evie and Tom. As the war rages on and losses grow, these two buoy each other with their correspondence and encourage each other to push ever forward. Hope for an end to the war and a Christmas spent together in Paris becomes their driving light. 6mo
steph_phanie (3/3) Besides rooting for their growing fondness of each other, I also cheered for Evie as she became a young woman determined to serve her country and cast off traditional expectations of her gender.

This was a very lovely novel. Highly recommend.
6mo
13 likes3 comments
blurb
steph_phanie
post image

Of all the holiday books I'm racing to read, this one is my favorite so far! 200 pages to go. ❤️

review
Gissy
post image
Pickpick

Sad but beautiful novel. Well written in epistolary form where you follow these characters during the war and 50 years after the war. It took me time to read it because it motivated me to seek information about WWI. I even watched a video about Battle of the Somme. What a tragedy. It was hard to read it, about the soldiers, their PTSD which is called now, the family losts, the grief, how life change during these events. Sad😢 but beautiful 4/4.5⭐️

TheAromaofBooks Great progress!! 1y
Andrew65 Loved this book. Well done 🎄🎄🎄 1y
50 likes3 comments
review
AvidReader25
post image
Pickpick

A WWI novel written in letters between childhood friends. A young woman stuck at home in England, writes letters to her best friend, and her brother and his best friend who are at the front. A sweet story and a great road trip read since it‘s so easy to stop between letters if needed. Technically a Christmas read, but much more somber than most. I felt like the depiction of a soldier‘s time in the trenches was realistic.

review
Laughterhp
post image
Pickpick

This one was so good and so sad but also happy. It‘s told through letters during WWI. It was great on audio. Each person was a different narrator to help keep track. It wasn‘t so Christmasy as I thought it was going to be but they still mentioned and experienced 3 christmases.

#TeamGameSleigher +26pts
#AVeryMerryReadathon
#AVeryMerryBingo
#WrapitupReadathon
#CosyReadathon
#ChristmasMyWay
#BookSpinBingo

TheSpineView Fantastic! 🤩📖📚 2y
TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!! 2y
DieAReader 🎉🎉🎉 2y
Jadams89 🎉👍🏻🎄 2y
keys_on_fire Nice! 2y
61 likes1 stack add5 comments
blurb
Andrew65
post image

My ‘Christmas‘ Reads from #WinterGames in 2020. The tagged book was one of my favourite #FestiveReads bit so many good books amongst this list.

#FestivePhotoChallenge

blurb
Texreader
post image
MoonWitch94 This one was too sad for me. I had to bail. 2y
Texreader @MoonWitch94 Oh no! I just bought it! 2y
Kelly_the_Bookish_Sidekick It was sad but I did like it. 2y
See All 6 Comments
MoonWitch94 @Texreader I can‘t do sad at Christmas. Maybe you won‘t find it too bad. You‘ll have to let me know what you think. 2y
Texreader @MoonWitch94 @Kelly_the_Bookish_Sidekick I‘d already decided I couldn‘t fit it in before Christmas and it sounds like that‘s a good plan 2y
Crazeedi I've enjoyed other books by her. I'll have to check it out 2y
41 likes6 comments
blurb
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks
post image

Aletheia!! You are too sweet!! It was dark, but I thought I saw a box on the porch! Such a nice surprise after a long week! I love everything! The mug is awesome and the postcards are gorgeous!! Love the books and stickers! Thank you so much for your thoughtfulness my friend ❤️❤️ sending love and hugs 🤗

Crazeedi I love those postcards! And I get the pipstickers too, they are awesome!! 3y
UwannaPublishme 😍😍😍 3y
See All 10 Comments
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @UwannaPublishme such a sweet surprise! Y‘all are too good to me 🤗❤️ 3y
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @Crazeedi where do you get them? 3y
Avanders Yay!! I‘m glad you like everything 😘😘 I thought those postcards are sooo pretty and I thought you‘d like them ☺️ These pipstickers actually came in an owlcrate box, and I thought they‘d be a perfect addition for you in this package 😄♥️♥️ 3y
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @Avanders love everything!! You‘re so sweet 💛 thank you so much 💞 3y
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @Avanders I can‘t find your current address 😩 can you email it to me? loverofbooks75@gmail. Com 🧡🧡🧡 3y
Avanders Hi! Sorry, I will do this now so I don‘t forget again! 😘 3y
82 likes1 stack add10 comments
review
Andrew65
post image
Pickpick

If you are looking for a book with a Christmas link, then look no further than this book. Great romance story set during the First World War told through letters. Even had the Christmas truce as part of it. Felt quite emotional in the last part of the book. I do like books written by Hazel Gaynor. #Bookspinbingo

Totally recommend especially for those that loved The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.

TheAromaofBooks I should be reading this one this week so I'm glad to hear you enjoyed it!!! 3y
MsMelissa Since you enjoyed this one I‘m not going to mention that I bailed on it 😉 3y
rubyslippersreads This sounds perfect for my Christmas reading goal. 😊🎄 3y
Andrew65 @Book_Fiend_Melissa I did it by audio, wonder if this made any difference. 🤷‍♂️ 3y
81 likes4 stack adds5 comments
review
melissajayne
post image
Pickpick
review
TheSpineView
post image
Pickpick

#WinterGames2020 @StayCurious #ReadNosedReindeer

A sweet historical romance story. The story is told through a series of letters between Evie, her brother and friends during WWI. They share despair, love and hope for the future in their letters. A great feel good book. Well written and historically correct. 4⭐

melissajayne I agree; it was a very sweet story; had planned on reading it this past spring. 3y
65 likes1 stack add2 comments
blurb
Deblovestoread
post image
StayCurious great choice! 3y
29 likes1 stack add1 comment
blurb
melissajayne
post image

One of my favourite poems. Here is the full poem: In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

melissajayne We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
3y
25 likes1 comment
blurb
Kshakal
post image
Eggs 👏🏻📚👏🏻🎄❤️ 3y
26 likes1 comment
blurb
TheSpineView
post image

#DecemberSong @Eggs
Day 5: Last Christmas

Eggs Nicely ✅🎄🤗 3y
TheSpineView @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks It does look good! I hope I have time to get to it this month. 3y
69 likes1 stack add3 comments
review
SassyBookworm
post image
Pickpick

Beautiful book told mostly through letters between friends during the war. The letters start out so hopeful that the war will end by Christmas as many newspapers has predicted at the beginning of WWI. But as the years go on you see the hope falter and the strength of the friends as people die and the war presses on. It‘s a beautiful book that definitely pulls on your heart strings!

#SassyBookworm😏 #Hoopla #Audiobook #HistoricalFiction #WWI

review
LiljaPleasant
post image
Pickpick

What a wonderful book. Usually I don't like stories that take place during WWI or WWII... But this one was heartwarming and perfect for a december read.

review
Crinoline_Laphroaig
post image
Pickpick

I wanted to read at Christmastime. Funny thing is it's not exactly a Christmas book. Christmas in Paris is a dream that characters hold onto throughout the story. Good book for Audio. Most of it is told in Epistolary style which can be a bit hard to read. Changing narrators helped.Also from time to time it stopped the letters & moved forward to live in 1968. Descriptions of war. Perhaps not the best thing to read right before bed. #coverlove

Crinoline_Laphroaig It's always sad in stories of World War 1 how naive everyone is at the beginning. Thinking the War will be over by Christmas. Then later on to paraphrase Sybil from Downton Abbey 'I sometimes feel like every boy I've ever danced with is dead.' And while this is Fiction it has a definite ring of truth. 4y
27 likes1 comment
blurb
Deblovestoread
post image

Two more holiday reads. Merry Christmas Rabbi was a short novella which fell short of the mark for me 2⭐️ I enjoyed Last Christmas but it dragged a bit in places 3 1/2 ⭐️. Watched TSO‘s The Ghosts of Christmas Eve while cooking dinner Sunday. 46 pts

#WinterGames #TeamFestivus

@wanderinglynn @Clwojick @StayCurious

wanderinglynn 🙌🏻❤️🎄 4y
12 likes1 comment
review
BarbaraJean
post image
Panpan

I‘m not opposed to epistolary novels, but this one really didn‘t work for me. It was a whole book of telling instead of showing—which is kind of how letters work—but there are ways to show the action rather than just talk about it. I felt like someone was telling me about a great story, but they never actually told me the story. If you‘re after a really good wartime epistolary novel, read The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society instead.

review
JenlovesJT47
post image
Pickpick

Last Christmas In Paris tells the story of of Evie & Thomas, through a series of letters written during WWI. I love novels set in epistolary form and this is a good one. They start off as friends, with Tom being her brother Will‘s best friend. They grow closer over the years through their letters. I shan‘t lie, I teared up at the end. It‘s an excellent historical fiction novel. 4⭐️

#WinterGames
#TMSkellington
#HolidayRead
#HistoricalFiction
#WWI

Maggie_Reads Oooo...I‘m gonna need to check this one out. Sounds like my kind of read. 4y
Reecaspieces I enjoyed this book as well! Such a great read! 4y
coffees 21pts!! 12-11, now on my tbr!! 4y
41 likes2 stack adds3 comments
blurb
UnabridgedPod
post image

For December, our Unabridged Book Club pick is Last Christmas in Paris by Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb. We had a great time discussing the book: its cover, the dual authorship, the fact that it's an epistolary novel, and so much more!⠀

Take a listen to the episode, and join us all month to talk about Last Christmas in Paris.

review
UnabridgedPod
post image
Pickpick

Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb's epistolary World War I novel Last Christmas in Paris was a pleasant surprise. I began the novel with some skepticism--World War I is better (for me, right now) than World War II, and I do love epistolary novels. But I'm not big on Christmas books, I'm wary of over sentimentality, and the first few letters felt pretty stilted to me. Fortunately, the book soon turned a corner for me, ⬇️

UnabridgedPod and I ended up being swept into the building relationship between Evie and Tom. Evie's brother Will and Tom are away at war, and Evie and Tom's correspondence becomes a real touchpoint for the men away at war. The novel builds on Tom's father's newspaper, the London Daily Times, to address the obligations of journalism to tell the truth (versus patriotic facades) during war. ⬇️ 4y
UnabridgedPod Gaynor and Webb incorporate messages about feminism, the effects of war on soldiers' mental health, and class concerns. The novel somehow balances a certain ending that is communicated from the beginning with incredible suspense as to how that ending comes about. I'm so excited for our Unabridged Book Club episode focusing on this novel!⠀

Have you read Last Christmas in Paris? What are you favorite holiday reads?
4y
15 likes1 stack add2 comments
blurb
MoonWitch94
post image

I need to put this away for a few weeks. I‘m not in a super positive space right now ((lots of things going on with family & myself...we all seem to have breakdowns at the same time)) & this was NOT the best choice in book. It is setting me up for heartbreak, I can feel it. Maybe in December I can revisit. I like it though....even though the story is mostly told through letters, which can be irritating. #lastchristmasinparis #dnf #laterread

TheAromaofBooks I liked this book for the first 3/4 or so, but felt like it really petered out in the end. It wasn't a bad read, just not as strong all the way through as I wanted it to be. I hope things go better with you and your family - one day at a time!! 4y
Eggs I understand this feeling. Hope you and family are able to feel better soon💗💗 4y
marleed I hope you move through the next 6 weeks with moments of joy and happiness. It is a weird time with all the expectations. 4y
See All 6 Comments
MoonWitch94 @marleed @Eggs @TheAromaofBooks Thank you so much for for your support & well wishes. It‘s the best time of year & I am sure it will help cheer our spirits. 😘 4y
DaveGreen7777 Sorry this has been a tough time for you! 😔 I hope things get much better for you and your family soon! 4y
MoonWitch94 @DaveGreen7777 thank you! 😊 4y
28 likes6 comments
blurb
UnabridgedPod
post image

Today, I (Jen) am starting Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb's Last Christmas in Paris, our Unabridged Book Club book for December (our episode will release on December 4. We hope you'll join us in discussing this book on social media all throughout the month.⠀

I have to admit that, unlike my dear friend Sara, I'm not quite in a mental place for Christmas yet, but I'm working on it! 😂⠀(continued in comments)

UnabridgedPod What are you reading today? Which holiday best relates to your current mental state? 4y
14 likes1 comment
review
ontheBL
post image
Panpan

A novel about WWI told mostly through letters between several characters. It's bland and largely forgettable.

https://onthebl.org/2019/01/29/last-christmas-in-paris/

quote
ontheBL

"I know you are convinced that my heart was stolen by Tom Harding years ago while I wasn't paying any attention, and I'm beginning to think you may be right, darling.”

review
sammisho
post image
Pickpick

This was the perfect book to start the new year. Lovely, romantic, tragic, with a happy ending. I needed a good cry tonight and this did the trick.
@AmberWB Thank you again for your sweet gift. #kindlitsy
#pop19 #readabookduringtheseasonitisset

AmberWB I‘m so glad you enjoyed it! 5y
alisiakae I just finished this #pop19 prompt too! 5y
52 likes1 stack add2 comments
blurb
sammisho
post image

My 12 yo daughter hosted a NYE slumber party last night. Which means today she is cranky, and I am ignoring my confetti and glittered covered house.
I have sat under my heated blanket, got through half of the tagged book, and cuddled with Molly dog all day.

Lmstraubie Look at that sweet face!!! 5y
sammisho @Lmstraubie I think she has an ear infection and not feeling well. Off to the vet tomorrow😰 5y
Lmstraubie Oh no 😕 I hope she's okay. 5y
tpixie Sweet Molly!!! Oh, I hope she‘s ok!! (My dogs would get yeast infections in their ears sometimes and soI I‘d use athletes foot cream over the counter in their ears).You deserve a rest after hosting a girls slumber party! #DogsOfLitsy 5y
64 likes4 comments
blurb
sammisho
post image

Thank you so much @AmberWB! This book was on my holiday reading list and the wait at the library was so long! #kindlitsy

AmberWB Enjoy! 5y
45 likes1 comment
review
Bookswithjams
post image
Pickpick

LOVED THIS!! It does not have to be read during Christmas, FYI, but is a wonderful love story told through letters during WWI. Beautiful.