Last Christmas in Paris by Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb Review

Title: Last Christmas in Paris

Author: Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb

Genre: Historical Fiction

Goodreads Rating: 4.16/5

Goodreads Link

Synopsis:  New York Times bestselling author Hazel Gaynor has joined with Heather Webb to create this unforgettably romantic novel of the Great War.

August 1914. England is at war. As Evie Elliott watches her brother, Will, and his best friend, Thomas Harding, depart for the front, she believes—as everyone does—that it will be over by Christmas, when the trio plan to celebrate the holiday among the romantic cafes of Paris.

But as history tells us, it all happened so differently…

Evie and Thomas experience a very different war. Frustrated by life as a privileged young lady, Evie longs to play a greater part in the conflict—but how?—and as Thomas struggles with the unimaginable realities of war he also faces personal battles back home where War Office regulations on press reporting cause trouble at his father’s newspaper business. Through their letters, Evie and Thomas share their greatest hopes and fears—and grow ever fonder from afar. Can love flourish amid the horror of the First World War, or will fate intervene?

Christmas 1968. With failing health, Thomas returns to Paris—a cherished packet of letters in hand—determined to lay to rest the ghosts of his past. But one final letter is waiting for him…

“keep faith in yourself. You command your own destiny. Not the enemy. Only you.” 

Format: audiobook

Pages/Hours: 368 pages

Ownership: Library Loan (I’ve since bought the print book)

My Rating:  ★★★★★

Tags: Christmas, Seasonal, World War 1, Epistolary

Themes: Friends to Lovers

This was fabulous. It’s an epistolary novel consisting of letters and telegrams between friends and lovers during World War 1. It’s beautiful and heartbreaking and made me shed a few tears at the end. I just loved it. The story focuses mainly on the romance between Evie and Thomas. Thomas has gone off to fight while Evie stays home and writes a column about the war from a woman’s perspective.

Get the book: Amazon US | Amazon UK | Book Depository

Read a Preview of Last Christmas in Paris

Synopsis and book cover from Goodreads. Photos from my Instagram @elainehowlin_

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