The Room on Rue Amelie

The Room on Rue Amelie
By: Kristin Harmel

“Perhaps that was what it was like to love someone deeply: to feel that no matter how many moments together you were granted, there would never be enough.”

Part love story, part WWII historical fiction. Nothing extraordinary about the plot or book, but a compelling and heartfelt story. The prologue bothered me at first because I don't like when authors show you a snippet of present-day when most of the book is the unfolding of the past. I don't want to be told what happens before it happens. But as the book progresses you realize you may not actually know what you thought you knew about the present.

I thought Harmel told the story well. I have read The Nightingale, but these were the only two books I had read that took place in/near Paris during WWII so I liked the different than normal setting.

I'm currently pregnant so I think I felt connected to Ruby in imagining what it would be like to be pregnant or have a baby during hostile war times. There are so many aspects to events like WWII that affect different people in different ways, so I am always interested in reading books that open up and explore all these avenues.

I've read so many WWII stories, but every time it's a sobering reminder of realities people have had to suffer. I am thankful for historical fiction books like this that remind us of where the world has been and hopefully instill in us a proper sense of humanity.