Momwithabook

This is the first Pam Jenoff novel I have read. Her books have been on my wishlist forever, and I have the Diplomat’s Wife on my TBR shelf. So, when I heard that this was a prequel to that “series”, I requested it from NetGalley. Even though these three books a mildly connected, it is still best to start at the beginning….I spent the first portion of this novel confused. In developing her story, she threw a lot of names, and places at the reader. I admit that I know next to nothing about WWI and it’s aftermath. So, yes, the politics and rebellion and spies…. I was struggling a bit. I will say though that Ms. Jenoff did a wonderful job setting the tone of post war France. The destruction of places, people, and lives was obvious. Even though the war was over and the countries were working on peace, it felt as though many, more personal wars were just starting. It feels weird saying this, but I felt bad for the Germans. They were invited to the peace keeping conference only to be treated as an ugly step-sister, and have their ideas ignored.Once I got a sense of what was going on politically and where the characters fit, I was able to relax and fall into a very good story. Of course once Georg arrived on the scene I could hardly put the book down. He was such an honorable, proud, and optimistic man. He was perfect for Margot, allowing her to use her education and intelligence.There were some interesting twists and turns in the story. Some that I guessed and some that I didn’t. Some conclusions were a bit drawn out for my taste. And more than once I found myself yelling at my iPad, “just tell him the truth… tell someone what’s going on!”Oh, and about the cover. I always, always forget to mention the covers in my reviews. But not this time. Although this isn’t particularly beautiful, it perfectly depicts what I loved most about this book. Margot in an embrace while off in the distance and in the back of her mind there is someone else. The embrace isn’t passionate, but is part love and part anguish. Perfect Plus the artwork fits in well with the other books in this series.Overall, I am glad that I requested this book and got an opportunity to read it. While reading this , I realized that while I do love historical fiction, I also crave a fantastic story with strong relationships and well developed characters. That is my dream meal, while historical fiction is my favorite restaurant. Once The Ambassador’s Daughter hit this magical combination, it became a fantastic read. I just wish it had happened sooner.Thank you to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to review this book.