This story follows the new trend in historical fiction of looking into the life of female collaborators - those who worked with or were kept safe by the Nazis. This book was slow moving until Coco begins to work with the Nazis to save her business and her son. I felt the story behind Chanel No. 5 was far too long and detailed and Coco's trip for jasmine absolute had no point to the story and added nothing to the plot. This would have been a better story if about 100 pages were removed. ( )

I had given up on this book until my friend encouraged me to keep on reading, therefore I only gave it 4 stars. I found it less than inspiring prior to the German invasion. Have read other Coco books and just never could get into her.

FROM BARNES & NOBLE: Legendary fashion designer Coco Chanel is revered for her sophisticated style—the iconic little black dress—and famed for her intoxicating perfume Chanel No. 5. Yet behind the public persona is a complicated woman of intrigue, shadowed by mysterious rumors. The Queen of Paris, the new novel from award-winning author Pamela Binnings Ewen, vividly imagines the hidden life of Chanel during the four years of Nazi occupation in Paris in the midst of WWII—as discovered in recently unearthed wartime files.

Coco Chanel could be cheerful, lighthearted, and generous; she also could be ruthless, manipulative, even cruel. Against the winds of war, with the Wehrmacht marching down the Champs-Élysées, Chanel finds herself residing alongside the Reich's High Command in the Hotel Ritz. Surrounded by the enemy, Chanel wages a private war of her own to wrestle full control of her perfume company from the hands of her Jewish business partner, Pierre Wertheimer. With anti-Semitism on the rise, he has escaped to the United States with the confidential formula for Chanel No. 5. Distrustful of his intentions to set up production on the outskirts of New York City, Chanel fights to seize ownership. The House of Chanel shall not fall.

While Chanel struggles to keep her livelihood intact, Paris sinks under the iron fist of German rule. Chanel—a woman made of sparkling granite—will do anything to survive. She will even agree to collaborate with the Nazis in order to protect her darkest secrets. When she is covertly recruited by Germany to spy for the Reich, she becomes Agent F-7124, code name: Westminster. But why? And to what lengths will she go to keep her stormy past from haunting her future? ( )

Coco Chanel,the immensely talented fashion icon and the magician behind Chanel no. 5, is the subject of The Queen Of Paris. How much is known about her during WW II? Was she really a nazi collaborator and if so was it because she believed in their cause or did circumstances force her to it. In a series of flashbacks to her childhood and young adult years this novel presents a very plausible motivation and a possible answer. A question remains what would I or anyone else do in her situation?
To avoid giving too much away, I will not go into a summary of the book. Other reviews have done this and better then I could. Suffice it to say the book covers Coco during the years of WW II with the above mentioned flashbacks covering her earlier years.
Coco is a difficult protagonist to like. She was a driven self made woman at a time when this was exceedingly rare. She was egotistical and often very selfish. She chose men in her life that were socially unavailable to her. She was mistress material not wife material in the upper class European circles she found herself in. Her reliance on these men often led to disastrous personal choices. I believe the results of these choices and the abandonment she perceived from a young age. Informed her choices during the war years.
This book was well written. The characters are fully fleshed out. The plot moves forward at a fast pace building tension throughout. I feel the book would have been better if it included both an epilogue and an authors note. I would have liked to know what happened to some of the main characters and how much of what happened during the war years was true. ( )

The Queen of Paris is a well-written biographical novel featuring the life of Coco Chanel. Told in flashbacks in Coco’s own voice and a third person narrative during WWII, it reveals the very interesting personality of the fashion icon. Don’t expect a flattering or even sympathetic handling of the main character though. Pamela Binnings Ewen portrays Coco with warts and all — and there are a lot of warts! Coco is shown to be a shrewd businesswoman determined to preserve her brand and her fortune. She is both savvy and naive, which seems at odds, but just adds to the complex and infuriating woman who was Coco. The flashbacks serve to give the reader background on her early life, as well as showing how Coco’s personality evolved. She was a woman of many contradictions — selfish, yet loyal, self-serving, yet sacrificing. I wavered between being sympathetic to what she endured and being disgusted at how she saved her livelihood. Coco has long been accused of being a Nazi sympathizer, and Ewen explores that. The result of this well-researched book is what feels like a balanced and accurate portrayal. Paris during Nazi occupation is depicted well, though Coco’s view is certainly different that many of her countrymen.

Did I like The Queen of Paris? Very much. Did I like the main character? Not at all! I think that is the strength of the novel. Ewen created a boo that kept the pages turning even though the reader can’t help but hope the main character gets her comeuppance. 😉 Did Coco? You’ll have to read the book to find out. (Please note: this novel was written for the general market. There are adult situations described.)

Recommended.

Audience: adults.

(I purchased the audiobook from Audible. All opinions expressed are mine alone.) ( )

The story of Coco Chanel's life is certainly fascinating. She lived through interesting times in the most interesting of places and was associated with all sorts of interesting people and situations. There is a lot of material to work with - love, loss, betrayal, war, wealth, poverty, cruelty, kindness, loneliness and friendship.
I found the book absorbing for the most part. I tried to like Coco but it was impossible.
The use of the present tense throughout the narrative (and many others)is quite annoying - I suppose it is meant to bring one into the moment but it just irritates me. ( )