Book Spotlight & Giveaway: Mistress of the Ritz by Melanie Benjamin

In just over a week, Melanie Benjamin’s latest novel, Mistress of the Ritz, will be published, and to help the
publishers get the word out, I’m hosting a giveaway! I will be reading
this book soon and will be
sure to share my review as soon as I do. You can see what others have
to say and then be sure to enter the giveaway below!!!

Title: Mistress of the Ritz

Author: Melanie Benjamin

Published: May 2019, Delacorte Press

Format: Hardcover, 384 pages

Summary: 

A captivating novel
based on the story of the extraordinary real-life American woman who
secretly worked for the French Resistance during World War II–while
playing hostess to the invading Germans at the iconic Hotel Ritz in
Paris–from the New York Times bestselling author of The Aviator’s Wife and The Swans of Fifth Avenue.
 

Nothing bad can happen at the Ritz; inside its gilded walls every woman
looks beautiful, every man appears witty. Favored guests like Ernest
Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Coco Chanel, and the Duke and Duchess of
Windsor walk through its famous doors to be welcomed and pampered by
Blanche Auzello and her husband, Claude, the hotel’s director. The
Auzellos are the mistress and master of the Ritz, allowing the glamour
and glitz to take their minds off their troubled marriage, and off the
secrets that they keep from their guests–and each other.

Until
June 1940, when the German army sweeps into Paris, setting up
headquarters at the Ritz. Suddenly, with the likes of Hermann Goring
moving into suites once occupied by royalty, Blanche and Claude must
navigate a terrifying new reality. One that entails even more secrets.
One that may destroy the tempestuous marriage between this beautiful,
reckless American and her very proper Frenchman. For the falsehoods they
tell to survive, and to strike a blow against their Nazi “guests,” spin
a web of deceit that ensnares everything and everyone they cherish.

But
one secret is shared between Blanche and Claude alone–the secret that,
in the end, threatens to imperil both of their lives, and to bring down
the legendary Ritz itself.

Based on true events, Mistress of the Ritz
is a taut tale of suspense wrapped up in a love story for the ages, the
inspiring story of a woman and a man who discover the best in each
other amid the turbulence of war.

Early Praise: 

“A compelling portrait of a marriage and a nation at war from within . .
. At the glittering height of the twenties and thirties, suave French
hotel manager Claude Auzello has turned the Ritz into the jewel of
Paris, installing his brash American wife, Blanche, as queen among the
movie stars, fashion icons, and crowned heads who make up the hotel
guests. But the Auzello marriage is rocked by infidelity and turmoil
even as the Nazi shadow rises in Germany, and when the Ritz becomes
Third Reich headquarters in occupied Paris, France’s ultimate power
couple must decide if they will weather the storm together or crumble
under the oppression and brutality of war. High fashion, royal gossip,
political scheming, and French Resistance sabotage all swirl together to
make Mistress of the Ritz a cocktail as irresistible as anything served at the hotel’s bar!”—Kate Quinn, New York Times bestselling author of The Alice Network

“No one writes of the complexities of women’s lives and loves like Melanie Benjamin. In Mistress of the Ritz, Benjamin
brings wartime Paris brilliantly to life—and brings home the terrible
dilemmas and moral conundrums forced upon occupied citizens by the war.
Blanche Auzello is a martini-soaked flapper with a heart of
steel. Benjamin’s fascinating story brings this forgotten heroine
vividly to life without flinching from the high price paid by those who
fought back against the Nazi scourge. Intense, illuminating, and
ultimately inspiring!”—Elizabeth Letts, New York Times bestselling author of Finding Dorothy

“In Mistress of the Ritz,
Melanie Benjamin illuminates the little-known story of Blanche Auzello,
the fiery American who, along with her French husband, secretly worked
for the French Resistance while hosting senior German officials at their
storied hotel. This meticulously researched and richly told story could
only have been penned by Melanie Benjamin—already an icon of historical
fiction, she has truly outdone herself. Important and inspiring!”—Pam Jenoff, New York Times bestselling author of The Lost Girls of Paris

“This impeccably
researched, lyrically told historical about a brash American woman and
her French husband during WWII is a remarkable achievement. . .
. Benjamin skillfully weaves in a host of historical figures—including
Coco Chanel, alleged to be a Nazi sympathizer, and Ernest
Hemingway—whose vibrant presences make Benjamin’s protagonists and
engaging group of supporting characters shine all the more. Even readers
who aren’t big fans of historical fiction might be swayed by this
outstanding tale.”—Publishers Weekly

“Benjamin’s new novel is a lively portrait of the opulent grand hotel
which drew Picasso, Hemingway, Cole Porter—and Hermann Göring.”—Kirkus Reviews

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Giveaway Details — (US Only) 

Thanks to the publicist, one reader will win a copy of  Mistress of the Ritz  by Melanie Benjamin. To enter the giveaway, please fill out the rafflecopter by May 19th.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This giveaway is open to US residents only and ends May 19th.

Good Luck!!!