Thank you Atria Books, #partner, for the advanced copy of Skylark in exchange for my honest review.
Publisher: Atria Books
Published: January 6, 2026
Summary:
The New York Times bestselling author of The Paris Wife weaves a mesmerizing tale of Paris above and below—where a woman’s quest for artistic freedom in 1664 intertwines with a doctor’s dangerous mission during the German occupation in the 1940s, revealing a story of courage and resistance that transcends time.
1664: Alouette Voland is the daughter of a master dyer at the famed Gobelin Tapestry Works, who secretly dreams of escaping her circumstances and creating her own masterpiece. When her father is unjustly imprisoned, Alouette’s efforts to save him lead to her own confinement in the notorious Salpêtrière asylum, where thousands of women are held captive and cruelly treated. But within its grim walls, she discovers a small group of brave allies, and the possibility of a life bigger than she ever imagined.
1939: Kristof Larson is a medical student beginning his psychiatric residency in Paris, whose neighbors on the Rue de Gobelins are a Jewish family who have fled Poland. When Nazi forces descend on the city, Kristof becomes their only hope for survival, even as his work as a doctor is jeopardized.
A spellbinding and transportive look at a side of Paris known to very few—the underground city that is a mirror reflection of the glories above—Paula McLain’s unforgettable new novel chronicles two parallel journeys of defiance and rescue that connect in ways both surprising and deeply moving.
My thoughts:
Somehow this is only the second book I’ve read by Paula McLain, though I have three other of her books sitting on my shelf just waiting to be read. And now, those other 3 are moving to the top of my tbr…I forget how much I love her writing!
This book completely held me spellbound from start to finish. I loved everything about it, from the dual timelines to the characters to the storyline and had such a hard time putting it down when I needed to do get back to real life.
Never did I believe I would be so invested in a story set in both 1664 and 1939 and yet, here we are. And I was equally drawn to both timelines – usually I find myself drawn more to one over the other, but not here. I loved the way McLain was able to draw connections between the two, letting their stories echo across the centuries. This is such a powerful, thought-provoking read, made even more so by the realization that even though our world has changed over time, some things continue to happen over and over again.
This is a book I’m glad I own because I just know I’ll read again at some point.
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