The Paris Affair: The brand-new romantic wartime saga from the nation’s favourite entertainer

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The characters have never felt more real than they do in this story. It is in the latter part of the book that a glimpse of the war takes place. The evacuation of British troops at Dunkirk and heartbreaking scenes made for tearful reading as some of the stories are told.

Keen to rehearse, the company heads to the Seagate Theatre under the tutelage of the company's owner, Ed Forsyth. This is Ed's last hoorah before retiring and he's keen to leave on a high. But his son, Cal, has absconded, leaving his twin sister, Evie, to help manage the company after their mother's death. Hoping to display her best trapeze performance ever, she's also desperate that the entire troupe should succeed. If only her father hadn't brought in another old-timer... Billy Rich has come all the way from Hollywood, invited to be their main star. Billy is full of bluster and ego and his much younger wife, the mysterious Magdalene, doesn't help. Wow! This is my first book by Anton. There is such an atmosphere of what it must have been like in that period, from the tension of pre-war, to racism. misogyny and general life being so very different from today. Throw in a couple of love stories, some espionage, a spy (or 2) and this story has a little something for everyone. Easy to read, easy to follow and a most enjoyable tale to read.I can see how how his books might become a bit of a secret pleasure for me, and that they can bring joy and pleasure to those who read them.

His love for dancing really shines through and you can tell he knows his stuff. I didn’t know until about two thirds of the way through the author’s history in dancing and I love how he weaves it into the story through the use of one of the main characters. Of course that is unrealistic so We'll Meet Again is a heartfelt story of love, tough decisions, rousing declarations of patriotic pride and ordinary people coming together in dark times as well as those lit by the sparkle and glamour of a dance floor's chandeliers. I hadn’t read any of the other books before it but you don’t really need to, it works well so that you don’t have to have read the other books. Did I enjoy it? Well, I kept reading until the end. I felt it had more breadth than depth to be honest, and a few too many story lines and characters. But what I would say, is that something of Mr. Du Beke's warmth and personality bubbled through and you can feel his love of dance and also something of the joy and openness of the man himself in the characters and personalities he writes about. II did enjoy the story, there were cliches and parts that I was able to predict the outcome but that didnt detract from the storyline. The Ballroom Blitz, Du Beke’s first novel for Orion in the series, will be published in autumn 2022 as one of its super leads. He previously publishednovels withZaffre including One Enchanted Evening. Having been on "Strictly Come Dancing" since its inception as a dancer, his profile rose further after he joined the judging panel this autumn. As it was set during World War II and was partly featured within the book, I did find some parts really emotional. The book concentrated heavily on how the war had affected everyone in different ways. I loved the characters, Nancy and Raymond who find themselves torn apart because of the war, like so many other families. There was a few times my attention did falter, I think it was more to do with his writing style though which sadly I don’t think was for me.