The French Kitchen by Kristy Cambron Review

 Good Morning Sweet Friends :)

I pray today finds you all doing well, and I'm so thankful you've taken the time to drop on by The Preppy Book Princess today for another book review.

I'm Kirby, and I always look forward to welcoming you to my little bookish corner of the internet.

Unfortunately, it's been awhile since my last post, and that's because this week has been a bit of a humdinger. On Thursday night my husband went to the emergency room for what we though was a small issue that should be easily treated. Unfortunately, instead he ended up being rushed in for emergency surgery the next day, and everything's been a whirlwind since.

I'm beyond thankful that he's doing well, and it was nothing life threatening, but it's definitely been a hard week, and I needed to take some time off to step back and be there for him.

He's still sore and recuperating, but I'm going to pop on here and try and get a quick review up for you all.

I hope you'll all keep on reading down below, and join me for today's full review.

The French Kitchen by Kristy Cambron:

Source: Publisher via NetGalley

Publisher: Thomas Nelson

Publication Date: August 5th, 2025

Genre: Christian Fiction/Historical Fiction/Dual Timeline

Synopsis:

As Paris rebuilds in the aftermath of World War II, one ex-pat uses the skills she learned in French kitchens during the war to bring long-held secrets to light.

Paris, 1952 -- An ex-pat wife living in Paris signs up for a cookery class taught by an American chef with an indomitable wit and decidedly French airs--an instructor by name of Julia Child. Amongst classes of the L'Ecole des Trois Gourmandes, with pots and pans and prim Paris wives learning to sauté in the French way, Kat Fontaine learns much more than she bargained for.

Still haunted by the years she spent serving in the American Office of Strategic Services (OSS) during WWII, Kat soon finds a simple cookery class unearths the tangle of gut-wrenching memories of war and questions about the high-ranking society husband whose past is as murky as her own. But when the puzzle pieces start to come together--and her carefully crafted Paris world begins to fall apart--Kat must confront her own secrets against the mounting suspicions of the husband she thought she knew . . .

Rue, 1943 -- Deep in the heart of Nazi-controlled northern France, Manon Altier shifts between working for the enemy by day--as a French chef at the famous Château du Broutel, where names like Himmler, Rommel, and Goebbels frequent the guest list--and running with underground networks against the Vichy regime at night. Working undercover to filter information to agents within the burgeoning OSS, Manon digs deep into the glitz and glamour of a Nazi stronghold that has her teetering on the edge of being discovered at any turn. But when an intriguing stranger appears at the chateau claiming to work with the French Resistance, Manon must lean on her instincts to judge whether to run and hide or stand firm--even as a terrifying discovery tests her resolve to continue the fight.

From the heights of culinary cuisine in 1950s Paris society to the underbelly of a WWII spy network embedded deep within Nazi-controlled Vichy France--and the spy backstory of the world's most famous would-be French chef, Julia Child--The French Kitchen turns up the heat on the pasts of women whose worlds collide, and forces each to question what she thought she'd planned for a perfect future.

(synopsis from goodreads)

My Review:

I went back and forth on how to go about writing this review as this book didn't end up being anything like what I was hoping for. I was a huge fan of Kristy Cambron's Lost Castle trilogy, and ever since I've been picking up her books looking for a new story to love as much as those ones, only to usually end up disappointed. While there were certain components I enjoyed about this one, it wasn't the story I was truly wanting, and it ended up feeling a little lackluster in my eyes.

I will say I definitely seem to be in the minority as it seems most readers so far have loved this one, but I struggled to get invested in the story until about two thirds of the way through.

What I Liked:

I adored the bits and pieces including Julia Childs. I've always been kind of fascinated by her and her story, and I especially loved getting to hear more tidbits about her work with the OSS, and how she adapted to life after the war.

I surprisingly enjoyed the romances. Even though I didn't truly care for either main character, I thought both romances were sweetly developed, and went a bit of an unusual route which was a nice change for the story.

The focus on French cuisine, and the descriptions of the women learning to make new recipes was a fun touch, and that was one element I was hoping for when I picked this book up, so was pleased that it was included.

Lastly, I enjoyed the last third or so of the story (other than the weird plot twist near the end), as it was a lot more enjoyable to read about, and the character's voices finally sounded different enough that I could figure out who was who.

What I Didn't Like:

I don't want this review to be as long as the book itself, so I'm going to try my best and summarize these points quickly as there were quite a few of them.

The timeline and pacing were extremely hard to follow, and it put me off on wanting to pick this one up. The story dragged in so many places, and many bits of it were honestly kind of boring. 

The plot twist at the end was completely out of the blue, and didn't seem developed enough to be believable.

The main characters were both slightly unlikeable, and their voices sounded so similar that I had a hard time keeping up with who was telling the story in various chapters.

The shifts between time periods were not written well, and it made the entire story seem kind of disjointed.

The ending was too rushed, and just when I felt I'd actually started enjoying the story, it was suddenly over and I was left with more questions that answers.

And lastly, this is marketed as Christian fiction, but it's another title where the faith element is non existent. Considering the horrific circumstances the characters are finding themselves in, I thought it would have been a heartwarming touch to see them leaning into their faith despite not knowing what was to come. It just felt like a bit of a missed opportunity.

Overall, this was another World War Two historical fiction title that was a bit of a miss for me, and I've getting a little warn out on this genre. It used to be a favorite, but I just haven't read many great titles within this genre as of late. That being said, a lot of other reviewers have loved this one, so if dual timeline novels set during this time period are your preference, then definitely still give this one a try.

Final Rating: 3/5.

Thanks so much to Thomas Nelson for allowing me to read and review this one!

I voluntarily read and reviewed a complimentary advance reader copy of this novel from the publisher (Thomas Nelson) via NetGalley. I was not required to give a positive review. All thoughts and opinions are my own, and this is my honest review.

Thanks so much for reading guys! Have a great rest of your day :)