(Too bad Goodreads doesn't allow for ½ stars -- I'd give this 3½...) Two young idealists -- an attorney, Jean-Luc St. Clair, and a soldier (of aristocratic birth), André Valière -- and their loved ones are caught in the throes of the revolution tearing the fabric of French society in the 1790s. Both wish to serve their native country; both find it increasingly difficult when loyalties are questioned, strong men in power abuse their positions to settle personal vendettas, and the bloodthirsty crowds clamor for blood from Mme. Guillotine. Jean-Luc's idealism leads him to take two high-profile cases that can make (or break) his career -- and, potentially, end his life or those of his wife and young son. André's love for a young widowed aristocrat brings him into direct conflict with her uncle/guardian, a powerful general. Violence ensues as Jean-Luc and André find their lives intertwining. -- The authors do an excellent job in capturing the confusion and instability of the times, when people could be thrown into prison to await trial for the flimsiest of excuses. The twin set pieces at the end -- when both Jean-Luc's and André's respective stories reach their climax -- are exciting. Still, there is some intangible something that deprives the novel of its last bit of greatness. Marie St. Clair (Jean-Luc's wife) could do with more fleshing out. And the novel's epilogue -- set at Napoleon's coronation in 1804, while providing some closure for the reader with respect to the remaining major characters, feels tacked-on...and holds open the possibility of a sequel. ( )

This book was very good. I loved reading about the lives of our 4 protags along with the gruesome details of The French Revolution and more. If you are interested in French history, this is the book for you. This was an excellent historical fiction with lots of detail without being overdone.

Thanks to netgalley and Dial Press for this advanced readers copy. ( )

A solid historical novel set during the French Revolution, making it a must-read for me. The story focuses on four characters with intertwining stories - an idealistic young lawyer, a nobleman serving in the French army, a wife who secretly pens revolutionary pamphlets, and a widowed countess hoping to avoid arrest. Thoroughly enjoyable and well-paced, this book is recommended for historical fiction fans and anyone with a weakness for the French Revolution (like me)! ( )

This is a well researched, richly atmospheric telling of life in 1790s Paris. There are two threads woven throughout the story which ultimately align - the civilian vs military life of revolutionary Paris. Power is grossly abused; women, however bright and clever they are, are mere chattel and no one can be trusted. Neighbor rats out neighbor and fear permeates the souls of the living. Grateful to not be of that time - many challenges for sure. ( )

Six years after the official end to the American Revolution, the Parisian peasantry stormed the Bastille, the symbol of royal oppression, sparking the beginnings of the French Revolution. Three years later, the king and queen of France are in prison, held by the very subjects who once beheld them as the earthly equivalent of God. Anyone with noble blood faces persecution, prosecution, and most likely death at the hands of the people and their favorite instrument of death, the guillotine. Where the Light Falls opens at this grim juncture, a period in history that has almost no historical precedence for its violence and volatility.

The one thing Where the Light Falls does correctly, in my opinion, is show just how dangerous and confusing the Reign of Terror actually was for royalty and regular citizens alike. There is no attempt to romanticize the time period; life is miserable for virtually everyone at this time, from the lack of food to the dearth of lawfulness. Similarly, as the power shifts from Robespierre to The Directory, we see even the most humble of civilians live in fear of denouncement and a potential trip to la Guillotine. It is a chilling portrayal of this period in French history and provides a good counterpoint to those familiar with the American Revolution.

Any novel of this length suffers from weak characters, and Where the Light Falls does indeed suffer. There is a lot of attention to action and to famous characters with whom the trio interacts, but actual character development is in scarce supply. Sophie never evolves beyond the ornamental beauty of the story and the cause of most of the conflict between André and others. Jean-Luc’s idealism about the new republic follows a very predictable path of enthusiasm to concern to distrust as his career puts him courtside for the power struggle between Robespierre, his followers, and those who feel Robespierre is too lenient. André finds himself crossing paths with several real-life historical figures, all of whom have little to do with his story line outside of providing a fun diversion. There is no depth to these characters. What we know and understand about all three remains the same at the end as it does at the beginning.

There is a soap opera like quality to Where the Light Falls that diffuses the weightiness of the historical background, much to its detriment. André and Sophie’s relationship is passionate but sudden, arising almost overnight through a brief conversation at a party and evoking more than one chuckle at how melodramatic it becomes. The jealousy subplot is perfect for “Days of our Lives,” if it hasn’t already been done ten times already, complete with battle scenes and unlawful imprisonment and usurpation of power. The culminating showdown between André and his nemesis feels like it was scripted by the famous Cecil B. DeMille himself with its grandiose backdrop and Charlton Heston dialogue. Jean-Luc’s inner turmoil at his shifting sympathies towards the republic is worthy of any Erika Kane/Susan Lucci scene. While all three face danger, you never fear for their lives or worry that the various conflicts will not resolve themselves in any way but their favor.

The lack of character development and the lack of any real danger for the characters lessens the impact of the history lesson of the novel. We don’t know the characters on an intimate level and therefore never establish a connection with them. Plus, their stories are so predictable that we know that they are never in any danger. Even when it appears that André is going to be found guilty for nothing more than the family into which he was born, we know he is not going to lose his head. He is the main character, and there was way too much of the story left for one of the main characters to exit the novel forever.

As such, while the Patakis do present the French Revolution in its grim glory, we are still left wanting more. The rest of the story is a lark that just happens to occur during one of the bloodier eras in French history, and we only get to superficially experience it. There is much made of the suffering of others, the lack of food and heat, the abject poverty of a majority of the citizens of Paris, but our heroes do not experience this firsthand. They have food and money to buy wood to burn for warmth. They hobnob with the republican elite and take carriages around the city. Their lives are not reflective of the reasons behind the Revolution, and they provide us with no way to truly understand the desperation that caused the civilian population to rise up against the crown.

Where the Light Falls is a long novel that interminably drags. Without a connection to the three main characters, you are not vested in their welfare, making the story feel longer than it is. The story covers five years, and you feel each one of those years. If anything, the Patakis were a bit too ambitious in what they were trying to accomplish; the scope of what was happening in Paris, in France, and in Europe was just too big to encompass in one novel with three characters. These three characters are involved in so many key moments in French history and meet and interact with so many real historical figures that you do have to suspend disbelief to be able to power through certain scenes. I wanted to love Where the Light Falls because the French Revolution and the years before Napoleon crowns himself emperor are a fascinating period of history, but there are just too many things wrong with the characters and their subplots for me to have enjoyed it.