The Bastille has fallen, and the king and queen of France are among the numerous casualties of the French Revolution. After three long years, almost daily trials and beheadings, the streets of Paris are still in turmoil. Jean-Luc, a young lawyer who very much wants to be part of the new France that will rise out of the Revolution’s ashes, moves his wife from the relative peace and quiet of Marseille to Paris. Living in a cramped attic apartment, he spends his days sorting through papers to make sure that ordinary citizens get what is due to them. It’s not exciting work, but he feels he is doing his part for the greater good.

André is the son of a deposed nobleman and actively takes part in the Revolution as a member of the new French army. A hero on the battlefield, but unhappy with the political twists and turns happening on the streets of Paris, he is caught between worlds --- he wants to speak up, but his background will quickly mark him a dissenter. He’s from a family that already has been greatly diminished thanks to the guillotine, and all he wants to do is keep his head attached. That is, until he falls in love with a woman whose prominent and powerful relatives have other thoughts about their growing relationship.

"What I truly enjoyed about this story is the perspective. While the Revolution looms large, it’s about the people fighting for a better country, for its citizens, for its future."

Paranoia runs rampant for everyone in Paris. André and his love, Sophie, share secret moments in the hope of one day being able to live a normal life together. Jean-Luc wants to do better for his wife, Marie, and their young son. They both find themselves brought together by the Revolution and, at the same time, pulled in several uncomfortable directions that could get them, and their loved ones, killed for a mere word of perceived dissent. When André is brought to trial, Jean-Luc is able to save him from the guillotine, but it means exile from his love. By taking on the case, Jean-Luc puts his own family in danger --- all of this in the name of a revolution that has stopped being about the people and once more is about the consolidation of power at the top.

I had the pleasure of reading another of Allison Pataki’s books, SISI, and was interested to see what she could do with the strife and unrest surrounding the French Revolution. She and her co-author, her brother Owen, have done a great job. The Revolution hangs in the background, menacing and dark, complete with relevant figures, but this story is so much than those bloody days. Jean-Luc and André are caught up in something much bigger than themselves, and while they see what a new France can bring to its people, they fear the bloodshed and brutality that now seems permanent.

What I truly enjoyed about this story is the perspective. While the Revolution looms large, it’s about the people fighting for a better country, for its citizens, for its future. The sacrifices are anything but tiny, but they don’t feel out of line with the characters, and you feel as if you’re part of their fight. It can be sad, and even infuriating at times, but it’s worth hanging on to every last word. Those who love historical fiction will want to add WHERE THE LIGHT FALLS to their reading list.