Birthright — Patricia Dixon

“Heart wrenching . . . I loved everything about it . . . an absolute gem of a read. . . . My best read for 2022.” -- Goodreads reviewer, five stars
 
A woman's quest to save her family's chateau in France brings danger, rivalry, and romance -- and reveals a secret buried since World War II . . .
 
1931: Ophélie receives a love letter from her admirer along with a gift: a priceless painting. Nine years later, the Nazis invade France and steal countless works of art, including Ophélie's gift . . .
 
Present day: Ophélie's grandson, Hugo, has run the family finances into the ground, and their Chateau is in danger of being sold. Fabienne, heiress to the estate, has hastily returned from London and is desperate to save her home.
 
Meanwhile, Mac, who has spent every summer in France with his late grandparents, inherits their cottage. When Mac returns, memories of happy times come flooding back -- along with guilt that he didn't return in time to say goodbye to his beloved grandfather.
 
When Mac and Fabienne are reunited, their attempts to rescue their futures risk plunging them into the darkness of the past -- and the dangers of the present . . .