Author: Beatriz Williams
Publication Date: May 27, 2014
Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons
Passion,
redemption, and a battered suitcase full of secrets: the New York
Times-bestselling author of A Hundred Summers returns with another engrossing
tale.
Manhattan, 1964. Vivian Schuyler, newly graduated from Bryn Mawr College, has recently defied the privilege of her storied old Fifth Avenue family to do the unthinkable for a budding Kennedy-era socialite: break into the Mad Men world of razor-stylish Metropolitan magazine. But when she receives a bulky overseas parcel in the mail, the unexpected contents draw her inexorably back into her family’s past, and the hushed-over crime passionnel of an aunt she never knew, whose existence has been wiped from the record of history.
Berlin, 1914. Violet Schuyler Grant endures her marriage to the philandering and decades-older scientist Dr. Walter Grant for one reason: for all his faults, he provides the necessary support to her liminal position as a young American female physicist in prewar Germany. The arrival of Dr. Grant’s magnetic former student at the beginning of Europe’s fateful summer interrupts this delicate détente. Lionel Richardson, a captain in the British Army, challenges Violet to escape her husband’s perverse hold, and as the world edges into war and Lionel’s shocking true motives become evident, Violet is tempted to take the ultimate step to set herself free and seek a life of her own conviction with a man whose cause is as audacious as her own.
As the iridescent and fractured Vivian digs deeper into her aunt’s past and the mystery of her ultimate fate, Violet’s story of determination and desire unfolds, shedding light on the darkness of her years abroad . . . and teaching Vivian to reach forward with grace for the ambitious future––and the love––she wants most.
Manhattan, 1964. Vivian Schuyler, newly graduated from Bryn Mawr College, has recently defied the privilege of her storied old Fifth Avenue family to do the unthinkable for a budding Kennedy-era socialite: break into the Mad Men world of razor-stylish Metropolitan magazine. But when she receives a bulky overseas parcel in the mail, the unexpected contents draw her inexorably back into her family’s past, and the hushed-over crime passionnel of an aunt she never knew, whose existence has been wiped from the record of history.
Berlin, 1914. Violet Schuyler Grant endures her marriage to the philandering and decades-older scientist Dr. Walter Grant for one reason: for all his faults, he provides the necessary support to her liminal position as a young American female physicist in prewar Germany. The arrival of Dr. Grant’s magnetic former student at the beginning of Europe’s fateful summer interrupts this delicate détente. Lionel Richardson, a captain in the British Army, challenges Violet to escape her husband’s perverse hold, and as the world edges into war and Lionel’s shocking true motives become evident, Violet is tempted to take the ultimate step to set herself free and seek a life of her own conviction with a man whose cause is as audacious as her own.
As the iridescent and fractured Vivian digs deeper into her aunt’s past and the mystery of her ultimate fate, Violet’s story of determination and desire unfolds, shedding light on the darkness of her years abroad . . . and teaching Vivian to reach forward with grace for the ambitious future––and the love––she wants most.
“Youth is wasted
on the young.”
“All men are
brutes.”
“I thought, how
magical, the first glimspe of snow. By March I would be sick of it, but here in
this November instant those tiny flakes swirled with the unspeakable purity of
a divine gift.”
I discovered that I love Beatriz Williams a little
earlier in 2015 and I cannot stop now until I have read every book she has
written. Did I mention that she has another book releasing in November of this
year? I am so pumped! Anyway, I found out about this book after reading Tiny Little Thing, which released in
June of this year. These books follow three sisters, the Schyler sisters, and the
last book that is coming out later this year will focus on the last sister;
however, they are not a series and can be read as standalone novels; it just
makes it so much more fun to compare the girls and know their backstories. This
particular novel was not as good as the previous one that I read this year, but
it was still enough to keep me enticed and needless to say I finished a five
hundred page book in two days, so you know it was still jaw-dropping. I was
intrigued by the synopsis because of the missing person aspect and because I was
so excited to see how Vivian would compare to her sister Christina; night and
day difference!
Even though I enjoyed Christina’s story better
in Tiny Little Thing, Vivian’s story
was still so wonderfully written and enchanting. Vivian is a brilliant character;
she is bold and courageous in a time when women were still inferior to men. She
is daring and takes risks, which is precisely how she ends up on a goose chase
trying to find her great aunt who has been missing for years and years and has
already been written off by their family. This historical fiction novel has a
little something for everyone: war, murder, romance, unexpected twists and turns,
suspense and intrigue. The chapters parallel between Vivian in 1964 and her
aunt Violet in 1914 before the start of World War I. It was hard to trust any character
in this book, which made it all the more fun to read. Some of the characters
make jaw-dropping decisions and will surprise you around every corner. This was
the perfect beach read!
***A free copy of this book was provided to me
by the publishers at G.P. Putnam’s Sons in exchange for my honest review***
This sounds really good and I am loving all of the books set around WWI, recently!
ReplyDeleteKate @ Ex Libris