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3.65 AVERAGE
3.65 AVERAGE
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
So I didn't enjoy this book. Honestly the only reason I persevered was because it was for a reading challenge.
The book follows Madeleine Force and Jack Astor and their courtship. Obviously they are on the Titanic and the Titanic sinks. The scenes where the Titanic sinks are quite emotional and moving. Obviously there is tremendous loss of life and it is tragic, however I think all my feelings in relation to this were in relation to the sinking of the Titanic was sad rather than due to any virtue of the book.
Normally in a book, I like to have some kind of challenge that the characters overcome and there is some kind of personal growth. In fairness Madeleine does face challenges. She struggles with the press, she struggles with adjusting to be the wife of Jack and she also struggles with pregnancy (she is pregnant at the time the Titanic sinks) and then obviously she struggles with the aftermath of the sinking. However my issue was that there was no actual time given to actually understanding the impact of these struggles or how she overcomes them and I found that I didn't really care. It's weird because you're told that Madeleine is struggling with the press but you can't tell from her actions that she is struggling.
I found the writing difficult, it just seemed a bit unnecessary and I found it a bit dull and I didn't feel engaged or excited to read it.
One thing that I felt was dealt with really really well was after the ship sinks, the ladies are in the lifeboat and Maddy and another female persuade the sailors in the boat to go back and rescue survivors and I did feel that that was dealt with nicely.
The book follows Madeleine Force and Jack Astor and their courtship. Obviously they are on the Titanic and the Titanic sinks. The scenes where the Titanic sinks are quite emotional and moving. Obviously there is tremendous loss of life and it is tragic, however I think all my feelings in relation to this were in relation to the sinking of the Titanic was sad rather than due to any virtue of the book.
Normally in a book, I like to have some kind of challenge that the characters overcome and there is some kind of personal growth. In fairness Madeleine does face challenges. She struggles with the press, she struggles with adjusting to be the wife of Jack and she also struggles with pregnancy (she is pregnant at the time the Titanic sinks) and then obviously she struggles with the aftermath of the sinking. However my issue was that there was no actual time given to actually understanding the impact of these struggles or how she overcomes them and I found that I didn't really care. It's weird because you're told that Madeleine is struggling with the press but you can't tell from her actions that she is struggling.
I found the writing difficult, it just seemed a bit unnecessary and I found it a bit dull and I didn't feel engaged or excited to read it.
One thing that I felt was dealt with really really well was after the ship sinks, the ladies are in the lifeboat and Maddy and another female persuade the sailors in the boat to go back and rescue survivors and I did feel that that was dealt with nicely.
emotional
informative
lighthearted
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I couldn’t get over the age difference and grooming of a young child for wealth
For as long as I can remember, I have been enamored with the tragedy of the Titanic. I have watched countless films and read countless books. I have researched and attempted to understand what went wrong. So of course, I had to read this book. The fictionalized account of a the tragic love story of J. J. Astor and his second wife, Madeleine. They were a topic of controversy from the start because of their age gap (recall Rose telling Jack about them in the film The Titanic). The book was an easy read until the author pulled out all the stops to describe the horrific sinking of the ship and all the tragedy that followed. I felt haunted to my core. The lack of detail in the rest of the book was recovered in those last few chapters. It may not be a book I read again but it is a book I will remember for a long time to come.
I really enjoyed the book and the characters!
I would have liked to learn more from Jack’s perspective. I also expected it to cover more of Madeline’s life after the Titanic, which I expected from the book description.
I would have liked to learn more from Jack’s perspective. I also expected it to cover more of Madeline’s life after the Titanic, which I expected from the book description.
4.75/5 - okay this was SO good!!!! I’ve checked this out on my kindle several times and never got around to it and I’m so glad I finally did! This was such a well researched historical fiction novel. The writing was just beautiful. The dialogue, the descriptions of rooms and scenes, the pace, the characters.. honestly no notes. I was hanging on every word. I think taking on something as big as the titanic in a novel is hard to do and I think the author executed it perfectly. I also loved that the characters are real life people - the Wikipedia rabbit hole post-read has been fascinating. All historical fiction lovers need to read this one!
Book Review……The Second Mrs. Astor by Shana Abe
Madeleine Talmage Force is beautiful, intelligent and solidly upper class. At Seventeen-years-old Madeleine falls head long in love with the dashing and industrious, a hero of the Spanish-American war, an inventor, and a canny businessman Jack Astor. And because his mother Mrs. Astor was considered American royalty and New York's most formidable socialite and the scandal of Jack’s recent divorce, and their twenty-nine year age difference Madeleine becomes the press's favorite target.
Madeleine finally feels alive for the first time in her life and happily pregnant but when the swift, state-of-the-art RMS Titanic hits an iceberg while returning from their honeymoon in Egypt her life will be forever changed. As Jack helps Madeleine into a lifeboat, he assures her that he’ll see her soon in New York. Four months later, Madeleine is a widow and gives birth to their son alone. But Madeleine’s most important decision still lies ahead: whether to accept the role assigned to her, or carve out her own remarkable path…
What a beautiful and enchanting love story! With vivid descriptions and the research that went into this book the read gets a great feel for the time and setting. It was interesting to see how Madeleine captured Jack's heart and surprising how she was looked at and treated just because she didn't come from money and was his second wife. But also I was fascinated by the relationship between Madeline Astor and Margaret Brown. That's right the Unsinkable Molly Brown makes an appearance! It is obviously a tragic love story but even knowing what was going to happen didn't take away from the beautiful writing and wonderful story that Shana Abe has delivered us!
Madeleine Talmage Force is beautiful, intelligent and solidly upper class. At Seventeen-years-old Madeleine falls head long in love with the dashing and industrious, a hero of the Spanish-American war, an inventor, and a canny businessman Jack Astor. And because his mother Mrs. Astor was considered American royalty and New York's most formidable socialite and the scandal of Jack’s recent divorce, and their twenty-nine year age difference Madeleine becomes the press's favorite target.
Madeleine finally feels alive for the first time in her life and happily pregnant but when the swift, state-of-the-art RMS Titanic hits an iceberg while returning from their honeymoon in Egypt her life will be forever changed. As Jack helps Madeleine into a lifeboat, he assures her that he’ll see her soon in New York. Four months later, Madeleine is a widow and gives birth to their son alone. But Madeleine’s most important decision still lies ahead: whether to accept the role assigned to her, or carve out her own remarkable path…
What a beautiful and enchanting love story! With vivid descriptions and the research that went into this book the read gets a great feel for the time and setting. It was interesting to see how Madeleine captured Jack's heart and surprising how she was looked at and treated just because she didn't come from money and was his second wife. But also I was fascinated by the relationship between Madeline Astor and Margaret Brown. That's right the Unsinkable Molly Brown makes an appearance! It is obviously a tragic love story but even knowing what was going to happen didn't take away from the beautiful writing and wonderful story that Shana Abe has delivered us!
