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3.65 AVERAGE
3.65 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Sometimes the language would go back and forth from Madeline’s thoughts to third person and I found it kind of chunky? Story was lovely. I could not imagine being a 19yo widowed mother. The horror.
Hard to put down. Fast read. Delightfully well-written.
One of my favorite historical eras is the Edwardian period, and that makes one my favorite movies Titanic. Whenever I see a novel about either of those topics, I immediately run to check it out. I know all about the prominent families of the time, including the Astors, and Madeleine Astor’s story even had a glimpse of acknowledgement in the movie (“quite the scandal”). So I definitely wanted to hear what her story was and judge for myself.
Aside from all of the wonderful descriptive details in this novel, I thought the author did a very nice job humanizing Madeleine as not a naïve gold-digger (an oxymoron in of itself), but of a girl of the time who was simply in love. She was unsure of herself a lot of the time, but found herself completed by someone, and that is a true story of love, no matter the time or age. As the story contains the entirety of their love, from the before times to the birth of their son post-Titanic, I enjoyed hearing all the little details of their love story and I now have a kinder respect for Madeleine Force Astor, definitely one to be reckoned with.
Aside from all of the wonderful descriptive details in this novel, I thought the author did a very nice job humanizing Madeleine as not a naïve gold-digger (an oxymoron in of itself), but of a girl of the time who was simply in love. She was unsure of herself a lot of the time, but found herself completed by someone, and that is a true story of love, no matter the time or age. As the story contains the entirety of their love, from the before times to the birth of their son post-Titanic, I enjoyed hearing all the little details of their love story and I now have a kinder respect for Madeleine Force Astor, definitely one to be reckoned with.
I have never cried so much while reading a book. A beautiful love story. Absolutely devastating.
It was meh - I didn't have any strong feelings in either direction. I didn't not like it. Probably another book that had I been reading a physical book at home rather than listening to the audiobook in the car, it would have landed on the DNF pile. I was expecting a story about the Titanic where I got to learn a little more about the insanely wealthy Astors, tied up in a cutesy romance story where the main character struggled to find her footing in society, so it's not like I went in with lofty expectations. I wanted fluff, but fun fluff. This was, honestly, a bit dull for much of it, and it had a weird rhythm. I kept thinking I must have gotten so bored I drifted off and missed something, because it would go sloooowwww then jump ahead really fast. They're in Egypt drifting down the Nile, lamenting a lost dog (and no, the author doesn't "show" you any of Egypt), and then BAM! they're in Paris. What? This book is billed a "novel of the Titanic" but it took what seemed an eternity to get to the Titanic, and the damn boat sank before you had time to climb aboard and look around, not that the author would have bothered describing any of it her her readers. Seriously, the Titanic is one of the most recognizable historical ships, thanks to the undersea camera exploration and recreation done in the 90's and the movie that I know I couldn't escape for all of high school. You'd think it would have been easy to give more description than "the electric elevators were always crowded" or "it looked more like a grand hotel than a ship." I suppose I may have been expecting lit fic when I unknowingly picked up a romance novel, but I think it was more that I was expecting more "Titanic" from a book that has "A Novel of the Titanic" printed right on the cover as if it were a subtitle. But, meh. I do not recommend.
Madeline came from a moderately wealthy family and was as surprised as anyone when John Jacob Astor, IV fell in love with her. The two married, scandalizing the elite of New England. Due to the hounding of the press, the two went on extended honeymoon to the Middle East and returned on the Titanic when he tragically died.
Abe was a masterful storyteller. She really brought Madeline's thoughts and emotions to life. Pacing was excellent. It was a little distracting at first some parts were written in first person and others in third. Once I got a feel for when the switches would happen, it wasn't as jarring.
Abe was a masterful storyteller. She really brought Madeline's thoughts and emotions to life. Pacing was excellent. It was a little distracting at first some parts were written in first person and others in third. Once I got a feel for when the switches would happen, it wasn't as jarring.
adventurous
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This book was fine, though it was a little boring at times, almost more like a textbook than a historical fiction. Unfortunately the Astors didn't dazzle me much and every time I thought about their age gap I almost put the book down (I know it's based on a real story but the 30 year gap is a LOT). If you want a book about the Titanic, this is not it haha. They got on the Titanic at 60% and it was sunk by 80%. It was much more about their courtship than anything.
3.5 stars. I wanted to know a lot more about her life after Titanic.
emotional
tense
medium-paced