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3.31 AVERAGE
3.31 AVERAGE
Great for downton abbey lovers. Full of class intrigue and Victorian ideals.
Wonderful world in which to immerse oneself for a long weekend.
Entertaining, easy summer read. The ladies maid character was more compelling than the main character's, but I enjoyed jumping into a "Downton Abbey" type world.
I really enjoyed this! This book was everything I wanted: full of dramatic romance and snobby aristocrats. I, personally, thoroughly enjoy anything to do with snobby rich people, especially if it's in a 19th/early 20th century setting. It's a guilty pleasure for me in a sense. The American Heiress hit everything that I really enjoy about the time period. I don't know how else to explain why I like it other than I just enjoy the genre.
I will say, however, that this book is kind of pointless. Unless you really like rich people problems like I do, I don't think you'll like this book. There's no real plot to this at all. Sure, there's a 'mystery' surrounding Ivo but that's not really a major part of the story. At the end something happens that's really interesting but then the book ends. It's like the ending was the middle of the story. It just stopped when the conflict started. Things do get resolved, I guess, but not in a satisfying way. I wish that Goodwin either made this a series or would have put that part earlier in the book. The way it ended left me wanting more resolution.
I really recommend this to Downton Abbey fans or people who love a good poor little rich girl story. I think you'd have to really like rich people and 19th century British aristocrats to really get anything from the story.
I will say, however, that this book is kind of pointless. Unless you really like rich people problems like I do, I don't think you'll like this book. There's no real plot to this at all. Sure, there's a 'mystery' surrounding Ivo but that's not really a major part of the story. At the end something happens that's really interesting but then the book ends. It's like the ending was the middle of the story. It just stopped when the conflict started. Things do get resolved, I guess, but not in a satisfying way. I wish that Goodwin either made this a series or would have put that part earlier in the book. The way it ended left me wanting more resolution.
I really recommend this to Downton Abbey fans or people who love a good poor little rich girl story. I think you'd have to really like rich people and 19th century British aristocrats to really get anything from the story.
The American Heiress by Daisy Goodwin
Rating: 3.75/5
I listened to this book for a couple of reasons. 1) It was compared to Downton Abbey, which I loved, and 2) because it's narrated by one of my all time favorite narrators, Katherine Kellgren. Kellgren's narration is wonderful as always and she gives a nice range of characters which I enjoyed. She really makes books to come life! The story itself was good but I also felt it was missing something. At first Cora is difficult to like, but she grew on me as the book went on. I felt bad for her humiliation and wanted her to succeed in England society. The ending was was threw me off though. I felt like it wrapped up without much hope and I kept thinking "That's it? After all that, that's the end??" I would have liked a bit more something in the end-and honestly I couldn't even tell you what that was, only that it fell a bit flat for me. But I would recommend the book to readers who like historical soaps and are fans of The Luxe Series.
Rating: 3.75/5
I listened to this book for a couple of reasons. 1) It was compared to Downton Abbey, which I loved, and 2) because it's narrated by one of my all time favorite narrators, Katherine Kellgren. Kellgren's narration is wonderful as always and she gives a nice range of characters which I enjoyed. She really makes books to come life! The story itself was good but I also felt it was missing something. At first Cora is difficult to like, but she grew on me as the book went on. I felt bad for her humiliation and wanted her to succeed in England society. The ending was was threw me off though. I felt like it wrapped up without much hope and I kept thinking "That's it? After all that, that's the end??" I would have liked a bit more something in the end-and honestly I couldn't even tell you what that was, only that it fell a bit flat for me. But I would recommend the book to readers who like historical soaps and are fans of The Luxe Series.
A lovely capture of the times
Great insight into the lives of the people who created American palaces like those in Newport, and their effect on the palaces of Europe. I think my thoughts on Cora and her marriage will linger for some time.
Great insight into the lives of the people who created American palaces like those in Newport, and their effect on the palaces of Europe. I think my thoughts on Cora and her marriage will linger for some time.
adventurous
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
I liked this book. Being a huge history buff (especially in this area of history), I jumped at the opportunity to read it.
My thoughts:
-I like Cora. She was a modern, independent woman (within reason) before women were allowed to have their own minds and opinions. I was particularly happy when Ivo proposed to her.
-Ivo, although conflicted throughout the entire story, is a good man. He never wanted to be Duke of Wareham, he just wanted to be Ivo. And though towards the end of the book, I wanted to jump into the story and smack him around, I still liked him as a person.
This book is tough to get through in parts, but I stuck with it, wanting to know how it ended. And I was glad I did, because I transported to the 1890s, and although I couldn't experience the actual sights and sounds, I felt like I was there somewhat.
My thoughts:
-I like Cora. She was a modern, independent woman (within reason) before women were allowed to have their own minds and opinions. I was particularly happy when Ivo proposed to her.
-Ivo, although conflicted throughout the entire story, is a good man. He never wanted to be Duke of Wareham, he just wanted to be Ivo. And though towards the end of the book, I wanted to jump into the story and smack him around, I still liked him as a person.
This book is tough to get through in parts, but I stuck with it, wanting to know how it ended. And I was glad I did, because I transported to the 1890s, and although I couldn't experience the actual sights and sounds, I felt like I was there somewhat.
It was OK. I finished it and enjoyed parts of this book, but on the whole I found it too lightweight to be historical fiction and I found the writing underwhelming.
It's the story of Cora, one of the wealthiest young ladies in the US who marries a British Duke and marries into a society which, while it has many similarities to her American lifestyle, is just different enough to make her an outsider. Her Duke is impoverished, evasive and seemingly bi-polar, running hot and cold with her, and she is not sure that he married for anything more than her money.
I guess when a jacket of a book tells you that this is just the solution for Downton Abbey withdrawals, expectations run high, and this book just did not deliver. It was OK, but I can't say I really liked it.
It's the story of Cora, one of the wealthiest young ladies in the US who marries a British Duke and marries into a society which, while it has many similarities to her American lifestyle, is just different enough to make her an outsider. Her Duke is impoverished, evasive and seemingly bi-polar, running hot and cold with her, and she is not sure that he married for anything more than her money.
I guess when a jacket of a book tells you that this is just the solution for Downton Abbey withdrawals, expectations run high, and this book just did not deliver. It was OK, but I can't say I really liked it.
This was not great literature but was well written and an engaging story of an American heiress marrying an English duke and reconciling differences in lifestyle and expectations. A great view of the turn of the century England and great characterization of the Prince, aka Tum Tum. Would recommend as a quick, escape read.