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3.67 AVERAGE
3.67 AVERAGE
Another book set half in one time period and half in the present. While I like this format in theory, I think it is starting to be overdone. Too often one of them is engaging and the other falls flat. This is what happened here. Perhaps it is my history as a journalist that got in the way but Rose was not very believable as a reporter. Her actions were unethical and not well explained by the circumstances. I enjoyed the 1950s setting but the modern stuff failed the story.
You are only introduced to an author for the first time, once.
Read that again.
You are only introduced to an author, for the first time, once.
This is what I want you to think of when you hear the name Fiona Davis. Why? Because she is worth remembering from the start.
You remember that feeling? When you found a writer who didn’t change your life per se, but even better, she affirmed your love (obsession) of reading, and how the rest of life will simply have to wait?
“Sorry friend. Can’t. Reading. I still have another chapter before I can break away …”
Silly people. We don’t break away.
Enter Fiona Davis to my life. If she is new to you, too, please take a moment, breathe, reflect and soak her in.
You’ll only meet her for the first time once.
Why do I say this as often as I have? Because her books make me wish I could read them again for the first time.
Remember that feeling? It’s addictive. It’s a drug. It’s why our to-be-read pile is effing enormous and will only grow bigger.
The Dollhouse is Davis’ debut.
In The Dollhouse, the residents are all female and live in The Barbizon Hotel for Women. Restricted for women from 1927 - 1981, it was often nicknamed The Dollhouse.
It was advertised as the right kind of place for a young respectable career woman to meet the right kind of people. A hotel with a stern chaperone and a firm rule that gentlemen were confined to the ground floor. This stopped few women of course. But as you will read for yourself, The Barbizon is a character unto herself and a magnificent one at that.
I have always been a fan of well written historical fiction. Add NYC, magnificent historical buildings and strong women to the mix, then the novels by Fiona Davis are an embarrassment of riches.
To be honest, you don’t need to read her books in any particular order but I do wish I would have read this first. It would have set a tone and an expectation of what’s to come from her.
She gets better with each she writes.
Oh, Ms. Davis, you brilliant storyteller. You don’t ever disappoint.
Read that again.
You are only introduced to an author, for the first time, once.
This is what I want you to think of when you hear the name Fiona Davis. Why? Because she is worth remembering from the start.
You remember that feeling? When you found a writer who didn’t change your life per se, but even better, she affirmed your love (obsession) of reading, and how the rest of life will simply have to wait?
“Sorry friend. Can’t. Reading. I still have another chapter before I can break away …”
Silly people. We don’t break away.
Enter Fiona Davis to my life. If she is new to you, too, please take a moment, breathe, reflect and soak her in.
You’ll only meet her for the first time once.
Why do I say this as often as I have? Because her books make me wish I could read them again for the first time.
Remember that feeling? It’s addictive. It’s a drug. It’s why our to-be-read pile is effing enormous and will only grow bigger.
The Dollhouse is Davis’ debut.
In The Dollhouse, the residents are all female and live in The Barbizon Hotel for Women. Restricted for women from 1927 - 1981, it was often nicknamed The Dollhouse.
It was advertised as the right kind of place for a young respectable career woman to meet the right kind of people. A hotel with a stern chaperone and a firm rule that gentlemen were confined to the ground floor. This stopped few women of course. But as you will read for yourself, The Barbizon is a character unto herself and a magnificent one at that.
I have always been a fan of well written historical fiction. Add NYC, magnificent historical buildings and strong women to the mix, then the novels by Fiona Davis are an embarrassment of riches.
To be honest, you don’t need to read her books in any particular order but I do wish I would have read this first. It would have set a tone and an expectation of what’s to come from her.
She gets better with each she writes.
Oh, Ms. Davis, you brilliant storyteller. You don’t ever disappoint.
3.5 stars | This historical fiction novel weaves together two storylines - one set in 1950s New York City, and one in the present. As usual with these type of books, the individual stories are likely too weak to stand on their own, but I enjoyed the 1950s portion in particular. It was very easy to read (I finished it in 2 days), but there were several unbelievable developments and the ending was a little too neatly tied in a bow. Still, it was a good and entertaining read.
It was like reading a rom-com. Blech.
I wanted to like this book so much, the premise was fantastic, but the execution was more or less a Hallmark movie in book form. If you like Hallmark movies, it's fantastic.
I wanted to like this book so much, the premise was fantastic, but the execution was more or less a Hallmark movie in book form. If you like Hallmark movies, it's fantastic.
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
challenging
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Most of the characters I found to be unlikeable. Griff is a master manipulator and so is Esme. Darby doesn't know her worth, and Rose is too self-serving for my taste. These qualities work wonderfully, though, to weave the dual timeline story together with fascination about that changing roles of women in society and their own life decisions. I kept second guessing what really happened Halloween night of 1952 and who was staying in the apartment in 2016 - Darby or Esme. I love how one love story ended sweetly, while the other one was allowed to simmer to get solid footing first. Devouring this book took me only about 2 days. I forgot how well Fiona Davis writes historical fiction with mysterious intrigue, despite having already read 2 of her books.
This book was okay. If I picked it up as a fun summer read, or as a filler read between more serious books, I wouldn't have been so disappointed. It is what it is. But I picked this for the Daytime Fiction Discussion Group I lead at our local book store, and we read literary fiction. This is not literary fiction. This is....(I hate this term so much)....Chick Lit. There, I said it.
I picked this book for our group because it turned up on several lists of Must Reads, lists that included other great works of contemporary literary fiction. I expected so much more! But alas, it was a "fun" read riddled with cliches and plot holes that you could shoot a cannon through. I realize I'm not being totally fair here. But if I had picked this up for a fun summer read, I still would have given it 3 stars. I guess I don't understand why this ended up on the same Best of/Must Read lists that included books like Homegoing and Americanah. So my disappointment is not really with the book so much as with the marketing.
I picked this book for our group because it turned up on several lists of Must Reads, lists that included other great works of contemporary literary fiction. I expected so much more! But alas, it was a "fun" read riddled with cliches and plot holes that you could shoot a cannon through. I realize I'm not being totally fair here. But if I had picked this up for a fun summer read, I still would have given it 3 stars. I guess I don't understand why this ended up on the same Best of/Must Read lists that included books like Homegoing and Americanah. So my disappointment is not really with the book so much as with the marketing.