A review by gharv03
The Lions of Fifth Avenue by Fiona Davis

2.0

I was hoping for much more from this book. Disappointingly I found the historical elements to be lacking nuance and depth, especially in regards to early feminism and the fight for women’s equity. This early aspect of the book really turned me off from the rest of it. An example of the lack of care was when the author casually slipped Margret Sanger into the plot as someone the characters meet along the way and are inspired by. Davis glamorizes Sanger and moves on quickly without offering any context such as Sanger’s racist harmful past with eugenics. I wish Davis dug deeper into these themes instead of skimming along the surface and only shining a light on white women.

Overall i found it to be a slow read, with an interesting twist at the end but not one that left any lasting impression on me. The characters were difficult to remember and the way the plot moved between time zones was done in a way that was confusing and hard to follow. Not my fav read of 2021