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A review by mysterefantasy
The Lions of Fifth Avenue by Fiona Davis
5.0
There’s nothing better than a well-written historical novel with two time-lines and strong women characters. “The Lions of Fifth Avenue” gives the reader all of this and more.
In this book, the central character is the New York Public Library located on Fifth Avenue. The lions of the title are the two iconic lions that grace the steps to the entrance of the library. Davis perfectly captures the sense of awe people entering the building for the first time feel.
The author also gives us two strong women, one, Laura Lyons, living in the library in 1913 and other, Sadie Donovan, is the granddaughter of Laura and lives 80 years later. As the book progresses both characters are fleshed out to the point of readers feeling like they “know” both these women. You can feel the boredom of Laura who wants and needs to be more than just a housewife. She has an opportunity to attend the new Columbia University School of Journalism, but her husband, the Superintendent of NY Public Library, tells her she can’t. The reader can sense the resentment Laura begins to feel when she is treated like a child. Sadie Donovan, in 1993, has worked hard to achieve her goals. When she is promoted to curate an exhibition of items in the renown Berg Collection, she believes she has arrived. However, things begin to go badly when rare books in the collection begin disappearing.
Davis has written a book that will intrigue the reader from page one to the last page. Her plotting is carefully managed moving between 1913 and 1993 with ease and without leaving the reader wondering where she is. Her characters are both likable and complex. The descriptions of the library will have you believing you’ve been there even if you’ve never visited it before.
If you like well-written historical novels with strong women characters with touches of romance and mystery, this book is for you and it deserves to be at the top of your to-be-read list.
My thanks to Minotaur and Edelweiss for an eARC.
In this book, the central character is the New York Public Library located on Fifth Avenue. The lions of the title are the two iconic lions that grace the steps to the entrance of the library. Davis perfectly captures the sense of awe people entering the building for the first time feel.
The author also gives us two strong women, one, Laura Lyons, living in the library in 1913 and other, Sadie Donovan, is the granddaughter of Laura and lives 80 years later. As the book progresses both characters are fleshed out to the point of readers feeling like they “know” both these women. You can feel the boredom of Laura who wants and needs to be more than just a housewife. She has an opportunity to attend the new Columbia University School of Journalism, but her husband, the Superintendent of NY Public Library, tells her she can’t. The reader can sense the resentment Laura begins to feel when she is treated like a child. Sadie Donovan, in 1993, has worked hard to achieve her goals. When she is promoted to curate an exhibition of items in the renown Berg Collection, she believes she has arrived. However, things begin to go badly when rare books in the collection begin disappearing.
Davis has written a book that will intrigue the reader from page one to the last page. Her plotting is carefully managed moving between 1913 and 1993 with ease and without leaving the reader wondering where she is. Her characters are both likable and complex. The descriptions of the library will have you believing you’ve been there even if you’ve never visited it before.
If you like well-written historical novels with strong women characters with touches of romance and mystery, this book is for you and it deserves to be at the top of your to-be-read list.
My thanks to Minotaur and Edelweiss for an eARC.