Saturday 19 December 2015

Review: The Forgotten Room by Karen White, Beatriz Williams, & Lauren Willig


New York Times bestselling authors Karen White, Beatriz Williams, and Lauren Willig present a masterful collaboration—a rich, multigenerational novel of love and loss that spans half a century....

1945: When the critically wounded Captain Cooper Ravenal is brought to a private hospital on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, young Dr. Kate Schuyler is drawn into a complex mystery that connects three generations of women in her family to a single extraordinary room in a Gilded Age mansion.

Who is the woman in Captain Ravenel's portrait miniature who looks so much like Kate?  And why is she wearing the ruby pendant handed down to Kate by her mother?  In their pursuit of answers, they find themselves drawn into the turbulent stories of Gilded Age Olive Van Alen, driven from riches to rags, who hired out as a servant in the very house her father designed, and Jazz Age Lucy Young, who came from Brooklyn to Manhattan in pursuit of the father she had never known.  But are Kate and Cooper ready for the secrets that will be revealed in the Forgotten Room?

The Forgotten Room, set in alternating time periods, is a sumptuous feast of a novel brought to vivid life by three brilliant storytellers.


Hardcover, 384 pages
Expected publication: January 19th 2016 by NAL
 
Terri's Thoughts

** I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.  The expected publication is January 19th, 2016**

I have to admit that I was quite excited to get my hands on this story.  I am not a stranger to Karen White's work and have enjoyed everything of hers that I have read thus far.  William's and Willig are new to me however I loved the concept of three authors collaborating on one story.

I can only assume that each author was telling the story of one of the female characters in the story.  Olive in 1892, Lucy in 1920 or Kate in 1945.  I do not know who wrote each story however you do see a difference with each.  For example, the story of Kate was written in the first person while Olive and Lucy were not.  It took a little getting used to however the story drew me in enough to overshadow it.

I will not go in to the plot details as this would ruin a good story.  Fan's of historical fiction will enjoy this.  Fans of tragic multi-generational love stories will love it.  If heartbreaking love stories are you thing, you guessed it...you will love this.

The best part of this story is how the three storylines blend together to reveal the stories and secrets over time.  How the plot blends families and circumstance and how history repeats itself. How all of the secrets are not discovered at once.  I was swept away with each of the characters and I wanted them each to get their happy ending.  As is common with these stories there is a mix of romance and tragedy, to which I am a complete sucker.

If these authors choose to collaborate again I will be the first in line to read the next story.  If they don't, I have discovered some new authors, and old favorites to add to my reading list.  I am so thankful I was given the opportunity to preview this story.

 
 
About the Authors
 

Karen White

Website
Twitter


No information found on Beatriz Williams or Lauren Willig


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