The Gown by Jennifer Robson

In the 1950s, two embroiderers, one of whom survived a Nazi concentration camp, work together on Princess Elizabeth's wedding gown in London. In the near present, a young woman's grandmother dies in Toronto and leaves her some embroidered flowers with beads and seed pearls but no explanation as to their origin. Where did the embroidered flowers come from and why did her grandmother leave them specifically for her? Heather's grandmother never shared how or why she ended up in Toronto. Why did she keep her past a secret? As Heather searches for the answers to the origin of the embroideries, the story of their creation and her grandmother's past unfolds in the historical timeline.

I was surprised how much I enjoyed The Gown. I thought it would be interesting (I obviously wouldn't have accepted it for review if I hadn't been intrigued by the storyline) but the concept of the historical/contemporary blend has been totally overdone in recent years and I often feel like they are more exhausting than enjoyable. That was not the case at all while reading The Gown. The focus is heavily on the two embroiderers, Miriam and Ann, how they came to work on the wedding gown, what it was like to be an embroiderer living during a time of strict rationing in post-WWII England, and what became of them after the royal wedding. Heather's story in contemporary Canada and England (where she travels in search of answers) is kept to a minimum, which keeps the back-and-forth sensation from becoming as tiresome as it often can be in a novel set in alternating time periods.

Throughout the reading, I occasionally found myself thinking the modern storyline could have been eliminated completely. But, it's not obtrusive and ended up adding a much-needed conclusion to the embroiderers' story, plus a surprisingly uplifting ending to the book. Because of that, I actually thought the book was better than it would have been if it had only focused on the historical.

Highly recommended - Charming characters, clearly well-researched historical setting, and a solid ending make The Gown a lovely, entertaining, and enlightening read. I enjoyed learning about the creation of Princess Elizabeth's gown, loved the vividness of the historical setting (definitely a "you were there" sensation to this book), and really appreciated the fact that the modern storyline ended up adding to the depth of the story rather than giving me the sensation of being repeatedly flung back and forth in time. An excellent read.

My thanks to HarperCollins for the Advance Reader Copy of The Gown.

©2019 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

Goodnight from London by Jennifer Robson

Ruby Sutton has only been working for The American, a weekly newspaper, for 6 months when she's offered a surprising chance that she can't possibly pass up: a job working for Picture Weekly in London. It's 1940 and the editor of Picture Weekly is interested in hiring an American reporter to add to his team. Ruby is the only reporter at The American with no family to leave behind. Her editor also is impressed with her writing skill.

Ruby is young and her turbulent past is not far behind her. She is thrilled to be in a new place with a fulfilling job and new friends, including a handsome and mysterious British officer, Captain Bennett, who frequently disappears to do secretive work for the government. London is dangerous and there are hardships she would have escaped, had she stayed home. But, Ruby quickly adapts. What will happen to Ruby and her friends as war drags on? Who will survive and who will become a casualty of war?

I've been struggling with how to share my thoughts about Goodnight from London because I don't want to be too negative about it but it did have some flaws - flaws, I should add, that I was willing to overlook because I simply enjoyed the sense of time and place enough that I desired to brush aside anything about the book that I disliked. Having said that, let's talk about the good and the bad.

What I liked about Goodnight from London:

Besides the descriptions of London, which I found very easy to visualize, I thought it was pretty clear that Jennifer Robson is an excellent researcher. She was meticulous about the WWII timeline and I even learned a few new things. For example, I'd never heard of the Durning Road Disaster in Liverpool - one of the places Ruby is sent to write about. And, I've been collecting books about WWII for eons but wasn't aware of Martha Gellhorn's writing. Really, that's quite a surprising oversight, when I think about it. I thought it was also pretty clear that she'd carefully studied which parts of London were bombed and when during the Blitz. So, the setting was very competently handled.

What I disliked about Goodnight from London:

In truth, there were only two things that really jumped out at me. One was that everything seemed far too easy for Ruby. I don't want to spoil anything so I'll try to keep it as generic as possible, but from the beginning of the book, when she's asked to take a job that anyone would jump at (who wouldn't want a plum writing position in London?) and she's chosen because she lacks a family and is just a naturally brilliant writer? Too much of a stretch. But, I understood this as set-up for the story, so I chose to just shrug it off and continue. And, then Ruby was picked up at the train station by a dashing man who clearly was instantly attracted to her.  This pattern continued. Some bad things happened but absolutely everything was far too easy for Ruby.

The second thing was a petty conversational quirk that almost all of the characters shared. Most readers probably won't even notice that; I have to work hard to get the editing portion of my brain to shut off, though, so it was slightly annoying.

Recommended - I still loved this book, flaws and all. It didn't matter that much of it was predictable, that everything seemed just a little too easy for Ruby, that almost everyone instantly loved her and she seemed far too perfect or even that the worst thing that happened to her was easily overcome because of her connections. I still enjoyed it immensely and absolutely loved the ending. Sometimes predictability can be a good thing and, in this case, the ending was very predictable but in a good way. Recommended to historical fiction fans, especially those who enjoy a WWII setting, and hopeless romantics.

©2017 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

Moonlight Over Paris by Jennifer Robson, plus a little Monday Malarkey

Moonlight Over Paris by Jennifer Robson is a very light historical romance set during the 1920s. Lady Helena comes close to death from an infection after a terrible bout with scarlet fever. While recovering, she realizes she has spent too much time not living after agreeing to end her engagement five years ago. A pariah since her engagement ended and her fiance married someone else, it's unlikely that she'll ever marry, now that she's in her late 20s. Nearly dying has made her determined to live; but, Helena feels she must leave England to do so.

Helena's Aunt Agnes lives in France. She's happy to accomodate Helena for a year and even suggests that she sign up at a local art school to work on developing her artistic talent. There, Helena makes new friends and is challenged. But, when an American journalist comes into her life and she finds herself slowly falling for him, it seems that she is destined for another heartbreak.

I'll be painfully honest about Moonlight Over Paris: I didn't find it a good read either from the standpoint of historical fiction or romance. It's merely average. Helena is from the upper class and her Aunt Agnes is even wealthier than Helena's family. Most of the book is about interaction with her painter friends, the meals they eat, the dresses she wears. Because of her wealth and because she's an artist, she's occasionally thrown into the path of various people of the time period's wealthy ex-pat artistic crowd.

Like the only other book I've read by Robson, Somewhere in France, the focus is not on the romance so much as the heroine's life. But, I found her daily life rather humdrum. I liked the interaction between Helena and her artist friends. However, there was a lot of telling instead of showing. For example, Helena would go to dinner with a group of people and then talk or think about what a sparkling conversation she'd had with so-and-so. But, the reader wasn't privy to the conversation, itself.

I did like the hero and love interest. But, again, something was missing. They occasionally had dates, maybe kissed a bit, but he kept his distance and I was unable to fully understand or buy into his storyline. Until the end, he really didn't share his concerns with Helena, explain why he was really in Paris, or tell her why he was unwilling to commit. It does, however, have the ending of a typical romance, so romance lovers may be willing to overlook its flaws for the joy of the happy ending.

Recommended to a specific audience - If you're a fan of historical romance and like a decent sense of place, very light writing, and a happy ending, chances are good you'll enjoy Moonlight Over Paris. I wouldn't tell anyone to avoid the book but I also wouldn't heartily recommend it to someone who is looking for more depth. I finished the book because I needed a mental break from Lolita and I don't regret reading it. However, I thought Moonlight Over Paris was weak by comparison with Robson's first release, Somewhere in France.

On to Malarkey:

I didn't receive a single book in the mail, last week, and Moonlight Over Paris was the only book I finished. I'm still reading Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov and Don't Even Think About It by George Marshall and will probably add another fiction read, soon, to continue breaking up the reading of Lolita, which frankly makes my skin crawl.

Last week's posts:

• Fiona Friday - Lazy day (cat photo)
• Sherlock: Chronicles by Steve Tribe (book review)

Cat-wise:

The cats are still separated most of the time and occasionally they've come close to harmony through the slats of their gazebo, when one or the other is inside. We don't think they're quite ready to spend time together, though. It's going to be a slow process. Now and then, we have a setback in which one or the other will growl or hiss. Night is really the worst time because they both want to be in the bedroom with me. Whoever is stuck outside the door will end up scratching at the door, howling and trying to open it. I'm not getting a lot of sleep. Fingers are crossed that they'll be able to hang out together, soon.

©2016 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery  or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

Somewhere in France by Jennifer Robson

Somewhere in France by Jennifer Robson is the story of Lady Elizabeth Neville-Ashford, aka "Lily" and it is historical fiction but the main storyline is a romance (fair warning for those who dislike romantic themes). I don't mind a bit of romance in a storyline, provided the story is well written. Fortunately, Somewhere in France is very good.  Set just before and during WWI, Lily's story begins at a dance where her mother is trying to steer her toward marriage with an acceptable man from her class. The only man who has ever really sparked her interest, though, is a Scottish doctor with a downscale background, Robert Fraser or "Robbie". Robbie works at a London hospital and he's friends with Lily's brother.

When WWI begins, Robbie immediately signs up to work on the front lines. Lily writes to him but she wants to be a part of the war effort and not by merely rolling bandages while remaining in luxury. She wants to become a nurse.  Her parents, however, are staunchly against her involvement in something so disgusting as nursing.  At this point, I was naturally thinking of Downton Abbey's Sybil. But, the way the author chose to portray Lily's struggle is, in fact, far more realistic than Downton's.  She is not able to get into nursing school and has to take one surprising job followed by another in order to get by.  

I won't tell you any more about the storyline for fear of spoilers but I will tell you that I was surprised by Somewhere in France in many ways. First of all, Lily's experience has the ring of truth. When she's cut off by her family, nobody else comes along to sweep her back into comfort.  She has to work hard to get by.  Second, it takes her years to reach her goal and when she does the reality is dirty and stinky, dangerous and horrifying. But, like the real women of WWI who bucked up and got on with it, Lily refuses to back down. She's made a decision to do something very specific and she is not going to be dissuaded from it, regardless of the consequences.

Highly recommended - I was not surprised to find that the author has spent some time in France, when I got to the end of Somewhere in France as the settings were so very, very believable.  A gritty, realistic story with romance at its core, a heroine worth rooting for and exceptionally described settings. I found Somewhere in France highly compelling once I got into it. Near the beginning, I was hesitant because the main storyline was clearly a romantic one and the occasional years-long leap startled me but the book was so much more real than many I've read that it eventually yanked me in and held me hard.

Since I've been asked . . . another Christmas photo, this time Izzy in a cocktail dress (she was completely paralyzed by the horror - she just has a sweet face),:

©2014 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery  or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.