Review: The Glass Ocean by Beatriz Williams, Lauren Willig, Karen White

From the New York Times bestselling authors of The Forgotten Room comes a captivating historical mystery, infused with romance, that links the lives of three women across a century—two deep in the past, one in the present—to the doomed passenger liner, RMS Lusitania.

May 2013 Her finances are in dire straits and bestselling author Sarah Blake is struggling to find a big idea for her next book. Desperate, she breaks the one promise she made to her Alzheimer’s-stricken mother and opens an old chest that belonged to her great-grandfather, who died when the RMS Lusitania was sunk by a German U-Boat in 1915. What she discovers there could change history. Sarah embarks on an ambitious journey to England to enlist the help of John Langford, a recently disgraced Member of Parliament whose family archives might contain the only key to the long-ago catastrophe. . . .

April 1915 Southern belle Caroline Telfair Hochstetter’s marriage is in crisis. Her formerly attentive industrialist husband, Gilbert, has become remote, pre-occupied with business . . . and something else that she can’t quite put a finger on. She’s hoping a trip to London in Lusitania’s lavish first-class accommodations will help them reconnect—but she can’t ignore the spark she feels for her old friend, Robert Langford, who turns out to be on the same voyage. Feeling restless and longing for a different existence, Caroline is determined to stop being a bystander, and take charge of her own life. . . .

Tessa Fairweather is traveling second-class on the Lusitania, returning home to Devon. Or at least, that’s her story. Tessa has never left the United States and her English accent is a hasty fake. She’s really Tennessee Schaff, the daughter of a roving con man, and she can steal and forge just about anything. But she’s had enough. Her partner has promised that if they can pull off this one last heist aboard the Lusitania, they’ll finally leave the game behind. Tess desperately wants to believe that, but Tess has the uneasy feeling there’s something about this job that isn’t as it seems. . . .

As the Lusitania steams toward its fate, three women work against time to unravel a plot that will change the course of their own lives . . . and history itself.

Kindle, 416 pages

Expected publication: September 4th, 2018

by William Morrow

*** 1/2

The Glass Ocean is the 2nd collaboration between talented authors Karen White, Beatriz Williams and Lauren Willig. Their first book together, The Forgotten Room was a favorite of mine back in 2016. Needless to say, I was excited when William Morrow provided me with an advanced copy of this their latest.

I didn’t know much about the Lusitania other than it was hit by a German torpedo during World War One and ushered the US into war. With 3 different narrators it wasn’t hard to keep the two time periods straight, two from the past and one present day.

The beginning 1/3 of this book pulled me in with its character building and intriguing plot. The dual time periods are books I usually enjoy, though at times it can be one time period that interests me more. Such was the case here (to some extent). To be honest, I struggled with the past plot, maybe because it dragged on a little longer than I thought necessary or maybe just a slight confusion at times. What saved it for me were the comedic bantering that was needed (pretty sure that was William’s part).

I struggled between giving this book 3 or 4 stars. Frustration grew when a change of direction occurred towards the end of the present day story (yea I felt it out of place and it really bugged me). But as I continued reading I ‘got it’ and thought it a great addition- sometimes you just need to sit back and trust the writer.

So I'm giving this book 3 1/2 stars rounding up to 4.

My thanks to William Morrow for an advanced copy (via Edelweiss).

click on cover for my review

Review: The Wicked City by Beatriz Williams

New York Times bestselling author Beatriz Williams recreates the New York City of A Certain Age in this deliciously spicy adventure that mixes past and present and centers on a Jazz Age love triangle involving a rugged Prohibition agent, a saucy redheaded flapper, and a debonair Princetonian from a wealthy family.

When she discovers her husband cheating, Ella Hawthorne impulsively moves out of their SoHo loft and into a small apartment in an old Greenwich Village building. Her surprisingly attractive new neighbor, Hector, warns her to stay out of the basement at night. Tenants have reported strange noises after midnight—laughter, clinking glasses, jazz piano—even though the space has been empty for decades. Back in the Roaring Twenties, the place hid a speakeasy.

In 1924, Geneva "Gin" Kelly, a smart-mouthed flapper from the hills of western Maryland, is a regular at this Village hideaway known as the Christopher Club. Caught up in a raid, Gin becomes entangled with Prohibition enforcement agent Oliver Anson, who persuades her to help him catch her stepfather Duke Kelly, one of Appalachia’s most notorious bootleggers.

Headstrong and independent, Gin is no weak-kneed fool. So how can she be falling in love with the taciturn, straight-arrow Revenue agent when she’s got Princeton boy Billy Marshall, the dashing son of society doyenne Theresa Marshall, begging to make an honest woman of her? While anything goes in the Roaring Twenties, Gin’s adventures will shake proper Manhattan society to its foundations, exposing secrets that shock even this free-spirited redhead—secrets that will echo from Park Avenue to the hollers of her Southern hometown.

As Ella discovers more about the basement speakeasy, she becomes inspired by the spirit of her exuberant predecessor, and decides to live with abandon in the wicked city too. . . .

 ebook, 384 pages 

Expected publication: January 17th 2017 by William Morrow

****

I am familiar with two previous books by Beatriz Williams, The Secret Life of Violet Grant and Along the Infinite Sea, both audio reads for me and I loved them. Her writing style, with its whimsical tone, witty descriptions and entertaining dialogue works perfectly in that format. Written in first people made it feel like the characters were right there telling me their story. I was a little nervous reading The Wicked City wondering whether it would yield the same feelings. Once I finished the first chapter, as Ella moves into her new apartment and sets about to do laundry, well it reminded me of why I loved her previous books.

Most of the story takes place in the past time period, the Roaring Twenties which is a time I haven't really read much about and nothing involving the Prohibition Era.  There really isn't much for me to say about the plot since the synopsis does a great job doing that.

Gin (Geneva) is an interesting and likeable gal (as I find all of Williams characters to be), her background story is slowly revealed and I could see where she was coming from and what made her tick.

While the reader gets to know Ella and another interesting storyline is revealed a connection to the Schuyler girls from the author's previous series takes shape.

The conclusion here was satisfying on one hand but also left the door open for the sequel, Cocoa Beach which I believe is being released mid 2017.  I am anxious to read it since the author has made me interested in what happens next for Ella and Geneva and her prose is entertaining and captivating.

Thank you to the publisher for an advanced copy (via Edelweiss).

Review & Giveaway: Fall of Poppies: Stories of Love and the Great War By Hazel Gaynor, Beatriz Williams, Jennifer Robson, Jessica Brockmole, Kate Kerrigan, Evangeline Holland, Lauren Willig, Marci Jefferson, and Heather Webb

Top voices in historical fiction deliver an unforgettable collection of short stories set in the aftermath of World War I—featuring bestselling authors such as Hazel Gaynor, Jennifer Robson, Beatriz Williams, and Lauren Willig and edited by Heather Webb.

On the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month... November 11, 1918.

After four long, dark years of fighting, the Great War ends at last, and the world is forever changed. For soldiers, loved ones, and survivors the years ahead stretch with new promise, even as their hearts are marked by all those who have been lost. As families come back together, lovers reunite, and strangers take solace in each other, everyone has a story to tell.

In this moving anthology, nine authors share stories of love, strength, and renewal as hope takes root in a fall of poppies.

Publication Date: March 1, 2016 

William Morrow Paperback &

eBook; 368 Pages

Genre: Historical Fiction/Anthology  

****

The theme of Fall of Poppies is the end of World War I.

  Penned by 9 different authors, seven of which I am familiar with, this collection of short stories pulls at the heart strings and reminds the reader that even if the war is over mentally and physically it lives on.

"Not even the end of the war means the war is over.    It will never be over for some of us."

I will admit to being new to the short stories genre, my fear has always been that the stories will be light and fluffy, lacking depth and the ability to connect with the characters in such a short time.  The stories here averaged less than an hour to read each, so really how can the writer provide the reading experience that I enjoy?   As I am slowly learning it can be done and it was done quite nicely here.

This book is a collection of stories of love, hope and survival.  Told from the both the male and female pov's it wasn't hard to connect and feel compassion.  I won't go into details about what each of the stories were about, but will say that they were all different.  From a young mother in Belgium who lived through the horrors of war, she survived caring for others and learned to trust again. Another mother seeking revenge on Germany when her son is missing and presumed dead. There are pilots. an English midwife fighting to save to life of a newborn and more.

I had my favorites here, Jennifer Robson's "All for the Love of You" because of the connection to her last novel and I love her writing style.  Her's was an interest subject, the making of face masks for those disfigured.  She was able to not just explain the process but threw in a good love story to boot.

Jessica Brockmole's "Something Worth Landing For" also hit the mark for me.  An unlikely union, but watching the relationship evolve through letter writing reminding me so much of why her book Letters from Skye was one of my 'best of 2015'.  Her writing style is flawless, witty and a treat to read.

The stories here are varied, each stand alone's but focus on Armistice, bringing that time to life with different struggles, misunderstandings, relationships and romance.  Definitely one that I recommend and one that has me adding new authors to my tbr pile.

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Books-a-Million | IndieBound

About the Authors

Jessica Brockmole is the author of the internationally bestselling Letters from Skye, an epistolary love story spanning an ocean and two wars. Named one of Publisher’s Weekly’s Best Books of 2013, Letters From Skye has been published in seventeen countries.

Hazel Gaynor is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of The Girl Who Came Home and A Memory of Violets. She writes regularly for the national press, magazines and websites in Ireland and the UK.

Evangeline Holland is the founder and editor of Edwardian Promenade, the number one blog for lovers of World War I, the Gilded Age, and Belle Époque France with nearly forty thousand unique viewers a month. In addition, she blogs at Modern Belles of History. Her fiction includes An Ideal Duchess and its sequel, crafted in the tradition of Edith Warton.

Marci Jefferson is the author of Girl on the Golden Coin: A Novel of Frances Stuart, which Publisher’s Weekly called “intoxicating.” Her second novel, The Enchantress of Paris, will release in Spring 2015 from Thomas Dunne Books.

Kate Kerrigan is the New York Times bestselling author of The Ellis Island trilogy. In addition she has written for the Irish Tatler, a Dublin-based newspaper, as well as The Irish Mail and a RTE radio show, Sunday Miscellany.

Jennifer Robson is the USA Today and international bestselling author of Somewhere in France and After the War is Over. She holds a doctorate in Modern History from the University of Oxford, where she was a Commonwealth Scholar and SSHRC Doctoral Fellow. Jennifer lives in Toronto with her husband and young children.

Heather Webb is an author, freelance editor, and blogger at award-winning writing sites WriterUnboxed.com and RomanceUniversity.org. Heather is a member of the Historical Novel Society and the Women’s Fiction Writers Association, and she may also be found teaching craftbased courses at a local college.

Beatriz Williams is the New York Times, USA Today, and international bestselling author of The Secret Life of Violet Grant and A Hundred Summers. A graduate of Stanford University with an MBA from Columbia, Beatriz spent several years in New York and London hiding her early attempts at fiction, first on company laptops as a corporate and communications strategy consultant, and then as an at-home producer of small persons. She now lives with her husband and four children near the Connecticut shore, where she divides her time between writing and laundry. William Morrow will publish her forthcoming hardcover, A Certain Age, in the summer of 2016.

Lauren Willig is the New York Times bestselling author of eleven works of historical fiction. Her books have been translated into over a dozen languages, awarded the RITA, Booksellers Best and Golden Leaf awards, and chosen for the American Library Association’s annual list of the best genre fiction. She lives in New York City, where she now writes full time.

Blog Tour Schedule

Tuesday, March 1 Review at Let Them Read Books 

Thursday, March 3 Review at Just One More Chapter

Saturday, March 5 Review at 100 Pages a Day 

Monday, March 7 Review at Bookish 

                                Review at CelticLady's Reviews 

Tuesday, March 8 Review at Ageless Pages Reviews 

Friday, March 11 Review at Creating Herstory

Giveaway

To win one of three copies of Fall of Poppies: Stories of Love and the Great War please enter the giveaway via the GLEAM form below.

Rules – Giveaway ends at 11:59pm EST on March 11th. You must be 18 or older to enter.
– Giveaway is open to US residents only.
– Only one entry per household.
– All giveaway entrants agree to be honest and not cheat the systems; any suspect of fraud is decided upon by blog/site owner and the sponsor, and entrants may be disqualified at our discretion
– Winner has 48 hours to claim prize or new winner is chosen.

  Fall of Poppies: Stories of Love and The Great War

Review: Along the Infinite Sea (Schuyler Sisters #3) by Beatriz Williams

Each of the three Schuyler sisters has her own world-class problems, but in the autumn of 1966, Pepper Schuyler's problems are in a class of their own. When Pepper fixes up a beautiful and rare vintage Mercedes and sells it at auction, she thinks she's finally found a way to take care of herself and the baby she carries, the result of an affair with a married, legendary politician.

But the car's new owner turns out to have secrets of her own, and as the glamorous and mysterious Annabelle Dommerich takes pregnant Pepper under her wing, the startling provenance of this car comes to light: a Nazi husband, a Jewish lover, a flight from Europe, and a love so profound it transcends decades. As the many threads of Annabelle's life from World War II stretch out to entangle Pepper in 1960s America, and the father of her unborn baby tracks her down to a remote town in coastal Georgia, the two women must come together to face down the shadows of their complicated pasts.

Indomitable heroines, a dazzling world of secrets, champagne at the Paris Ritz, and a sweeping love story for the ages, in New York Times bestselling author Beatriz William's final book about the Schuyler sisters. 

Hardcover, 464 pages

Published November 3rd 2015 by G.P. Putnam's Sons

arc via netgalley

****

I became a fan of Beatriz Williams after listening to the audio of The Secret Life of Violet Grant (which I loved).  Along with Tiny Little Things and this book they form a series about the Schuyler Sisters.  Though involving 3 sisters it is not necessary to read in an particular order - they are wonderful on their own, but if you are like me I am sure you'll be reading them all.

Along the Infinite Sea is a dual time period story of 2 young women and the car that connects them.  In 1966 Pepper is young, single, pregnant and on the run. She has gotten herself into a sticky situation and to her the only solution is to run, leaving family behind.   Back in the 1930's we have Annabelle, though young and naive she is forced to do some serious growing up.  Things are tense in Europe during the 1930's and no one is immune to what is about to take place.

I found this book entertaining, Pepper's sassy character with her witty comments and carefree attitude  helps to off set the drama and tension taking place in Europe.  Annabelle's story is more intense and the driving force of this book.  There was plenty to keep ones attention and I can admit the ending wasn't one I envisioned, it worked and I liked it.

The authors writing style is such that had me hooked from the beginning, it wasn't hard to get lost in this story.  One of the things I liked was the timing, it isn't often that I read of the years preceding the war, which is what happened with this book and I found that to be a refreshing change.  

I started this book with high expectations and I was not disappointed.  Thanks to the publisher (via netgalley) for providing a copy for review purposes.

Mailbox Monday

Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came in their mailbox during the last week.  This weekly gathering is hosted by Mailbox Monday.

Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy,

toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.




My first Mailbox Monday post, a little late to the party but I am here.  So being late this post will include the past 3 weeks hopefully future mail boxes won't be this full.

Kindle deals

Netgalley

Book Tours

Purchases

My best of 2015

I surprised myself with how many books I read last year,150 to be exact. I didn't plan on that many it just happened.

Some interesting facts:

-the longest was 1059 pages with Voyager (Outlander #3) by Diana Gaboldon and the short with 34 pages was Kika the Upside Down Girl Jessica Tudos
-43 were audio books
-54 were new authors to me
-12 new series started
-12 series that I got caught up with or finished
-still plugging away at (Outlander)
-51 books reviewed for netgalley

My top 10 audio books of 2015 - in random order

1) The Secret Life of Violet Grant by Beatriz Williams
2) Lyrebird Hill by Anna Romer
3) The Wild Girl by Kate Forsyth
4) Shadow on the Crown by Patricia Bracewell
5) The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah
6)  Inside the O'Briens by Lisa Genova
7) Castles, Customs and Kings by various authors
8) Dolores Claiborne by Stephen King
9) Misery by Stephen King
10) Mr. Mercedes/Finders Keepers by Stephen King
notice a tread there, sadly that trend was broken when I tried Revival in audio

My top 10 (actually 13) books of 2015 - remember in random order

1) A King's Ransom by Sharon Kay Penman
2) The Lake House by Kate Morton
3)  Lost in the Barrons by Farley Mowat
4) The Ones We Trust by Kimberly Belle
5) The Particular Appeal of Gillian Pugsley by Susan Ornbratt
6) Helen of Sparta byAmalia Carosella          
7) The Things We Keep by Sally Hepworth
8) Medici's Daughter by Sophie Perinot
9) Letters from Skye by Jessica Brockmole
10) Lady of the Eternal City by Kate Quinn
11) The Tapestry by Nancy Bilyeau
12) The Voyager by Diane Gabaldon
13) To Catch a Falling Star by Anna Belfrage

So that's my year, how was yours?

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

arc via publisher through netgalley 

  *****

I am relatively new to some of these authors.  Karen White is brand new to me, I read Lauren Willig only once previously (The Other Daughter) and Beatriz Williams has turned into a favorite of mine since reading about a couple of the Schuyler sisters (hummm, same name coincidence there?).  Also reading one book by more than one author is also a new experience, seems to be a trend these days.

To be very honest when I requested this book I think I was caught up in all the media hype surrounding it that I really didn't even pay attention to the synopsis.  Sometimes going blind into a book is a good thing and other times not so much.  With The Forgotten Room is was a good thing.

This book grabbed me right from the beginning and didn't let go.  Well, that is once I got over the urge to solve the mystery and figure out the connections within the first three chapters, then I just sat back and enjoyed watching the stories unfold.  Half way through The Forgotten Room it finally dawned on me that this was penned by 3 different authors and I had forgotten that just because of the simple fact that I couldn't tell when one finished and another began, the story just flowed along at a nice pace and with no glaring disjointed scenes.

The Forgotten Room is a story about forbidden love and not being true to yourself.  There are secrets, deception and heartache in the lives of Olive, Lucy and Kate and it wasn't hard to feel their pain and frustrations.  Dual time periods are a favorite of mine, it keeps me on my toes and usually I am trying to figure the connections before revealed by the author(s).   The Forgotten Room had me captivated right from the beginning and keep me guessing with the twists and turns.

I would have loved some authors notes here, not just about the story or time period but about process, how 3 authors penning this. (ie who wrote what? Did each take a character and share them?)

As much as I loved the cover, it is subtle and rather romantic but I didn't really think it matched the story.  I am thinking narrow curved stairway, that ruby pendant or even the wall mural would have done justice here.  Remember just my opinion.

All in all a great read and great way to start my reading for 2016 and thank you to the publishers for the chance to review this one.

Audio Review: The Secret Life of Violet Grant by Beatriz Williams

Passion, redemption, and a battered suitcase full of secrets: the New York Times-bestselling author of A Hundred Summers returns with another engrossing tale.

Manhattan, 1964. Vivian Schuyler, newly graduated from Bryn Mawr College, has recently defied the privilege of her storied old Fifth Avenue family to do the unthinkable for a budding Kennedy-era socialite: break into the Mad Men world of razor-stylish Metropolitan magazine. But when she receives a bulky overseas parcel in the mail, the unexpected contents draw her inexorably back into her family’s past, and the hushed-over crime passionnel of an aunt she never knew, whose existence has been wiped from the record of history.

Berlin, 1914. Violet Schuyler Grant endures her marriage to the philandering and decades-older scientist Dr. Walter Grant for one reason: for all his faults, he provides the necessary support to her liminal position as a young American female physicist in prewar Germany. The arrival of Dr. Grant’s magnetic former student at the beginning of Europe’s fateful summer interrupts this delicate détente. Lionel Richardson, a captain in the British Army, challenges Violet to escape her husband’s perverse hold, and as the world edges into war and Lionel’s shocking true motives become evident, Violet is tempted to take the ultimate step to set herself free and seek a life of her own conviction with a man whose cause is as audacious as her own.

As the iridescent and fractured Vivian digs deeper into her aunt’s past and the mystery of her ultimate fate, Violet’s story of determination and desire unfolds, shedding light on the darkness of her years abroad . . . and teaching Vivian to reach forward with grace for the ambitious future––and the love––she wants most. 

Published May 27th 2014 by G.P. Putnam's Sons 

audiobook from library (via overdrive)

14 hours 42 mins 

paperback - 503 pages

****

Beatriz Williams is a new author to me as is Kathleen McInerney (the reader of this the audio version).  McInerney does a wonderful job here, she brings this story to life and I was not disappointed.

Told in 1st person with the story weaving back and forth in time, it all began with a suitcase.  I love a longer book, when done correctly the author has time to develop characters, to create a plot without rushing and to create twists and turns not always predictable.  Such was the case with The Secret Life of Violet Grant. 

Vivian is funny, spunky and a spitfire but there is also a sensitive compassionate person, with her telling the current time period story I found it to be very entertaining.

I struggled at the beginning in understanding Violet.  The 1910's was a tough era for women.  For Violet to leave her family, travel to Europe to study physics told me that she was a strong independent 'ahead of her time' type and I really couldn't figure out how she allowed the situation with Grant to take place.  Once I got past that I enjoyed this side of the book.  Also the ending was one I didn't expect, it had some twists that I didn't see coming and I love when an author does that.

There are 3 sisters in the Schuyler family, with this book we see Vivian's story.  You can read more of the other two in these 2 books (clicking on them will take you to their Goodreads page.

 

Waiting on Wednesday: Fall of Poppies - Stories of Love and the Great War

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event that is hosted by Jill  at  Breaking the Spine and spotlights upcoming releases that we’re eagerly anticipating.   

 This week I am waiting for:

Paperback, 356 pages

Expected publication: March 1st 2016 by William Morrow Paperbacks 

Top voices in historical fiction deliver an intensely moving collection of short stories about loss, longing, and hope in the aftermath of World War I—featuring bestselling authors such as Hazel Gaynor, Jennifer Robson, Beatriz Williams, and Lauren Willig and edited by Heather Webb.

A squadron commander searches for meaning in the tattered photo of a girl he’s never met…

A Belgian rebel hides from the world, only to find herself nursing the enemy…

A young airman marries a stranger to save her honor—and prays to survive long enough to love her…

The peace treaty signed on November 11, 1918, may herald the end of the Great War but for its survivors, the smoke is only beginning to clear. Picking up the pieces of shattered lives will take courage, resilience, and trust.

Within crumbled city walls and scarred souls, war’s echoes linger. But when the fighting ceases, renewal begins…and hope takes root in a fall of poppies.

What are you waiting for?

Waiting on Wednesday: Along the Infinite Sea by Beatriz Williams

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event that is hosted by Jill  at  Breaking the Spine and spotlights upcoming releases that we’re eagerly anticipating.   

 This week I am waiting for:

 

Hardcover, 464 pages

Expected publication: November 3rd 2015 by G.P. Putnam's Sons

 Each of the three Schuyler sisters has her own world-class problems, but in the autumn of 1966, Pepper Schuyler's problems are in a class of their own. When Pepper fixes up a beautiful and rare vintage Mercedes and sells it at auction, she thinks she's finally found a way to take care of herself and the baby she carries, the result of an affair with a married, legendary politician.

But the car's new owner turns out to have secrets of her own, and as the glamorous and mysterious Annabelle Dommerich takes pregnant Pepper under her wing, the startling provenance of this car comes to light: a Nazi husband, a Jewish lover, a flight from Europe, and a love so profound it transcends decades. As the many threads of Annabelle's life from World War II stretch out to entangle Pepper in 1960s America, and the father of her unborn baby tracks her down to a remote town in coastal Georgia, the two women must come together to face down the shadows of their complicated pasts.

Indomitable heroines, a dazzling world of secrets, champagne at the Paris Ritz, and a sweeping love story for the ages, in New York Times bestselling author Beatriz William's final book about the Schuyler sisters.

What are you waiting for?

Waiting on Wednesday: The Forgotten Room by Karen White, Beatriz Williams and Lauren Willig

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event that is hosted by Jill  at  Breaking the Spine and spotlights upcoming releases that we’re eagerly anticipating.   

 This week I am waiting for:

 

Hardcover, 384 pages

Expected publication: January 19th 2016 by NAL 

 

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.

What are you waiting for?