I believe that this book has been on my shelf since last Christmas and here I am, eleven months later, finally getting around to reading it. I’m glad that I did because it was a wonderful way to take my mind off the stresses of the end of the semester and the wild world that we live it! Daisy Goodwin creates a lush world set in the Gilded Age and does a fantastic job of doing so. Her novel follows the young Cora Cash, the wealthiest heiress in America, and her journey to England to fulfill her mother’s ambition of marrying into the English gentry. This is a phenomenon that I’ve read a ton about because I find it super fascinating but this is the first fictional novel that I’ve read within the topic. Miss Cash not only finds love but has to navigate a complex world, completely foreign to her and I can say that this is a relatable journey! Sometimes as a West Coast girl on the East Coast, I feel like I can never get it quite right but I keep trying just as Cora does. This book was a quick read for me, I started it the night before I finished it.

Ms. Goodwin’s novel enthralled me. I was spellbound until the last few pages. I loved reading the novel but I found the ending to be supremely unsatisfactory. The curtain closed on the characters and I was still left with so many questions! I hope that you have a chance to read this so you can join me in my speculation! I found the novel to flow well but the character development was somewhat lacking. Even though the novel purported follows a maturing Cora Cash, I wasn’t able to find much maturity in Cora before the last ten pages of the novel. I don’t know if I would have been happier with a longer novel but I was not left quite satisfied. I do hope that I get the chance to read another one of Ms. Goodwin’s novels in the future but hope that it doesn’t leave me as wanting as this one did! Happy reading!