The American Heiress

The American Heiress

by Daisy Goodwin

Genre: Romance/Historical Fiction

Synopsis: Be careful what you wish for. Traveling abroad with her mother at the turn of the twentieth century to seek a titled husband, beautiful, vivacious Cora Cash, whose family mansion in Newport dwarfs the Vanderbilts’, suddenly finds herself Duchess of Wareham, married to Ivo, the most eligible bachelor in England. Nothing is quite as it seems, however: Ivo is withdrawn and secretive, and the English social scene is full of traps and betrayals. Money, Cora soon learns, cannot buy everything, as she must decide what is truly worth the price in her life and her marriage. 

Witty, moving, and brilliantly entertaining, Cora’s story marks the debut of a glorious storyteller who brings a fresh new spirit to the world of Edith Wharton and Henry James. 

From the publisher

Review: When I'm in the right mood, I like a good romance novel that takes place among the ton of London in the later 1800s but this book was trying too hard to not be a run of the mill romance novel.  It tried to make itself into a historical fiction book but yet there wasn't enough of a story line to make it meatier.  Someone on GoodReads mentioned that the book was filled out more than a traditional romance novel but yet she couldn't identify how it was filled out more.  I think that sums up how I feel about it!  I guess it really can't be considered a romance novel because there isn't enough smut but it's hard pressed to consider it historic fiction because there really wasn't much to the story besides a romance.  There was so much of the story that could have been removed.  All of a sudden a chapter would be told from the perspective of some random servant that had very little importance in the story.  The descriptions of everything were very flowery and unnecessary at times.  This book could have been quite a bit shorter!  It was an easy read but a little long and not quite meaty enough for me.

Rating: 3 stars