The Golden Hour

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I’m looking forward to reading my next book by Williams and definitely recommend this one to historical fiction lovers. As Manuel aides his new friends in their preparations for the local county fair, he learns to open up, confronts his deepest fears, and even finds first love.

The slow weaving of Elfriede and Lulu may feel meandering for a while, I thought the latter half started to drag a bit but it was still curiously interesting to see how the author ultimately ended up placing all the characters to culminate in the ending. Williams alternates Lulu’s story with that of German baroness Elfriede von Kleist and her love affair with Wilfred Thorpe in the early 1900s, linking the generations together.

The story is quite moving as well, showing the importance of a support group and doing a really wonderful job of capturing how trauma recovery works. The first, which takes place in the early 1900s, is about Elfriede, an 18-year-old German beauty who marries a baron and suffers horribly from postpartum depression. Now, I have to admit that I love plenty of her books, but that one just rocked my world as I listened to the audio version.

It slowly moves through the narrative at a cozy pace, just letting everything breathe and giving space for the art to shine. I’m working on an article for School Library Journal on mental health depictions in middle grade fiction. But if you are looking for a book that you can really sink your teeth into and take your time with - this is the book for you! The racial tension, corrupt politics and financial swindles that took place on the island during the war can fill many books.Newly-widowed Leonora "Lulu" Randolph arrives in Nassau to investigate the Governor and his wife for a New York society magazine. Beatriz Williams always delivers historical fiction that shines, and this summer’s release is no exception… The Golden Hour is another engrossing read that will keep you turning the pages long into the night. But his sister, suddenly talking again, decides to go back to a time when there was beauty and culture.

For one, I think too much of the plot threads came together at the end (like, from 87% on the kindle edition, with not enough foreplanning), and for another. I thought the author did a masterful job and I had my “aha” moment when I figured it out, but I enjoyed the way it all played out. Where this book suffers for me is really only in comparison to her other books, which is perhaps unfair, and I think my experience of this is very YMMV.Lulu is sent to Nassau, Bahamas to cover a story for NY magazine and to get the scope on the Duke and Duchess. Williams is an incredible storyteller and I was so delighted to discover what an excellent historical fiction novelist she is as I fell under her spell. Part of their lives involve politics, war, betrayal and even a murder, none of which either woman sought or was intimately entangled with. I knew the Duke and Duchess were thought to be Nazi sympathizers, but other realities, such as the murder of Harry Oakes, gold mine owner, actually took place. Williams thoroughly captured the atmosphere of the 1900s to 1916 and the 1940s in London, Switzerland, Scotland, the Bahamas, and Florida.

To avoid spoilers, I’ll just say there is a series of highly improbable events that take place during World War 2 and involve both narratives.Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published. Together with twins Xanthe and Xavier, descendants of Jamaican slaves, the siblings follow a trail of mystery to an abandoned resort where, at the “golden hour” of twilight and the “silver hour” of dawn every day, it becomes possible to travel to any point in world history. This book is a fascinating look at that time in history and I enjoyed this insider’s peek into this world. As long as they explain it in a way that doesn’t leave you with a bunch of unanswered questions, which this book nicely avoids. Oh how I adore this author, her gorgeous writing, compulsively readable plots, stunning covers, and I wondered, “Can she do it again?