“Coronation Year” by Jennifer Robson (ARC Review)

March 19, 2023 ~ courtneytonokawa ~ Leave a comment

Robson, Jennifer. Coronation Year. New York: William Morrow, 2023.

ISBN-13: 978-0063074149 | $19.99 USD | 400 pages | Historical Fiction

Blurb

The USA Today bestselling author of The Gown returns with another enthralling and royal-adjacent historical novel—as the lives of three very different residents of London’s historic Blue Lion hotel converge in a potentially explosive climax on the day of Queen Elizabeth’s Coronation.

It is Coronation Year, 1953, and a new queen is about to be crowned. The people of London are in a mood to celebrate, none more so than the residents of the Blue Lion hotel.

Edie Howard, owner and operator of the floundering Blue Lion, has found the miracle she needs: on Coronation Day, Queen Elizabeth in her gold coach will pass by the hotel’s front door, allowing Edie to charge a fortune for rooms and, barring disaster, save her beloved home from financial ruin. Edie’s luck might just be turning, all thanks to a young queen about her own age.

Stella Donati, a young Italian photographer and Holocaust survivor, has come to live at the Blue Lion while she takes up a coveted position at Picture Weekly magazine. London in celebration mode feels like a different world to her. As she learns the ins and outs of her new profession, Stella discovers a purpose and direction that honor her past and bring hope for her future.

James Geddes, a war hero and gifted artist, has struggled to make his mark in a world that disdains his Indian ancestry. At the Blue Lion, though, he is made to feel welcome and worthy. Yet even as his friendship with Edie deepens, he begins to suspect that something is badly amiss at his new home.

When anonymous threats focused on Coronation Day, the Blue Lion, and even the queen herself disrupt their mood of happy optimism, Edie and her friends must race to uncover the truth, save their home, and expose those who seek to erase the joy and promise of Coronation Year.

Review

4 stars

Coronation Year is a thematic follow-up to a previous Jennifer Robson title, The Gown, this time chronicling the lead-up to Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation in June 1953. Given how long traditional publishing can take from conception to finished book, was no doubt conceived to honor the seventieth anniversary of her coronation, and now serves double duty of marking the coronation of the new king, Charles III.

Unlike The Gown, which focused solely on Elizabeth’s wedding gown and the preparations for it, there are a few different fictional players who come together for a plot that uses the coronation preparations as a backdrop. Each of them is compelling, having their own things to contribute to the event and the plot. I also liked how each was fleshed out with their own personal stakes in the event, which was widely viewed as a celebration after long hard years of war and the aftermath.

While the narrative initially feels very character-focused and about each of the co-protagonists finding a new sense of purpose or direction, there’s an external plot surrounding bomb threats on Coronation Day. And the way it ties into a dispute over ownership over the Blue Lion created a nice thread of suspense.

This is a great tribute book that also incorporates the experiences of regular people during the time period. If you enjoy historical fiction related to the Royal Family, I recommend checking this out!

Author Bio

Jennifer Robson first learned about the Great War from her father, acclaimed historian Stuart Robson, and later served as an official guide at the Canadian National War Memorial at Vimy Ridge, France. A former copy editor, she holds a doctorate in British economic and social history from the University of Oxford. She lives in Toronto, Canada, with her husband and young children.

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Review of “Our Darkest Night” by Jennifer Robson

December 30, 2020 ~ courtneytonokawa ~ Leave a comment

Robson, Jennifer. Our Darkest Night. New York: William Morrow, 2020.

ISBN-13: 978-0062674975 | $17.99 USD | 384 pages | Historical Fiction

Blurb

To survive the Holocaust, a young Jewish woman must pose as a Christian farmer’s wife in this unforgettable novel from USA Today bestselling author Jennifer Robson—a story of terror, hope, love, and sacrifice, inspired by true events, that vividly evokes the most perilous days of World War II.

It is the autumn of 1943, and life is becoming increasingly perilous for Italian Jews like the Mazin family. With Nazi Germany now occupying most of her beloved homeland, and the threat of imprisonment and deportation growing ever more certain, Antonina Mazin has but one hope to survive—to leave Venice and her beloved parents and hide in the countryside with a man she has only just met.

Nico Gerardi was studying for the priesthood until circumstances forced him to leave the seminary to run his family’s farm. A moral and just man, he could not stand by when the fascists and Nazis began taking innocent lives. Rather than risk a perilous escape across the mountains, Nina will pose as his new bride. And to keep her safe and protect secrets of his own, Nico and Nina must convince prying eyes they are happily married and in love.

But farm life is not easy for a cultured city girl who dreams of becoming a doctor like her father, and Nico’s provincial neighbors are wary of this soft and educated woman they do not know. Even worse, their distrust is shared by a local Nazi official with a vendetta against Nico. The more he learns of Nina, the more his suspicions grow—and with them his determination to exact revenge.

As Nina and Nico come to know each other, their feelings deepen, transforming their relationship into much more than a charade. Yet both fear that every passing day brings them closer to being torn apart . . .

Review

4.5 stars

I received an ARC from the publisher through a Goodreads Giveaway in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I love when World War II books find ways to tread new territory largely unexplored by its predecessors in the genre, and while I can’t say the experiences of Italian Jews in the Holocaust and the work of some Gentile families in sheltering them is a completely untapped subject, I found it compelling to read about in Our Darkest Night, especially as there once again is a personal connection to the subject matter on the part of author Jennifer Robson, which translates into evocative prose that really transports the reader into the era.

The story is slowly paced, so it does take time to get to the “meat” of the story. But it makes for a compelling payoff, as I found myself truly connected to the characters as they went through what they did.

The romance was beautiful and provided a nice ray of hope in the midst of all the turmoil happening around them, and definitely would not discourage any romance readers who aren’t against World War II as a time period or find it too depressing from picking it up, as it is more on the optimistic side, in spite of that darkness.

This is a wonderful book that makes a unique addition to the generally oversaturated World War II historical subgenre. In addition to the aforementioned recommendation, I think those who love the subgenre but have been looking for something a bit different, given the largely untapped nature of this specific aspect of the Holocaust, would enjoy this.

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Review of “Somewhere in France” (The Great War #1) by Jennifer Robson

April 15, 2020 ~ courtneytonokawa ~ Leave a comment

Robson, Jennifer. Somewhere in France. New York: William Morrow, 2014.

ISBN-13: 978-0062273451 (paperback) /978-0062273468 (ebook) | $16.99 USD (paperback)/$11.99 USD (ebook) | 400 pages | Historical Fiction

Blurb

A daring young woman will risk her life to find her destiny in this atmospheric, beautifully drawn historical debut novel—a tale of love, hope, and danger set during the First World War.

Lady Elizabeth Neville-Ashford wants to travel the world, pursue a career, and marry for love. But in 1914, the stifling restrictions of aristocratic British society and her mother’s rigid expectations forbid Lilly from following her heart. When war breaks out, the spirited young woman seizes her chance for independence. Defying her parents, she moves to London and eventually becomes an ambulance driver in the newly formed Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps—an exciting and treacherous job that takes her close to the Western Front.

Assigned to a field hospital in France, Lilly is reunited with Robert Fraser, her dear brother Edward’s best friend. The handsome Scottish surgeon has always encouraged Lilly’s dreams. She doesn’t care that Robbie grew up in poverty—she yearns for their friendly affection to become something more. Lily is the most beautiful—and forbidden—woman Robbie has ever known. Fearful for her life, he’s determined to keep her safe, even if it means breaking her heart.

In a world divided by class, filled with uncertainty and death, can their hope for love survive. . . or will it become another casualty of this tragic war?

The paperback includes a P.S. section with additional insights from the author, background material, suggestions for further reading, and more.

In the series

#2 After the War is Over

#3 Moonlight Over Paris

#3.5 All for the Love of You

Review

3.5 stars

I waited a lot longer than I probably should have to read Somewhere in France. This was based on reviewers both in the romance and historical fiction communities finding fault with it, and this was the main book that influenced my confusion at the way historical romances set during the World Wars appear to be marketed to the historical fiction crowd instead. However, with book two being on sale in ebook recently, I had the urge to pick this one up and see how true some of my assumptions about it were.

And I actually enjoyed it a lot more than I expected. Robson comes from a background of having been engrossed in that history (her father is a World War I historian, and her interview with him is included at the end), so while a lot of what she writes about won’t be new to readers experienced in the era, it’s not her fault, given how both World Wars (especially II now) have been written about way too much in fiction.

Lilly is a fabulous heroine, and one that exemplifies what a transitional period it was for the structure of society at the time. Readers of historical fiction and romance in earlier eras (particularly the Victorian era) will recognize the class warfare going on between her and her old money aristocrat parents who want her to marry and do nothing else, but the war affords her an opportunity to truly go off on her own and contribute to the effort in her own way, at the same time as both her brother and friend, Robbie are, whereas previously, she would likely have been barred from doing so.

Robbie appears to be the sticking point for a few others, with people finding him “wishy-washy,” and criticizing him for his insecurity and his fear of Lilly’s mother. However, I found him believable and not pathetic at all. While I admit the romance isn’t necessarily an epic love story, he was fine as a love interest and never struck me as weak, but more human with flaws.

This is a pretty good book, if suffering a bit from being in an oversaturated subgenre, so it doesn’t really stand out as memorable, and struggling a bit with a marketing identity crisis. However, I do recommend it for anyone looking for a bit of a lighter read that tackles the issues that arose during World War I.

Author Bio

An academic by background, a former editor by profession, and a lifelong history nerd, I am lucky enough to now call myself a full-time writer. I’m the author of five novels set during and after the two world wars: Somewhere in France, After the War is Over, Moonlight Over Paris, Goodnight from London, and most recently The Gown: A Novel of the Royal Wedding. I was also a contributor to the acclaimed anthology Fall of Poppies: Stories of Love and the Great War.

I studied French literature and Modern History as an undergraduate at King’s University College at Western University, then attended Saint Antony’s College at the University of Oxford, where I obtained my doctorate in British economic and social history. While at Oxford I was a Commonwealth Scholar and SSHRC Doctoral Fellow.

For a number of years I worked as an editor but am now fortunate enough to consider myself a full-time writer. I am represented by Kevan Lyon of the Marsal Lyon Agency and my personal publicist is Kathleen Carter of Kathleen Carter Communications.

I live in Toronto, Canada, with my husband and children, and share my home office with Ellie the sheepdog and her feline companions Sam and Mika.

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Review of “The Gown: A Novel of the Royal Wedding” by Jennifer Robson

April 20, 2019 ~ courtneytonokawa ~ Leave a comment

Robson, Jennifer. The Gown: A Novel of the Royal Wedding. New York: William Morrow, 2019.

Paperback | $16.99 USD | ISBN-13: 978-0062674951 | 387 pages | Historical Ficition

4 stars

The Gown is a unique book for our Royals-obsessed society in that it focuses only peripherally on the Royals themselves, putting the then-Princess Elizabeth’s iconic wedding gown in center stage, and giving voices not only to the women seamstresses who worked on it, but also to women in the postwar period in a more general sense with poignant detail.

I loved how both Ann and Miriam were shaped by their past tragedies, and that’s what brings them together in the book. Both face difficulties, Miriam due to her Jewish heritage and as a survivor of the Holocaust and Ann due to having lost her parents and in the narrative itself by being duped by a man she believed had an interest in her. And I thought it was powerful that, even though circumstances led the two women to part, the friendship clearly had a deep impact on them, forming the motivation for the modern story follwing Ann’s granddaughter, Heather.

I wasn’t as invested in Heather’s story, although I did feel that some of her emotions were relatable, if a bit cliche for this type of book: finding out your grandmother kept a secret from you and feeling compelled to explore it. However, I did like when she finally met with Miriam, re-forging the connection broken off decades earlier.

The Gown is a history-rich book not just about Elizabeth II’s wedding gown, but about post-World War II life, particularly for women. It is a must-read that I recommend not just for the Royal watchers to whom I suspect it’s been promoted to (given its release on the heels of the 2018 weddings of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle and Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank, respectively, and the brief mentions of various Royal Family members throughout the text itself, but to any reader of historical fiction looking for something new and slightly different.