Kim Izzo

Oh this is such a wonderful book. I couldn't have imagined how much I would end up enjoying it. It has that mix of fact and fiction that I love but it can hinder an author sometimes as they can end up sacrificing elements of a good story by trying to stick to facts. Not so here. Oh there's no doubt that Kim Izzo has researched the story of the Lusitania meticulously but she has also weaved the most fantastic storyline around it.

That storyline is one of three incredibly strong women. Sydney show more and Brooke Sinclair are sisters. They're New Yorkers and very wealthy young women. It's their voyage on the Lusitania that is the central part of the story. And there is also Isabel Nelson, a young woman working in Room 40 which was a pre-cursor to Bletchley Park. In the midst of WWI she is busy helping to decode messages sent by the Germans and in particular those relating to the passage of ships in the exclusion zone where they were liable to be attacked.

Both elements were equally strong. When we swapped from one to the other I was never disappointed, just keen to find out what was happening with these wonderfully drawn characters. I loved Sydney. The author has drawn aspects of social history into her story as she's a suffragette and is very much involved in trying to promote contraception. But more than anything else I loved her because she said and did what she wanted in a time when women did as they were told.

But let's not forget about the Lusitania herself. I really could have put myself there, it was so beautifully described. I've never been on an ocean liner but it was so easy to imagine the opulence of first class as opposed to the basic set up in third class. Although I had heard of the ship I didn't know much else and I deliberately avoided reading about it online until I had finished the book. It gave a greater impact to what I was reading and at one point a shiver went down my spine.

This is such an evocative, emotional, beautifully written book. I just loved it. show less

I was drawn in by the description of a historical drama about the Lusitania, but overall, this was just ok, perfectly fine for reading on the train.

There are 2 different stories, with 2 different protagonists, who are both Not Like Other Girls. I can’t roll my eyes hard enough at historical novels with a main character who’s smart and independent and full of present-day views, and completely unaffected by living in their society.

In one storyline, we have American heiress Sydney who does show more a bunch of scandalous things like campaigning for birth control and traveling third-class! We’re told that these are scandalous, but then aren’t actually negative social consequences for that, everyone she meets is charmed and impressed by her antics.

We also have Isabel, working for the British military, in Room 40, typing decoded messages super quickly. She opens sealed messages and speaks her mind to the men who outrank her, and we’re told she’s nervous about her job, but there aren’t any professional or social consequences for it. I felt like I kept being told that women in this time can’t do X, but then they did, and it was fine. It created a strange, low-stakes atmosphere for a story that should have had pretty high stakes — Readers know the ship is going to sink! Isabel knows and can’t stop it, while Sydney is actually on the ship!

Not a bad book, but I think I wanted more about codebreaking and more shipboard life, and less how both of the main characters were Not Like Other Girls. show less

Happily adding to my Canadian authored Reading Challenges - #Canadian author, Kim Izzo offers a very contemporary JA P&P variation, complete with a delish Mr Darcy and full doses of laugh out loud humour.

About to turn forty, never married, Kate queries her friends, "Do you think I'm too old to marry well?" Thus begins a year long experiment as Kate pursues her answer.. and her story for the fashion magazine editor who contracts the article. Kate's adventures and escapades had me laughing show more out loud as she employs her best acting skills in pursuit of a rich husband and the worst case scenarios that result!

Getting 'the Jane Austen marriage manual' from reality to written results in relational fiascos of every proportion. Kate's premise being wrong from the get go, goes steadily from bad to worse. Finding rich men and forming unfounded opinions on their suitability as husband potential seems to be Kate's forte. Until...the one desired situation suddenly appears to swing in her favour. But will it bring the hoped for conclusion?

Kate has some unexpected soul searching to do before she says her final 'I do'...

Well written, believable and engaging characters, a story line that captured and kept my interest. [Forewarning on minimal dialogue profanity and inclusion of sex without graphic description] Thought provoking exploration of what really matters when it comes to romance and marriage... show less

The last voyage of the Lusitania is brought vividly to life in this novel that traces the intertwining lives of a few passengers and a British spy monitoring U-boats. I loved the character of Sydney Sinclair, a wealthy New York socialite and suffragette, who finds herself sailing on the grand ship with her older sister and her sister's British fiance. Sydney's rebelliousness propels much of the plot, especially as she spares with her more conforming sister and starts to harbor romantic show more feelings for her sister's fiance. Good reading for those who enjoy this era. show less