Donna Russo Morin

I have had some time thinking about the book before I wrote this review and I think although it's a good book, would I have preferred to have read the previous book first. Now, I don't mean that it was hard to get into the story in this book, it's more like the mentioning of events from the first book made me curious about that book, to get the past stories behind all the characters. And, reading the first book would have made it easier to understand the characters, instead of learning during the books progress more about them.

Nevertheless, despite my lack of previous knowledge did I enjoy this book. I find the era fascinating and one thing I truly loved was reading a book about Leonardo da Vinci. Yes, it's a story about da Vinci's disciples, but I can't help being fascinated by the man and I loved that his POV was included in the book. I was also intrigued by Lorenzo de Medici. I really need to find more books about both men to read.

Anyway, besides that was it the women's struggles to be accepted as artists the thing that I found absolute fascinated to read about. It's OK for a woman to draw at home, but to be an artist? Nah, that's just for men. Made my blood boil I tell ya when I read some parts of the books when they were found out and had to take the public's scorn.

I want to thank the publisher for providing me with a free copy from NetGalley for an honest review!… (mais)

Gilded Dreams is the second book featuring two friends, Pearl and Ginevra and their two different worlds. They have been through so much together – I did not have the honor of reading Gilded Summers but Ms. Russo Morin does an excellent job of weaving in the salient details so that this book stands alone quite well. As I always note though, books in a series are always richer for reading all the books.

This book takes place during the last 8 years of the fight for women’s suffrage but it begins with the sinking of the Titanic. The impact of that tragedy on the residents of Newport, RI, was truly devastating as many of the well to do had their “cottages” there. The scenes surrounding that event are horrifying and heartrending. The ramifications for Pearl as she loses her family help to showcase some of the reasons that women were fighting so hard for their rights, culminating in the right to vote so as to be able to install legislators to promote their causes. (No comment on how far we have come and how far we still have to go.)

Both women are very compelling as characters each representing a very different demographic in the fight for women’s rights. Pearl is a child of privilege and Ginevra is an immigrant who has worked hard, gotten an education and overcome some trauma to find herself happily married and best friends with Pearl. The hows and whys of that friendship are detailed in Gilded Summers.

As Ginevra supports Pearl through her loss the two join a suffragette group and work to recruit others to the cause. This effort is supported by their husbands but not always by the other people in their social circles. As the fight for the right to vote for women reaches a boiling point these two friends are right in the midst of the battle. People against their efforts resort to deeply personal attacks against them but I’m not giving any spoilers by telling you that women are given the right to vote. The celebration of the ratification of the 19th amendment is approaching; the 90th anniversary is 8/18/20.

It’s thanks to the real women who inspired the fictional characters and the actual suffragettes featured that women are no longer just their father’s daughter or their husband’s wife. A woman can own property in her own right and she can vote. The fight was a hard one and reading out the efforts to stop it is both discouraging and horrifying. These women were beaten, jailed and treated like less than just for seeking to better themselves. Ms. Russo Morin brings the period to vivid life with two very rich characters to tell her tale. It’s a page turner of a book and a story that should be read and needs to be told for so many are unaware the battle. Not to mention there is still a long way to go.… (mais)

This novel follows Pearl and Ginevra, as they fight for women's rights and suffrage during the years of the sinking of the Titanic and WWI. WWI is when women really proved their abilities to do a man's job, while the men were off fighting in the war, after the US had entered it.

Pearl, sadly lost her family in the sinking of the Titanic. She is the only surviving member, and quickly learns from the lawyer that she is not entitled to any of the inheritance left. It will go to her husband, all of it. No female can take an inheritance, and their daughter is not yet old enough to inherit anything either. Thankfully her husband is one of a kind during this time, and the two are partners - he does not look at her as property.

Pearl and Ginevra, after finding this truth out, decide that change needs to come. How is this fair at all? Just the person is holding a meeting, at the right time and they soon get involved with the suffrage events that the Alva Vanderbilt Belmont has been doing. They are tasked with scouring the town to get other women to join. The more members they have, the more they can do. The more noise they can make.

WWI breaks out, and not too long after the US has joined. This has turned the tables with the suffragettes, in that they are now filling in the men's roles as they are off to war. So not only are they having to handle the household and children, they need to do all they can for the war. Not only does this help them, but the president himself has even spoken about women and them having more rights.

Everything Pearl and Ginevra has not been in vain, although it feels that often they take a step forward and then two steps back. The two, every prevailing do make headway in recruiting new women and even a few men to also then back their wives in this fight for more rights and the ability to vote.

This was a good read about suffragettes, and the struggle women had back then to be their own person and have rights with out the man's say so. It was interesting to read about how WWI did kind of change the outlook of women's roles and helped in a way propel the change of minds of many to look at women as not just a child bearer and property.

Thank you to the author, and HFVBT for the invite to the tour, and sending me a free book! I enjoyed reading about these two ladies, and all of the groundwork they laid out for us to have gotten where we are with women having rights, the ability to vote and be a persons ourselves.… (mais)