Sometimes I get pitched books months and months in advance and sometimes I simply forget a title until I pull up my calendar for the following month to see what I have coming up to read.
That’s what happened with this book. I pulled up my December calendar…..the day after I made my Book of the Month selection for December. If you guys didn’t know, this book was a Book of the Month pick for December and Evie Dunmore who wrote Bringing Down the Duke (one of my favorite read of the year) recommended it so before I could look at my upcoming calendar, I selected this one and was set to watch my mailbox for it to arrive.
The following day (once my box shipped mind you) I pulled up my December review calendar and low and behold there was The Glittering Hour on my schedule! I had been sitting on the ARC e-copy this entire time and hadn’t read it yet! Well you can imagine how fast I downloaded my ARC to my iPad and started reading.
Summary
An unforgettable historical about true love found and lost and the secrets we keep from one another from an award-winning author
Selina Lennox is a Bright Young Thing. Her life is a whirl of parties and drinking, pursued by the press and staying on just the right side of scandal, all while running from the life her parents would choose for her.
Lawrence Weston is a penniless painter who stumbles into Selina’s orbit one night and can never let her go even while knowing someone of her stature could never end up with someone of his. Except Selina falls hard for Lawrence, envisioning a life of true happiness. But when tragedy strikes, Selina finds herself choosing what’s safe over what’s right.
Spanning two decades and a seismic shift in British history as World War II approaches, Iona Grey’s The Glittering Hour is an epic novel of passion, heartache and loss (summary from Goodreads).
Review
One of the things that drew me to this novel (besides the glorious cover) is that it promised a romance forcing the characters to choose between passion and safety. I love love love that troupe. For women during that time so many chose safety but there were a few wild ones who threw caution to the wind for romance I am sure and I was eager to read a story with this troupe. Many reviews said the romance was also a slow burn, adding that to the mixture I was so ready for this book! Primed to love it more or less.
This book took me on an emotional rollercoaster! It started out a little slow and it was full of delicate prose so it did come across as slightly on the wordy side but once I got used to the story telling style, it was fine and I didn’t have any trouble being immersed in the story what-so-ever.
I will say, the review I read were spot on when it came to this being more of a slow burn romance. It was drawn out and heartbreaking but also so fulfilling emotionally. It’s hard to explain without giving anything away in the plot but just know that yes it’s a slow burn but it will be worth it so just keep reading.
I would also recommend having tissues close by because it was so emotional and I often found myself tearing up. To me, that’s a sign of how invested I was in the story and characters. I felt completely caught up in it all and when I had to put a bookmark in, I was emerge feeling as though I was disorientated. I felt as though I was right there along with the characters during the 1920s and felt out of place in my house—that’s how good the writing was.
I al so thrilled that I picked this book as my Book of the Month pick even though I had an ARC at home. It was a book I will treasure and will want to share with family and friends as well as return to so I am glad to have it on hand. If you are shopping for historical fiction fans this holiday season, this is a book that they are sure to love, I know I did!
The Lit Bitch 
This sounds interesting. I’m usually put off by slow burn romance, but if you can get through it, it sounds like a winner.