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ashylibrarian 's review for:
The Lions of Fifth Avenue
by Fiona Davis
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
4.75/5 (physical book)
CW: Cheating, parent hitting child, arrest
Living in a library? Rare books? Book thefts and mystery? Progressive, feminist movements? Count me in!
I adored this read, and it incorporated basically everything I live for. It took me a bit longer than usual to read because of grad school coursework and my regular two jobs, but The Lions of Fifth Avenue by Fiona Davis is a beautifully constructed story with dual narratives that are taking place about 80 years apart. Our two main characters Laura Lyons and Sadie Donovan are living separate but similar lives, the biggest difference? Laura Lyons was living in 1913/-14 New York/London, and Sadie Donovan was living in 1993 New York.
I was captivated by the blurb on the inside cover and was not disappointed. The characters were complex and developed throughout the entire story, really helping to pull me in within the first few chapters.
I fell in love with basically all of the female characters because they were written as strong, independent, and determined, even those written in the 1913 perspective. Laura's aspirations to become a journalist/writer created a wonderful narrative and the events that followed her decision to try pushed against traditional gender expectations. Her character pushed those limits and explored what was really out in the world for her.
Sadie's dedication to her work and understanding of her family's past was intriguing, and the way in which Davis wrote this made it feel like I was there exploring the history with her.
Call me a nerd, but I was definitely on edge while reading the scenes of the book thefts or the discovery of the missing book. It was something that got my head racing and kept my attention the entire time.
The ending had me fooled, also, though I did have suspicions of the character named as a thief when we were first introduced to them. I enjoyed the way it played out, but it would have been nice to maybe have one more chapter at the end, looking into the future changes that happened after the final event.
SPOILERS AHEAD
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The one part I could have done without was the romance between Sadie and Nick. It added the sub-plotline of interfering with his line of work as a detective, but I just didn't feel like it needed to be there.
On the other hand, I loved the way that Sadie's and Claude's relationship worked. There was the initial romance that turned sour, and, because of this, their relationship at work was clouded. But I thought Davis's choice to rekindle the friendship at the end of the novel with the mutual happiness that the thief had been caught was smart. It felt realistic and made me smile!
I really enjoyed the development and demise of Jack Lyons. His character was kind of secretive but filled with great emotion. I felt like any time he would come up, I could feel the emotions he was feeling and, though I did not always agree with his actions, it was interesting to understand his point of view. I was angered for Laura when he would shoot down her aspirations or make his priorities more important than the families. I cheered when he finished the manuscript and was going to send it to publishers. I fumed when he laid his hands on little Harry. And I was confused and sorrowed (for the family) when he committed suicide. All of this shaped Jack's character into something of an emotional masterpiece, and for that, I am grateful to Davis.
I was not expecting Robin to be the book thief, however, I was suspicious of her character when she was first introduced as the new baby sitter. I was also not expecting one of the board members to be involved, either. This was a nice twist on the story for me.
I do also wish we had received one more chapter that looked at a few months into the future. I was curious about the changes that would be made in the library for security, how the relation with Uncle Harry developed, if at all, and what it was like for Sadie to be named curator permanently.
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SPOILERS OVER
This was a wonderful read with everything I love learning about. I am interested in picking up more of Davis's books in the future, so let me know if you have read any and what you think! Highly recommend picking up this read.
CW: Cheating, parent hitting child, arrest
Living in a library? Rare books? Book thefts and mystery? Progressive, feminist movements? Count me in!
I adored this read, and it incorporated basically everything I live for. It took me a bit longer than usual to read because of grad school coursework and my regular two jobs, but The Lions of Fifth Avenue by Fiona Davis is a beautifully constructed story with dual narratives that are taking place about 80 years apart. Our two main characters Laura Lyons and Sadie Donovan are living separate but similar lives, the biggest difference? Laura Lyons was living in 1913/-14 New York/London, and Sadie Donovan was living in 1993 New York.
I was captivated by the blurb on the inside cover and was not disappointed. The characters were complex and developed throughout the entire story, really helping to pull me in within the first few chapters.
I fell in love with basically all of the female characters because they were written as strong, independent, and determined, even those written in the 1913 perspective. Laura's aspirations to become a journalist/writer created a wonderful narrative and the events that followed her decision to try pushed against traditional gender expectations. Her character pushed those limits and explored what was really out in the world for her.
Sadie's dedication to her work and understanding of her family's past was intriguing, and the way in which Davis wrote this made it feel like I was there exploring the history with her.
Call me a nerd, but I was definitely on edge while reading the scenes of the book thefts or the discovery of the missing book. It was something that got my head racing and kept my attention the entire time.
The ending had me fooled, also, though I did have suspicions of the character named as a thief when we were first introduced to them. I enjoyed the way it played out, but it would have been nice to maybe have one more chapter at the end, looking into the future changes that happened after the final event.
SPOILERS AHEAD
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
The one part I could have done without was the romance between Sadie and Nick. It added the sub-plotline of interfering with his line of work as a detective, but I just didn't feel like it needed to be there.
On the other hand, I loved the way that Sadie's and Claude's relationship worked. There was the initial romance that turned sour, and, because of this, their relationship at work was clouded. But I thought Davis's choice to rekindle the friendship at the end of the novel with the mutual happiness that the thief had been caught was smart. It felt realistic and made me smile!
I really enjoyed the development and demise of Jack Lyons. His character was kind of secretive but filled with great emotion. I felt like any time he would come up, I could feel the emotions he was feeling and, though I did not always agree with his actions, it was interesting to understand his point of view. I was angered for Laura when he would shoot down her aspirations or make his priorities more important than the families. I cheered when he finished the manuscript and was going to send it to publishers. I fumed when he laid his hands on little Harry. And I was confused and sorrowed (for the family) when he committed suicide. All of this shaped Jack's character into something of an emotional masterpiece, and for that, I am grateful to Davis.
I was not expecting Robin to be the book thief, however, I was suspicious of her character when she was first introduced as the new baby sitter. I was also not expecting one of the board members to be involved, either. This was a nice twist on the story for me.
I do also wish we had received one more chapter that looked at a few months into the future. I was curious about the changes that would be made in the library for security, how the relation with Uncle Harry developed, if at all, and what it was like for Sadie to be named curator permanently.
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
SPOILERS OVER
This was a wonderful read with everything I love learning about. I am interested in picking up more of Davis's books in the future, so let me know if you have read any and what you think! Highly recommend picking up this read.