Thank you NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.
Ellie has done it all for her family. She’s made a home, supported her husband’s career, and launched two handsome young men off into the world. So when her husband announced he wanted a divorce, she was awestruck. But after all she’d done for them, it was time to put herself first. So Ellie packed up the car, including two other ladies from their village, and headed off to find what she’d been missing in her life for decades. The question is, will the ladies find it before World War II breaks out?
Known for her best-selling mystery novels, Rhys Bowen is back this time with a historical fiction filled with hope and romance in Mrs. Endicott’s Splendid Adventure. Set just before and during the outbreak of World War II, Bowen explores the challenges women faced to lead rewarding and productive lives without supportive men, and then again with them. This book also explores those marginalized by society both now and then – autistic individuals and those in the LGBTQ+ community. Further, Bowen shows how even one small act of defiance can create a large impact and that every small contrition leads to much larger wins for the enemy. Above all, this is a book about the power of community and coming together to fight against a common enemy – something so important in the historical setting of the novel, and again in today’s environment.
I give Mrs. Endicott’s Splendid Adventure 4 out of 5 stars. I really loved the character of Ellie and how she was the shelter for so many misfit-type characters along the way. However, the beginning of the novel felt a bit forced – this usually meek woman suddenly stood up for herself with little prompting and these women who she barely knew suddenly thrust themselves into her adventure? Otherwise, this was a book that kept my attention throughout – I was invested from the time the ladies arrived in their new home to find out who capture Ellie’s heart and was not disappointed. I also appreciated the way Bowen wrote about the marriages of convenience that protected both the resident aliens and those in the LGBTQ+ community during that era – I believe these are still common in some areas and it was interesting to see them in practice here.
With discussions of war and physical violence, this book would be best directed to more mature audiences over 13. I would also recommend this book for historical fiction book clubs and romance book clubs alike! If you like Under the Tuscan Sun or Eat Pray Love, or even any of the many historical fiction and romance novels set during this era, you’ll love this book!
I chose Mrs. Endicott’s Splendid Adventure because of it’s cover. This one immediately caught my eye on Netgalley – the cover is absolutely gorgeous featuring the property that Ellie and the ladies live in after leaving England. That property becomes as much of a character in the book as any of them and has me daydreaming of a trip to the French coast to see villas like it with my own eyes!
Mrs. Endicott’s Splendid Adventure will release on August 5th. Preorder your copy today in our Bookshop.org store!
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