The Lions of Fifth Avenue by Fiona Davis

Photo Credit: Dutton

This book was sent to Traveling With T for review consideration.

The Lions of Fifth Avenue

Summary: In nationally bestselling author Fiona Davis’s latest historical novel, a series of book thefts roils the iconic New York Public Library, leaving two generations of strong-willed women to pick up the pieces.

It’s 1913, and on the surface, Laura Lyons couldn’t ask for more out of life–her husband is the superintendent of the New York Public Library, allowing their family to live in an apartment within the grand building, and they are blessed with two children. But headstrong, passionate Laura wants more, and when she takes a leap of faith and applies to the Columbia Journalism School, her world is cracked wide open. As her studies take her all over the city, she finds herself drawn to Greenwich Village’s new bohemia, where she discovers the Heterodoxy Club–a radical, all-female group in which women are encouraged to loudly share their opinions on suffrage, birth control, and women’s rights. Soon, Laura finds herself questioning her traditional role as wife and mother. But when valuable books are stolen back at the library, threatening the home and institution she loves, she’s forced to confront her shifting priorities head on . . . and may just lose everything in the process.

Eighty years later, in 1993, Sadie Donovan struggles with the legacy of her grandmother, the famous essayist Laura Lyons, especially after she’s wrangled her dream job as a curator at the New York Public Library. But the job quickly becomes a nightmare when rare manuscripts, notes, and books for the exhibit Sadie’s running begin disappearing from the library’s famous Berg Collection. Determined to save both the exhibit and her career, the typically risk-adverse Sadie teams up with a private security expert to uncover the culprit. However, things unexpectedly become personal when the investigation leads Sadie to some unwelcome truths about her own family heritage–truths that shed new light on the biggest tragedy in the library’s history.

Traveling With T’s Thoughts:

This is my first Fiona Davis book and you know… why have I  not been reading her books?

 

What I liked:

Ya’ll this cover is AMAZEBALLS.

I kinda loved that I have been to this landmark that she is writing about. The NYPL- whether or not you are a reader- is def something to take in. The lions, the rooms, the books. Now if I was up there after reading this book- well, there def would be a bookstagram photo shoot happening 🙂

The mystery of the book. I liked wondering who was taking the books- why they were taking them- but more specifically- HOW they were doing it. Good intrigue.

 

Bottom line: I would def read more of Fiona’s books (and lucky for me- I have a couple already to choose from!)

 

*This book was sent to Traveling With T for review consideration. All thoughts and opinions are mine alone.*

 

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Happy Reading and Bookishly Yours,

T @ Traveling With T

4 thoughts on “The Lions of Fifth Avenue by Fiona Davis

    • Nice! I’ve met her at Expo a couple of times for previous books and was hoping she would be at Expo in 2020 but then Expo got cancelled- so… I would love to hear her talk about the research she did into this book!

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