About the Book:

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.

My Thoughts:

I loved this wonderful, beautiful, heartbreaking book! Told from multiple viewpoints, the story of Selina Lennox and the year of 1925 is spun out before us, like a strand of pools of light.

Selina is a Bright Young Thing, a frivolous, flightly, feckless party girl, who is often in the papers much to the dismay of her mother and sister, for her partying ways. Her hair is bobbed, her lipstick is red, and she runs with a fast crowd that calls the 6 pm cocktail hour the Glittering Hour.

But not many people know that inside, Selina is running from her own feelings. She lost her brother in the war, and feels such grief that the only way she knows how to deal with is by living for the both of them, enjoying and getting the most from her life. This is working for her until the fateful night she and her friends accidentally cause the death of a stray cat. Selina refuses to leave the poor thing, and meets Lawrence Weston, who helps her bury the cat.

Neither Lawrence or Selina are able to forget each other after this weird chance meeting however. And as fate would have it, their paths cross once again, launching their love affair.

When the book begins, it is 1936 and the reader hears from both Selina and her daughter Alice. Alice is living with the Grands, while her parents are away. Selina, knowing that Blackwood Park is a joyless place, has left a treasure hunt with clues for her daughter’s amusement – and to share the story of that fateful year.

I loved this book, the story, the characters, the time. It was a beautiful story, although a tearjerker to be sure! If you are a fan of historical fiction and love stories, be sure to check this book out!

I received this book from St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.