The Gilded Hour

I thoroughly enjoyed this story, the details, the characters and the many twists and turns of the plot. I can't wait for the next one in the series so I can find out what happens in the lives of the characters I now feel like I know so well.

In this book, Sara Donati fast forwards to the late 1880s in NY City with characters who are related to the women from her "Into the Wilderness" series. Her characters are fully developed and real. It was hard to put the book down. Kudos to Sara D. for creating another satisfying story of courage and love.

Thank you Sara Donati for another amazing story! I have cried and laughed through the whole book. Please make this a series, I need to know about the rest of their lives! What am I to do with myself now?

The Gilded Hour is my favourite kind of relaxation novel - an ideal one for the coming Summer holidays. It combines an interesting narrative with enough believable historical content and appealing characters. Strong female protagonists always work for me! I also loved reading about New York during this period of time. There is an underlying crime and the mystery of lost children to be solved as well. I have not read other novels within this series and found The Gilded Hour as a great stand alone novel.

An extremely interesting book. The characters come alive and you realise the that women fought the system and racism to have the careers they wanted. The two female doctors, alike but different , gives an interesting of what it was like to be a woman doctor in the 1800's in America and also what it meant to be a negro no matter how light skinned. I am looking forward to another in this series.

Very readable story if you like historical fiction with a medical leaning. Felt that it was longer than it needed to be and yet at the end may issues were left hanging and as I suspected it was to lead you to the sequel.

Gives a different point of view of strong female characters during a time in history when women were beginning to break with traditional female roles. The plots kept me turning the pages and I didn't want the story to end.

Having thoroughly enjoyed reading and rereading the entire Wilderness series, when The Gilded Hour was released I immediately ordered it for my Kindle...unfortunately, it is no where near the caliber of Ms. Donati's earlier novels. At times, I even wondered if it was the same author. The writing style lacks flow and continuity - on numerous occasions, rehashing events from previous chapters using slighly different phrasing. Dialogue felt stilted and contrived and I felt no connection to the characters. The historical events which occurred in that time frame were so powerful and the emergence of women to finally take their hard won place in society could have made for a truly riveting story. Obviously, a sequel is planned but it won't be ordered by this reader - sorry - not interested.

I really enjoyed this. It was typical Donati in that it made me think about sexism and other bigotry and their implications in ways I'd never perceived before. The historical detail was interesting, especially around the medical procedures and there are some characters that Wilderness fans will recognize. The only downside for me was that Sophie was under developed. It's Anna's story, not both. It's obviously going to have a sequel which I look forward too.

This book was definitely a struggle to read. The central theme started out well enough, that is, if you don’t mind the trite romance passages. Two women, cousins, one biracial and the other white, are doctors during the late 19th century. There are four orphans that they become acquainted with at immigrant entry point in Hoboken NJ. They are able to save two of the four orphans, but two of them are missing after a skirmish at the dock. They eventually find the baby who had been adopted by s loving couple. However, the last of the orphans is forgotten, and only reappears at the end. About 360 pages in a second theme takes flight regarding the conception/abortion conflict. As a reader I thought, okay this is now a mystery story. But this theme is never resolved! The fourth orphan is found but with a major anticlimax. Don’t waste your time to read 735 pages of frustration. Shame on the part of the editors/publishing company.

Great story and rich with characters but the ending didn't tie up some loose ends for me. Hopefully there is a sequel. Felt a bit empty when I finished it with questions about what happened to parts of the story.

I was disappointed that the ending left so many plots hanging, although it was obviously a set up for the next book in series. Overall, I enjoyed the story, but not to the extent of the Wilderness series.

Donate does not disappoint in The Gilded Hour! Beautiful narrative, engaging characters, and meticulously researched history. I was nervous I would miss the Bonner clan too much to enjoy this book, but was I wrong! The Savard women, generations later than the Savards we were first introduced to, are as engrossing as their predecessors. Wonderful historical fiction!

I enjoyed reading this book. Historical fiction is my favorite and this book surely satisfies that demand. I have read the author,s previous books . I enjoyed looking forward to reading this book and loved that the setting for the book was Manhattan

Lovely, well written and intriguing. I enjoyed every moment. Most of all it made me want to read other books by this author and I discovered "Into the Wild". I am on the second book in that series and it is fantastic.

While Donati is a talented writer and can definitely turn a charming phrase, I found this book grueling in its quotidian (daily details) minutiae and meandering pace. So much description, so many lists, and frequent departures from the rising action. And the sex seemed distracting, almost gratuitous -- it was supposed to be a suspense novel (I guess), about female physicians in the 19th century, and to have the main character (Dr. Anna Savard) ending up in the sack so often with her fiancé (later husband) just made this book feel like a ragout of unrelated and jerky themes. I got VERY weary of the constant references to him stroking the sensitive skin on the inside of her wrist. Enough already. And what a jolt to get to the end of the book and have the principal crime unresolved. What? What? Even though Donati might pick up this thread in her next novel (many reviewers have expressed their hopes), I will thankfully remain unaware of the next act in this play.

After reading PIONEER DOCTOR, a biography of another woman doctor of the late 19th century who practiced in Montana, it is fascinating to be personally involved with two of her contemporaries in New York who had to fight their battles with Anthony Comstock face to face. His narrow minded and bigoted attack on women affected all families in the United States. Thank you, Sara Donati for a great read. Jeanne Tallman, Whitefish, Montana.

Well written, it keeps the reader interested. The author also lets the reader hanging at the end in anticipation of the next book, which I hope is forthcoming soon to see how the mystery in the plot is finally solved.

I enjoyed the book very much; Donati's writing is delightful. It kept my interest and enjoyed the characters. It may be difficult for some people to read due to some graphic nature of surgery. I was disappointed in the end - book ended abruptly.

Sara Donatti captures the essence of the late 1800 and how it was for women of that time. The story line connects with her Wilderness books, which makes The Gilded Hour more enchanting. I look forward to the next book.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book but was terribly disappointed in how it ended. Spoiler alert: The book ended with no resolution to many of the sub-plots. It just ended abruptly. Perhaps the author is setting up for a sequel?

Sara Donati is such a wonderful writer and her books so well researched. This one is harder to read than the Paradise books because of the subject matter, but her characters are warm and interesting and the plot is exciting, sad and happy all at once. Anyone interested in women's history post Civil war, in the history of medicine and in the plight of immigrants in NYC will love this book. I caution that the medical bits are very descriptive

This was a well written book and excellent story about life for women and orphaned children in the late 1800's. I loved the strong characters of Anna and Jack as well as their love story. It was long but kept my interest the whole time. Highly recommended.

Fascinating look at late 19th Century New York life, social issues, situation of the poor, immigrants, social stratification, and women's rights. Fascinating, strong characters: women doctors in a man's world, and the moral policing against contraception by the infamous Anthony Comstock and his cronies. First in a new series, next volume eagerly awaited by this reader!

If you are looking for a continuation of the Into The Wilderness series.....this book is NOT for you. I was intrigued by the notion that this novel revolved around two descendants of the Bonner/Savard clan, but this book really does stand apart from the Wilderness saga. One could easily read this without having read the Wilderness books, and not feel the lack of the backstory. I felt that this book was extremely slow for about the first 70 pages, and more than once I was inclined to give it up just over the pace. But as slowly as it started, it quickly gained speed and it was an easy read from there on out. *BUT.* This book is not advertised on its jacket as being a murder mystery, which is in essence what it is. That is not my genre of preference, and the killings themselves are gruesome in both the motivation behind them and in the method. I do not begrudge Donati for tackling not-for-the-dinner-table issues, and I don't expect the hard things to be avoided or watered-down just for the sake of the reader's sensitivities. But as someone who generally avoids books, tv shows, and movies involving violent pre-meditated murder, this book was a turn-off. Anna and Jack are well-developed characters, and I was genuinely glad to have Lily Bonner back with us and strong in personality despite the physical failings of old age. But after all is said and done, I came out of this book somewhat disappointed. I longed for characters, setting, and a time in history which were all left behind at the conclusion of The Endless Forest, and that is my own problem, not the author's. But I was not prepared for all of the darkness that encompasses this book. If this novel had not advertised "descendants of the Bonners," I don't think I ever would have read it. So I do feel somewhat duped. And yes, there is clearly going to be a sequel. Too many plot lines were left loose that will need resolution. As of now I'm not sure if I'm invested enough in these characters to see it through to the end.

Having read the Into The Wilderness series, I was excited to read Ms. Donati's newest novel. I was not disappointed. Her development of characters in the time, place, and setting of the late 19th century is masterful. She deals with some very controversial topics that still relate today, with an insight that leaves the reader thoughtful, angry, and hopeful. Well done, Ms. Donati!