The Lions of Fifth Avenue A Novel

I read this book for book club, and I chose it because of the link to the NY Public Library and the bookish themes throughout. I truly enjoyed this story split between 1913 and 1993, with two characters from the same family of a fictional famous writer. The 1913 storyline touches on the restrictive role of women during that time, and the groups in NYC at that time trying to change things. The 1993 storyline also examines choices women have available to them, nearly a century later. There are also book thefts in both time periods and complicated relationships. I wish Goodreads would allow me to give half stars because this is a solid 3.5 star rating for me - very much worth my time and very much a good story. Can’t wait to discuss with my book club friends!

This was a hard book to finish. Too many lines that elicited eyerolls, too many British expressions from Americans. Too many one dimensional characters and boring sidebars.

I’m trying something new here and writing a review the second I finish the book. I don’t usually do that, but with this one I wanted to have my reasoning fresh in my mind. This book was a Good Morning America book club choice back in 2020, right around when I started following the bigger, celebrity book clubs. It had an absurdly long hold time on Overdrive, so I kept putting off adding it to my holds because I wanted to get books in that weren’t going to take as long. Eventually, my interest in this one waned and it ended up in my TBR backlist notebook (I’m not sure if I should be embarrassed that I have an entire notebook of books to read…or not? I’ll never get to them all.) and I moved on with more recent releases. Then in January of 2022, another Fiona Davis book showed up as a Book of the Month main selection and I decided to revisit the availability of the older Fiona Davis, and there it was: available without a hold. Jackpot. Ish. I read The Magnolia Palace before I read this one and didn’t exactly love it. I didn’t hate it, I just found it middle of the road. The end of the book is what propelled it to the rating I eventually gave it (much like this one, the ending saved the book), but the bulk of the book was boring. This one is pretty damn similar. I have long been fascinated by the New York Public Library and the apartment within. I felt like that would have been an absolute dream of a place to live: imagine unlimited access to all those books. I would have never run out of things to read (and thanks to most library systems having online ebook access, I never do run out of things to read)! I couldn’t wait to dig into this one. The premise is intriguing, and it starts strong. There is an air of mystery and a clear understated message of misogyny, which I expected in the 1913 sections and was a little surprised by in the 1993 sections. Misogyny became a theme of the story, but it wasn’t the main theme, nor were the book thefts, or even the broken family dynamics. In fact, there didn’t seem to be a “main” theme. This book just had too many subplots that drew the story in one too many directions, yet not really fulfilling any of them adequately. I also wanted so much more of the characters’ storylines. Laura was such a fascinating character, but I didn’t feel like I got to know her very well. The book stopped short of fully developing her story. I wanted so much more of her relationship with Amelia Potter and their time in London. I wanted so much more of Pearl and how her life progressed from the little girl in the library to the grandmother living with her son. We learned nothing of Pearl’s life. Then to have Harry reintroduced at the very end was HUGELY disappointing. What has his life been like the entire time? And finally, Sadie. I felt like Davis barely skimmed the surface of what could have also been a fascinating character. Instead of diving deeply into any of the characters, Davis gave a ghostly outline of all of them. It all left me feeling deprived of what could have been a great book.

Love the premise of both plot lines. Unfortunately, I wasn’t a fan of the execution. There was something about Davis’s writing style that left me cold. The characters, be it their motivations or their personalities or their conversations with one another, all felt stilted and unconvincing. I love the library setting, and the discussion on the importance of books in general and primary sources in particular. But I kept having to suspend my disbelief over the actions and internal struggles of the main characters. I have no problem suspending my disbelief when reading fantasy or magical realism or science fiction, but I feel that I shouldn’t have to when it comes to contemporary or historical fiction. While I enjoyed the mystery and the act of reading a book about books, this one just didn’t really work for me. Three stars for keeping me reading even when I wasn't enamored.

Davis intertwines two stories of women separated by two generations together in a way that gives us much. I enjoyed seeing the development of Sadie as the story progressed, and the way she let herself take up space. I believe this has been the push for women in the last five years, so finding it in this novel strangely took me out of the story. Many of the themes took me out of the time period they were supposed to occur. Understandably, these themes meant to show how progressive he leading ladies were for their time. And, yet, while the first time period made sense, the second time period (1993) chosen felt unnatural. Davis writes straight-forward- her tells you what is occurring, putting their emotions directly on page without leaving the reader any room for guessing. This makes the reader's job easy, but by the end I dreamed of Murakami's nuances or even Herriot's ability to show people's intentions in their actions. This book tells a good story about women. It tells the story well. Pick it up if you need a well-told story about two women.

Fiona Davis' latest novel, The Lions of Fifth Avenue, is another excellent work of women-centered historical fiction. Set in the main branch of the New York Public Library in 1913 and 1993, the story follows Laura Lyons and, eighty years later, her granddaughter Sadie Donovan. The dual timelines work together to unravel a string of mysterious rare book thefts decades apart. Wife, mother, and aspiring writer Laura lives in a hidden apartment inside the library with her husband and two young children, but as much as she loves her picture-perfect family, she craves a career in journalism. After enrolling in the Columbia School of Journalism, she finds herself swept up by the radical women of Greenwich Village, activists who rail against the patriarchal society that restricts female autonomy. Drawn like a sheltered moth to the bright flame of this movement, Laura finds not only article inspiration for her class assignments, but a camaraderie that grows into an intense escape from her stifling domestic life. Librarian Sadie is in charge of a massive rare book exhibition at NYPL, but her curating plans derail when integral works in the collection begin to disappear. She is under scrutiny for the thefts, but is determined to uncover the truth behind both the recent crimes and the long-unsolved mystery of missing books from the time her grandmother lived in the library apartments. Both women navigate the fine line between desire and duty as they strive to find solace from tumultuous tension at work and home. My only criticisms were I wanted even more of Laura's journeys into Greenwich Village bohemia, and I found some of Sadie's chapters to be less engaging than the 1913 chapters at certain points. But I really loved the queer content and the strong, smart, flawed women at the center of the story. Overall, the main characters were likable and the atmosphere lovely. [4/5: A fast read that made my librarian heart happy (even though Sadie used gloves on thin paper but that's okay I'm okay). It is very clear how much Fiona Davis loves the NYPL, and I enjoyed learning about the little secrets of the beautiful main branch building. Readers of historical fiction, especially novels with dual timelines, will enjoy this one. And anyone looking for 'books about books/libraries' will find much to savor here!] Many thanks to the publisher (Penguin Random House) and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

To most it may seem that Laura Lyons lives the perfect life for a woman in 1913. She has a loving family, and her husband has a great job as the superintendent of the New York Public Library, where they all live in an apartment within the grand building. Despite all this, Laura wants more. She's passionate about having her own career and being able to stand on her own. When she gets accepted to Columbia Journalism School, she thinks she's one step closer to her dream. As her studies take her all over the City, she's drawn to the new bohemian vibe of Greenwich Village. Here, her friend and confidant, Amelia Potter, introduces her to the Heterodoxy Club-- a club full of free-thinking, radical women who aren't afraid to loudly voice their opinions on all matters from women's rights to birth control. While Laura is off having the time of her life, books start going missing at the library and her family start to fall apart, and she must confront these issues before she loses everything. In 1993 New York, Sadie Donovan has just been promoted to her dream job as curator of the Berg Collection at the New York Public Library. Her joy soon turns sour after a string of thefts start cropping up and priceless books go missing. Sadie, who happens to be the granddaughter of the famed essayist, Laura Lyons, has always felt a deep connection to the library, so she doesn't take these thefts lightly. As she assists the private investigator in getting to the bottom of them, she uncovers some unsettling truths about her family. Especially when she learns about the thefts during her grandmother's time, and how they eerily line up with what's happening now. Historical fiction set in New York and at a library? Sign me up! I was really interested in this story and I did enjoy it, but I just felt it was missing something. I loved following Laura on her journey to independence. I went to school for journalism, so I felt a connection straight away. Watching her ferret out stories and try so hard to prove herself was empowering. She never let her gender hinder her, instead used it to pave her own way, and it was so amazing to see it work out so well. I enjoyed the Laura chapters slightly more than Sadie's for that reason. I liked Sadie, but I did find her slightly annoying at times. She came off a little too pretentious on occasion, which in turn, made it hard for me to connect fully. The two different book theft mysteries worked well and the way Davis weaved them together was nice. I will say I guessed the outcome for the 1913 mystery, but the one from Sadie's time threw me, and while I did appreciate the fact that I didn't see it coming, I felt it was wrapped up a little too conveniently. Overall, this was an enjoyable story and one to pick up if you're a fan of the genre.

Lyon’s of 5th Avenue I loved the description and stories that came with the characters living in and loving the library. The secrets the library held and the mystery of the missing books was very intriguing and had me hurrying to the last page to figure out what happened.