The Address

"Very atmospheric historical fiction that almost feels gothic. The more modern storyline has the same feel."

"Dragged on and on"

"I found "The Address" to be a book that left me in a state of mixed feelings. History is my passion. Thus, when engrossed in historical fiction, it is imperative that the writer possess the necessary expertise to transport me seamlessly into the period I am exploring. Fiona Davis certainly excels in that. “The Address” evoked the same warm fascination I experience when looking at my collection of 1800s photos. It is very clear that Davis poured her heart and soul into researching the Gilded Age, as well as the history of The Dakota. Her writing style is another big positive. I truly loved her voice and her sentence structure. Davis articulates her expository and descriptive style well, keeping it clean and not overly verbose. Davis is undoubtedly a talented writer.<br/><br/>Now, onto the “issues.”<br/>I have never read any other work written by Fiona Davis before, hence this book was our “first date,” so to speak, but in this specific book I found the character’s development to be lackluster, except for maybe Bailey. This is a dual-timeline story. Sara is the protagonist for the historical timeline and Bailey for the modern-day story. Sadly, I could not connect with Sara, and that irked me since her story and timeline were what I cared the most about. She was just not very three-dimensional. There was no depth to her choices, no build-up. I kept finding myself scratching my head at her constant, terrible choices and actions. Bailey had more depth, and with her at least, I could connect slightly. The second issue, regretfully, is the plot itself. The concept was sound, but the plot was predictable, and the only moving force was a chain of dramatic events that just rolled in progressively, while Sara just floated in the middle of it, pulled by the currents, helpless. In the first few pages, we see Sara taking a chance and embarking on a ship to America. I expected that boldness and curiosity of the mind to play an integral part in the story. Instead, after reaching the USA, Sara completely changes. She goes from being shrewd, firm (but fair), and career-driven, to soft, gullible, and hopeless. Moreover, I had the strange feeling Davis was not sure in what sub-genre she was writing. Was she going for historical romance or historical mystery? Or both? In any case, the romance and mystery did not have enough presence to make them feel significant (although they were necessary for the ending, they lacked development, and they felt rushed).<br/><br/>And, yet, despite the issues, I still think this book was not terrible, nor bad (I have seen terrible, and I have seen bad. This is far from being any of them). “The Address” makes an easy, relaxing read. Fiona Davis is most definitely a talented writer, and I still want to read more of her books. Maybe “The Address” just did not hit all the right notes for me, and her other books will? I shall find out!  <br/><br/>I am giving this one 3 ☆☆☆ because her writing and the amount of research poured into it were impeccable."

"Great story from the Gilded Age!"

"I do have few favorites but i have to say i most enjoyed the Historian. "

"http://www.anurseandabook.com/2017/07/the-address-by-fiona-davis.html<br/><br/>I enjoyed The Dollhouse so I was really excited to get an advanced copy of The Address. I always like historical fiction, and although it started a little bit slow, I was engrossed pretty quickly.<br/><br/>Bailey is desperate for money and a place to live, so she takes up residence at The Dakota, a historic apartment building - at the beck and call of her party girl "cousin, Melinda. Although they aren't technically related, they have a family bond, and right now Melinda is the only one who will give her the time of day. <br/><br/>Even though Bailey does't agree with the design style Melinda is leaning towards (could anyone's taste really be that bad?), she knows she is in no position to argue - and kowtowing to Melinda has been a constant in Bailey's life since they were children.<br/><br/>When Bailey finds some belongings in an old trunk, she realizes that there might be more to her family story than she knew.....<br/><br/>There was the time hop story between the past and the present, and if I had one complaint - it would be that the present story wasn't nearly as compelling as the past. Part of the was that i didn't really find Bailey to be that likable, and the romantic storyline was almost sterile in tone. <br/><br/>I cared much more about Sara and her story, and wanted to know how she ended up in an asylum and known through history as a murderess.<br/><br/>All in all, another winner by Fiona Davis<br/><br/>Current Goodreads Rating 4.06<br/>"