Review: The Glittering Hour by Iona Grey

The epic and long-awaited new romance from the author of Letters to the Lost, winner of the RNA Award.

Selina Lennox is a Bright Young Thing. Her life is a whirl of parties and drinking, pursued by the press and staying just the right side of scandal.

Lawrence Weston is a penniless painter who stumbles into Selina's orbit one night and can never let her go.

Spanning two decades and a seismic shift in British history as World War II approaches, this is an epic novel of passion, heartache and loss.

Review: This book had so many layers to i I could never predict where it was going. It has a fairly slow pace and so the storylines are gently woven and slowly spun out in front of you but that makes for an absorbing read, or an absorbing listen in my case. I thought the audiobook was incredibly well done with the two main characters have very different voices and tones in keeping with the physical book. 

I enjoyed the fact that this book jumps around in terms of what time we are in and whose storyline we are following, it definitely makes for a page turner because you want to hear from both sides and find out what is happening in each of the time frames. I would definitely recommend making sure you've got some time to dedicate to the beginning of the book as I ended up reading the first few chapters twice because my mind had drifted and I hadn't realised the shift in time or characters. I don't mind too much though because Iona Grey's writing is beautiful. 

Selina's story is really heartbreaking and so emotional. The fact that we get to see two major points in her life in a real treat because she is a complex character. I love the fact that she begins the book in one life and then we get to see her exciting world as a bright young thing in the glittering hour and see how she could have ended up. Lawrence is such a great character too and I couldn't help but feel for him at every turn of the page. I wish he had had an easier life but then it wouldn't have made for the romance that it did if he had. 

I enjoyed this book even though I am not normally a fan of books set in this time period. Iona Grey has a beautiful writing style and just such a way with weaving a story that will suck you in and have you turning the pages until the bitter end. 

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