The Glittering Hour

This was my first book to read of the year and was also a 5 star read, and a SOLID 5 start read at that!

I loved this book, and I can’t really gush enough. Iona Grey has done an amazing job, and we are blessed for that. We have made sure to stock this book in our family’s bookstore, Books ‘n’ Bears and I have been recommending it left and right. My customers that have read it have only had positive things to say about it.

After reading this book, I had to give myself some time before I wrote this review. I laughed, I cried, I laughed some more and cried even more, so much that I could not see the words on the page. Recovery time was a must.

With all my gushing aside, I don’t want to repeat the synopses of the book which the publisher has already done a very good job doing. So, I will instead talk about what I loved about the style of the book.

Young Alice is dropped off at her Grandmother’s house who she does not know very well. Her grandmother is distant, and the author begins to unfold clues of why this is by way of a scavenger hunt from letters from Alice’s mother while she is away.

The entire story is told in a dual narrative, it flows seamlessly between 1925 and 1936, with Selina’s letters added in giving it an epistolary flair. The author jumps back and forth across the decade from young Salina to 10 years later when she is traveling with her rich husband abroad on a business trip.

The writing is beautiful, and the books is a gorgeous work of art. I found myself stopping here and there and rereading a sentence or a paragraph that was so well done. Iona Grey is a very talented author and I look forward to reading anything that she comes out with in the future.

I want to thank Edelweiss, St Martins Press and Ms. Grey for an outstanding read, and for the advanced digital copy in exchange for an honest review.