Where Is Your Bookmark? (a peek into The Girl From the Savoy & My First and Last Read of 2017)

A weekly meme where readers share the first sentence of the book they are reading and say what they think. Hosted by the wonderful Gillion Dumas of Rose City Reader.

In my heart, I always knew he would go; that they would all go, in the end. Now the dreaded day has arrived. Teddy is going to war and there is nothing I can do to prevent it.

Everything is a blur. I don't remember eating breakfast. I don't remember laying the fires or doing any of my usual chores. I don't remember hanging up my apron or putting on my coat and hat. I'm not even sure I closed the door behind me as I set off for the station, but I must have done all of these things because somehow I am here, standing on the platform, and he is pressing a bunch of daffodils into my hands. Somehow, he is really leaving.  

My thoughts: I am cheating this week and posting the first two paragraphs of my current read, The Girl From the Savoy by Hazel Gaynor. I love her writing style, and the way she pulls me right into the story.

The Girl From the Savoy by Hazel Gaynor

Presenting a dazzling new historical novel … The Girl From The Savoy is as sparkling as champagne and as thrilling as the era itself.
Sometimes life gives you cotton stockings. Sometimes it gives you a Chanel gown …
Dolly Lane is a dreamer; a downtrodden maid who longs to dance on the London stage, but her life has been fractured by the Great War. Memories of the soldier she loved, of secret shame and profound loss, by turns pull her back and spur her on to make a better life.
When she finds employment as a chambermaid at London’s grandest hotel, The Savoy, Dolly takes a step closer to the glittering lives of the Bright Young Things who thrive on champagne, jazz and rebellion. Right now, she must exist on the fringes of power, wealth and glamor—she must remain invisible and unimportant.
But her fortunes take an unexpected turn when she responds to a struggling songwriter’s advertisement for a ‘muse’ and finds herself thrust into London’s exhilarating theatre scene and into the lives of celebrated actress, Loretta May, and her brother, Perry. Loretta and Perry may have the life Dolly aspires to, but they too are searching for something.
Now, at the precipice of the life she has and the one she longs for, the girl from The Savoy must make difficult choices: between two men; between two classes, between everything she knows and everything she dreams of. A brighter future is tantalizingly close—but can a girl like Dolly ever truly leave her past behind? [Goodreads Summary]

A weekly meme in which readers share a random sentence or two from page 56 or 56% of the book they are reading. Hosted by the wonderful Freda of Freda's Voice.

O'Hara, the head of housekeeping, is a furious Irishwoman with a frown to freeze hell and an attitude to match. She is tall and strangely angular, her hair frozen in tight black waves around her face. Her arms are folded across her chest, her elbows straining against the fabric of her black silk dress, like fire irons waiting to prod anyone who gets in her way.  [excerpt from The Girl From the Savoy]

My thoughts: I am also cheating on this a bit because this is just the opening of the second chapter, and not page 56 (it's an e-copy and not well marked, I'm afraid). Dolly has just arrived for her first day at work at the Savoy. This description sure gives us a good idea of the kind of woman Dolly's supervisor is, doesn't it?


What do you think? Does this sound like something you would be interested in reading? 

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Everyone has a favorite and then we also have something we dislike. Like a coin, there are two sides to every question. Each week, Carrie at The Butterfly Reads and Laura from Blue Eye Books ask participants to list what they like and don't like about that week's topic.

This week's topic is First/Last Book Read in 2017:

First book read in 2017:

The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane by Lisa See ~ One of my favorite reads of the year.

Last book read in 2017:

Death Below Stairs (Kat Holloway Mysteries #1) by Jennifer Ashley ~ A great way to end the year--an outstanding historical mystery.

What was the first book you read in 2017?

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