Because I am a university student who does a Humanities degree it means I spend the majority of my time reading which ultimately means my reading for pleasure suffers as I tend to use my breaks to catch up on TV or YouTube. However, after starting this book last August (and then stupidly leaving it at my friend's house who lives an hour away from me....plus I got distracted by the Cursed Child script whoops) I finally finished The Girl from the Savoy last week so thought I'd do a little review!
I read one of Hazel Gaynor's other books, A Memory of Violets, last year and I absolutely adored it so I was very excited to read The Girl from the Savoy. I'm a history student/geek who is a romantic at heart so Hazel's fiction is very much up my street. I will highly recommend A Memory of Violets (and I may even say at a push I enjoyed it slightly more than this one ahem)
The Girl from the Savoy is set in 1920's London, funnily enough at the Savoy Hotel. Hotels are a setting I often find fascinating because you come across literally anyone and everyone, no matter the point in history. It follows the story of Dolly Lane, a young aspiring actress who becomes a maid at the Savoy, as well as Loretta May, a famous West End star. They both hold secrets in their past, they have both loved and lost and their stories intertwine together to form a wholesome, interesting story.
What I particularly found interesting about this book was the slight twist (probably the best way to word it) in terms of the romantic story lines. No spoilers but it did seem as if the story was heading one way only to demonstrate that love is a fickle, delicate thing and just because a person seems right for you, and perhaps in another world or time they would be the right person, it doesn't mean it all works out happily. The book also covers various topics such as sexual abuse, illness, losing a loved one and the issues of the soldiers who returned from war. It contains two central female characters who come from different walks of life but wholeheartedly support one another which warms my little feminist heart right to the centre. In terms of the setting, the whole world of 1920's London is a magical place it seems (obviously this was not necessarily the case but Hazel does a lovely job of describing and making you get entirely engrossed in this glamorous past)
My slight issue with the book was that it dragged a little in the middle and a plot device at the end did seemingly come a little from nowhere. But that may have been because I also read this book normally quite late at night so I may have just not picked up on the hints about it. However, the characters are interesting and even though occasionally flawed (but who isn't?), they are people you find yourself rooting for and it keeps the reader invested.
On the whole, I rate this book a solid 8/10 and would definitely recommend.
Bye for now!!
Laura x
