The London House by Katherine Reay Review

 Hello Friends :)

I hope you're all doing well, and I want to thank you all for joining me for another book review here on The Preppy Book Princess.

Since we are officially past the halfway point of 2022, I'm curious how your reading has gone so far this year? Are you where you wanted to be in your reading challenge? Have you discovered many new favorites? Have you had some negative experiences?

I'm actually well over the halfway mark of my reading challenge, and I've read a plethora of wonderful books so far. Unfortunately, I've also had way more negative reading experiences already this year, which is unfortunate, but hopefully the second half of 2022 will see less of this. 

Today I'm here to share a review for the most recently released book by an author that I've really enjoyed in the past.

Keep reading to see what I thought about her newest release.

The London House by Katherine Reay:

Source: Libby App

Publisher: Harper Muse

Publication Date: November 2nd, 2021

Genre: Historical Fiction/Christian Fiction

Synopsis:

Uncovering a dark family secret sends one woman through the history of Britain’s World War II spy network and glamorous 1930s Paris to save her family’s reputation.

Caroline Payne thinks it’s just another day of work until she receives a call from Mat Hammond, an old college friend and historian. But pleasantries are cut short. Mat has uncovered a scandalous secret kept buried for decades: In World War II, Caroline’s British great-aunt betrayed family and country to marry her German lover.

Determined to find answers and save her family’s reputation, Caroline flies to her family’s ancestral home in London. She and Mat discover diaries and letters that reveal her grandmother and great-aunt were known as the “Waite sisters.” Popular and witty, they came of age during the interwar years, a time of peace and luxury filled with dances, jazz clubs, and romance. The buoyant tone of the correspondence soon yields to sadder revelations as the sisters grow apart, and one leaves home for the glittering fashion scene of Paris, despite rumblings of a coming world war.

Each letter brings more questions. Was Caroline’s great-aunt actually a traitor and Nazi collaborator, or is there a more complex truth buried in the past? Together, Caroline and Mat uncover stories of spies and secrets, love and heartbreak, and the events of one fateful evening in 1941 that changed everything.

In this rich historical novel from award-winning author Katherine Reay, a young woman is tasked with writing the next chapter of her family’s story. But Caroline must choose whether to embrace a love of her own and proceed with caution if her family’s decades-old wounds are to heal without tearing them even further apart.

(synopsis from goodreads)

My Review:

I really went back and forth over my feelings for this book once I finished it, and this is honestly one of the hardest reviews I've ever had to write. On the surface, there were so many things I enjoyed about this story, and found myself really invested in it. However, at the end of the story, I was left wanting so much more, and this is not what I've come to expect from a Katherine Reay novel.

As someone who enjoys World War Two fiction, epistolary style, and stories about searching for the truth amongst family secrets, I was really looking forward to diving into this one. The London House is the story of a young woman's quest to find the truth about her great aunt, and to bring healing to her broken family in the process. It's essentially a dual timeline novel as while we do follow our protagonist in the present (Caroline), we're also following along Caroline's journey to find answers to her family's past through the many diary entries and letters that passed between her grandmother and her sister during their younger years.

This is definitely a much darker book than I was expecting when I picked it up, and as Caroline enlists the help of her old college friend Mat to search for answers, the story turns and twists in many sinister ways I wasn't expecting. The mystery stretches on for the majority of the story, and I ended up feeling like it was way longer than it needed to be, and it started to lose interest for me along the way.

I really struggled with believing so much of the plot, as it didn't seem to add up why all of the family's struggles were so tied into the life of a woman who the younger generations had never even had the chance to meet. Similarly, when they do finally find answers, it didn't make much sense to me as to why that magically fixed all the family's struggles, and was the catalyst to much needed healing. 

While I know that Katherine Reay has never really had the faith message front and center in her stories, at least in her previous works it was at least hinted upon. In The London House however, we're treated to this depressing tale of a family who is constantly searching for something, and it's so incredibly obvious that what they need is Jesus, and yet He's never mentioned even slightly. It seemed like a really missed opportunity for this story, and caused the ending to fall flat for me personally.

All in all, I felt The London House was an enjoyable read, but it's definitely not my favorite by this author, and I didn't really find myself sympathizing with the main character or her parents' in the many selfish decisions they make throughout. I'm glad I took the chance to read it, but it won't be a reread for me personally and I'd definitely recommend other of this author's stories over this one.

I did find the many tidbits of historical research fascinating, especially the parts about C.S Lewis' famous radio speech, and the details about the inner workings of the fashion house of Elsa Schiaparelli.

Final Rating: 3/5.

Check this one out if you're a fan of historical fiction, but it might not be for you if you're expecting a strong faith message throughout. 

Thanks so much for reading guys! Have a great rest of your day :)

This is not a sponsored post. All thoughts and opinions are my own. The photo does not belong to me, and all rights to the respective owners.