At first I didn't enjoy this book and stopped reading within the first 30% of the book. But recently I came back to it and I'm glad I did! I'll seek out more from this author.

I am conflicted about this because the prose was truly spectacular and I do like the framing device and the way Celt chooses to end her book. I did however not enjoy the pacing at all - it felt a lot longer than the 240 pages it is long and for vast stretches of it I was, indeed, bored. However, the prose! It's mesmerizing!

This book was a bit too much of a slow burn for me which is a shame as I really liked the character of Zoya and if the writing had been a little tighter and less amiable in tone I would have enjoyed it much more.

I managed to wrest, somewhat surprisingly, a small amount of enjoyment from the reading of this novel despite some very distracting flaws. The main one being - boy, was it overwritten! It read a bit like an enthusiastic Creative Writing course effort - all style and little substance. Lev's voice was unconvincing while Zoya's was uneven and lacking authenticity. It felt like the author was forcing the style or emulating someone else's and not quite pulling it off. It was obviously trying very hard. However, at points the narrative seem to lose its self consciousness and that's when it felt more natural and the author's authentic style began to emerge. The story itself, while fairly engaging, took an age to get going and got a little bogged down in the faux profundity and irrelevancy that was a weakness of the style. The themes got lost at some points then hammered house without subtlety at others. But there were moments when the writing was really good and despite the plot being sparse I did really like the ending. To conclude, a mixed bag but showing promise.

Not an easy read, this is beautifully written but almost feels over-written. I was drawn to the book by the premise of reading about Nabokov and admit to being disappointed that it was a story loosely based on him and not biographical fiction. Not an easy read, I can see it will be applauded but I didn't quite get it.

In what way was this based on the Nabokov marriage?
I mean, apart from the title and the fact that the love interest was an author and his wife was supposedly, a little domineering, I can see no link here. And frankly, it being falsely marketed as such, made me like it less than I probably would have if nobody had mentioned the supposed connection.
Instead, Invitation to the Bonfire was a slow-moving (seriously, if it had been going any slower it would have been going backwards) coming-of-age tale about a young Russian girl growing up in a boarding school in the United States. The love interest isn’t even introduced until, at least, fifty percent into the book and by then, any chance of their love ’stirring my loins’ or whatever, was lost to a monotonous sense of boredom that was only alleviated by this book’s better-than-expected ending.
Or, maybe the ending was better than expected because nothing else happened in the other two-hundred pages of the novel?
Evidence, unfortunately, points to the former.
I suppose my bitterness and pessimism comes from the fact that I really wanted to love this one. I am a humongous fan of historical fiction and the writing of this one was bloody amazing, which meant that, at the start, it should have been placed on a trajectory to become one of my most-loved books of the year; it should have been a tension-fuelled, sensual tale of the ages. But instead, Adrienne Celt spent too much time focussing on meaningless, innocuous things and too little on the things that actually mattered.
Otherwise known as the love affair that was supposed to harken back to the Nabokov marriage.

I admit my heart sunk a bit opening first pages - what had drawn me to it was the prospect of reading about the long marriage of Nabokov and his wife - my heart sunk because the young mistress was not a Lolita-based figure nor was it the Italian young woman Nabokov did have an affair with in earlier years of his marriage; but also because they were diaries/letters. but events, and marvellous characterisations soon took me over, and I got swooped up in the love triangle that emerges - the rather un-pretty male predator, really, importuning her and attempting to outmanoeuvre a smart and devious wife character. so although i did not get the Nabokov gossip, as it were, that i was looking for - I got a good story of a wife you prevails even if she loses him .

I adored this novel - it's the perfect blend of thoughtful and well-crafted fiction with a wink and a nod to historical sources and inspirations. What a perfect depiction of literary obsession, and what an interesting spin on the mythology of Vladimir and Vera!

It took time for me to actually read this story. It came off as slow read for me or maybe this was just not my cup of tea. IBut I did appreciate the beauty of its skillful descriptive writing. Though I didn't find it up n my alley, I see people who will actually love this and appreciate it. The characters fell in the categories of most annoying, endearing to detached (up to you to discover who's who).

Actual rating 4.5/5 stars.

Set out in an alternating timeline and interspersed with differing perspectives, as well as collected journal entries, letters, and newspaper clippings, this tells the convoluted tale of a Russian refugee and the professor that would make then break her.

Zoya Andropova once attended, and now works at, an elite New Jersey school, filled with self-entitled girls who have an animal sense for her differences and weaknesses. The struggles of her everyday pale, however, when she meets her literary idol, fellow Russian émigré, writer, and professor, Leo Orlov. Leo brings a vibrancy to her bland existence but when she meets his wife, she realises where the roots of this vividity stems from.

This book was penned with such transportive artistry that I felt compelled to keep turning the pages. The characters, were a mixture of the pitiful, the unlikable, the wistful, and the lovable, yet I found myself equally drawn to each, so completely did Celt manage to construct their individual characters into a believable semblance of reality.

There are many allusions between these fictional characters and the infamous Nabokov marriage. My love for Lolita drew to me this book, but it was Celt's creation that held me captivated. The ending was stunningly executed and confirmed this author as one I will devour anything from, trust to deliver a whole host of emotions, and lacking any fear of breaking the boundaries of the expected.

We know from the first page of this disquieting novel that Leo Orlov, a Russian émigré and successful author living in the USA, was murdered in mysterious circumstances. We are in no doubt this incident took place because we see excerpts from a collection of papers devoted to the matter, assembled by the fictional Donne School Alumnae Society of Goslings some this 53 years later. We also discover from the archival material that the book’s protagonist, Zoe Andropov, who “died under hotly debated circumstances” in the same year as Leo, kept a diary of the circumstances leading up to his demise.

The story is very loosely based on the complex marriage of Vladimir and Vera Nabokov, but of course, the real author died of natural causes in 1977 after 52 years of marriage, so we must suspend disbelief in this matter, as in many others.

Andropov arrives in America as a refugee from the Soviet Union. She has been orphaned and is sent to an elite boarding school in New Jersey where her fellow pupils treat her with disdain. Her prospects are uncertain, so after graduation she takes a position at the school as a gardener, which is when she meets the charismatic Leo, who is teaching there, and a little later, his enigmatic and seductive wife, Vera. He and Andropov become lovers and thereafter the plot is driven by a lustful, complicated love triangle.

Adrienne Celt, whose debut novel The Daughters won the 2015 PEN Southwest Book Award for Fiction and NPR Best Book of the Year, was born in Seattle but now lives and works in Tucson, Arizona. According to a recent interview with her in The Amazon Book Review, she’s had “a life-long love affair with Vladimir Nabokov’s novels, and a fascination with his marriage.” She said, “the idea for Invitation to a Bonfire came to [her] almost fully formed”, but freely admits she did not want to limit her characters to “historical truths”.

I wouldn’t class this idiosyncratic book as an historical novel because it veers just a little too far from well-established facts. I would, however, describe it as an ingenious literary mystery. There are one or two small weaknesses in the narrative but overall, it’s an insightful and engaging read.

I first heard about Invitation to a Bonfire a few months ago. It is apparently loosely inspired by the marriage between Vladimir Nabokov and his wife Vera. I must confess to not knowing a great deal about Nabokov, nor have I read Lolita or his other books but I find Russian history and literature fascinating so this story really appealed to me.

Invitation to a Bonfire is told via the diary entries of Zoya, the young Russian orphan who ends up at an American girls school in the 20’s and assorted other documents such as letters from Leo to his wife Vera. This format gives the book an intimate feeling which suits the story perfectly. The writing is the most remarkable aspect of this book. Celt writes in such a vividly descriptive way. The prose is beautiful and incredibly skilful.

I found the characters hugely interesting, the events all revolve around the three main characters, Zoya, Leo and Vera and they all come across as very intense and multi-layered. I have to say I found Leo pretty unlikeable. The author portrays him perfectly as very much in love with his own perceived talent and importance. The two women felt slightly more complex to me. However, because we never really get Vera’s point of view, the reader can only see her through the eyes of Leo and Zoya which makes her seem detached and cold within the story. It also gives Vera a glamorous mysterious quality which makes her character appear to hold all the power. Being totally honest, the culmination of events in Invitation to a Bonfire feels slightly anticlimactic in a way and the plot does take a while to really go anywhere. What saves the book is the quality and expertise of the writing which makes reading it enjoyable no matter what happens. So, if you’re looking for a novel full of action and twists then this isn’t it but if you want to read something more contemplative and meandering, Invitation to a Bonfire is very much worth investing some time in.

Overall I think this book is a bit of a mixed bag for me. I absolutely loved the gorgeous writing and intriguing characterisation but I felt the plot didn’t hold my attention completely and was a little on the slow-moving side. I would definitely read more from Adrienne Celt as I think she’s so talented and I think Invitation to a Bonfire is worth reading as it feels original and different to anything I’ve read before.

'Invitation To A Bonfire' is Adrienne Celt's third novel and is a propulsive literary thriller that caught my attention as it is set in 1920s America and inspired by the infamous fifty-two year marriage of Vladimir and Vera Nabokov. I very much enjoyed the format of the book, the story is told through the use of letters, diary entries and newspaper clippings from 1931.

Orphan and Russian immigrant Zoya Andropova, finds herself placed into a prestigious all-girls boarding school in New Jersey, United States, attended by the affluent elite. She is all alone and feels vulnerable and lonely and struggles to fit in. Despite this, she learns the language rapidly and gains great marks in her subjects. When Leo Orlov, a fellow Russian, joins the school as a literature teacher, Zoya cannot believe her luck as he has been her favourite writer for many years.

The book seems to have been divisive resulting in wide-ranging ratings and opinions. I thought it was a unique premise which was brought vividly to life by Celt's exquisite prose. It really is a thing of beauty and at times resembles Nabokov's in terms of richness, which is no mean feat by anyone's standards. I'm afraid it was the story that let it down. If you appreciate well written, literary thrillers with a strong psychological element to them I would recommend 'Invitation To A Bonfire' to you.

All in all, this was a bit of a disappointment, sadly. Celt clearly is masterful in terms of her writing ability, I just wish that the story had been better executed as this could easily have blown me away. Even though I was left underwhelmed I am placing Celt on my 'Writers To Watch' list as it is once in a blue moon when you come across writing like this. I look forward to her next offering and am hopeful it will be an improvement.

Many thanks to Raven Books for an ARC. I was not required to post a review and all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

Invitation to a Bonfire is the story of Russians in 1930s America, unnerving relationships, and the price of being known as a great writer. Zoya Andropova in a Russian refugee at a New Jersey boarding school, where she struggles to fit in. This doesn't stop her staying and getting a job there, and that's how she meets Leo Orlov, a writer come to teach at the school, and his cold-seeming wife Vera. Zoya is drawn into a strange situation, a love triangle that puts her in an ominous position unless she can find a way to win.

What feels most memorable about the book is that most of it happens in the second half. It is written as a collection of papers—a diary by Zoya, letters from Leo to Vera—but the start mostly concerns how Zoya came to America from Russia and how her time as a student at the school was. This sets up the scene very emphatically, but it is a little strange to be waiting so long and then everything with Leo to happen so quickly. The end is sinister and twisting, which is satisfying, though again quite fast. What mostly emerges from the narrative is that Zoya is a far more intricately drawn and interesting character, despite the importance of Leo and Vera and their relationship upon Zoya.

The premise and twisted connection between the characters are absorbing parts of Invitation to a Bonfire, but the unexpected narrative pacing makes it a slightly weird reading experience, with it feeling like the ending actually needed to be far more dragged out to suit the pace and style. Nevertheless, it does capture an atmosphere and Zoya is a fantastically realised character.

I was less interested in the love triangle and more interested in Zoya's immigrant experience and adolescence.

I'm hesitant to give this book a low rating, because while I didn't enjoy it that much, I also think some readers will really like it. It is not a bad book at all, but it was not to my taste.
The prose is beautiful and haunting, very flowery and descriptive. While I loved it, after a while it became too much for me. It felt like the writing was much more important than the story itself. The plot sounded great and the characters intriguing, but the actual execution wasn't satisfying. Zoya doesn't meet Lev until the half way mark, and even after that the story never truly picks up. Their relationship and what comes after that felt rushed and not entirely believable. The same goes for the characters: we get to knew Zoya better, since she narrates most of the story, but Lev and Vera remain nebulous characters. Maybe it was meant to be that way, but I was disappointed they didn't make a stronger impression. From Lev's letters, and his descriptions of Vera, they both promised to be fascinating characters, but they add little to the story.
If you enjoy purple prose you will likely be impressed by this book. However, if you like more concrete books, with a strong plot, Invitation to a Bonfire might not be for you.

I really loved Zoya, the lead protagonist in Invitation to a Bonfire. Her struggles to fit in at the private school were enjoyably vivid. Zoya's cruel treatment at the hands of the girls once she is a member of staff made me wince.
The book is less successful when Zoya meets the Russian writer Lev, and his mysterious wife Vera. The somewhat naive Zoya is seduced by Lev and starts a passionate affair. Vera exists mostly in the shadows of the story, and promises to be the most interesting character.
Sadly, when she enters the story, she isn't as menacing as we have been led to believe. The bonfire ends up being more smoke and mirrors than flames. The story is somewhat redeemed by the ending, even though I saw it coming. Three stars.

Invitation to a Bonfire was a gripping read from start to finish, with an exciting plot and fascinating characters. Zoya's story drew me from page one, and I became deeply invested in what would happen to her. In the second half of the book, the story took a turn I hadn't expected, but which kept me on the edge of my metaphorical seat until the very end, eager to see how things would work out. Celt's sensuous prose is a world in and of itself, and I loved the way she teased a path through Zoya's thoughts and feelings. All up, this was a 4.5 star read for me. I would definitely like to read more from this author in the future.

At one point, Zoya, our narrator, writes ‘there is such a thing as too much foreplay’ and that might well serve as my opinion of this book. Celt’s writing is stupendous and she even channels Nabokov’s luscious, voluptuous style, no mean feat to pull off such a bold act of ventriloquism: ‘her eyes were dark with little pieces of light, galaxy marbles, runic hints... but she did not slow her pace, and soon disappeared, the tail of her skirt flicking back in a smirk.’

But for all the marvellous writing, the story which engrossed me at the start grew less and less enticing as the prologue goes on too long, and then a tepid thriller-ish plot comes to the fore: think Nabokov mixed with unexciting Hitchcock and a smattering of Mr Ripley.

All the same, I’d read Celt again in a flash for her writerly panache – hopefully next time she’ll have a story that does justice to her superb prose.

Received an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book is really enjoyable backstory to give you a sense of where Nabokov was at when he wrote “Lolita”. However, the women in his life are the center of the novel. The novel does a great job at exploring their moral complexity And the complexity of women’s relationships in general, both with men and with each other. Especially recommended if you’re a Nabokov fan