I have been eagerly awaiting the release of this new novel for four years, after devouring Iona Grey’s brilliant, award winning debut novel ‘Letters to the Lost’. I was very excited at being chosen to review this novel which totally blew me away and exceeded all of my expectations.
This new novel is set in the intervening years between the two world wars and mainly at the family country house Blackwood or in London. ‘It Girl’ Selina Lennox is living the high life of swigging champagne, dancing the night away and of rebelling against and shocking her traditional parent’s generation. It is a time of outrageous costume parties, risk taking and gallivanting through the streets of London. She is one of ‘The Bright Young Things’ and lives life to the full, seeking adventure and game for anything. She marries only to follow the conventions of the day, for security and safety. Her daughter Alice is born and for Selina it is love at first sight. Selina and Alice have a strong bond, spend as much time together as they can and life is good.
When Alice is nine years old Selina accompanies her husband on a mammoth business trip across the world to his business interests in the far east, leaving Alice with ‘The Grands’ in their country estate and communicating by letters when they docked at different ports. Poor Alice is so homesick so Selina set a series of ingenious treasure hunts for her to solve, to give her something to distract her and engage her imagination. Reading these inspiring letters and following the clues helps Alice to pass her spare time away, her stern Governess takes her on instructive walks and Alice is overseen by her mother’s kind and nurturing once -maid and confidante. It is here that Alice learns of her own and her mother’s life stories and is introduced to Selina’s very special friend Lawrence Weston, once a struggling artist who painted portraits of the rich and famous to fund his love of photography.
I adored this captivating, tender and poignant story. I loved absolutely everything about it from the brilliant storytelling, engaging characters and timeline to the themes Iona Grey chose for her second novel. I loved the way the various threads of the stories were developed and richly brought to life. It is a heart-breaking novel, unique and imaginative with everyday life issues under a compassionate scrutiny only such a talented author could pull off. I loved the contrasts drawn between the ‘haves’ and the ‘have nots’, between the different generations and the attention to the conventions and rules verses the raging and misbehaving younger generation. I loved the language and descriptions and thought the title of the novel was inspired. It had everything I most enjoy within its 400 pages and I give this novel a resounding 5* award and the advice that it is totally unmissable and truly magical.
I received this book through my membership of NetGalley and from publisher Simon & Schuster UK in return for an honest review. Thank you most sincerely for my copy. As you can see I absolutely drank in every word. Bravo!

This book describes the issues facing society after the First World War in a very clear way,underlining the social problems faced as the existing social structure falls apart and young people challenge the assumptions about how they will live their lives. The atmosphere of the period is captured very effectively and the characters are well drawn from the new generation expecting success to those who feel entitled and no longer fit in. The lead character,the girl Alice is tremendously well drawn and the star if the book. It is not the easiest if reads as it could be emotional in parts and raises real doubts about the decisions taken in another time.

I HAVE NO WORDS GUYS!

I have written and deleted the start of this review mores times than I care to remember. Please, someone, HELP ME! I am completely and utterly speechless, it has been days since I finished The Glittering Hour for the SECOND time in two days, seriously. I was so distraught at being forced to say goodbye that I couldn’t face even looking at another book, let alone reading another one. So I did the only thing that made any sense, I picked it up again and went back to the story again.

How am I supposed to put into words how this story quite literally stole my heart, smashed it into a billion pieces and rebuilt it all in one day? How I cried so many tears of sadness and happiness that my eyes were swollen for three days straight? When Iona writes a book she uses witchcraft, I am sure of it, she captures your heart and it is simply impossible to just put her books down, for even a second! The Glittering Hour is of course no different, once you start, from that very first page, you are irrevocably hers until she has finished with you.

The Glittering hour is breathtakingly beautiful, but even that description doesn’t give it the justice it truly deserves.

Selina Lennox and her friends, Flick and Theo, are part of a group of young people from very well to do families, called The Bright Young Things. Named by the press, who follow them around photographing them and putting them on the front pages, with stories of their glitz and glamour, leaving many looking down their noses at their raucous behaviour . They are the 1920s party animals, where glitzy drinks and parties are aplenty.

Fast forward to the 1930s and Selina is married with a child, Alice, who is nine years old. Alice finds herself back in her mothers childhood home, Beechcroft, a cold and unwelcoming building, with her grandparents and Polly, her mothers maid from when she herself was a child. The reason for this is Selina and her husband, Rupert who seems incredibly cold and distant as a husband and father, are in the far East on business and Selina didn’t want Alice to be bored and lonely whilst she did her duties as wife on their trip. But to stop Alice becoming bored or at all lonely, with the help of dear Polly, Selina sends Alice letters as often as she can which sends her on a treasure hunt throughout the stately home and grounds. Every clue tells a new part of Selina’s story and how Alice came to be, with keepsakes from Selina’s past for Alice to cherish.

After each letter she receives we go back to the 1920s and live Selina’s life with her. One night with all The Bright Young things in tow, Selina, Flick, Theo and Harry take part in a huge treasure hunt of their own. Everyone taking part must find clues around the city which will lead them to the next clue, it is all very competitive. So much so that when Harry hits a cat whilst racing through the streets, and Selina cannot bare to leave it on the side of the road… Harry races off leaving her alone, because the police are close by and he doesn’t want to be caught. Selina is alone is the dark with an injured kitten, she has absolutely no clue as to what she should do, when suddenly a door opens and a man asks her if she is okay. The police lights are getting closer and Selina is panicking, the man steps back and indicates she should enter. She does so quickly, regretting her actions almost immediately, she is a young intoxicated girl, walking straight into in a strangers house. anything could happen! But luckily for Selina she has met Lawrence, a scruffy, unkempt artist, who is kind and completely wonderful. He knows exactly who she is from the papers but still offers to help her dispose of the cat’s body. But Selina doesn’t want to leave him to do it, and instead asks for a shovel. Lawrence decides there is no way he will let her do this alone and takes her to a quiet garden where they name and bury the cat together. Lawrence finds Selina beautiful and wishes he had his camera with him so he could take a picture of her, but knows he wouldn’t have been brave enough to ask for permission. After burying the cat and saying a few words they share a moment and the air between them is electric, but they are both from completely different worlds and know that it could never go any further. But there is a moment where something almost happens, only for them to be interrupted by car lights and shouts of her name from her friends.

As they continue to live their lives in their very different circles, they each desperately hope to find each other again, always looking out for one another wherever they go. Until one night, not by chance, they should meet again and this time they take the risk and run off with one another from the party. You see, when it comes to real, completely unstoppable love, nothing will stand in its way.

The more we read on, the more we learn of Selina and Lawrence’s love story. All told of course through the letters and keepsakes that Alice finds along the way on her treasure hunt. Throughout the story we also meet Rupert, who is Selina’s brothers best friend. Her brother died during the war and Rupert has always stayed in touch, it is very clear he does not approve of The Bright Young Things and their free-spirited way of life. He is very straight-laced and drips with disapproval at most things Selina does.

I want so much, to talk more about the story, tell you so many more details, but at this point it is impossible to continue without giving away the hugest of spoilers. In fact I am amazed I managed to say as much as I did, because even getting close to the story runs the risk of ruining it all. The entire story, the duel time frame especially plays a huge part, that all builds up to tell you the most incredible heartbreaking yet joyus story.

Selina is impossible not to fall in love with as a main character, she is free-spirited and full of life, she lives life to the absolute fullest and refuses to be boring. Something her brother Howard, before he died, instilled in her. Selina we learn, growing up was a wonderful menace, climbing trees, scaring off the hired nannies and causing chaos wherever she went. It is this that makes her instantly likable, she hasn’t changed much as adult, she is still a rebel and a kindhearted beautiful one at that. Much to the disappointment of her mother and sister who are actively encouraging her to become more proper and marry well.

Lawrence is utter perfection, he is the complete opposite of who Selina is expected to marry a man of her standing. He knows he shouldn’t allow himself to fall in love with Selina, but sometimes things in life are inevitable and completely unstoppable. Both of which apply to Selina and Lawrence’s love.He has absolutely no money, in fact he owes rent money. He doesn’t make much money as an artist and cannot offer her the lifestyle she is accustomed too, and yet he was so much more suited to her than anyone else. He was kind, thoughtful and treated Selina like she was the only woman in the world. I adored him and was rooting for him from the beginning.

Also I cannot write this without mentioning Polly, I adored Polly and how she helped Selina throughout the story. She was helping hide each clue for Selina, so that she could send Alice on her hunt. It is only as you delve deeper into the story, that you see how close Selina and Polly’s relationship is. Polly did things that she shouldn’t have done as an employee of Selina’s mother, but what you would absolutely expect from a friend. Their relationship was a wonderful part of the story that made you realise just how kind they were and you see how much their friendship meant to one another.

Selina and Lawrence’s relationship is intense and addictive, and it is impossible to not become completely addicted to it yourself. How can anyone resist a love story that is completely forbidden? A rich upper class girl falling in love with a poor, scruffy artist. Add on top of that, a young girl who is away from her beloved mother and cold distant father, but chasing a treasure hunt in order to learn all about her mother’s story and how she, herself, came into this world and you have yourself one hell of an addictive story on your hands.

I have waited for what seems a lifetime for The Glittering Hour, after loving Letters to the Lost so much I was worried it maybe wouldn’t live up to expectations, that maybe Iona would never be able to top such perfection. But how wrong I was, The Glittering Hour was EVERYTHING and MORE. More than I could have ever hoped and prayed for. It has well and truly surpassed all my expectations and smashed them well and truly out the park. It stole my breath and my heart, forever, I will never get them back, I don’t even want them back it is Selina’s now, until the end of time.

When it comes to historical fiction I have had a favourite author, who no one in the world could even get close to, after this I have to give that crown to my new Queen, Iona Grey. If you know me or follow my blog or any of my social media, you will know exactly who I am talking about, she wrote my most favourite book of all time, Lady of Hay. Well that has been demoted to second place for the first time, EVER. The Glittering Hour has stolen that spot and run too far away to ever be caught up. I love it, I love it beyond words if that is at all possible.

This review will never be able to give it the justice it so rightly deserves. There simply is not enough words or even the right words to express to you how stunning this book is.

The Glittering Hour is breathtakingly beautiful, stunning and an epic love story that will stay with you forever. Iona is an extremely talented story-teller, who can truly make you feel as though you are living within the pages. Compelling and utterly impossible to put down.

Out May 30th and I urge you all to get a copy, with a vast amount of tissues if you have any sense.

A beautiful book. I love the author’s descriptions of the antics of the bright young things of 1920s, and then the outcomes of that lifestyle. Poignant, beautiful and sad. The twin timeline of 1920s and 1930s works really well and I really enjoyed the way that the story was told, following Alice’s discovery of her mother’s younger life. Beautifully written, with captivating descriptions, and completely engaging- I really loved this book and felt that I was completely immersing myself in the roaring twenties. A must read!

I couldn’t wait to get hold of a copy of The Glittering Hour, having been utterly blown away by the brilliance of Grey’s debut novel, Letters to The Lost, and I was not disappointed.

An epic love story, The Glittering Hour switches between two timeframes: aristocratic champagne-swilling, party-goer Selina Lennox in the 1920s, and Selina’s nine year old daughter, Alice in the 1930s.

Alice is ensconced with her grandparents at their stately home, Beechcroft, desperately missing her mother who is in the Far East with her cold and distant business man husband. Through her letters, Selina engages Alice in a treasure hunt which leads the little girl all over the property in search of clues to Selina’s past.

Selina is a character with great depth who glitters on each page. In the past, she is mourning her beloved brother Howard who had died in the trenches; Selina knows all too well what it is to lose a person you love. So when a drunken escapade with her friends one night leads to a chance meeting with the handsome, and talented yet penniless artist, Lawrence Weston, will Selina be able to let him go?

Their connection is intense, but a suitable marriage is beckoning Selina. Her tight-lipped, emotional redundant family expect it of her. Without a beneficial marriage, Selina will simply be cut off.

In the 1930s, Alice’s treasure hunt culminates in a beautiful discovery, but just hours later, her entire world collapses.

It took me quite a long time to really get into this story, but once Selina’s life had collided with Lawrence’s, I could not turn the pages fast enough.

Emotionally fraught, evocative and redemptive, The Glittering Hour has been well worth the wait. What a superb novel - Iona Grey really is back with aplomb.

I first heard of Iona Grey when her first book ‘Letters to the Lost’ was published, she featured in a magazine article and it inspired me to buy a copy, it was not my usual read at all but I loved it and have kept looking out for her next book every since. ‘The Glittering Hour’ does not disappoint, it’s a beautifully written story carefully intertwining the lives of Selina in the mid nineteen twenties and that of her young daughter Alice a decade later. It captures the emotion of the times wonderfully and is both heartbreaking and uplifting at the same time. It’s very well told in that it’s so easy to read between the lines of what appears to be happening and what is actually happening but so subtly done that events don’t have to be spelt out to you but aren’t a shock either - a difficult concept to explain without revealing too much but tremendously well written by the author to achieve this. The characters are well written and feel to be of that era, the essence of life in the twenties nicely captured - this is just a wonderful book and I have thoroughly enjoyed every page.