Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing a copy of this book in exchange for my review! All opinions are my own.

Born & raised in the Philadelphia area, I was excited to read a book set on the Main Line. I give credit to the author for the deep research clearly present within this book. However, the book read more as a historical account vs. work of fiction. I could not identify with the main character, who seemed to only see the world in black and white and was largely unwilling to compromise on her own worldview as the sole "right" perspective. This one just wasn't for me, but may be better suited for someone who appreciates setting-driven, research-forward novels.

The 1920s come to life before your eyes in this book, with a rich setting, and great characters. Helen and Edgar were practically made for each other, but things in life are rarely perfect, and we get to see their journey from single, independent young adults, to a married couple, to dealing with the troubles that eventually arise. I loved both their characters. They're unique but believable. The story moves along fairly smoothly overall, and really is character driven. If you enjoy historical women's fiction, you're sure to enjoy reading this!

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this new novel by the talented Anita Abriel.
The Philadelphia Heiress by Anita Abriel is another brilliant historical novel.
I loved her previous novel, The Light After the War, and this one didn’t disappoint.
This is very well written, well-researched, flows nicely, and pulls you in with Abril's writing style and story line.
A very fast paced read for me, the descriptions of the 1927s, and Helen’s coming of age story is truly breathtaking.
Unexpected twists and turns in this incredibly exciting historical book kept me glued to the penned word in The Philadelphia Heiress.

Thank You NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

Thanks for the ARC! The things I liked: the time period, since I don’t read as much from the 20s. The setting, since most historical books at this time are on true New England or NYC. The reality of relationships and how they are complicated.

What I didn’t like: Helen, which unfortunately killed the vibe of the book for me.

This is a story set in the 1920s in Philadelphia. Though Helen is born into a extremely wealthy family - think railroad tycoons and steel dynasties-she doesn't fit in. She does not care about all the expensive gowns and jewelry most young women in her circumstances do. She loves her family's 'hobby farm', and is very passionate to make her own mark as a dairy producer. Forced to marry for money to save her parents property and reputation, she does her duty. Most men in her circles just want a wife to host their parties and advance their social standing. If she can't find love then she at least needs a husband who will agree to her continuing her work on the farm. There is romance and love, jealousy and betrayals, regrets and despair. I loved Helen and how she refused to give up her dreams just to help a man further his ambitions. Thank you Netgally for the chance to read the ARC. I definitely recommend!

1927. Helen Montgomery’s mother Charlotte is planning her debutante ball, her family are well off and they live at Dumfries on Philadelphia’s Main Line. Helen's father imported Ayrshire cows, she’s interested in making butter and cheese. When her father Robert is caught up in a scandal, his membership is cancelled to his clubs, the family's social status nose dives and financially it has dire consequences. Helen is furious at her father, her mother decides to forgive him and her solution to their problems is for eighteen year old Helen to marry someone wealthy and hopefully this will repair the damage?

Edgar Scott is the son of a railroad magnate, he wants to be an author, and his parents hope by marrying Helen he will settle down. Edgar and Helen are young, not prepared for the challenges being married throws at them and it doesn't take long for the honeymoon bubble to burst.
Edgar gets extremely frustrated and grumpy when he’s writing, the words don't flow and he doesnt take rejection well. Helen is annoyed because she has had to give up her hopes and dreams and she hasn’t married a man and instead he’s an immature sook. The couple think a change of scenery might give Edgar inspiration to write, they meet some interesting people of their travels and they live a very bohemian lifestyle.

I received a copy of The Philadelphia Heiress by Anita Abriel from Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The narrative looks how rich people in Philadelphia lived, I must say I found the characters in the book rather shallow and self-absorbed, and I guess it represents what they were really like at the time. Helen had issues forgiving her father for his fall from grace and discovering he’s human and made mistakes was a big shock. The main focus on the story is around relationships and marriage, even happily married couples fight and don’t agree on everything. I found Helen to be rather spoilt and unrealistic and the only characters I really liked were her sister Daisy and uncle Jack. Three stars from me, I preferred the author's previous book The Life She Wanted over her latest novel.

I enjoyed Philadelphia Heiress by Anita Abriel. The characters were well defined and Ms Abriel did a nice job of developing the plot. Although this was not my favorite book by Ms Abriel, I would recommend the book to anyone that enjoys historical fiction.

I gave Philadelphia Heiress 4/5 stars.

I just reviewed The Philadelphia Heiress by Anita Abriel. And I didn't like it, I think is just not my genre. #ThePhiladelphiaHeiress #NetGalley

Everything about this book should appeal to my reading tastes. Unfortunately, I could not stay focused due to the writing style. For some reason, most explanations and descriptions of setting were either lackluster or unclear, leaving me confused as to where we were or what was happening.

I also found that the story was extremely predictable from the very beginning. At 10% in, I should have still had questions and did not. Overall, not worth my time.

There is just something about the 1920’s that is absolutely captivating. In Philadelphia’s high society where a debutante ball is expected for proper young ladies, Helen wants anything but a formal debut but a shocking and unsettling revelation on her birthday changes the course of her life. The Philadelphia Heiress is a beautiful coming of age story in the roaring 20’s, with a colorful cast of characters. In the center is our beautiful girl , Helen, as we sympathize with her rise to adulthood while contemplating the fulfillment of personal happiness amidst family loyalty in a tumultuous time. And even though the story takes places a century ago, we are reminded that finding love, self-worth, and true happiness are timeless quests.


Review is on Goodreads and will be posted to Instagram 3/21.

The Philadelphia Heiress, by Anita Abriel, is set primarily in the late 1920's, on the Main Line, a Philadelphia suburb that catered to the ultra wealthy. The protagonist is a young woman who appears somewhat out of step with the social mores of the time. She wants to work, build a business based on the dairy products that might be produced on her families' estate. I wanted to cheer her on as she navigated her professional goals in the midst of family and class constraints. But, the story devolved into romance, and extremely detailed descriptions of clothing, furniture and mansions. Even more troubling, the main character quickly became very rigid and dismissive of anyone who failed to meet her standards of social or moral behavior. Her lack of compassion and inability to see others' point of view became tiresome. In what I can only describe as an unexpected plot twist or character reversal, she suddenly becomes far more likable. Unfortunately, this is in the very last chapter. The author did a superb job of capturing and conveying the texture of both the class and the era. It was clearly the result of tireless research. In some ways, this novel reminded me of Downton Abbey...minus the acerbic humor of Maggie Smith's character. Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for the opportunity to read a digital ARC.

This book feels like a stream rippling gently through the landscape to me. Somehow not too much is happening aside from Helen finding her way as a wife while still staying independent with her interests in farming while supporting Edgar with his writing career and some other developments that I won’t reveal to not spoil the book. I enjoyed the read, I just would have wished for slightly more excitement in the story, but on the other hand it was a very calming book.

Concerning the characters, Helen is headstrong and has a deep passion for dairy farming and I enjoyed that about her. She makes sacrifices to get closer to her dream of running a successful dairy farm even when that is not the expectation of society to a rich daughter like her. Further, Edgar sometimes is quite unlikeable as he is changing his moods quickly and doesn’t think things through. He is very much in love with Helen though, which is a plus speaking for him. The last character to mention is George who is on first glance considerate, kind, intelligent and almost a bit too good to be true.

All in all, this book was a 3.5 star experience for me and I will read more by the author in the future.

(A review of this book will be posted on my instagram @anns.book.chronicles and my Goodreads profile on pub day.)

A romance, of sorts, set among the wealthy of 1927 Philadelphia. Helen is, let's face it, spoiled, as is Edgar. They meet, they marry, he has angst, she powers on. It didn't capture me but I'm sure others will enjoy it.

I wanted to open with a quote that I totally agree with because whatever action happens, it always starts within the home.
“Everyone talks about doing things for those who are less fortunate, but charity begins at home. If we don’t strive to do the right thing with the people we love, how can we achieve the really big things: create opportunity
for the poor, give women the same rights and privileges as men.” This is what Edgar and Daisy didn't understand. I think that a lot of people don't understand. It's called selfishness.
I feel that Helen is guilty of it as well. No one is perfect.
This book was slow going in some places, but I liked it for the most part.
I'll be honest, I almost did a DNF because it was slow going, but I did finish, and I'm glad I did.
There are lots of interesting characters, for sure, especially Edgar and George. But Edgar was the most interesting. Yes, he had his flaws, but then we all do.
I loved that the Aquatania was mentioned because I love ocean liners. I felt like I was on board for that brief moment in time.
I'm giving this novel 5 stars for some of the interesting scenes that took place in this story.
I recommend this novel.
My thanks to Netgalley for a copy of this book. I was NOT required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are my own.

I did not meet #my2023readingchallenge and this was my least favorite book of the year. This is one that I question why I wasted my time finishing the book. The main character is very spoiled and does not have any redeeming qualities, but despite that the story wraps up with a happy ending. I would highly suggest picking up a #fscottfitzgerald novel instead of this ⭐️⭐️ read that will be published in March 2024. 📚📚📚 #netgalleyarc #netgalleyreview

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐
Genre: Historical Fiction

The story is set in 1927 in Philadelphia, and it follows Helen Montgomery, a young woman who is seeking more than what women of that era wanted. She has dreams of making a name for herself, but destiny has something else stored for her. She will have to give up all her dreams and aspirations and marry a man for his wealth due to her family’s troubled financial status and her father’s scandal.

Anita Abriel is a new author to me, but her writing style is one that I find engaging and straightforward. Her prose is clear and concise. She creates believable characters and situations that some readers might relate to. I think the writing style suited the theme of the story very well.

The author must’ve done extensive research to include all the fine details of that era. That was a commendable job she did there. The narrative moves at a leisurely pace, which may not be appealing to all readers, and I believe that the characters (especially the secondary ones) could benefit from additional depth. Because of these two elements, the story that was supposed to be exciting and that relied on its characters to drive the narrative was not as attractive as it could have been.

If you are looking for a story that challenges societal norms in some way, as well as one that deals with women's empowerment, self-discovery, dream-fulfilling opportunities, and other similar topics, then this one is for you.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of this book.

I think perhaps I'm the wrong audience for this one. I decided to read it because I live in Philadelphia and have never read historical fiction set in my area. While I did enjoy the history and it was fun reading stories with famous musicians, artists, and politicians of the 1920s, I could not empathize with the main character because everything always seemed to work out for her no matter what she did. At first I thought this book was going to focus on the pressures of high society women to get married, but marriage was treated so offhandedly by the main character. I lost track of how many men she was willing to walk down the aisle with over the course of this short novel, whether she loved them or not.

The writing was decent and I liked the details of the setting and the food, but overall I couldn't relate to anyone in the story and was a bit frustrated by some of the characters' decisions. However, the message of the book is clearly that we should follow our hearts, despite what society might think of us, if we want to truly be happy. And that is a nice message that left me with a warm feeling when I finished the book.

The Philadelphia Heiress is the coming-of-age story of Helen Hope Montgomery, a reluctant debutante from a wealthy family in the 1920s. Film fans (and those born in the 1900s) may recognize the retelling of the (now) classic movies "The Philadelphia Story" and "High Society" of the real-life socialite.

The author does an excellent job of detailing the look and feel of the Jazz Age's twenties era. It's a quick and charming weekend read that historical fiction fans will enjoy.

Thank you, NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing, for the eARC.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this book in exchange for my review! All opinions are my own.

I requested this book because I thought the plot sounded interesting and the cover caught my eye. Unfortunately, I found the story dragging on and very boring and slow. It was more like a history book than a fun fiction read. With that being said, I am open to trying more books by Anita Abriel in the future. This one just wasn't for me, unfortunately.

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It’s 1927 and Helen Montgomery has been raised into a world of privilege on Philadelphia’s Main Line. As Helen is headed towards her debutante ball and her brilliant future as a sought-after young society woman, her father’s error jeopardizes her family’s place in good society and Helen is forced to marry well to salvage her family’s reputation – and fortune.

Although the situation is abhorrent to Helen, meeting Edgar Scott, the handsome and free-thinking son of a railroad magnate, improves her outlook on being forced into a premature marriage. Things are looking up – until external pressure sets in and threatens Helen and Edgar’s happiness.

This is my second Abriel novel, and I love her attention to detail, historical research and ability to immerse readers into the sights, sounds and atmosphere of the past. I could almost hear the strains of the Charleston and taste the fashionable pre-dinner cocktails. I also appreciated the currents of change flowing through early twentieth century society, especially for women. The weak point for me was Helen herself. As a reader, I don’t need only likeable characters if they’re interesting, but Helen was often hard to take: critical, unbending and judgmental, while readers were frequently reminded how “kind” she was. A more nuanced character would have allowed me to cheer on her transformation more. Regardless, this was still an enjoyable story, unfolding to the heady rhythms and glamor of the pre-crash roaring twenties.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy - all thoughts are my own.