Bethlehem

by Karen Kelly

A young woman arrives at her mother-in-law's intimidating but glorious gilded home in Bethlehem, PA, happy that her husband is to assume leadership of the family steel business. But what greets her is not the happy household she expects, run by the beautiful Susannah, but hallways where whispered secrets and allusions to tragedy haunt her and speak to a past she had no idea existed.

Told in alternating time frames, 1962 and the 1920's, when the true titans of Bethlehem Steel got their start, this is the story of what happens 'when youthful joys fade and heartache takes hold . . . It is about how far mothers will go to protect their families, and how far wives can be pressed before they push back. '

• ISBN10: 1250201497
• ISBN13: 9781250201492
• Publish Date: 1 August 2019 (first published 16 July 2019)
• Publish Status: Active
• Out of Print: 4 April 2022
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: St Martin's Press
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 304
• Language: English

Reviews

[kalventure]

"I've learned a thing or two in my antiquity--chief among them that things are seldom what they seem. Often the person who appears the most...impenetrable...is, in truth, the most fragile."

I'm going to be honest: I requested this one for the cover. I am a sucker for art deco aesthetic and while I don't read a lot of historical fiction these days, I was intrigued. The book wasn't quite what I expected - this was more Women's Fiction to me, and I struggle to connect with these kinds of stories. Looking at the synopsis again now, this is really my bad here.

This one was a slow starter, friends. Kelly has quite a cast of characters spanning two different timelines and the first several chapters are spent acquainting the reader with the family tree and how they are all connected. It took until almost the halfway mark for the plot to really pick up for me, but I liked how Kelly wove the story and I was eager to see how the characters' lives intertwined.

This is a well-written family drama that follows Joanna in the 1960s and her mother-in-law Susanna in the 1920s. Joanna's a mother of two small children and the family recently relocated to her husband's family home in Bethlehem, with Susanna and her grandmother-in-law Hetty still in residence. The pieces come together slowly but when the plot really got going I was in for the long haul!

I enjoyed Kelly's writing style quite a lot and that is primarily what kept me reading. It's a solid debut and one I would recommend to readers who enjoy Women's Fiction. Ultimately this book wasn't the story I was looking for, but I enjoyed reading it.Many thanks to St. Martins Press for sending me an eARC via Netgalley for my honest review! Quotations are taken from an uncorrected proof and may change in final publication.

Blog | Twitter | Pinterest

[chymerra]

Joanna Collier has reluctantly moved to her husband’s childhood home in Bethlehem, PA. What Joanna doesn’t know is that there are secrets that have laid dormant. Secrets that could tear her family apart.

I almost didn’t accept the invite to review for Bethlehem. The blurb didn’t sell the book. I also decided to read some of the reviews on Goodreads before making my decision. What made my decision for me was the cover. I thought it was beautiful.

I thought that Bethlehem was well written. The author did a great job of bringing the characters to life. The writing was descriptive and drew me right in. I love it when a story does that.

My issue with the book fell with the characters. While they were well written, I couldn’t connect with them. I must connect with at least one character in the book.

I did like the plotlines. I thought that they were well written and flushed out. I was able to immerse myself in the plotline. I also liked the dual plotlines. The plotline involving Susannah was heartbreaking. The one with Joanna was interesting.

There were dropped storylines and characters that seemed to disappear. The storyline that I am referring to was the one with Daniel and Joanna. I did think that it was going in a certain direction. Then it was dropped and Daniel was never heard from again. Drove me nuts. I needed to know what happened to Daniel!!

I didn’t like Joanna. She didn’t try to cultivate a relationship with Savannah or Hedy. She kept to herself. She pursued a relationship with Daniel instead of focusing on fixing the one with her husband. She flipped out when Gigi gave the kids their Christmas presents. Her attitude was horrible. She did start to change about halfway through the book but I couldn’t change my view of her.

I did figure out what was going on with Susannah about halfway through the book. I did think that it was sucky what she did to Wyatt. But, at the same time, she did remain true to herself.

The end of Bethlehem didn’t sit well with me. It seemed rushed. Joanna’s change of heart was not believable. I did like how the author brought together the main storylines. That wasn’t rushed.

I would give Bethlehem an Adult rating. There is sex (mentions of it, nothing graphic). There is not language. There is mild violence. I would recommend that no one under the age of 21 read this book.

I am on the fence if I would reread Bethlehem. I am also on the fence if I would recommend it to family and friends. I would read other books by the author.

I would like to thank the publisher, the author, and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review Bethlehem.

All opinions stated in this review of Bethlehem are mine.

Have you read Bethlehem?

What are your thoughts on it?

Would you be able to uproot your life for your SO?

Let me know!!