The American Heiress by Daisy Goodwin was the second book I read this year and as much as I was looking forward to reading it, I have to be honest and say that it was quite disappointing.
My husband gave me this book for Christmas and I just hate to not LOVE a book that was given to me, especially by my husband and even more especially for Christmas.
He also gave me A Well Behaved Woman, which makes a great pairing with this novel, and I really did love that one! Maybe they don’t make the best pairing after all because this one was far inferior to A Well Behaved Woman.
The American Heiress is the story of Cora Cash, who is an American heiress who comes from a family that is wealthier than even the Vanderbilts. Cora travels abroad with her mother to find a titled husband. She ends up marrying a duke who was the most eligible bachelor in England and regrets the life she ends up with.
Ivo, Cora’s new husband is moody and withdrawn, nothing like what she expected. The English society is not what the expected either with its unwritten rules, traps and betrayals.
Cora learns that money cannot buy happiness and she must decide if she’s willing to risk giving it all up to find happiness.
The American Heiress was just an “okay” book for me. The characters weren’t relatable or even likable at all. The story was lacking a depth that would have made it much more enjoyable and ended up just falling flat.
If you like period reads, you may enjoy reading this, I would just caution you to not have high expectations. I’m okay with reading some books, like this one, that is just okay. Not every book has to be astounding or gripping for me to enjoy the reading experience
Goodreads rating: 3/5 stars