Gilding Lily: A Novel

This is the second book I've read by Tatiana Boncompagni, having first read "Social Death: A Clyde Shaw Mystery", which I thoroughly enjoyed. Gilding Lily was very good, too, and not generally the type of outing I'm much drawn to (the last Kindle book I read was a non-fiction story of a door gunner during the Vietnam war, which is a bit more typical of the types of books I like to read). I found Lily to be a character easy to be sympathetic to, caught up in an environment that the writer brings to life in a very believable way. And what a world it is! The vanity and the viciousness of New York's social elite, as portrayed by Ms. Boncompagni, is more to be pitied than censured. Lily's openly disapproving mother-in-law, and her own attempts at fitting into, and making a place for herself in amongst these mostly cruel denizens, makes for a good read. Like the ending, too.

I don’t know much about socialites in New York. What made me sad about this nook was how all the women regularly and often turned on each other. There were very few shreds of kindness or humanity in this piece of fiction. Nevertheless, I enjoyed a glimpse into the lives of the characters portrayed in this book.

I'm such a fan of this author- she truly captures all the raw emotions her characters go through. Even if you can't relate personally you have a connection to the characters like they are you're friends. You feel like you are on this roller coaster ride with the main character in her life- you are crying at her lowest points and cheering her on and at her highest points. Good read!!

I really enjoyed this book. You really root for Lily and I found it hard to put the book down. I love it when you just want to keep reading to find out what happens next.

I didn't like this one as well as Social Death. I would try another by this author with the Clyde Shaw character only.