Ephemeral Palaces


Fiction - Historical - Event/Era
320 Pages
Reviewed on 08/07/2016
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    Book Review

Reviewed by Divine Zape for Readers' Favorite

Ephemeral Palaces by Nancy Foshee is set against a significant and colorful historic moment, a period featuring horse-drawn carriages, bustling streets, and the itch for innovation. It is in this period that Logan McConnell makes his entry into the historic climate of Chicago with a big dream - work on the World’s Columbian Exposition - but his life is changed the moment he meets society heiress Alexandra Nicolle Schaffer. When Alexandra Schaffer asks him for an unusual favor, he agrees, but little does he know how deeply he’ll get involved with her. Ephemeral Palaces by Nancy Foshee explores what happens when an ambitious dreamer meets a woman of charm and wealth, but it also examines the many more subtle themes characteristic of the silent revolution taking place around Chicago and the town of Pullman in the late 19th century.

I loved the beauty of the language and the captivating images offered gracefully throughout the story. For instance, at the start of the story, the author compares a building to a woman, and translates the emotion of the main protagonist in glorious language: “She rose seductively above the oblivious crowd. Tall and slender, she stood unwavering and determined. Gentle graceful curves modestly displayed themselves beneath the folds of her garment. A dozen terracotta ribbons laced against her bodice and lined her eyes which examined the world beneath her. She was a combination of classical beauty and modern technology rising fourteen stories into the Chicago sky.” But powerful descriptions aren’t the author’s sole forte, for she has the knack of creating complex characters, weaving compelling and intelligent dialogue, and surprising readers with unexpected twists throughout the story. Here is a book that is entertaining in a spellbinding kind of way. Irresistibly good!