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THE SECOND MRS. ASTOR
BY SHANA ABE

While this historical novel was at times heartbreaking and sad, it left me with more questions than answers. It starts out with Madeleine Astor in the Prologue as what I construed was a journal entry to her infant son she calls Jackey. Telling him that she named him after his father whose eyes and swirl of fair hair that he was born with resembles his father. I was a bit taken aback that she looks down on her four month old infant and writes that basically this beautiful, healthy son can not live up to his father's image. I understand that she was grieving but how can you say to your cherubic angel that he will not ever be the towering image of his father. I had two son's and I fell in love with them from the moment that I first laid eyes on them. I never compared my love for their father with either of them. Then again, I wasn't recently widowed like she was. I would have thought that her baby would have given her hope and that she was lucky to have been blessed with a part of her dearly departed larger than life husband who was John Jacob Astor IV.

I thought that it was sort of creepy how the author sets the scene that John Jacob Astor IV noticed Madeleine Force when she was only thirteen years old with his mother in Newport Beach, Rhode Island. His mother Caroline Astor gave Ava Vanderbilt so much trouble because the Vanderbilt's were known as newly rich and weren't considered old money. Caroline Astor would have never approved of Madeleine who was just three year's later seventeen when she starts dating JJAIV. There was a 29 year age difference and Madeleine wasn't in the same stratosphere economically speaking that Jack was raised to socialize with. I thought that Madeleine's parents were loving but I don't think too many father's of seventeen year old daughter's would approve of a forty-six year old man courting their youngest daughter. Unless Madeleine's parents were smitten with John Jacob Astor's money. However, in this writing her parents never seemed to mind or be concerned???

Not only were there three decades of age difference but he had a son named Vincent that was Madeleine's age from his first marriage who lived with him. He was divorced and it was stipulated that he could never remarry while his first wife was alive. Somehow Madeleine must have been more mature for her age or maybe it was different back then. If these details weren't facts I would have a very hard time believing that in fact these two were passionately in love and were married four months after they got engaged. Somehow they got around the clause that he couldn't remarry.

I gave this four stars because Shana Abe fills in the blanks and I was convinced that the love that these two shared seemed real and deep. I unlike most of the other reviewer's was unaware that Jack died on their honeymoon on their voyage home on the Titanic. I had a lump in my stomach and felt like crying when Jack put Madeleine in life boat four and him and their loyal dog Kitty perished. It takes some pretty incredible writing and talent to recreate such a touching love story considering my preconceived disbelief that I mentioned earlier in this review. The research was taken from newspaper articles mostly but despite my misgivings I was drawn into this story and I would like to know more about what happened to Madeleine Astor and her son after the tragic loss of her husband. I thought that the writing was wordy at times but I am grateful for the opportunity to have learned about this tragic story.

Publication Date: August 31, 2021

Thank you to Net Galley, Shana Abe and Kensington Books for generously providing me with my ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

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