Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for allowing me to read an ARC of this book. I read this in 2 days I was so intrigued by the historical fiction of Eleanor Roosevelt and Lorena Hickock's ("Hick") life. Living not far from Hyde Park this book brought me into a little more of her life from what I had seen and learned at their home there. I enjoyed the love story of the two women and how strong yet how vulnerable they both were because of the circumstances of their lives. Eleanor being the First Lady and wanting to help everyone, and Hicks pulling herself from poverty to the best woman reporter in America and becoming Eleanor's "First Friend", their love story stands the test of time. I would definitely recommend reading this book.

In the end, or from the start, this really wasn't for me. I was excited to read this but it really fell flat almost from the start. It felt more like a desperate romance with focus on the physical and not the more emotional connection between two people that I expected. The timeline jumped all over the place and made the story feel disjointed. I know this book gets lots of love from other readers but it just didn't work for me at all.

I had a really hard time with this one. It bounced back and forth and all around and I couldn't quite get the jest of it? Sorry, but I didn't finish this one.

First line: No love like old love.

Summary: The friendship between Lorena Hickok and Eleanor Roosevelt is strong one. Lorena became one of the closest friends to the Roosevelt’s and even enjoyed a room in the White House. However, their relationship went deeper. Told through flashbacks we see the evolving relationship as well as the difficulties of their time together.

Highlights: I liked reading about the relationship between the first lady and her best friend. I knew very little about the Roosevelt’s and this was enlightening.

Lowlights: The jumping around and short choppy writing was off putting. It made the story confusing to follow.

FYI: Very short story.

This was my first time reading a novel by Amy Bloom and I was very impressed with her writing style. I felt like this book gave you a thought-provoking look into Hick's life and love for Eleanor. I didn't expect to feel so much heartache for these star-crossed lovers.

Thank you Netgalley and Random House for the review eARC of this book!
Eleanor Roosevelt has always stood out in my mind as a titan of American History. I liked getting to see her story from another perspective, the viewpoint of "Hick" (Lorena Hickok) Eleanor's "first friend". The writing was lovely, but throughout the whole book I found myself wondering about the veracity of the story, and that kind of took me out of the book. If you don't mind fictionalized accounts of historical figures, this is a really good one!

Brilliant! No one nails "voice" quite like Amy Bloom.

I very, very rarely do not finish books, but this one, I just couldn't do it. And I am so disappointed! I am fascinated by Eleanor Roosevelt and looked forward to reading more about her. But I just couldn't get into the book. I got 40% done and had to stop. I found it to be very choppy and disjointed and awkward. I kept having to reread to figure out what was going on and which time period I was in. I just didn't care for it, unfortunately. I did learn some new information about Eleanor in the 40% I read so that was a plus.

3.5 Stars. Thank you NetGalley for Digital ARC and I also won this book in a Good Reads giveaway. I will Be Share to pass it on for others to enjoy. First, I am not a fan of historical fiction with real people as the characters. But not knowing much about the main Character “Hick” made it easier to enjoy this book. I found her an engrossing character. I think fans of historical fiction will enjoy this book.

I was really looking forward to reading White Houses, a fictional account of the friendship and love affair between Lenora Hickok (Hick) and Eleanor Roosevelt but felt a bit disappointed after finishing the novel. It is difficult to rate this book because some parts of it I was fascinated by- such as Hicks’ account of her childhood- the heartbreaking abuse and her short stint working at the circus. Yet I’m not sure how much of that is true since this is a fictional account. Then there were times when the book seemed to fall flat and lacked depth. I was hoping for much more insight into Eleanor and even Franklin. I am still very intrigued about this relationship and Eleanor and will perhaps look into non-fiction books to learn more.

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House for an ARC copy.

Who knew? I mean, I had heard rumors, but to me it was never certain. This book, about the relationship between Lorena Hickok and Eleanor Roosevelt was fascinating. Eleanor was always a character I wondered about, with admiration. What a White House that must have been, with its silent scandals. Franklin, with his harem of women, and Eleanor, with her harem of women. This is a quick read and very very interesting. Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishers, for the perusal of White Houses by Amy Bloom. I could go on, but I don't want to spoil it for others. Read this story, absolutely fascinating.

Eleanor Roosevelt is an intriguing heart of our history. I'm not sure what I think of this book. The author clearly states that it is a work of fiction, but I wonder if it will be read and consumed as fact. The writing, for me, felt rather flat. It didn't grab me and compel me to read it.

I just could not get into this book. I don't know where fact and fiction collide or how many liberites the author took in writing this book. I just did not care for it. I have liked Amy Bloom's previous novels, but not this one. I feel sad for the Roosevelt's, at least the way they were portrayed, and Lorena had a terrible childhood. I do admire what she made of herself in the journalism world, but overall, I just did not enjoy this book.

Thank you Random House and NetGalley for this free copy for review!

Perhaps I am still processing. The set-up is what attracted me - an exploration of the ostensible romantic relationship between Eleanor Roosevelt, and writer/ journalist, Lorena Hickok.

There were parts of this book that I absolutely loved - and wished for hundreds more pages of! - and then parts that left me sort of confused and disappointed.

But let's get into the good first! This, at its core, is most simply a beautiful, lyrically written love story. The poetic beauty in which the narrator (Hickok) experiences and describes her love of Eleanor is so grand in scale yet never once even borders on the hyperbolic. I absolutely cried at the end, and did not see that coming. The chapters are short and palatable, making it easy to read at a quick pace, and the story is told largely in a series of flashbacks and reminiscences which touched the nostalgia bug in just the right way for a love story.

However, the slightly more disappointing part of this - At times, this reads as if there are certain things that you are assumed to know or be familiar with regarding the very specific (and very famous) historical figures. I will say this left me feeling a bit out of the loop at times. However, Bloom is very clear that this is a work of fiction and while she tries to stick to historical facts of chronology and place, the love story itself is really the fictional part of this book. Which is curious, because on the flip side, I also felt like the women characterized in this book were largely incongruous with the characters that I felt I did know and had read about in history books and documentaries. So there was a disconnect for me, and most of the time I found myself attempting to picture a First Lady and journalist who were completely unrelated to Roosevelt and Hickok and completely fictional in my mind. I almost wished that this were the inspiration for the book but had been taken down a completely fictional path of unrecognizable historical figures (and made space for a lot more of the romantic love story).

Ultimately, despite these sort of distracting factors, I did quite enjoy reading this, and very much enjoyed Bloom's style of writing. Reading a book set in the 30s-60s of two older women attempting to navigate a romantic relationship was unique and compelling to me and is definitely worth the read.

Absolutely stunningly written and engrossing, 'White Houses' is an intimate, raw and appealing sketch of Eleanor Roosevelt and 'Hick' - her longtime lover and friend. I found Bloom's writing to be poetic as usual, with her usual dash of dark humour and intelligent insights into sex, politics and relationships. Highly recommended.

This is a fictionalized account of the friendship, and probable lesbian relationship, between Lenora Hickok (“Hick”), a journalist, and Eleanor Roosevelt. The author tells the story through Lenora’s eyes and what I enjoyed the most are the historical details: the Lindburgh kidnapping, the camp the Roosevelts founded for victims of polio, the marriage between Franklin and Eleanor, FDR’s affairs, the Roosevelt children…and more.

I enjoyed Hick’s voice and the details of her abusive childhood gave even more insight into her character. The book is beautifully written but I have a problem with fiction based on real people. I find myself wondering how much of it was the imagination of the author, and more often than not, would have rather read a non-fiction book on the subject. Readers who aren't bothered by the same questions will find much to enjoy in this slim book.

The author had access to many of the letters the two exchanged, but I had a hard time reconciling the historical Eleanor with the one depicted in these pages. Although all agree that theirs was a close friendship, historians are divided on whether the two had a romantic relationship. I’ve since read some excerpts from the letters and admit the case is compelling. But I can’t help feeling it would have been better to let Eleanor and Hick rest in peace.

•thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of the book for review.

This book is about the relationship between the narrator, Lorena Hickok and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. While the story is fiction, it is based on actual information known about the relationship between the two ladies. Bloom does a fantastic job of painting lives and relationships in a way that feels subtle and true. In fact there are points where she does this so effectively that I almost felt like I was intruding in private, intimate moments. There is a part of the book that delves deeper into Hickok's childhood and what drove her to be the person she is, and I felt like there was too much time in the book devoted to telling this backstory for the book being about the relationship between Lorena and Eleanor. And while I learned more about Eleanor Roosevelt as a result of this book, I can't say that it made me like her more. She comes off as entitled, with a bit of a superiority complex, and while trying to relate to the common person because she wants to, just can't overcome the differences between lifestyles .

Engaging historical fiction with compelling tale of the love story between Eleanor Roosevelt and Lorena Hickok, told against the backdrop of Hickok’s terrible childhood and Roosevelt’s privileged but isolated one. These two women, one a larger than life hero to the Nation, the other cut out of nearly every picture taken at the White House, are a study in contrasts. Their friendship outlasted their love affair, leaving Hickok living in the White House but no longer in a connecting room to Roosevelt’s. The story is told from Hickok’s perspective and is fascinating. My only mild complaint stems from my lack of familiarity with the era; I just didn’t know all of the people and references and that slowed down my enjoyment of the book. I received my copy from the publisher through NetGalley and I am deeply appreciative.

Fantastic, touching look at a very famous woman (Eleanor Roosevelt) who I actually knew very little about. Highly recommend.

Wow! I had no idea Eleanor swung that way. However, unfortunately while eye opening, it wasn't all that for me.

The blurb likened this book to "The Paris Wife" and "The Swans of Fifth Avenue". Well, I read both of those books and loved them. This one? No way near. I was expecting a lot more. This was just random stories and all over the place. So Lorena did Eleanor. I had to read about it dozens and dozens of times and I didn't even finish the book.

I think this would have appealed to me more if it was a short, short story.

Thanks to Random House and Net Galley for providing me with a free e-galley in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.