"House of Gold" by Natasha Solomons is a family drama set against the backdrop of pre-World War II Europe, exploring wealth, secrets, and relationships. While the premise is intriguing, the book left me feeling a bit underwhelmed.

The characters are well-crafted, and Solomons does a good job of creating a sense of time and place, but I struggled to connect with the story. The pacing felt slow at times, and there were moments when I felt like the plot meandered without really moving forward. Some of the more dramatic twists also felt a little predictable.

Overall, it's not a bad book, but it didn't fully engage me the way I hoped it would. If you're a fan of historical fiction with a focus on family dynamics, you might enjoy it, but it didn't quite live up to my expectations.

Loosely based on the Rothschild family, who were once one of the wealthiest Jewish families in Europe. It was fascinating to get a peek into what their life would have been like through WWI and in the build up to WWII. However I found the book a bit too long and full of characters. I enjoyed the overall story, but there were lots of story lines that could have been cut.

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC, all reviews are my own.

I received a review copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley for my honest review. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

You feel the ravages of war, its pain, loss, and atrocities undoubtedly tug at your heart. War is ugly and Solomons does not shy away from this aspect one bit. It’s a heartbreaking story causing one to pause in remembrance of those who served and those who perished.

I enjoyed the array of characters. I was especially fond of the initial awkwardness between Greta and Albert. I also liked Otto, and the tenderness he held for Greta.

The one complaint I have is the plot lacked cohesiveness. Jumping around far too much for my taste taking away from Solomons intricate details and intelligent writing. The story was extremely comprehensive but the disjointedness took away from this strong aspect.

“A wise man can make a mistake”

A wonderful exhaustive family saga set in the cruelness of WWI, historical fiction fans will appreciate this story along with Solomons cultivated writing.

HOUSE OF GOLD

This is a very enjoyable family saga of the Goldbaums, a wealthy European banking family based loosely on the Rothschild dynasty. The focus is on Greta, heiress to the Vienna branch of the family, and her arranged marriage to her cousin Albert from England. It is set right before and during World War I and highlights many of the problems involved with differing country and family loyalties during this time.

What I really liked about this story is that although it told a story of family and romance, it contained great deal of historical information regarding financial, political, and social issues during WWI. I felt that it really provided an excellent way to learn about serious problems during this time period through personal experiences.

I also liked that it portrayed Greta as a blossoming independent woman with ideas of her own and the struggles that involved in the early 19th century, even in an atmosphere of wealth. There was also a great deal of emphasis on the importance of family, and presented in a realistic manner.

House of Gold is a picture in time - no real beginning or end, but a snapshot of a historical period from the perspective of a super rich banking family. I thought it was excellent.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Natasha Solomons, and G.P. Putnam’s Sons and Penguin Random House for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the complimentary ARC. All opinions provided are my own.

Natasha Solomons’ House of Gold tells a sweeping story about the Goldbaums, a huge, wealthy, Jewish family that sprawls across Europe & funds some of its greatest powers with their banks in the years immediately before & during World War I.

Set largely in Vienna, where protagonist Greta Goldbaum is born, & then Hampshire, where she moves to live with her husband—a distant relation named Albert and the man she meets only right before their marriage—the book shows what happens when those same family bonds are stressed by war & loyalty to various nations.

There are aspects of this historical fiction that work for me, like its basic portrayal on this intriguing family & how the conflicts are set up between their family & country & between Greta’s selfhood & the demands placed upon her by family.

Though I appreciated the evolution of Greta’s relationship with Albert, I did not enjoy his rigidity—the scene at the village games is particularly disturbing—& their relationship just ends oddly for me—excepting those sweet final pages.

Narrative-wise, the focus on other people throughout the book is interesting on one hand, but on the other, it feels choppy. I also feel like in the closing pages there’s a loose end for Greta, an abrupt ending to one person’s story that doesn’t seem full circle.

House of Gold has many fine moments but overall falls kinda flat to me.

3.5 ⭐️.


CWs: miscarriage, war, anti-semitism, suicide, suicide while pregnant, & probably more.


[ID: an ebook rests on a white blanket. Two coin pursues—green with gold stitching—are to the left & right.]

I have no idea why I requested this book. It's not my type at all. I also tried reading this book multiple times. I read that first chapter at least three times, but I couldn't get into it. It just wasn't for me. That's why I waited so long to write a review. I hate to be negative. about someone's hard work.

A wonderful downton abbey-esque novel about the unexpected love a woman finds on the eve of WWI. Although a bit slow, it was nonetheless very well-written and I felt immersed in the story and the time period.

Natasha Salomon writes a very intriguing, exciting, and exasperating book. House of Hold was one that was hard to put down and found I loved all the characters. Greta was headstrong and brilliant. I wanted to slap her silly and hug her close. Albert was the dutiful son to the Goldbaum empire and to his wife and family. So worth the read.
#Netgalley #GPPutnamandSons #HouseofGold

This book is great! Would definitely recommend. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I enjoy historical fiction and it's blend of storytelling while learning history at the same time. I've read a ton of WWII-based books, but not so much on WWI, so this was an interesting read for me as their were a lot of details to make this era real for me. The story centers around the Goldbaum family, loosely based on the Rothschild family. The daughter, Greta, is to be married to a distant cousin as was the fashion then, to consolidate power and keep the money in the family. Greta is not so thrilled about this plan however. We follow her story, the first part living in the lap of luxury, and then the war years. This is a long and complex story so I find myself challenged to encapsulate it here, but if you have a passion for historical fiction, and especially those books set in the war years, I think you will enjoy this epic read.

For those of you familiar with track and field, the pacing of this book is what we would refer to as a negative split.

In other words, the second half of it moves faster than the first. A LOT faster. I’ve never seen a race where the differential was quite this extreme, but I can’t imagine it would end well. Things worked out slightly better for the book.

The first half of the narrative is largely devoted to protagonist Greta’s adjustment to married life and the awkwardness of her relationship with her husband. It was tough to care much about either.

Fortunately, once the war gets going (nothing like a war to liven things up!), so does the story.

From there, the pacing is greatly improved, and Solomons’ writing (beautiful from the first page to the last) finds more worthy subject matter.

I do wish the pacing had been more even (perhaps the war should have started earlier in the narrative?), but if you can stick out the early going, it proves to be a powerful and compelling story.

It’s clear that this book is loosely based on the Rothschild family, but I wish there had been an author’s note letting the reader know how much history was infused into the story. (My copy is an ARC, so perhaps this exists in the published version).

The story of the Goldbaum family that gives us a glimpse into the lives of wealthy Jewish families. It carries the reader through the struggles, heartbreak and family splits during World War I.
I was very impressed with the author's style of writing as well as the informative story line that drew the reader in.

I highly recommend this book and look forward to other books by Ms. Solomons.

I received this ARC from Netgalley for an honest and unbiased opinion. The story started out very slow. I didn’t get interested in the book until half way through it. After I got into the story, I really enjoyed the saga about the Goldbaum family and their banks. Five brothers were established in the banking profession in five different counties around the early part of the 1900’s . When various countries go to war and the families and banks in those countries are affected, the family dynamics becomes very interesting and sad at times. Once I got caught up in the story, I couldn’t put the book down

Having loved Natasha Solomons previous works, I had high hopes for this book, but it was unable to hold my attention and I ended up setting it down.

Thank you to NetGalley and GP Putnam Sons Books for the gifted book and opportunity to read and review it prior to its publication date! This in no way affected my review, all opinions are my own.

Good read. I found the family contention believable and interesting. I would recommend to readers of historical fiction.

Thank you to Net Galley for the ARC.

I am a big historical fiction reader and was interested in reading this book and it did not disappoint. I enjoyed reading about the fictional Goldberg family and found it interesting that it was based on a real family.

I enjoyed the fact that it took place in both Austria and England right before and during world war 1. The differences in the two countries experiences during that war were interesting to read about as well as the turmoil the characters found themselves in.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys historical fiction, well developed characters who don't always do what you expect of them, as well as great descriptions of the scenery and settings.

My favorite genre.... I enjoyed this one. The majority of the historical fiction I read is based on WW2 so I was excited to read about WW1 instead. Well written, but a lot of story lines. Overall I would recommend.

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC!

Thank you to the author Natasha Solomons, the publisher, Penguin Group, and NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for my candid review.

I love historic fiction and this book is an excellent example of great historic fiction. It is the story of the European dynastic family Gold that is loosely based upon the Rothschild family. It is a family that started out poor in a slavic ghetto that sent 3 sons out to different cities to found different branches of a European Bank. One family ended up in Vienna, Austria, one in Paris France, and the other in London England. Together, the three branches of the family and their banks became very wealthy and successful. Wanting to keep all this wealth and power in the family, the patriarchs marry off cousins to each other.

THe story starts before the advent of World War I and continues through the harshness of the war. It splits the family as they have to choose between the family and their own separate countries.

It is a great book and one well worth reading. It was well researched and gives great insight into the lives of Jewish families where even rich ones are still shunned. It details the challenges and deprivations of WWI and the great price paid by everyone. It is also a great insight into the world of banking and the shift from European banks to US banks.

It is a great read----I highly recommend it.!!!!

A wonderful historic novel that will make you think about all family ties from the ones you are born into to the ones that you create.