I love historical fiction and jumped at the chance to review House of Gold. I enjoyed the story of Greta and Albert but felt that there was just too much detailed history of events. I found myself skimming over some of the more detailed parts.

This is my first Natasha Solomon book and I'm sorry to say it will probably be my last. The story of Greta and Albert was interesting and intriguing but this is one historical novel where there is too much history for my enjoyment. If the author had just stuck to Greta and Albert's story with just a little bit of history war telling I think I would have enjoyed it more. The Goldbaums are a very rich family who find out that even they are not untouchable by the War. Thank you to Netgalley and Penquin Group for my chance to read this Advanced Readers Copy

Greta had been a handful since birth with her governesses explaining that if she had been anything but a Goldbaum, she would be out on the street.

The Goldbaums always married distant cousins to keep the name, their power, and their wealth secure.

Greta was to marry her second cousin from London whom she never met, but she was fine with it because she was hoping this would take her away from her daunting mother and all her rules about proper behavior.

As I was reading, it seemed as if I were living in a fairy tale. Every whim and want was satisfied for Greta and her family. The description of the mansions was unbelievable, and I laughed when one of the servants confessed she needed a map to navigate the home.

The writing style and the detail Ms. Solomons uses draws you into the story even though some of it is filled with politics and business dealings. She adds enough family drama and interest of the era to keep you reading, but it did get tedious at times.

The characters were definitely depicted as true to this era and class, and they grew on you as you read. Some you grew to like and others you grew to wonder why they acted as they did.

If you enjoy reading about aristocrats, politics, European history in the late 1800's/early1900's, war, and the non-public side of the wealthy, HOUSE OF GOLD will be of interest.

The book was well written, but was a bit long. The characters - especially Greta - made the book. She was a feisty, strong woman. 4/5

This book was given to me as an ARC by the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

When Natasha Soloman’s House of Gold opens, the Goldbaum banking family has a branch in every European country, and the rules for young Goldbaums are simple. Sons will make more money and connections for the family, while daughters will marry to cement alliances and have healthy children to continue the family. In this way, wealth and connections will continue to insulate the Goldbaums from any setbacks.

Naturally, Austrian Greta Goldbaum is sent to England to marry British Albert Goldbaum. The marriage isn’t off to a great start, with Albert skipping all the Austrian pre-wedding festivities, and Greta questioning her Goldbaum duties, right up to an attempt to call off the wedding. This has the potential to become an unsympathetic poor-little-rich-girl, but instead we see Greta as someone who’s life has already been planned out. It’s just assumed that the young Goldbaum will attend the right parties, dance well, eat fine dinners, marry a distant cousin, have a Goldbaum heir, and then host the right dinners herself. For her brother and cousins, the Goldbaum privilege is similar, keeping them from desired studies and mistresses, even while it provides so much.

In England, Greta’s German mother-in-law encourages her to grow a garden, saying that was her own solace in a foreign country with an unknown Goldbaum husband. I really liked this part, because I love my little container garden and love browsing seed catalogs (I’m looking at you, Baker Creek) planning a bigger garden someday. Also, this conversation establishes the theme of plants, flowers and gardens throughout the novel. I really enjoyed the way wild plants and gardening were used to set the scene (or the emotional scene) throughout this book.

This is almost a manners novel, with the focus on the customs and attitudes of the Goldbaum, but our heroine Greta is determined not to be in a manners novel. Whenever the Goldbaums suggest that she act appropriately for their family, Greta does the opposite. “What was that, Mom? Try to destroy my marriage? Run around the grounds naked? Take up with exactly who I’m told to avoid? ON IT!”

When World War I begins, Goldbaum cousins find themselves are different sides. Greta’s German accent is viewed with suspicion, her husband is at war. The Goldbaum privilege is shifting, if not ending entirely, and Greta, Albert, and all their generation will be tested.

Loved this book. I want to read more by this author. I put off reading this book and when I did read it I was so glad I picked it out to read. Thank you for a great read.

I'm a huge historical fiction fan, and this book ticked all the boxes for me. However, it was a little too long in the middle, and in my opinion too much discussion about gardening details. By the end of the book, I was more invested in the characters and I felt it ended suddenly just when I wanted to find out more. However, I enjoyed it very much and recommend it. I'm not going to recap the plot.

Thanks to G.P. Putnam's Sons and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This seems to be based loosely based on the Rothschild Family. It is about the WW1 era and the lines between the haves and the have-nots. Men and women had to accept their place in society. The supporting characters help to keep your interest to a point. But it jumps around and you think you missed something. I felt it was just too long and what was left out was important,

A sprawling family saga taking place just before and during WW1 revolving around the Goldbaums, an elite dynasty of bankers. Lots of historical detail centering around Greta, an Austrian heiress who finds herself transplanted by marriage to England...her difficult adjustment and how she wrestles with her new life and what is gained and lost in war. I found it a bit overly long and there’s some choppiness in timeline (suddenly skipping forward in time with no indication), but I liked it overall.

Thanks to #NetGalley and #GPPutnamsSons for the ARC. The opinions are strictly my own.

Not terribly engaged. So wanted to really like.

The setting: "an epic family saga about a headstrong [Jewish] Austrian heiress [Greta Goldbaum] who will be forced to choose between the family she's made and the family that made her at the outbreak of World War I."

Starts in Vienna in 1911, when Greta is 21 and confronted with an arranged marriage to her British cousin, Albert. All about family --hers, his, and eventually, theirs. Supposedly based in part on the Rothschilds.

What I liked: learning about some of the finite details of the trappings of wealth and privilege--private railway cars, orchestras, and so on.

What detracted--none of the characters were terribly compelling, too many subplots. I just didn't care enough. Otto and Karl were sort of interesting; I figured early on that Karl was gong to have a larger role than when initially presented [points off for telegraphing the obvious]. Same with Clement--though for all his faults [eating and gambling most prominent, I liked him].

Some descriptions--a very few humorous. "..ostrich plume on Greta's picture hat, which moved as though it were trying to conduct the room each time she turned her head." "...Otto found himself transfixed by the drip on the end of Lord Goldbaum's nose, wondering precisely when it would fall."

What I learned: --what a calendar house is--very interesting--look it up--as I did. How banking intersected with financing war. Herbs and medicinal uses [knew some].

So, I plowed through it because it was written well enough. BUT.

This was a good story that shows how war can come in and take over lives and connect people that otherwise wouldn't have a connection. It can bring people together and tear them apart. It was a little hard to get into the very beginning of the book, but once I got into it I didn't want to put it down. I really enjoyed the characters in the book and the plot kept me going along until the very end. I wanted to know what happened and when the book was over, I wished there was more because I wasn't ready to say goodbye to the characters.

Based loosely on the famous Rothschild family, showing their power and ties with all the European countries and royal families, it is now the Goldsteins as the family members get pulled into WWI with their Austrian and British families on opposite side of a conflict that neither support. On one hand, I was pulled into the characters of Otto and Greta, the Austrian siblings, and Albert, the son and heir of the British banking side. The slow love story of Greta and Albert is compelling, and Otto's wartime friendship with a Jewish orphan is powerful. Yet the story moves too slowly for me, as the war slowly begins; I found the second half more powerful once the war finally begins. Admittedly, I am also not a lover of gardening so the pages and pages of garden description and yard work is a bit too much for me. This book was full of interesting historical detail, focused on an extremely privileged family at a traumatic moment in 19th century history, yet also drew in at times how this war impacted people of poverty. Overall, I enjoyed the book but do wish it had been a bit shorter. Thanks to Net Galley for a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher Cornerstone Digital for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this novel for an honest review.

Pre World War 1 Europe and the Goldbaum family are an extremely wealthy banking dynasty. Greta Goldbaum from Vienna does not really want to marry her English cousin Albert she does it anyway as that is what is expected and though Greta is a defiant girl she also knows that the sometimes you have to do what is expected. Greta is a fun, gregarious girl while Albert is a serious and quiet man.

This novel takes us up through most of World War 1 and we follow the family through it all. With the war brewing we see how anti semitism began to take control of certain parts of Europe.

A sweeping tale with Greta at the center this was a novel that I could not put down and though it was a bit long I managed to read it in 24 hours. There were a few slower parts but the characters and storylines were enough to keep me hanging in there.

This is the first Natasha Solomons novel that I have read and I enjoyed it immensely. I will be reading more books by her!

If you'd asked me to rate "House of Gold" while I was about halfway through, I'd have given it a solid four stars. But the second half felt rushed, kind of like when as a kid you're told to write a 10-page report, and when you're about 7 pages in you realize you still have a lot more to say, but there's no way you're going to write more than the minimum 10 pages, so you just cram in the rest of the facts without fussing about style or nuance. The characters, most of whom had been established as well-rounded figures, became paper dolls to be moved about as the plot dictated, and some of the denouements were implausible at best. The writing became sloppier too; characters previously shown to keep kosher served a dish mixing meat and cheese; a character is described as too tired to open her eyes, but a few sentences later, without any passing of time, she's said to insist on keeping her eyes on her son. All that said, the book did keep me reading and made my commute zip by.
Thank you, NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam, for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

Amazingly descriptive reminiscent of The Thornbirds or Scruples - a sweeping family saga, history and true love in a single novel

This was a great fictional story of what life was like for Jews, even wealthy ones, before & during World War I. It's about the Goldbaum family, who are wealthy Jewish bankers across Europe, that marry within their family (distant cousins) to keep the family united. This story focuses on Greta from Vienna, who doesn't like to maintain the normal life of a woman at this time, & her arranged marriage to Albert from London. It tells of her brother, another cousin, her parents, & Albert's parents as well as some side characters along the way. I highly recommend getting swept up in this fascinating tale of a different time & place than the 21st century for sure!

This book swept me away to a time and place I knew little about. It is epic in feel and scope although in looking back I realize it encompasses less than a lifetime. The story of the great Jewish banking families before the World War is interesting and presented here on a human, intimate level. I really became interested in the lives of the women and men who were part of this small segment of the world at this period in time. A good read which I thank #netgalley for giving me the opportunity to enjoy prepublication. #houseofgold is a winner!

I really enjoyed this book! It reminded me of how much I love reading historical fiction books. I read that this is kind of loosely based on the Rothschild family, which I have no interest in, so I was worried that I wouldn't be able to get into the story. I was very wrong. This story is riveting, and I had a hard time putting it down. I love the gardening passages and the chapters that take place during WWI. It's a fascinating novel and well worth reading. I'm definitely going to check out previous books by this author.


A special thank you to NetGalley and publisher for giving me a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

This was an unusual book. I enjoyed it greatly and found myself unable to put it down. A book with a great view into the time in which it was set. Very appealing!

Set in pre World War I Vienna, House of Gold is the story of the Goldbaum banking dynasty and one Goldbaum in particular, Greta. Influencial in countries across Europe, there are English Goldbaums, Austrian Goldbaums, and potentially American Goldbaums, as they work to expand their empire. At the same time, they are an insular family, sticking with and marrying each other. When the time comes from Greta to marry she ends up with Albert, from the British side of the family. But Albert doesn't seem much interested in Greta, but more interested in his bugs and things that he collects. The political winds are beginning to change in Europe and the senior Goldbaum statesmen are doing their best to influence their future direction. But fissures are starting to appear between the different branches of the family, and Greta will be forced to make decisions that would once have been unthinkable.

House of Gold is very well written story, and one I had a hard time putting down. Watching the transformation of Greta from a spoiled aristocrat to a person who sees the value in others and has the spine to take a stand against evil and for doing whats right. While I didn't like her much at first, by the end I was so absorbed in her becoming a driver of change in her own right, that I was disappointed to find I had come to the end of the book. I hope there is a sequel and soon! Anyone who loves historical fiction should real this book; it's a winner!

An enterprising family becomes the bankers of Europe. Arranged marriages between branches of the family were expected. Part of the Austrian branch, Greta was expected to marry Albert from the English branch. It was not a love match. Uprooted from all that was familiar, Greta fell into a deep loneliness. Once she began planning her home decor and working in her garden, her life began to look up.

This novel covers a time of wealth and glamor descending into war in Europe. The author does a magnificent job describing people and situations. She manages to draw the reader into this turbulent time without getting mired in tedious details.

The story of Greta’s life is fascinating. This novel strikes just the right level when portraying life. The ending is unexpected and heart warming. You will enjoy each page of Greta’s story.