A well researched, lovely historical fiction book. Based off of true events and a real woman, this was well written and plotted nicely. The writing flows between storylines beautifully. This was an aspect of history I did not know much about and I learned quite a bit! This aspect was fascinating, as was the authors notes at the end. My thanks to the publisher for the advance reader in exchange for my honest review.

First Emma by Camille Di Maio
I really enjoyed this book. It was well-researched and well –written. The characters were believable and relatable. The back story is told through the main character Emma, relaying her past to a young woman who will eventually write her biography. Emma led an interesting life. She was a woman ahead of her times. Although this book is listed as historical fiction, it is loosely based on a real-life person and many of the details are filled in by the author’s creative mind. The author does a great job of not boring the reader with a bunch of boring detail. In fact, just the opposite is true. Camille Di Maio draws the reader in from the beginning and has you staying up late to learn Emma’s real story. This book does not disappoint!!! I received an Advanced Reader Copy in advance for a honest review.

Thank you Camille Di Maio, Suzy Approved Book Tours, and the publisher for a copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

(from Goodreads) Inspired by true events...1914 - Young bride Emma Koehler dreams of a happy marriage and a simple life with her husband, but her hopes are quickly dashed by Otto’s obsession with his business. Though they become one of the wealthiest couples in the country – a fortune made on beer, mining, and hospitality - Emma is lonely in their stone mansion, unable to have children and unable to keep his attentions at home. When a tragic accident changes everything, Otto presents a new betrayal – and Emma must choose between loyalty and independence in a world that demands convention. 1943 – Mabel Hartley flees Baltimore after the war leaves her broken and alone. She answers the advertisement of a dying woman in San Antonio, with an urgent plea to come write her memoirs. In Emma Koehler, Mabel discovers astounding resilience - a pioneer who weathered personal devastation and navigated her large brewery through the storm of Prohibition. Soon Mabel realizes that Texas holds more for her than this new friendship. Romance blooms even as she’s given up on love, and an unexpected phone call gives her hope that not all goodbyes are final.
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This novel offers everything a historical fiction fan could want. The First Emma includes exciting scenes from two parts of United States history that creates a wild picture of loss and resilience. The characters are bold and developed. By the end, I wanted to continue the story to see what happens next to Mabel, one of the main characters. I loved how history and romance intertwined in the story. The aspect of a true story also piqued my interest because the past storyline was incredibly engaging and unique. I enjoyed learning more about this part of history through a fictional standpoint. One aspect I would change is the use of the name Emma. Although the title is about Emma, there were times when it became a bit confusing to keep track of what was going on. Otherwise, the plot, characters, and themes were rock solid.

This novel earns a 4 out of 5 stars.

Bravo! I just finished reading The First Emma by Camille De Maio and boy, what an amazing book it was. If you like historical fiction, you just have to pick up a copy of this book. I read everything cover to cover. I find it sad that personal documents and history about Emma Koehler are not in existence today. In spite of that Camille De Maio was able to craft a believable story of her life.

This book was so rich with with background. The description of Emma's home, the Perle brewery, the little theater, San Antonio and even Baltimore. They were almost like characters in themselves. It brought an all around appeal to the story.

This story took place in a time in our history when women were delegated to the home and not the boardroom. It took a special woman indeed to bring the brewery through prohibition and the great depression. I believe Emma Koehler would've been a force all her own in that time period. She had to have been a woman to look up to.

Thank you Camille de Maio for bringing us such a beautiful and inspiring story of a magnificent woman.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher for a fair and honest review.

This was the kind of historical fiction novel that I really enjoy - not only was it a well-written novel but I also learned about people and situations that were new for me. It's a dual time line book told by Emma in 1914 and Mabel in 1943. Both of these women are strong and brave and feminists in the time they live in.

I loved Emma and Mabel as characters. They are both strong women living in a man's world and are able to defy conventions of their time and take control of their lives. The two stories mesh together seamlessly because both women have a story to tell. The author definitely did a lot of research into the two time periods and gave us a vivid picture of life in 1914 as well as 1943. This is a story of love and family, of betrayal and commitment and of two women who made their own paths through times when women were considered to be second class and men ruled the world. Emma and Mabel, especially Emma, are characters that I won't soon forget. This is another great novel by Camille Di Maio.

NOTE: Be sure to read the Author's notes at the end of the novel to find out more about the real family that this book was based on and the research that the author did to write this book.

Thanks to the publisher for a copy of this book to read and review. All opinions are my own.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I didn’t know what to expect when I picked up The First Emma; I only knew that I had read a previous book by Camille Di Maio and wanted to read more from her. So imagine my surprise when, after reading this compelling story full of adultery and murder, as well as one of hope, to find out it was based in truth, and there really is a Hotel Emma and Emma Koehler, her husband, and the other Emmas are all real historical people, although the details about them from the historical records are few, and they’re not exactly nationally or world famous today.

While I definitely would have appreciated more fleshing out of the actual events surrounding the murder itself, I appreciate that Di Maio used real news clippings to illustrate this, as it provided dramatic effect and conveyed that aspect in an interesting way without the need to speculate too much about the specifics. And the times when the older Emma reflects on her past and her troubled marriage to Otto are moving, and I can respect Di Maio’s decision to not fully fictionalize her and make her the protagonist.

The choice to have her interact with the younger visitor, Mabel, in the book was a good compromise, especially as Mabel comes from a bad family situation and is less confident in taking chances, thus giving her room to grow and learn from Emma, who managed to thrive as a businesswoman in spite of personal setbacks and her husband’s murder.

I enjoyed this book, and I’m so glad to have met another amazing historical woman in Emma Koehler. If you love historical fiction, especially those celebrating the lesser known figures in historical records, I recommend this one highly.

This book was amazing!!! The storytelling in this book made it very hard to put down. I was definitely transported somewhere else!

This book tells the story of two women. First of all is Emma Koehler, a successful businesswoman in a time when women were not generally involved in business. In this novel Emma is reaching the end of her life and begins relating her story to the much younger Mabel. I did like Mabel, but Emma's story was by far the stronger of the two. Both women's stories had themes about beginning again after your world has fallen to pieces.

Thank you NetGalley for the early read.

This riveting story is based on true events...Truth is truly stranger than fiction! Author Camille Di Maio takes us back in time to the 1920's where we meet beer tycoons Emma and Otto Koehler. We learn of an incredible murder that had the whole world talking.
The author tells us that she created the character of "Mabel" to help tell the story and keep it factual. Told through recollections from Emma Koehler to Mabel, her hired documentor, we learn the sordid tale of marital affairs gone wrong. Otto is murdered by his mistress; leaving behind his business, his trial and the fallout of this scandal on his widow.
With timelines flipping back and forth between the 1920's and 1940's we come to admire the strength and Brilliance of Emma Koehler, she kept the brewery working, with no layoffs, through Prohibition and the Great Depression. She was the powerhouse CEO behind Pearl Brewery.
Throughout the book, the author also includes newspaper headlines as they appeared in circulation around the world. These are a fantastic snapshot into the world at that time. These include delicious "speculations" on the extramarital affairs, the trials of the mistresses and how they appeared in public. Scandalous! And not to confuse the reader, but both of the mistresses were also named Emma! Like they say, truth is stranger than fiction...
5⭐
Thank you NetGalley, Wyatt-Mackenzie Publishing and the author Camille Di Maio, for the opportunity to read this Advanced Readers Copy of "The First Emma". The opinions expressed in this review are mine alone.

4/5 ⭐️Thank you for my copy of The First Emma in exchange for my honest review. This novel is rooted in the true life story of Emma Koehler who was betrayed by her husband as he cheated on her. I was not familiar with this story in history so I found myself googleing a lot about Emma and Otto and his penchant for women named Emma (there are 3).

I loved the way that this story unfolded and how much it kept to Emma’s story. This historical fiction is a must read and women being in a situation uncommon for this time.

Tremendous Work. What happens when an author wants to write about a fascinating real world person, but there is precious little documentation of that real-world person's life? Well, if you're Camille Di Maio, you dig up what you can and you use your considerable story telling abilities to make a plausible story that tells that person's story in a way that it is the driving focus of the book, but ultimately not the real subject of the story. And Di Maio really does do an excellent job of this with the story telling approach she decided on here. Truly fascinating woman, this Emma Koehler. And Di Maio really does her story justice. Very much recommended.

Beautifully written story of love and betrayal but also of perseverance of a woman during a time where one still didn't have a strong foothold in the world.

Emma tells her story to Mabel, a hired young woman who is tasked in figuring out how to write down her story. And Emma is a fascinating one - she's a millionaire widow of a man who had two other Emmas in a little house down the street. For his own pleasure. She wants to tell Mabel, how she lived her full and long live and outlasted the rest of her family.

It is a feel good book. It has a little romance and chivalry, and beautiful notes of feminism. It is definitely not my usual kind of read, but I liked the change in my usual repertoire.

I am a huge fan of Camille Di Maio having read The Way of Beauty and The Beautiful Strangers.
I was really excited to read The First Emma and boy was I blown away.

This novel is based on true events, which I found fascinating.

The First Emma is an extremely well written story of Emma Koelher. Emma Koehler is the widow of Otto Koehler who had owned a Brewing company in the early 1920's.

Emma has not lived an easy life and her late husband has extramarital affairs with two other women named Emma who were immigrants from Germany. After enduring a car accident the other two Emma's came to care for the "First Emma", one of whom possibly killed Otto.

About 20 years later , The First Emma hires an assistant to tell her story, and that is when we meet Mabel.

I was ABSOLUTELY captivated by this story. The research the author did is authentic and quite impressive.

I very much enjoyed the alternating timelines between the 1920's and 1943 when Mable was helping Emma write the book about her life.

Emma is fiercely independent and does not care so much about the affairs as she does about keeping power in the brewing company.

The First Emma is a fast paced historical fiction story that will leave you on the edge of your seat. I fell in love with Emma and her fierceness and determination.

This book is a MUST READ ! I wish I could give this more than 5 stars!

I would like to thank NetGalley, Wyatt-MacKenzie Publishing, and author Camille Di Maio for providing me with an ARC of this novel!

This was an awesome read. The First Emma is the true story of Emma and Otto Koehler, murder, mistresses, and Prohibition. In my opinion, what more could you want? The pacing of this book was just right, and the abundant history made for a wonderful story. Facts and fiction come together to transport you to a whole new world, which is just what we need right now with how our world is currently going. The characters were a treat, and all in all this was well put together.

Thank you to those named above for the chance to read and review this ARC!

This was an intriguing book, cleverly written to the parallel stories are revealed at just the right pace. I really enjoyed learning about the real person, as well as the sensitive fiction that over-layed history. Fascinating, thank you .

The first Emma is a great combination of facts and fictie. It’s the story of Emma Koehler, a German women who moved to Texas with her husband Otto Koehler to gain fortune. After overtaking a brewery, the fortune rises and is all of Emma’s effort. But Otto betrayed Emma, with the nurses he hired to take care for his wife (both named Emma). When one of his mistresses shot him to dead, it’s Emma Koehler who leads the brewery trough prohibition and the crisis.

The facts are the basis for this novel. The factionary Mabel is hired to write the life story of Emma. Mabel is a great and sweet young women and finds a lovely place in Texas with Emma Koehler. Even for the love she never thought would come again.

It’s a nice feelgoodstory in a historical setting of 1911 and 1943. Never loose hope, and find your path even in in difficult circumstances is the message. Nice characters,

The First Emma is a great story, well researched and thoughtfully put together. It is easy to get pulled into the side by side stories. The characters were well developed and the setting feels very authentic.
I wanted to read more about this sensational tale when I finished the book, so I thank the author for piquing my interest.
I also thank NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC of the book.

Emma Koehler is one hell of a woman. In leading her brewery through Prohibition and losing her entrepreneur husband to murder, she has lived a remarkable and fascinating life. Murder that was committed by one of his two mistresses who were also named Emma. She never spoke of this scandal but as she is nearing the end, she decides that it's time the record is set straight. So she enlists Mabel, a young woman from Baltimore, to document her life.

Camille Di Maio has written a beautiful piece of historical fiction based on the real Emma Koehler; CEO of the Pearl Brewery in San Antonio, Texas. Although set during the early 1900s, one of the things that struck out to me from the very start is how independent and empowered the women in this book are. They definitely fight the stereotypes of women during that period of time. It was refreshing to read a book that put women in this light and to read a book that although was set during the war, was actually centred around a brewery. I also learnt a few things too:
- How to make a home brew
- The benefits of chilli on chocolate
- The effect of vanilla essence

Mabel finds herself in a dead end job is actively looking for new stars Desperately, she answers an ad for a personal secretary. She up & travels halfway across the country for this new opportunity. She lands in San Antonio, TX of all places.

Her job as a secretary is really transcribing a memoir. Emma has led quite a life. As she works closely with Emma to put her memories & ideas on paper, their lives become intertwined. Over time, Mabel becomes part of the family.

As Mabel is putting the memoir together, she is racing against time. Emma’s memory is fading. This makes Mabel anxious about getting it all down. Quickly, she begins to seek out answers from other family members. Truly, Emma’s story is incredible.

The First Emma is a really well written dual timeline novel featuring strong female chancres. As I turn the pages, I’m captivated & enthralled in Emma’s journey. I highly recommend this story.

A story of a strong women who built her life by taking chances and going against the grain. With each hurdle that was thrown at her she overcame and grew. Yet, during it all she never lost sight of what was important in life. She always looked out for her employees as if they were family and did everything in her power to get her family to San Antonio to build better lives.

This is a beautiful read that brings up emotions and a sentimentality of what family really means.