New York Public Library is the setting for this story of family secrets and how it can a family. Laura and her family live in the apartment of the New York Public library where her husband is the superintendent of the building. The family dynamics change when valuable books start to disappear. A generation later Laura's granddaughter Sadie has her dream job working at the New York Public Library when valuable books again start to disappear. How is it happening? Will family secret's end Sadie's dream?

I loved this novel. When a book is dedicated to librarians, you know it has to be wonderful. The author's descriptive writing and the depiction of strong women is a joy to read. Imagine living and working in the NYPL!!!

I really enjoy Fiona Davis's style of writing, so I knew this was going to be a winner. The Lions of Fifth Avenue tells two stories: one of Laura Lyons and her family living in the New York Public Library in 1913, and the story of Sadie, who works at the NY Public Library in the 1990s. Both stories weave together in a way that combines a love of books and libraries, with a little bit of mystery and a whodunit. This novel is for those who love a story that spans decades, and for those who have a love and passion for books and libraries. This was such a fun read, I thoroughly enjoyed it, and couldn't put it down! Thank you NetGalley for a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Fiona Davis does it again! This beautifully written novel tells the story of two women and their connection to the New York Public Library. The description of the library was so vivid and the story was faced paced. I am looking forward to sharing this book with my book club.

Have you ever wanted to live in a library? Well this is your chance. The Lyons Family resides in the newly opened New York Public Library. Their story is full of trials and tribulations, deceit and lies. What will become of them? Fast forward almost 80 years and watch as their descendent try and put the pieces back together.

I enjoyed Fiona Williams’ “The Masterpiece”, and when I saw this title and read the description, I knew I needed to read it. The story takes place in the New York Public Library and is told in two time lines. Laura lives in the apartment that is located in the library with her husband, who is the superintendent, and her children. It is 1913, and her dream is to be a journalist. Sadie works in the library, and is curating a collection. It is 1993. The stories are entertained in the most unusual way, and make for fascinating reading. I highly recommend this book. Thank you Net Galley for the opportunity to preview this book.

New York. A Mystery. The NY Public Library. Based on Women. And Historical Fiction.
All these descriptors had me hooked even before I cracked open the book!
What an awesome and page-turning tale with dual timelines. I REALLY enjoyed this one and would highly recommend anyone that LOVES New York and a great historical fiction, to pick this up. Fiona's writing captivated me from the first few words and had me transported to each era with a beautifully written story.

Thank you NetGalley for my eARC of this novel in exchange for my honest review!

Historical fiction is not my favorite genre. I am always skeptical when I find myself intrigued by a historical fiction book. However, when it has to with libraries, I want to read it. I found this story a delight and made me want to keep reading it until then end!

Another stellar by Fiona Davis. The story covers two periods in New York history - 1913 and 1993
Laura Lyons and her family live in an apartment in the New York Public Library where her husband Jack is the superintendent. It's 1913 and being a wife and mother is pretty much Laura's lot in life. She longs to be a journalist and secretly applies to Columbia Journalism School.

When she is accepted, she discovers there isn't enough money to pay for her tuition. With her mother's support she is able to pay her tuition. At Columbia women are encouraged to cover "women's" stories, nothing criminal or dangerous. This frustrates Laura until she encounters a group of Bohemian women in the Village.

Meanwhile back at the library, some famous books are disappearing from the collection and Jack is suspected.

The story then flashes forward to a special exhibit being organized in the library in 1993. Acting curator Sadie Donovan is thrilled to be involved, but she harbors a secret - she is Laura Lyons' granddaughter. When valuable artifacts begin disappearing from the soon-to-open exhibit, Sadie is terrified that her connection to her grandmother with focus the blame on her.

Another great story by a truly gifted historical fiction writer. Fiona Davis did extraordinary research about The New York City Public Library. She has dual timelines, one being 1913 and the other 1993. Loved the early setting and descriptions of the city, attitudes about women and the library itself. The apartment within the library piqued my interest and now would like to investigate this landmark. There is a mystery in both time periods which they author skillfully ties together. #TheLionsOfFifthAvenue #FionaDavis #NetGalley

A historical fiction novel centered around the New York City Public library - sign me up! I was very excited to read this novel, and it met every expectation. Two stories, one set in the early 1900's and one set in 1993, are woven together beautifully and seamlessly. The descriptions of the library make you feel like you're really walking among the stacks of this revered building - you can almost smell the books! I loved every minute I spent with this novel, and I won't soon forget the strong, smart, and courageous women protagonists who followed their passion and blazed their own trails.
Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced e-copy. I highly recommend getting your hands on this book when it is released this summer!

I'm a sucker for books about libraries and this intimate look inside the New York Public Library and the fictionalized stories of the family who once lived behind the bookshelves is fantastic.

In 1913, Laura Lyons and her family move into the library when her husband takes the role as the library's superintendent. We go alongside Laura as she works to be a good wife, mother and excel as one of the first females at Columbia Journalism School. Her white-bread life gets turned upside down when she runs into an old schoolmate and scores an invitation to the Heterodoxy Club-- a group of forward-thinking women who challenge the norm and debate issues like women's suffrage and birth control. When books start going missing from the library, the Lyons family comes under suspicion and as authorities close in, the Lyons family is set to lose everything

In 1993, Sadie Donovan has found her place as a curator at the New York Public Library. Her grandmother, Laura Lyons' legacy initially drew her to the job, but quirky Sadie in her vintage outfits has found her place among the books and priceless objects. When she's promoted to head a new collection, things seem to have fallen into place... but when priceless pieces of history begin going missing Sadie's job and reputation are on the line and she thinks her family's past might play a role.

Buckle in as Sadie digs into the elusive Laura Lyons' history and crack the mystery of the missing books.

A very engaging historical about the New York Public library that unfolds a mystery of missing rare books that spans 80 years and involves two generations of one family.

In 1913 Laura Lyons is a wife and mother living in a fabled apartment within the NY Public Library, where her husband is the superintendent. Laura is an aspiring journalist who manages to secure a scholarship to Columbia Journalism school, where she is one of just a handful of female students. Through her class assignments she connects with an early feminist group downtown where she gradually expands her ambitions. She does eventually work her way up to becoming a respected essayist years later, but not before several rare books go missing from the library’s collection and the crime is never solved in her lifetime. Forward to 1993 where Laura’s granddaughter is now employed at the library, and again, under her watch rare books begin to disappear. I would describe this work as a “gentle” mystery, and what I enjoyed most about it was not the solving of the crime, but of the legacy of the library itself and the lions of Fifth Avenue who guard it.

I adored this book. Fiona Davis is truly a master at telling an architecturally stunning dual story line set on the streets of Manhattan. This read helped me travel despite being grounded during a global pandemic.

Nestled in the superintendent apartment in the newly designed New York Public Library at Bryant Park, rare and valuable books begin to go missing in the early twentieth century. New ideas and ways of life are budding downtown, and the superintendent's wife is determined to find out who is at the center of these crimes. Fast forward to the early 1990s, when a descendant of the superintendent's family is working the Berg Collection at the NYPL and things begin to go missing... again.

This book warrants a trip to NYC as soon as social distancing is lifted, and a COVID-19 vaccine is developed!

Laura & Sadie battle between interpersonal love and professional love. As with most of us, feel you can't have both, and envy those who seemingly have it all figured out. ie. Amelia and Claude. This book follows all of the characters to the brink of their love scales - risking it all personally or professionally. Some bounce back to their happy balancing act, some retreat inside with the scars of their experiences, and others lose themselves completely. What makes this book so heartfelt is we have been/known each of these characters in some way: the beggar, Laura, Sadie, Valentina, Jack, Professor W, Amelia, Claude, Gretchen, Dr. Anderson, Harry and the understated, Laura's mother. You appreciate the all of the feelings, vintage or contemporary. The weaving in of the Spinster book goes to show that love of all types, personal or professional and everything in-between, is timeless. Ms. Davis showed us an interpretation of how the loss of something tangible can manifest itself into the loss of something intangible. Mind, heart, body, soul. Lastly, and most importantly, it teaches us to be grateful for the strong women who came before us, who paved the way for the choices we have today.

As a huge Fiona Davis fan, I was grateful for the opportunity to not only read, but review this book.
As with most of Ms. Davis's books, the female characters are fierce New Yorkers, who are tested to find their internal strength, something that many of us struggle with in our own lives. While there is often a romantic counterpart, it is always the newfound zest and confidence within our ladies that is the real love story.

I don't think I have ever read a book so fast. With both Laura and Sadie's lives so closely paralleling my own, and at such a transformational time in our lives, I wanted to know what would happen! There were two potential dead ends that had me on the edge of my seat hoping to have cracked this whodunnit. (I did not, would love to know if further details made it into another version!). Must note: I kept having to do a little math to understand ages.

Coming in at under 266 pages, I would have liked more about the physical differences of NYC in 1913 (Laura) and 1993 (Sadie) i.e. riots, CBGB, the subway. as well as Bryant Park (!!!). adding the color and grit that is NYC. I.e. the tone of jazz bar in "The Dollhouse" or the hotel details of "Chelsea Girls". Also, completely aside, a drawing of a "cage", vast depths of library storage and vintage blueprint of NYPL would be helpful for those who are not familiar.

This was a very good book. Told the story in a really interesting way. This book kept me reading for many hours. Characters are well written, story was good until,the end of the book. This author has written many good novels. Recommend.

Laura Lyons lives with her family in the superintendent’s apartment within the New York Public Library in 1913. This wonderful detail, based in fact, caught my eye and drew me into this book. While Fiona Davis’ character is entirely fictional, I was charmed by the idea of living in a library, especially one as grand as this one. Laura is a wife and mother who feels constrained by society’s expectations of her as a woman. She wants to be a writer and journalist but the times conspire against her. Meanwhile, she watches – ever the encouraging wife – as her husband reaches his dream of finishing a novel. A series of thefts of rare books plagues the library and casts suspicion on the Lyons.

Sadie Donovan lives in 1993, the granddaughter of Laura Lyons, and works at the New York Public Library. She is proud of her grandmother, famous for critical essays about women’s rights. A series of rare book thefts echoes those of the past and, like the past, casts suspicion on her. Can the two events, decades apart, be somehow related?

Fiona Davis writes a compelling mystery about these two women and I was caught up in both their stories all the way to the very end. I enjoyed reading about the library, women’s issues of the early 20th century, and also Sadie’s more modern storyline. I felt there was the slightest bit of a stretch to connect the two events across the decades, but I was a willing reader because the storytelling was so good. I found myself cheering on both women to reach their goals. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would recommend it.

Fiona Davis hits it out of the park once again! The Lions of Fifth Avenue does a fantastic job with combining historical fiction and the mystery genres! This addictive novel time hops between 1913 to 1993 to create an intricate storyline. I have always found that Fiona Davis is a master at character development and that most definitely proven true in this book—completely unique and intriguingly complex!! I finished this 5 star novel yesterday and I still have it swirling around in my head! The Lions of Fifth Avenue needs to go on your summer MUST READ list!! Fiona Davis has exponentially improved summer reading lists for the last 5 years and I am already looking forward to next years book!

The New York Public Library serves as one of the important characters in “The Lions of Fifth Avenue.” Fiona Davis tells two interwoven stories, one begins in 1913 and the second ends and brings closure to both stories about eighty years later. There are wonderful descriptions of the library, its fabulous architecture, and the treasures contained within it. The characters are interesting, sympathetic and believable. Laura Lyons appears to be a typical wife and mother at the beginning of the 20th century. But she harbors ambitions and develops into an independent feminist and writer. Her rather staid granddaughter, conveniently an archivist at the NYPL, is thrown into circumstances requiring her to confront truths about herself and her family while trying to save her career and an exhibit she’s working on. It is an engaging work and great fun to read. It has it all – good character development, an appealing story, a mystery, love connections, hidden family secrets, and as a librarian I loved the research and setting. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Fiona Davis does it again with her latest page turner of a novel, The Lions on Fifth Avenue. ⁣
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If you’re a stranger to her books, Davis weaves incredible tales around historical New York City landmark buildings with incredibly rich, meted out characters. In this book, Davis makes the New York Public Library come alive as it loans itself as a character to the characters and storyline of this novel. And, while the library has no voice of its own, it’s existence and valuable contents make it an integral character in this mystery.⁣
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This story, told in two different time periods by two different generations of the same family, surrounds two separate strings of New York Public Library book thefts which occur eighty years apart. Davis winds us through one family’s extensive and extended history with the NYPL as well as its inner workings, and the intricacies of the building while creating mystery and scandal. The storyline also focuses on the growth of women and changes in career, marriage, and family throughout the decades. ⁣
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The thought, research, and creativity put into this book make it fascinating. Davis slowly hands out pieces of the puzzle as she takes us on the journey of the two women telling this tale. At the end, she ties the story together with a beautiful bow. ⁣
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An absolutely enjoyable book that held my interest and had me turning pages until the very end. ⁣