This story follows the life of Mimi Reventlow, a lady photographer in the 1900’s. The first book in this series sets the stage for Mimi’s life living and learning photography from her uncle Joseph and now we get to see more of the village and meet a wide range of odd characters. I found the best parts of the book were during the photography sessions and learning about the weaving industry.
I didn’t care for Johann’s part and Mimi didn’t completely win me over. All and all it was an OK read, not as good as I expected. The ending completely sets the stage for a sequel.
I want to thank Amazon Crossing and NetGalley for allowing me the opportunity to read and review this book for my honest unbiased opinion. This is a 4-star review.

I requested this novel because of its beautiful cover and its promise to discuss one of my favorite topics, photography. This book is a continuation of Petra Durst-Benning's The Photographer, which I haven't read, and it was a little difficult to pick up the threads of the story. The author is a consummate researcher and carefully details village life, and overall the tone feels like an older novel--at times I found myself thinking of the parts of Middlemarch that I always skip over, such as the railroad discussion. The story was a bit slow-moving, and the supporting characters were hard to keep track of at times. Perhaps if I had begun the saga at the beginning it would be different.

Thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity to review a digital ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.

Thanks to NetGalley and AmazonCrossing for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

"An Artificial Light" by Petra Durst-Benning is the second book in The Photographer's Saga. This book follows Mimi Reventlow, a traveling photographer, as she shifts gears by moving in with her ailing uncle. Her uncle lives in a small town dominated by the weaving loom, where boys and girls know their fate the minute they are born. They will grow up, they will work for the mill, and then they will die, all in the same small town. Mimi is determined to help lift the gloom from the town by encouraging young people to dream and be who they wish to be, in some cases it ends better than in others.

Durst-Benning creates a winning character in Mimi Reventlow. Mimi is brave and outspoken. She makes mistakes. She loves hard and she crashes hard. I think Mimi is definitely the spark that keeps this book alive. Mimi's gradual shift into small town life is interesting to watch because she wants to help, but she doesn't fully understand the people that she's trying to get through to.

I think this book had a lot of people to follow and at times it was a lot to juggle. With so many characters, I spent a lot of mental energy trying to keep stories straight and the storyline I liked the most seemed to have the least time committed to it. I think that there were too many moving parts and too many changes that characters were pushing for. If the story had been cut back to just the two young men in the forefront, I think this story could have had more of a punch.

Overall, I gave this book 3 stars. It was enjoyable and light enough, but I wanted to see more. I think that Mimi is an interesting character, but her story is overshadowed by too many other stories. I did however love Anton and Alexander would have loved to lean in on their stories more heavily. In the end, a light historical fiction read.

Thank you to NetGalley, Petra-Durst-Benning, and Amazon Crossing for allowing me to read the ARC of An Artificial Light in return for an honest review.

Books that show strong women, who don’t just sit back and do what society dictates they should do, are always inspiring. Living in Germany, prior to WW I, society had certain preconceived ideas of how women should act and what they should do, but Mimi Revenlow just didn’t fit this pattern. She worked hard to keep her photography business running, while taking care of her old uncle. Despite all this hard work, Mimi still had time for romantic adventures. When life gets rough, she has to decide between her dream of being a successful photographer, or settling in her hometown for a possible unfulfilling life. Her decisions will result in her success and fulfillment, or maybe even ruin. This exciting, informative book will cause you to think hard about how decisions can effect our lives.

This story follows the life of Mimi Reventlow, a lady photography in the 1900’s. The first book in this series sets the stage for Mimi’s life living and learning photography from her uncle Joseph and now we get to see more of the village and meet a wide range of odd characters. I found the best parts of the book were during the photography sessions and learning about the weaving industry.
I didn’t care for Johann’s part and Mimi didn’t completely win me over. All and all it was an OK read, not as good as I expected. The ending completely sets the stage for a sequel.
I want to thank Amazon Crossing and NetGalley for allowing me the opportunity to read and review this book for my honest unbiased opinion. This is a 4-star review.

An Artificial light is the proper name for this novel. Without proper lightI got we can’t see the world around us for what it is, and Louise and Anton, definitely could not.

The characters in the story are a victims of the circumstances they are born into. They work extremely hard and at the end of the day are maintaining but not gaining. And there is no hope in sight. They are very powerless over their own lives.

I like that the people of the town were only too happy to help Alexander reach for his dreams.

It was a story of a woman trying to make it in a mans world and one sided secret love affairs. It was a good story and I will make a point of reading this author again.

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An Artificial Light is a well-written piece of historical fiction with a lot of heart and character. The story was an emotional rollercoaster with several ups and downs from start to finish that had me deep in my feelings from the very beginning, I couldn't get enough! I look forward to seeing what Petra Durst-Benning puts out next!

I tried but couldn't make it through the book as it wasn't for me. It moved much to slowly and I just couldn't keep focus on it. Much luck to the author on it's publication. Thank you to NetGalley and Amazon crossing for selecting me for this ARC.

This is a good story. And its just that– a story about people in a small German town in 1911. Nothing major really happens. There are villains; there are good people; there is romance, and there is conflict. If you like historical fiction where its all about character development and story telling, you will like this. It was interesting to read about working conditions in the pre-union era, and you can understand why workers revolted. I enjoyed the Mimi character and learning about how photography evolved more creatively. However, I really couldn’t understand why such a strong woman was in love with someone who kept her at arm’s length, but that’s just me. I do recommend this for lovers of historical fiction. 4 stars. Disclaimer — I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher. #NetGalley 🤩🤩🤩🤩 Publish date 9/2020

A light read perfect for young adults. It has a bit of romance, history and intrigue to keep you turning the page. Set in the early 1900's, Mimi, the main character shows spunk and new ideas to a German village that she moves to in order to care for her uncle. She is a traveling photographer which is different in this historical time. She is a strong woman and a good role model for young girls who read this story.

The main character is Mimi Reventlow, the story setting Germany in 1911 a time when the world was changing, and a more modern way of life was starting to take shape. Mimi is a traveling photographer who has decided to look after her elderly uncle who has been a mentor to her and encouraged her to travel a path much less taken by women of the period. Much is made of the so-called romance in this story, but as always the path to true love and authenticity is never smooth, and sometimes love takes twists and turns that are unexpected. The story also looks at the power that industrialists had over their workers and the potential fight for human rights the unionists had to take up, so often forgotten in the modern world where such rights are taken for granted.
This is the second book in an ongoing series, and as a reader with no access to the first novel, this book could have been improved with a little more backstory telling. As it was, the story starts with no introduction to the cast of characters, prior knowledge is expected, which made it hard to connect with the characters for a long period of time.
One doesn’t get a strong feeling for the time period this story is set in, as very little detail is given about the housing, fashion or expectations of the people of the time. Its also not a period of the history of the country well known to anyone who hasn’t grown up in Germany, so more background would have made this story much more fascinating. One can’t help but hope that women such as Mimi Reventlow really did exist as she will appeal to modern-day feminists. Strong, independent and determined to find a better life for those around her and for herself are characteristics that are well respected in a modern world.
This book promised much but felt lacking somehow. It was a pleasant enough way to spend a day, but not enough to make one want to track down the next novel in the series.