Thanks to NetGalley, Avon UK and Gill Paul for my copy of: The Second Marriage.

On the 12th of September in 1953, Jacqueline Lee Bouvier married John F. Kennedy, she was beautiful, poised and a perfect choice to be a politician’s wife and eventually became the first lady of America’s 35th president. Being married to Jack wasn’t easy, Jackie had to at the start married life living with her in laws, she lost two babies, put up with his infidelity and Jack was a very busy man. On the 22nd of November 1963 in Dallas Texas the couple where traveling in a convertible when Jack was assassinated, Jackie is suddenly a widow with two young children and been through a very traumatic experience.

Maria Callas was a famous Greek Opera singer, considered one of the best Soprano’s ever, she was married to Battista Meneghini and she had issues with people she loved using her talent to make money. The one thing in the world she wanted was to have a baby and her husband’s was reluctant to start a family. She met and fell in love with one of the world’s richest shipping entrepreneurs Aristotle Onassis; they had a turbulent relationship for years and never married. Jackie Kennedy was invited to go sailing on Ari’s yacht, she was lonely, he made her feel safe, he was rich, powerful and unlike other women she wouldn’t sleep with him unless she had a ring on her finger, they married and it broke Maria’s heart.

While reading The Second Marriage you notice Maria and Jackie had a lot in common they were both very venerable, suffered the loss of babies and were treated badly by men they loved. I think Ari, Jackie and Maria’s stories prove money can’t buy you happiness; three people whose lives were linked together due to mistakes made in relationships, love and they all experienced loss and tragedy in their lives.
Gill Paul’s books never disappoint The Second Marriage is well written, you can tell Gill did very through research, I didn’t know who Maria Callas was prior to reading this book, it’s an interesting story and five stars from me.

A beautifully written, well researched, emotional read. I had never heard of Maria Callas and it was fascinating to read about her life with Aristotle Onassis. I got totally caught up in their story. It was so interesting to read the author’s interpretation of events. I love historical fiction and this book is brilliant. It is informative and interesting and a joy to read.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

This book is an interesting and well written perspective of an episode in history that brought together the lives of Maria Callas, Jackie Kennedy and Ari Onassis.
This is a novel and it tells the story from the perspective of these characters. We are completely immersed in this period of time in history, in the glamour and craze of the world of the rich and famous, and in the complexity of their lives too. Ari collects mistresses and whilst Maria was most probably the real love of his life, he has an affair with Lee (the sister of Jackie Kennedy) before marrying Jackie.... but continuing his relationship with Maria, This is a recipe for trouble, especially as they are all very interesting personalities, This book is a nice way to create a novel from this story and it works to perfection. As the author explains in her notes, she has taken some liberty with the facts. But it offers one account of what happened and is certainly an incentive to try and read more about the real story.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon Books UK, as well as to the author Gill Paul, for the pleasure of this advanced reader copy.

#TheSecondMarriage #NetGalley

Avon books UK

Thank you for the opportunity to review this new novel! I apologize I'm late to it.

I really enjoyed the storied about Jackie and Maria, but I just loathe John and Ari. Pigs. I realized I'm not the right reader for this because I got angry and didn't want to continue reading. I put it down, my blood pressure couldn't take it.

Jackie Kennedy is devastated from her husband, John F. Kennedy's murder. She takes comfort from one of the world's wealthiest men, Aristotle Onassisl. Maria Callas was a famous opera singer, she had been Ari Onassis lover for years. Little by little, Jackie and Maria's lives begin to tangle a dangerous web of secrets, scandal and lies.

The story is told alternately by Jackie Kennedy and Maria Callas. I was drawn into the story from the beginning. Historical events were only mentioned if they only concerned either Jackie or Maria. This is a refreshing and interesting read that kept my attention throughout. The book is well written and portrayed the characters in such a way that you felt transported back in time. The pace flows along smoothly. This book shone a new light on the three main characters. I loved this historical fiction novel from beginning to end.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Avon Books UK and the author Gill Paul for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book, I have always been interested in the Kennedy’s as I remember when President Kennedy was murdered even though I was very young. The reaction of my parents to this horrific news has stayed with me . I love Gill Paul’s books but this one is the best so far. If it’s based on truth then she has got it just right. My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

This novel of Jackie Kennedy, the most famous First Lady in American history paired with the world famous opera singer, Maria Callas, will snap readers right up and create chaos with emotions. Gill Paul parallels the public spectacle and heartbreak of Jackie's marriage woes and her grieving process in front of the entire nation with the rise and fall of Maria Callas' opera career and marriage to her manager. Enter- Aristotle Onassis! As Americans watched this whole "affair" play out publicaly, in every form of the press, there are certain assumptions that were made. Readers will now question the actions of the First Lady and Maria Callas as they each endured tragedy and found ways to survive the media's interruption and interpretation of their personal lives. This phenomenon is nothing new with the current media situation in 2020. Readers may feel a deep connection to Jackie, as many actually lived the days of Jack Kennedy's assasination and the aftermath. Gill Paul creates the idyllic world readers have always imagined - the "Camelot" that Jackie herself coined-and then crushes those images with vivid descriptions and accounts. From the White House to La Traviata in Dallas, to Milan and private islands, readers will be whisked away in limousines and yachts to a world most will only read about. So pour a glass of champagne, don your big, black sunglasses, find a chaise on the deck of the Christina then hide behind Jackie and Maria for a private tour of the world of Jackie, Maria, and Aristotle Onassis.

I have thoroughly enjoyed reading this fictionalised story of two famous women of our time. Really well written and very interesting. To be able to look up the events mentioned in the book to see them in their original authentic form made the story very believable.

A really good read.

Thoroughly enjoyed this largely fictitious account of Jackie Kennedy and Maria Callas, starting in early 1960's. A very readable book with enough fact to feel I have learned something.

I had just finished reading "Jackie et Lee" by Stephanie Des Horts when I saw that publication.

What an amazing read! I loved The Second Marriage. It is so well written - a fiction but based on historical facts.

Thanks to NetGalley and Avon Books UK for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley and Avon Books UK for an egalley in exchange for an honest review.

Two women- Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy and Maria Callas. One man, Aristotle Onassis. In Gill Paul's latest novel, The Second Marriage or Jackie and Maria, we are presented with the parallel lives of two extraordinary women through the 1950s-1970s and the man that desired them both. Admittedly, it's very " soapy" and maybe a little melodramatic. But I fell for all of it hook, line, and sinker and I would love to see it become a mini-series( Netflix? Amazon Prime?). So yes, it was a very naughty addictive pleasure.

Let's talk about these two women! Jackie Kennedy, there's so much that we all think we know about her. We know that her in-laws gave her a hard time, that she had to deal with Jack's infidelity, and of course Dallas in 1963. But I had absolutely no idea how Jackie was often interpreted by the American media. They didn't like the way she spoke, that in Jack's run to the presidency that she dressed in French instead of American fashion, and did they ever attack her when she decided to remarry. Oh and all the trauma that she endured after Jack's death and how frightened she was for her children. Lots of emotions while reading her narrative.

Jackie Kennedy, herself is quite the person to write about, but I loved this introduction to Maria Callas. I actually listened to a lot of the latter's opera as I was reading this book. What a voice! What a lady! I was mesmerized by the way her story unfolded in this novel. Jackie and Maria "shared" the pages quite well and I could certainly understand the attraction that many of their contemporaries had for both of them. A day after completing my read of this book and I must say that I have so much admiration for both of these women.

Included in the book are the many resources that the author consulted during the writing of the book and of course, some of the scenes that happen in the course of the writing are created by the author and might not actually have occurred in real life. But we often get that in our movies too and the author is upfront and honest about it, so I would hope that wouldn't deter other readers from giving it a shot. I also want to stress that this is about two ADULT women, neither Jackie nor Maria are catty or petty towards one another. They show their frustrations and share their anguish about the way in which Onassis handles his relationships with them. Since we are seeing it through the eyes of these two women, he really doesn't come off looking like an angel.


I would certainly recommend this to my fellow readers. #TheSecondMarriage #NetGalley


Goodreads review published 14/08/20
Expected publication date 24/08/20

I thought I was going to love this book as I usually enjoy this author but sadly this one fell short for me. It was just an ok read and left me feeling disappointed. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to review it

As a piece of historical fiction I found this quite unputdownable, it follows the story of three of recent history’s most well known characters. Maria Callas the famous soprano opera singer, Jackie Kennedy the former First Lady and Aristotle Onassis shipping magnate.

Maria Callas was Onassis’s lover for many years and was the reason his first wife divorced him. Jackie Kennedy was the wife of JFK he came to a very tragic end and it was after that she married Onassis and became known as Jackie O. At the heart of the story was Onassis a man who manipulated and lied to these two women.

The book seems to be more sympathetic towards Maria Callas whom Onassis treated very badly throughout their association, but she allowed him to treat her that way, so really it was on her. The portrayal of Jackie as basically a gold digger even Onassis was shocked at how much money of his she spent, was quite an eye opener. I struggled to see how many women were willing to put up with his treatment of them, had he not had such a large bank account I doubt any of these women would have given him a second look.

Overall despite being a well written book and judging it as a piece of fiction it’s a very good read. Factually much in this is already in the public domain, as to more intimate scenes the author has speculated and used a bit of artistic licence. I found it very difficult to find and connection with any of the characters, they are all spoiled and pampered and used to having their own way in everything. But money even lots of money cannot buy you happiness as this story proves.

ARC kindly provided by the publisher via NetGalley

A novel based on real people. The story of Maria Callas and Jackie Kennedy and their relationships with Aristotle Onassis.
Whilst no one knows exactly what occurred between these characters I think this comes across as realistic.

An interesting and insightful tale

Once again an interesting historical fiction. Fascinating characters. Paul seems to be spot on with the characters and their feeling of emotions through so many different occasions. It is really difficult to spot what is fiction, that's how smooth the writing is. It's appealing when the author posts wee snippets of historical fact on social media so it draws you to the book but it also shows how much the author has researched the characters and what has happened in the situation to be so. I try to catch any Gill Paul books that I find.

Highly recommend

Thank you for the chance to read this bool for a full and frank review.

I enjoyed this book very much - at times it was difficult to remember that it was a novel based on some of the facts rather than a biography.

I am glad that Gill Paul put the acknowledgements at the end and explained how and why she wrote some parts the way she did.
It is the story of the life and loves of Aristotle Onassis and primarily his relationships with Maria Callas and Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy amongst others. I was too young in the early 60s to understand the historical significance of the assassination of JFK and in any case we did not have a TV - so I didn't feel influenced by what I might have remembered of the times.
Of course in these days we can verify facts and listen to the melodic voice of Maria Callas easily on the internet. It was also possible to find photographs of her - I needed to see how she did her eye make-up for instance.
It was a book that I found hard to put down and as I read before I go to sleep I had a few late nights.!

A thoroughly enjoyable read.

I have always been fascinated by these two iconic women and the circles in which they moved, so it has been wonderful to read a novel that fleshes out the bones of their lives, both fictional and factual. The author cleverly dovetails their two stories as they move from the 1950s, through the 1960s and into the 1970s. The balance of the story, as it moves between their lives, works well and other pivotal people feed into the narrative as it builds, placing Aristotle Onassis, shipping magnate extraordinaire, in his central role between the two women.

Onassis and Maria Callas had a fiery relationship over a decade and at some level it worked well for them. But he was never faithful to her, always looking for the next conquest. She was portrayed in the press as a capricious diva but the author really picks up on the misogyny around her when she was trying to be the best she could be.

Jackie Bouvier married Jack Kennedy and of course we are familiar with their story. As President of the United States and First Lady the image that sticks is of Jack's assassination in the back of an open-top Cadillac, leaving Jackie Kennedy cradling the remains of her husband's head and brains, as the car sped to the nearest hospital. Trauma in the Kennedy family almost became the norm (often dubbed the Kennedy Curse) and a little later Senator Bobby Kennedy, Jack's brother, was also killed.  Further down the line there were more untimely deaths in the clan, which Jackie, fortunately, never had to witness.

These events left her vulnerable, suffering no doubt from PTSD, and Onassis already had his eye on this stylish, trophy companion and erstwhile First Lady. Back in Paris he was still seeing Callas who was desperate for a ring on her finger and marriage. He never acquiesced to her desire of marriage, whether that was his ultimate control or whether he couldn't acknowledge his neediness of her is unclear. He certainly was a controlling and ruthless predator, yet his charm won over so many. Once an enemy, however, always an enemy.

What the author does so well is delve into these lives of the rich and famous and conjure up the cloying, incestuous nature of the liaisons. Jackie's sister Lee was thought to have had an affair with Jack and she certainly had a relationship with Onassis before Jackie. Onassis's ex wife Tina went on to marry his arch nemesis Niarchos. There seems to have been so much revenge and punitive behaviour around that it made my hair stand on end. Money was no object but people? They could almost be traded and bought off.

I found it to be a riveting novel, with a very easy to read style. Recommended if you have interest in the era and like to 'people watch'.

Really enjoyed this book, incredibly engaging and had excellent portrayals of two very public women that were invariably complex characters.

I knew of Jackie Kennedy but not much about Aristotle Onassis or Maria Callas so it was a pleasure to discover more about them through this novel.

I always felt sorry for the two women in the novel but never for Ari because he held these two women like a pawn and played with them over and over.

We will never know his true motivations but the man was incredibly charismatic.

I liked that the book didn’t shy away from the infidelity of Maria, Jack and Ari at different points, it’s just a case of reframing each situation and the author masterfully makes us feel sympathy for each character even when they’re doing wrong.

Would highly recommend!

I am ashamed to say that 'The Second Marriage' was my first book by the author Gill Paul, it will definitely not be my last!! What a wonderful book. Thank you so much to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this. I have always been interested in Jackie Kennedy and would have read a lot about her life and her loves. I only knew Maria Callas as a wonderful singer. This fictional book based on historical events around the love triangle that existed between these two formidable ladies and the Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis was so beautifully written. I will be recommending this to everyone.

I liked this book but, unfortunately, I didn’t love it. It is very well written, as all Gill Paul books are but this one did not leave me wanting more of this story.

This book is full of info/ gossip about Jackie and her marriage to JFK, from his infidelities and his run to the whitehouse and Jackie’s perspective of it all…as for his infidelities, she supposedly suspects her husband has even slept with her sister and just sweeps it under the rug!

Then there is her transformation into Jackie O, (and of course, the love triangle between Jackie, Ari Onassis, and Ari’s longtime lover, Maria.) Painting the picture of shell shocked Jackie wanting to marry Onassis for the protection that can come with wealth.

Ari Onassis is portrayed as a very selfish man who only seems to care about his wealth and enhancement of his own power. He treats the women in his life like nothing but throw away entertainment for himself. (Which I tend to believe is probably pretty spot on to how he may have been in real life) He’s horrible!

Maria is probably the only character in the novel who is actually in love. Maria loves Ari (God knows why) and continues to be in his life no matter how badly he treats her. I really felt for Maria and I wish this story was more focused just on her. I feel like this is her story and I want to know more about her. I wonder why she stayed with Ari…why put up with him? I want to know so much more about Maria.

This book tells the story of two womens trouble in their relationships, and the abuse they put up with within those relationships. It’s a sad, complicated story, not a romantic love story. Although these women were famous and had their own strength, one fell victim to the lure of money and the other the impact of an abusive relationship. The women give their power over to the men in their lives, which I know is linked to the era it was written in. The way Ari acts in this book is most probably a true portrayal of a man behaving badly due to society letting him.

Unfortunately this book did not grab me, I did still enjoy it though, I think it is would be quite enjoyable to read if you have an interest in Jackie O or Maria Callas’ stories or the way Onassis lived. I don’t think you should pick it up if you are after a romance or a love story.