This is the second book I've read by this author. She is already on my Top Ten list = I'll read anything by this author. That means someone has to leave my Top Ten list which is a dilemma to be addressed at another time.

Since hearing about Surviving Savannah on Friends & Fiction, I have been eagerly anticipating the read. It did not disappoint. I'm a big fan of dual timeline historical fiction. The real story of the disaster at sea is fascinating enough but Patti Callahan ups the tension and intrigue by interlacing the stories of the passengers -- those who survived and those who did not -- with the present day story of mounting an exhibit about the ship. Through events, past and present, the author vividly portrays stories of women returning to themselves despite the obstacles thrown in their way.

This right here is why I love historical fiction. Books like this one bring the past to life and make you want to do your own research outside of reading the novel. At least that’s what happened to me, and I found myself scouring the internet for more details, photos, and information about the events in this book. I couldn’t get enough!

The luxury steamship Pulaski sank in 1838, about 30 miles off the coast of North Carolina. It was dubbed the ‘Titanic of the South’. A boiler exploded and took the vessel down and at least 128 people (including some of Savannah’s elite) with it. There were only 59 survivors.

In the modern-day timeline, history professor Everly Winthrop is tasked with curating a museum exhibit based on artifacts recovered from the steamship. The more she digs into the story, the more fascinated she becomes with learning about the people onboard.

This book is split between the present day and 1838, telling the stories of connected passengers aboard the ship. These stories help carry you back in time and bring to life those events as if you were there.

Apart from the wreck itself, there were more than a few horrifying facts brought to light, like Black individuals on board were counted in their own separate category after other adults and children. And women weren’t listed on the passenger list other than being ‘the wife of so and so’.

This disaster was one I’d never heard about before, and the wreckage was actually only found in 2018.

In addition to the fascinating history, this book is also an amazing story about difficult choices, loss, grief, love, and survival. But surviving doesn’t always mean a happy ending—"How will we survive the surviving?".

I enjoyed the 1838 timeline more than the present day one, and thought the last quarter of the book could have been shortened a little, but overall the characters were rich, the historical detail was exquisitely written, and this is definitely a book you’re going to want to read for yourself. I’ve got my fingers crossed that this gets made into a movie or TV series!

Nothing like a great historical fiction book like this, a story told so well that it had me scrambling to Google to get more information in the Pulaski. I really enjoyed the two timelines, the theme that just because you survive, you have to get past just surviving. Some descriptions bogged down in the end and a few parts of the story seemed unnecessary and that kept me from giving this a full five stars. But both stories, the descriptions of the wreck, the investigation, and the three amazing strong women the book centered around were excellent! I loved reading this one!!

This may be this author's best book yet! It is based on a true disaster at sea that cost the lives of many of the natives of Savannah, GA in 1838. Callahan uses dual time lines to bring her fictional version of the story to life. I liked the addition of notes and a true account of what happened at the end of the book as well as a bibliography of sources. It is also interesting to know that the remains of the vessel Pulaski have now been found off the coast of the Carolinas.
In the present timeline, Everly the daughter of an old Savannah family is grappling with the trauma of seeing her life long friend killed by a hit and run driver. Everly is experiencing survivor's guilt along with grieving her friend. She has been asked to arrange a showing of artifacts from the ship Pulaski for the local museum. She was also a close friend with Oliver, her friend's fiance. He is a director at the museum. The reader follows Everly as she searches for and uncovers information on the passengers of the Pulaski and as she comes to terms with her friend Mora's death.
In the 1838 timeline, families from Savannah are boarding the steam powered ship to travel north to escape the cruel heat and malaria that strikes in summer. They expect to spend only one night at sea. Lilly hopes that an opportunity will arise to escape her cruel, abusive husband while she is in Baltimore. She is traveling with her baby Madeline and Priscilla, Madeline's enslaved wet nurse.
Also in her family party are her Uncle Lamar with his wife and 6 children, her aunt and close confidant Augusta and Lilly's husband Adam. Of these only a few survive when the steamship's boiler explodes in the night. As the passengers struggle for life their true characters are revealed.
Callahan sticks pretty closely to how events truly unfolded as her characters struggle to survive or succumb to the sea.
My thanks to NetGalley for allowing me to read an advance copy. I really enjoyed it!

I think that I went into this book with two handicaps; I had very high expectations based on the author's previous work and I was familiar with the Pulaski disaster and was very much looking forward to a good fiction based upon it. This book uses a dual timeline to drive the plot, except that it is unnecessary. I found myself growing increasingly frustrated with the modern timeline as the book went on. The historical portion of the plot was well written but...the stories and characters just were not able to capture me as a reader.

On June 14, 1838, the steamship Pulaski exploded and sank off the coast of North Carolina. Traveling from Savannah, GA to Baltimore, MD, approximately 128 lives were lost and 59 survived. Referred to as the “Titanic of Its Time,” the tragedy faded from memory until 2018 when divers discovered the wreckage and several artifacts of the Pulaski.

This is the background of a new historical fiction, Surviving Savannah by Patti Callahan. The book, in dual timelines, follows the story of Pulaski passengers Lily Forsyth, her baby and nursemaid Priscilla and of Augusta Longstreet, an unmarried woman traveling with her brother and his family.

In present time, Everly Winthrop, a college professor and Savannah native, is asked to curate an exhibition of newly discovered Pulaski artifacts. At first, she is reluctant to take on the assignment, partly because she is still grieving the death of her best friend but is unable to resist solving the mysteries behind the passenger stories and how they impacted Savannah history.

The survival story, alternating between Lily and Augusta, is compelling as it unfolds the confusion, fear, and panic as well-heeled, class-conscious Savannah citizens, stripped of all decorum and comfort, struggle for survival side-by-side with the ship’s crew, other passengers, and slaves (unnamed on the ship’s passenger list).

It is when the book shifts to the present day that I struggled with it. I felt that Everly’s story becomes bogged down and repetitive as she struggles to reconcile with her past and find meaning in the present. As she searches for clues, she starts to understand the challenges and meaning of “surviving the surviving” and how it applies to her own life and her beloved city’s history.

Thank you to Net Galley for an advanced copy of this book. The is the first Patti Callahan book I have read and I loved it. Such a wonderful story, so well written and encompassing. I loved the way the book went between present time and the early 1800's when the Pulaski sunk. So interesting to get the perspective from the survivors and so interesting to understand the pull of the discovery with the treasure hunters. It is a world that I knew very little of so it was interesting to hear how involved the treasure hunters become over finding their wrecks and salvaging the materials. It was also informative to see how museum staff and curators throw themselves into their displays and how important it is to them to have the public connect with them. The characters in this book were amazing and I loved how she tied present day characters into connections with characters of the past. This was a great read and I encourage people to read this especially if they want to know about shipwrecks or the way of life in Savannah.

Surviving Savannah is an incredibly well researched historical fiction novel detailing the terrible explosion and shipwreck of the steamship Polaski and the aftermath of the survivors. The dual timeline story flips back and forth between the shipwreck and a modern story of a museum exhibit featuring the wreck and the personal demons and ultimate love and triumph of its curator. While I was more invested in the "past" timeline, the modern timeline was an interesting way to feature all the research as well as how the past shapes the present. If you're into Titanic history, then definitely check this out because I had never heard of this story prior to reading the book.

Thank you to Netgalley and Berkley Publishing for the electronic advanced copy. #BerkeleyBuddyReads #BerkelyWritesStrongWoment

Historical fiction is something I enjoy, adding a different time and perspective to a story makes for a great spin on things. It makes it especially interesting when the historical element is based in fact. And that, dear reader, is just what ‘Surviving Savannah’ by Patti Callahan is.

The story is told in two timeframes, set in the picturesque town of Savannah. Everly is our modern timeline, she is struggling to cope with the death of her best friend, Mora. She’s tuned her back on her old life. However, the arrival of Oliver, Mora’s fiancé, entices her back into her beloved world of history. The wreckage of the steamship Pulaski has been found 180 years after an explosion on board saw in sink. Lilly and Augusta are our historical timeline. They are boarding the fated ship in 1838, Lilly with her brutish husband, beloved child and nursemaid and Augusta with her brother and his extensive family. The story follows them as they negotiate the explosion, some heart-breaking decisions and the actions they take to try and survive. All three women’s tales speak of the human spirit and their strength to endure.

The historical aspect of this story was interesting, the additional notes that were included about the Pulaski were a particular highlight. Although I found the story dragged in places and felt repetitive in some of the descriptions, I mostly enjoyed the book. I liked Lilly and Augusta and was routing for, not just their survival but their happiness. I found Everly to be a little over dramatic in her grief. What I found particularly interesting about this book was the constant question of what it is to survive. It’s obviously the act of making it through a situation but this story explores the idea of what comes after. These women not only have to ‘live’ but find a way to accept their decisions and forge a ‘life’ that brings them contentment.

A well researched and amazing book that I could not put down! The dual timeline is of 1838 Savannah and the present. The story unfolds with Everly, a museum curator who is trying to figure out how to move on after a tragedy. Her research project involves the sinking of the Pulanski , a steamer dubbed the Titanic of the South. The story of Augusta and Lilly and their families, the experiences of hardship and survival, as well as a social history reflecting the mores of the time, will keep you absorbed. The question of course for Augusta and Everly is how to survive the surviving? Does fate play a hand,does good triumph over evil, or does hope lie in love. I absolutely loved this book and highly recommend it to all readers. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

This was an enjoyable and well researched historical fiction novel with dual timelines and multiple points of view.

The book centers around the explosion and sinking of the steamship Pulaski off the coast of North Carolina in 1838. The steamship was carrying some of the richest people in the country and their treasures. I relished learning about a part of U.S. history that I knew nothing about.

My favorite timeline was the present one where divers discover the wreck of the Pulaski and start to bring up artifacts from the passengers. The main character from the modern storyline, Everly, is a historian engaged to create an exhibit about the wreck and recovery for a Savannah Museum. She has a complicated background and has difficult issues to work through which made her a fascinating character.

Lily and Augusta, two women who were on the Pulaski, provide their POVs in the 1838 timeline. Their story starts when they board the ship and follows them through the explosion and harrowing days at sea. There was a mystery in this timeline that had me guessing whether they survived or not. I won’t give that part of the story away.

I didn’t enjoy the last 10% of the book as much as the rest because of the repetition. Also, I thought the themes of 'surviving’ and 'living’ were presented, rehashed, and reanalyzed ad nauseum.

All in all, I enjoyed learning about this historical event through the characters of Everly, Lilly, and Augusta.

Story about the luxury steamboat Pulaski that was considered "The Titanic of the South" that also sank in 1838 with many families onboard. The story is told in dual timelines with present day Everly, a history professor, who is curating an exhibit on this event and finds some personal connection with it. Alas, I was really pulled into the historical timeline but the present day did not hold my interest as much. Too many things were conveniently found out and I'd rather have seen Everly just research the crap out of the event (like the author clearly did). Kudos to Callahan for such a well researched story that brought me back to 1838. I just wish it had been a straight historical fiction novel - it was fascinating on its own.

Three narrators in this book, one in present day - Everly Winthrop and two in the past, 1838 - Augusta Longstreet and Lilly Forsyth. Everly is still dealing with the tragic loss of her best friend in a senseless accident when she is approached to build the exhibit for the Pulaski ship wreck, 180 years later. Augusta and Lilly were on the Pulaski when it went down and the two have very different stories from their experiences on the ship and the aftermath.

Known as The Titantic of the South, the Pulaski shipwreck was very deadly and could have possibly been avoided had safety measures been in place and to know that this tragedy spawned laws in the 1800s was so interesting to read. I had never heard about this event and I have spent a lot of time in the southern region of the United States. After reading this book, I am spurned to keep reading historical fiction to learn about more historical events that weren't included in my history classes!

For some reason when I read this book, I ended up reading the author's note and the historical facts first and I appreciated knowing those things before reading the book, it didn't ruin the experience. It reminded me that when I read historical fiction there is still a fictional element and this isn't non fiction which is the ultimate truth, this is just based in truth!

On that note, I loved having more than one narrator from the shipwreck. I liked reading two different view points and how each reacted to the tragedy. Without spoiling too much, I loved how Everly ended up really tied into finding the truth and how that helped her to heal with her own grief.

Patti Callahan has two other historical fiction stand alones like this one and I would like to read them both soon. I loved being educated and entertained in the same book!

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this books for an honest review. After visiting Savannah several years ago I was enthralled with the beauty of the town. When I saw a chance to read about an event I hadn't heard about before I jumped on it. Wow. It's the story of the Pulaski, a steamship that sank after leaving with Savannah's elite on board. Everly Winthrop is a modern day history professor with demons of her own who is invited to help set up an exhibit at the local museum when the Pulaski is found. Everly delves into the mystery of who survives the disaster and how they manage to put their lives back together after the tragedy. She manages to learn some lessons of her own in this heartwarming story.

This year is starting off with some GREAT historical fictions based around strong women, and I AM HERE FOR IT!

This novel is told in a dual timeline with 3 distinct voices.

The modern timeline follows Everly, a professor at SCAD who loves to find the story in history. She has familial connections to old Savannah, and has her own struggles to overcome. She partners with Oliver and Maddox in creating a storyline of the events leading up to, and following the sinking of the Pulaski- an early steamship designed to allow Savannah’s rich to escape the oppressive summer heat (amongst other struggles for some female characters).

The past weaves between Augusta and Lilly- cousins on the ship, both escaping life as they know it in Savannah for different reasons. Their stories piece together the events of the Pulaski’s 4th voyage, while bringing us as readers deep into the mystery of what happens, who survives, and for the so many questions: WHY?!?

Everly digs deep to piece together Augusta and Lilly’s stories while Maddox raises the treasures he’s found beneath the surface off the coast of North Carolina, where the Pulaski went down.

I think Everly’s journey is beautiful, I loved the minute by minute story and powerful struggle Augusta and Lilly fought. I highly recommend this if you are looking for historical fiction with a strong female lead (you get 3 with this one!) and I am so thankful to @berkleypub and @berittalksbooks for my gifted copy of @pattichenry new novel, Surviving Savannah, and the great buddy read that went along with it! So much fun!

This work of historical fiction was well-researched and well-written.

In it we learn the story of the Pulaski, a luxury steamship carrying Savannah’s wealthy passengers on their way to Saratoga Springs, NY, via Baltimore. Sadly, the trip was ill-fated and many perished but also we learn the story of several survivors. The actual Pulaski was recently discovered off the coast of Wilmington, NC and many artifacts brought up by divers.

I would recommend this book to anyone interested in Savannah and historical fiction. Reading books such as this is an enjoyable way to learn history!

I received this book from the publisher via net galley in exchange for an honest review.

I received a gifted galley of SURVIVING SAVANNAH by Patti Callahan for an honest review. Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review!

SURVIVING SAVANNAH is historical fiction based on the real life sinking of the luxury steamship Pulaski in 1838. The submerged wreck was only recently found with divers bringing up the relics. This fictional account follows Everly in the present day as she is brought in by a Savannah museum to pull together the story of the Pulaski into a major exhibit. She has always been intrigued by the ship’s story and the mysteries left by spotty records. Though trying to overcome tragedies in her own life, she is easily wrapped up in the stories of those who experienced the trauma of the ship’s sinking.

The novel also follows two points of view in 1838. Lilly is a young wife and mother traveling with her abusive husband, her baby and her Black nursemaid. Lilly’s aunt Augusta is the second POV on board the Pulaski. They are traveling with their family of 12 and their story is one of the key areas of Everly’s research in the present as well.

I really enjoyed this one and knowing that it was based on actual events made it even more powerful to read. The author did an amazing job of putting the sinking of the ship in the reader’s mind. The ship was amazingly unprepared for a problem at sea, lacking the life boats and equipment that could have saved so many lives. You know going into this that many lives were lost and families were broken apart along with the ship, but the images the author gives us really drive the heartbreak home.

I really enjoyed the research portions of the present day narrative as well. It was interesting (and disturbing) to hear about the stumbling blocks in the research process because women weren’t named on the list of those on board apart from being their husband’s wife. Even worse, Black individuals on board were counted an entirely separate category after the count of people and children.

This was a fascinating read about an event I knew nothing about going in and the author’s notes at the end about her research and how the real people on the ship tied into her narrative were fascinating. This is a book about survival and surviving that survival and one I’d recommend! Surviving Savannah is out on 3/9/2021!

Interesting historical mystery as one woman seeks to unravel: what happened to the passengers the night the Forsyth exploded in 1813. Who survived and what did they have to do to move on?

Everly Winthrop is no stranger to moments that rip your life apart. Ever since a drunk driver plowed a car through a parade, killing her best friend and narrowly missing Everly, she’s been struggling to move on. When her best friend’s fiancé approaches her with a job, to curate an exhibit on the sinking of the Forsyth, she wants to refuse, but the lure of telling the story proves too great. After all, she’s grown up in Savannah hearing tales of the sinking of the Forsyth.

This story is told in a dual timeline, following Everly’s work on the exhibit as a dive team brings artifacts up from the wreck, and following Augusta Longstreet and Lilly, two wealthy Savannah socialites as they struggle to survive.

This book is in part a love letter to the town of Savannah, while acknowledging the darker portions of its history. The city serves as another character in the story. Readers will root for Everly to make peace with her survival as she studies the survivors of the Forsyth.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Oh my goodness, I could not put this book down. It was like the story was written for me! I flew through this. I so enjoyed the two time periods - both Everly's and Lilly's. I love both the Titanic and the antebellum South, so, again, this book was made for me.

Historical fiction lovers should absolutely not miss this one. I will be checking into other books written by this author ASAP!

Five resounding stars FOR SURE.

Have you heard about "The Titanic of the South"? As soon as I read the description of this book, I immediately googled this event and it’s all true! In 1838, the luxury steamship Pulaski sank on its way to Baltimore with many of Savannah’s elite families on board. As was common at the time, they were headed north for the summer to escape the stifling heat and rampant disease of the South, bringing with them trunks of gold, china, and silver – basically all the possessions they need to set up their seasonal homes in New York.

The book is told in two timelines: in the present day, Savannah history professor Everly Winthrop is asked to guest-curate a new museum collection focusing on artifacts recovered from the steamship. She’s busy hiding from her own demons but has always been fascinated by the Pulaski, so she accepts the job.

In 1838, Augusta Longstreet and her niece, Lilly Forsyth, board the ship along with their families. Lilly is in an abusive relationship with a husband who regards her as his property. Augusta is a beloved aunt and helper to her brother’s family, but longs for her own. When the ship explodes, their pampered lives suddenly seem meaningless. What will they do to not only survive, but to fight for what they really want from life?

This is a story about strong women who are faced with unimaginable decisions. As usual with this type of dual storyline, I was way more invested in the past and often found myself impatient with the present-day narrative. Overall, though, I really enjoyed this book, made even more fascinating by the parts that were taken from real-life events.

This story was mainly set in Savannah, which is a city that I love. It is absolutely gorgeous and I loved learning more about its history.

Thank you #NetGalley and @berkleypub for the advance copy of #SurvivingSavannah. #BerkleyWritesStrongWomen #BerkleyBuddyReads

(Note: I will post review to Instagram on March 9)