"The Sculptress" by V.S. Alexander, narrated by Sarah Mollo-Christensen, offers a glimpse into the life of Emma Lewis Swan during the backdrop of World War I. The portrayal of Emma's determination to contribute to the war effort through her sculpting skills is commendable. The book effectively captures the atmosphere of the era and the challenges faced by disfigured soldiers. However, while the premise is intriguing, the pacing of the story at times feels uneven, causing the narrative to lose some of its potential impact. Additionally, the characters, while possessing depth, sometimes lack the necessary development to fully connect with the reader. Sarah Mollo-Christensen's narration is skillful and enhances the emotional resonance of the story. While "The Sculptress" explores themes of love, sacrifice, and self-discovery, it falls short of delivering a consistently engaging experience.

Comparisons have been made between this and Madame Bovary and I can see why. The problem is that I was not a fan of Madame Bovary; she was self-absorbed, selfish, and immature. Emma is exactly the same but actually a little worse because she also acts a little more entitled. I got to about 60% and realized I just didn’t care and gave up on this. While I did learn a bit about the doctors creating masks for disfigured soldiers during the war, this was completely overshadowed by her constant obsessing about sex. This could have been so much better.

May 1917 The elegant streets of Boston are thousands of miles away from the carnage of the Western Front. Yet even here, amid the clatter of horse-drawn carriages and automobiles, it is impossible to ignore the war raging across Europe. Emma Lewis Swan's husband, Tom, has gone to France, eager to do his duty as a surgeon. Emma, a sculptor, has stayed behind, pursuing her art despite being dismissed by male critics. Through her work, she meets a blind artist named Linton Bower. Their friendship leads to scandal, and Emma flees to Paris, where she uses her talents to sculpt face masks for disfigured soldiers.

The Sculptress was an intriguing book based loosely on the life of artist Anna Coleman Ladd, who founded the Studio for Portrait Masks in Paris where she and her team created prosthetic masks for soldiers whose faces were disfigured in combat. To find out more about her life, follow this link to the Smithsonian. https://www.si.edu/spotlight/women-in-wwi/anna-coleman-ladd.

I love discovering historical tidbits like these, and although V. S. Alexander’s premise was fascinating, and his topic well researched, I shook my head over the writing. I found it trite, melodramatic, and repetitive, and the ending was predictable. On top of that, the main character was a despicable person. I hope she wasn’t like that in real life. 3 stars.

Published Date: February 2021
Genre: Historical fiction, women’s fiction
Read-alikes: A Forgotten Place by Charles Todd, A Good Woman by Danielle Steel, Life Class by Pat Barker.

After everything that happened in this book, the lack of a definite resolution at the end is extremely agitating. I’m highly considering removing a star based on this, but I’ll have to think about it.

Formal review to follow.

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I've taken a few days to ponder everything that happened in this book. It is a saga spanning many years in the life of the sculptress, so there is much to consider. Some of the events are rather unbelievable, especially for the time, such as when she goes to the front in disguise. The lack of definite resolution at the end still frustrates me. But, overall, I have continued to think about this book and miss reading it. I grew to care for Emma and what would become of her. For that reason, I have decided to keep the rating at four stars rather than reducing it to three. The narrator did a fantastic job. The book felt much longer than it was, perhaps due to the many years covered, but it kept up an appropriate pace.

I will include trigger warnings for explicit sexual content, abortion, death, and graphic descriptions of facial disfigurement.

I received a digital ARC of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley and HighBridge Audio.

This novel spans boston to Europe during the time of World War 1. It explores both heartbreak and war. I Received this novel Advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review

Unlikeable Characters and Bad Narration

Audiobook Review:
Having just listened to a fascinating historical fiction novel about a group of young Smith college graduates who took part in the war effort in France during World War II (Band of Sisters), I was fascinated by this book when I saw it at a review site. The book's description and cover promised a fascinating story about a young American sculptress who comes to Paris to make masks for men disfigured in the war. The description really makes it sound like this is going to be the major thrust of the book, but the heroine doesn't even get to France until the halfway point of the book. Since I listened to the novel as an audiobook, I kept you waiting for what I thought the story was going to be about to happen. Instead, the author spends a lot of time on the heroine's earlier life, focusing on her mistakes with men as well as her art. There were so many problems beyond this. The author did not create likeable characters. One appeared to be noble in his intentions, but he ended up being as slimy as Emma's teenage baby daddy, thinking it’s OK to be unfaithful while he’s at war. I kept waiting for a story of any merit to emerge or for the characters to grow and become better people (or even more interesting to follow). There were so many things not to like about Emma in particular. I won't detail them all here, but she just wasn't a good person, flitting through life, bemoaning her circumstances, and making bad choices (especially with men). The narrator did not do a good job either. Except for the ones who had accents, all the male characters sounded exactly the same. And I mean exactly! Emma and the other female characters had at least a little distinction between their voices, but not much. If you enjoy historical fiction about World War I, I suggest finding another, better book.

The characters were well defined. The first few sentences grab you and take you along a marvelous journey. The voice of the narrator was at times a bit disappointing but the book itself is a winner

Thank you to NetGalley, the publishers, and the author for giving me the opportunity to review this book. I love most historical fiction and I can’t wait to add a physical copy to my collection. I couldn’t stop listening and finished this within a day!

The Sculptress is a historical fiction book by V. S. Alexander about a sculptress who goes to France to make masks for horribly disfigured solders during World War I. I listened to the audiobook version which was narrated by Sarah Mollo-Christensen. When I listened to Band of Sisters by Lauren Willig there was a scene set in a hospital where masks were made for soldiers, and I found the subject fascinating. When I heard about this, I jumped on the chance to read it. Alas, only about a quarter of the book dealt with this subject. I could have done without the rest.

Emma Lewis Swan was a sculptress living in Boston. Though her work was good, she had trouble with faces. Her husband Tom, a surgeon, went to France to do his patriotic duty serving wounded soldiers. Emma stayed behind, moving in art circles and being savaged by critics. She meets Linton Bower, a handsome blind painter, and the two are deeply drawn to each other. Tom writes and suggests she should go to Paris and use her talents to make masks for severely disfigured soldiers, so she leaves Linton and Boston and off she goes. While working in Paris, she confronts a man who forces her to deal with her past.

I so wanted to love this story; truly I did. However, Emma Lewis Swan has got to be one of the most unlikable "heroines" I've come across in a long time. The time she spent sculpting masks was interesting, and she was doing something that made a difference to many lives. Besides that, she traveled through life with a "poor me" attitude. Anything bad that happened was someone else's fault. Her romantic entanglements showed her poor judgment. She fell in love with a boy as a teenager and they had relations. He basically wanted nothing to do with her after their time together, so she threatens to tell on him unless he keeps sleeping with her. Ah, the romance! Yet for years afterwards, she goes on and on about the young love she had and how wonderful their "making love" was. She marries Tom for security; yet she's upset that they don't have a grand passion. She falls in love with Linton while her husband was saving lives in France. She goes to France and eventually confronts someone from her past. What happens with that situation rather turned my stomach. After more drama, the story ends rather abruptly. I wish it had ended hours earlier.

Sarah Mollo-Christensen's narration was basically okay. She did fine voicing Emma and a few of the foreign characters, but she didn't have much range and it was extremely hard to distinguish different characters from one another.

Skip this one, and look for other books by V.S. Alexander instead.

I received an ARC of this book courtesy of the publishers and NetGalley. I received no compensation for my review, and all thoughts and opinions expressed are entirely my own.

I absolutely loved The Taster so was excited to see this author’s latest book available and even more thrilled when I received an advanced audio copy. However, the publisher’s description led me to believe that this book would primarily be about the construction of masks for WW1 veterans to hide their grotesque facial deformities, which was not the case. This plot element was only a very small part of the story and wasn’t even mentioned until after the halfway point. This book is actually about Emma, the sculptress, and her relationships with men. Her lover, her husband and the love of her life are weaved in throughout the story as she learns to sculpt, and eventually moves to France to help in the war efforts.

I would describe this book as historical romance since there are few details and focus on WW1. The war is more of a background setting in which Emma navigates the trials and tribulations of love. If romance is your thing, then this may be a good fit.

I also found the pacing off. The beginning moved quickly and hinted at being a scandalous story yet then the plot stalled. For most of the middle, it was difficult to engage as nothing really happened. I kept waiting for Emma to get involved in mask construction and experience the war but it took forever to get there. The story really picked up at about 70% at which time there were numerous twists and surprises. I will admit I rolled my eyes a bit as some of the decisions and situations were hard to believe.

The writing and audio performance were both good. I just think the plot needed a healthy dose of editing and more depth so the romance aspect was carved out better, and/or it had focused more on the war history and its impact on soldiers and their lives.

Thank you to HighBridge Audio and Netgalley for an advanced audio copy in exchange for an honest review.

Emma Lewis want to be a sculptress but the art world sees her as just a woman trying to enter a man's world. While the war wages on in Europe, Emma's husband Tom, a surgeon, wants to leave Boston and head to the Western Front. Their marriage is not as romantic as Emma had hoped and she is keeping a secret from her husband about an affair she had in her youth. Emma stays in Boston and pursues her career as a sculptress. She begins a close friendship with Linton Bower, also an artist, which they both want as something more. Emma heads to Paris to reconcile with her husband but they are still passionless. Emma begins creating masks for disfigured soldiers so they can appear in public without so many stares. One of the soldiers she helps, makes her face her secret past. She must learn to forgive herself and put this secret to rest before she can have a future with or without the man she loves.

*received for free from netgalley for honest review* Expected more. the story itself wasn't horrible but doesn't mean there isn't a lot to unpack. The book was long enough looking over something was easy, but the more repetitive things were pretty annoying ngl. We get it, author thinks abortion is a sin and that it should literally haunt women through life until they eventually.... rape the man they blame for it, again? Like she wanted to have sex with him, did, then tried to black mail him into having more sex with her. She then get pregnant from forcing him to continue having sex with her, and again blames him for her going to get an abortion. She blames him and getting an abortion for her inability to capture faces correctly. She marries a man out of convivence, catches feelings for another man when her husband leaves her to go to war. and eventually exbaby daddy gets messed up in the war(in just the way she can fix!!!) and comes finds her, pretending to not be him. Gaslights her with his replies and then stalks her. Follows her one night and confesses it was really him(and hey HE can has just the thing that can fix her husband not being able to give her kids!) he wants to knock her up again! to "Fix things", like thats how it works? so she decides later to go show up, rape him, and then again black mail him to keep doing it. Her dickless husband had gotten another woman pregnant before he lost his balls and never told wife bc surely her indiscretions were worse? i mean i could just go on but like still so much to unpack.

this book could have been way better but it ended up way too preachy and annoying about it. books like this make me happy i listen to them quickly and i didnt waste 12ish hours reading this and only like 4.

Thank you to #NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to The Sculptress by V.S. Alexander. The story follows Emma, a young artist at the time of World War 1. She wants to be a sculptor in a man's art world and works hard to make her dreams come true. However, she has a secret that haunts her daily and it will change the course of her days. When war breaks out, she goes to France, using her talents as a sculptor to help make masks for disfigured soldiers. There she will encounter life and death and all of the choices she has made, while she struggles to repair broken relationships as well as help the soldiers. I love that it was based on a true story. I enjoyed hearing all of the historical aspects of the war woven in to the story. However, I found this to be more of a love story, which was fine, just not what I expected of it. There were times that I thought Emma was too immature, but then I remembered that we all have those moments, so maybe she was just human. Four stars for me.
Thanks again to NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions are my own.

I want to thank Netgalley & V. S. Alexander & HighBridge Audio, for my audio copy of The Sculptress, for an honest review. I felt the audio version made this story, so much better. I had the opportunity to read and listen and it is interesting to compare. Read by Sarah Mollo-Christiansen, this story seemed better. Her voice and the pace was perfect.
I was so glad to start this book.. it had all the potential of being one of my favorite books this year. It starts in May of 1917, in the wealthy part of Boston. The war is raging on the western front and yet things are seemingly calm here. Emma Lewis Swan’s husband, Thomas, decides to go to France to help as a doctor. Emma, the Sculptress stays behind. She intends to continue her art and finds herself being watched by an old friend of Tom’s, Linton Bower. Linton has all the right connections in Boston. She offers her friendship to Emma. Yet from the start they keep each other at arms length. Emma try’s to fit into Tom’s world but it doesn’t feel right. She tends to find friendship with a different kind of person. The story was slow for me. I felt like I read in place for some time. The author has a unique way to tell a story. I had a hard time relating/liking the characters. I wanted to see so much more of Emma and Tom. It just felt like there was to much time spent on Emma. Over all this book was ok. Not my favorite, I did finish it. Ironically the ending was very good. I love the opportunity to read Arc’s and I would love to read more works by V. .S Alexander. This was a 3 star read for me. I did feature this on my Instagram page.

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC of The Sculptress in audio format.

Emma is living a sheltered life on a farm when she meets her first true love who breaks her heart and leaves her life in ruins. In an attempt to pick up the pieces she begins training in an unusual field for a woman, as a sculpture. Her talents lead her to Boston where she meets the quiet doctor whom she will marry. Overseas France is in the thick of WWI and in desperate need for physicians at the front. Emma's dutiful husband decides to go and lend his services. Not long after he encourages Emma to come over as well to take part in an experimental field sculpting new faces for badly injured men. While helping these desperate men, she must learn to mend her own traumas and even comes face to face with a vison from her past. Working to give them a new life she may just find the answers to her own.

V.S. Alexander's WWI historical novel is well written. It was nice to find a novel not set in WWII and a subject matter I had not read about before. I was fascinated to learn about this revolutionary medical treatment bringing new hope to mutilated soldiers. The characters are well flushed out and the story's progression is nice. My biggest struggle is with the main character herself, Emma has faced a lot of difficulties through out her life however she blames everyone around her but never takes any accountability for her own part and choices. She became my least favorite character.
Sarah Mollo-Christensen is the narrator of the audio book, she has a nice clear voice with an easy paces and good inflections and ability to change her voice for the different characters.

This is a great read for historical fiction fans looking for a new take on an old war.

V.S. Alexander has written a historical romance fiction that is somewhat based on a true story, mixed with Madame Bovary as well. Based during The Great War, Emma is a female sculptress who tries to make her art into something helpful for injured soldiers. Her husband is a doctor working in France with the Red Cross and asks Emma to come create/sculpt masks for injured soldiers to wear on their face, covering horrendous injuries. Emma must face her past mistakes and regrets in order to move forward and heal her heart and soul.

The description on the book didn’t actually follow with what I read. Yes, all of that took place, but the book mainly focused on Emma’s love life and feelings, along with a large cast of other characters. Parts of the book were very interesting, other parts were filled with “woe is me”, while others felt like it was muddling along. Whenever her work was actually discussed and the efforts during the war, that is the historical fiction I enjoy. This book just seemed to go slow for me. I will say however, if you are a fan of historical romance, read this book. While it fell flat for me, that does not mean it would for others. Give it a try.

I was really excited for a wartime book about an artist, a sculptress since that is such an unusual take on a war novel. This book just fell flat. It was long and drawn out. It followed Emma from age 15 through adulthood and it could have skipped about 70% of the story and it would have been just as good. The storyline was sad and depressing. She lived a lonely and drepressing life and it made for a boring book.

The one good thing it had, was the narrator. I listened to the audio version. The narrator was phenomenal.

I received an audio ARC of this book through NetGalley in exchange for my unbiased opinion.

Emma has always loved art, with her father's encouragement. When she is 16, a local sculptor takes her on as a student. Eventually, she goes to art school in Boston, where she meets her husband, Tom, as he is studying to become a doctor, eventually becoming a surgeon at a Boston hospital. Tom is also supportive of Emma's art career, encouraging her. In 1917, Tom enlists with the Red Cross to work as a surgeon in France for the war effort. With Tom gone, Emma meets and starts to fall in love with a fellow artist, Linton Bower. When society starts to gossip about Linton and Emma, Emma decides take up her husband's suggestion that she come to France to aid the war effort, too. A British man has been making masks for disfigured soldiers to wear, and Emma knows she can use her talent as a sculptress to do the same in France. Maybe, at the same time, she can save her marriage...

Based on the blurb that comes with the book, I expected this story to be about Emma's time in France. However, the book starts with her at age 15 and spends a lot of time dwelling on her loves, not nearly as much talking about her art. Emma spends a lot of time lamenting the problems in her life, blaming them on other people without taking any responsibility for her own actions that contributed to the problems. I guess there was a reason the men in the book all liked her, but those reasons sure weren't shown to the reader. This book has made me interested to read up on Anna Coleman-Ladd, the real life sculptress who made masks for disfigured soldiers during World War I. Sarah Mollo-Christensen did a nice job with the narration. Unfortunately, with a plodding story that focused more on Emma's love life than her art, I just couldn't get into this book.

Emma Lewis Swan dares to become a sculptress in an age when women held little presence in the art world. Her sculpting abilities were always good, but the faces gave her trouble.

At the onset of WWI, Emma’s husband volunteers his medical skills at the front, and after getting herself into a bit of social trouble, she follows him to France, where she makes masks for those disfigured by war.

It is in France where Emma finds herself, and is finally able to get past her artists block with faces, as she frees men of a life of social stigma.

This novel was a very slow start for me, and had a lot of unnecessary segments that made the book drag overall. If you’ve read Madame Bovary, you’ll find a lot of parallels. The story had potential, but missed the mark for me.

The book centers around Emma, a young woman who has studied to become a sculptress in the early 20th century, and jumps between her professional life as a sculptor and her various romances. The majority of the story takes place in 1917. Emma's husband, a doctor, decides to go to France as a red cross volunteer without consulting Emma and several months later Emma joins him to work as a sculptress of face masks for disfigures soldiers.

Overall the writing was engaging and the story interesting. Depending on a reader's personal taste, there may have been too much romance at the expense of exploring the world of WWI and Emma's work constructing face masks for wounded soldiers. The novel focused very heavily on Emma's personal life and not quite as much on her professional life as a sculptress.

Emma's relationship with her husband, Tom, was also very disappointing. The marriage falls apart so quickly one wonders why they ever thought getting married in the first place was a good idea.