Love a good retelling of sorts. You had me at Audrey Hepburn and Sabrina ;)

Many moving plot points that kept me locked in, as I needed to know how it was all going to shake out.

I could this one being made into a movie of sorts.

I loved this book! It's well-written, enjoyable, and a great read. The author did a great job of writing in a way that captures the readers attention, and makes you not want to put it down until you're finished! I would highly recommend it!

This was not the light hearted book I was expecting but I did enjoy it!

I was taken in by the parallel to Audrey Hepburn character in Sabrina, but the addition of family drama, secrets and bad history was unexpected.

I did enjoy, but not my typical read.

So I was going through my kindle and I came across this title which I had not read. I loved Brenda Janowitz’ Liz Taylor Ring and Grace Kelly Dress so I knew that I’d love this one, too. This story moved through time, telling the story of a young woman who grew up on a large estate where her mother was personal assistant to the estate owner, and her two best friends: the son of the chauffeur and the grandson of the estate owner.

There are several subplots in this story, so I had to make sure I was keeping track (I read this book all in one day because I loved it so much and wanted to see what would happen). I will say that once we got to the climax and resolution I was a bit disappointed in the draconian choices the characters made (but I guess the story had to wrap up somehow!).

Thank you to Harper-Collins for my review e-galley!

I want to thank everyone for this gifted copy of The Audrey Hepburn Estate by Brenda Janowitz.

Unfortunately this book didn't do it for me. It felt like it was all over the place, and I felt like there were some plot holes within the storyline. I had high hopes, but I was left feeling rather confused in the end.

I ended up listening to this, and the audio was great. The "Sabrina" aspect and parallel was lovely, however the story did seem to draw out at times. Overall, I'm a big Janowitz fan and will always read her books! Thank you so much for the opportunity to read and review!

Emma grew up in a famous Long Island mansion, but she lived with her family over the garage. Her parents worked for the family that owned this house, rumored to be the inspiration for the movie Sabrina starring Audrey Hepburn. Since she was the only child, she often played with Henry and sometimes the driver’s son Leo.

After Emma hears the mansion is about to be torn down, she can’t help reminisce about her time at the house. But not all of it was good times. The trio uncovers a dark past of the residents of the house.

I liked this book, but I’ve enjoyed others by this author more. The timeline was really all over the place and the main story was a love triangle. I did enjoy the author’s note where she explained how she put more of the Sabrina movie into the book.

Thank you @graydonhouse and @htpbooks for my gifted ebook.

Don’t let the title of this one fool you - this novel is not about Audrey Hepburn, but is centered around a property on Long Island rumored to be the inspiration for - and sharing the address with - the house in Audrey Hepburn’s movie Sabrina. This book is told from the perspective of Emma, who grew up living on the estate as the daughter of the maid/caretaker, and is now in her 30s running a successful catering business in NYC. The book alternates between Emma’s childhood through teen years growing up living on the estate as one of the help while also friends with both Henry, the grandson of the owners, and Leo, the son of the chauffeur; and the present day where Emma hears the house is being torn down and finding both Henry and Leo back in her life in her quest to save the house.

This book combines a coming of age story with a decades long love triangle, along with some surprising revelations about things that went on on the estate. I definitely found myself wanting to shake both past and present Emma at times, but she was an enjoyable character to root for nonetheless. I can’t lie, I did not thing either guy in the love triangle was right for her though. But this was an enjoyable and interesting read with some good surprises and interesting side characters as well.

3.75 stars

I'm legitimately sad to write this because I've loved every single Brenda Janowitz book before this one. But this was just so hard to get through. It felt like a Sabrina retelling, which is not what I was expecting at all. While I feel this would be good for diehard Hepburn fans, it just wasn't my cup of tea. I wanted more love story woven in and an original work instead of a retelling in book form. Again, I'm sure for the right reader this is perfect! I'm still eager to pick up her next book because she always writes such beautiful stories, this one just happened to be more of a miss for me.

I received an advanced copy for free and am leaving this review voluntarily. Thank you to NetGalley, Harlequin Trade, and Brenda Janowitz. 🩷

4 stars- really enjoyed this book! thanks netgalley & the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

In her novels thus far, Brenda Janowitz has reintroduced me to my love of Hollywood actresses, Grace Kelly, Elizabeth Taylor, and my favorite of them all second to Katharine Hepburn the encapsulating: Audrey Hepburn. Janowitz’s outline to include these actresses and their iconic films in her novels is simply inspired. Re-watching Audrey Hepburn's “Sabrina”,the film which inspired this novel. There is a heartfelt scene between the titular character and her father. He reflects on her experience as a young girl with a crush on the boss's son .Fairchild speaks to his daughter “And you’re still reaching for the moon. No father, the moon is reaching for me!” In this exchange we the audience see and hear her growth;however despite no change in her economic status her worthiness as a confident young woman remains. Re-watching this scene gave me insight to the emotional resonance that Janowitz expands on in her latest novel “The Audrey Hepburn Estate.” In it the reader follows Emma Jansen, and like Audrey Hepburn’s character Sabrina Fairchild lives over the garage of a Long Island estate with her mother and father. As Sabrina was caught between two of the estates eligible bachelors, so is Emma by the grandson of her parents employer (Henry) and by the driver’s son, Leo- her best friend. The novel centers on Emma’s goal to assist Henry in keeping their childhood home from being demolished. The love-triangle had its moments but for me my attention was on Emma and her growth. Emma is a character whose journey you want to be included in . To witness her growth from child to a young woman with agency and purpose was everything I could want for her character.This novel was enjoyable for me to read and throughout it kept my attention. I gave the novel a strong four out of five stars on goodreads.

Emma, a celebrated chef, and caterer, is upset that her childhood home is set to be demolished by a developer, Leo, who also used to live at the Audrey Hepburn Estate.

Emma was the housekeeper's daughter, Leo, the chauffeur's son, and rounding out their childhood trio was Henry, raised by his grandparents on the rolling estate out on Long Island. Long ago, Emma and Leo discovered a secret about Henry's family and now that the estate is ready to be torn down, those family secrets are coming to light.

Part mystery, part love-triangle romance, this story has all the drama and intrigue I expect from Brenda Janowitz.

I saw the great reviews for this book but it felt like a remake of the movie Sabrina. I could not finish.

I loved book. The story of Emma and her youth growing up on a great estate as the child of employees. We also have Leo and Henry who she grew up with. So many possibilities in this book, as the estate is full of secrets.
This book is a quick listen or read and completely entertaining and also educational in a way.

A solid 3.5 but I rounded up! This is a new author to me and I very much enjoyed her writing style however am not a fan of the dual storylines and this made it not as good a read for me. The plot and all the historical references made this an interesting book. I truly like Emma from the beginning but she became a bit wishy washy and it was hard to follow her thought processes. The twisty plot kept me wanting more and I look forward to reading others by this author. Many thanks to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for an ARC - opinions are my own.

I enjoyed reading The Audrey Hepburn Estate by Brenda Janowitz. The story and characters are wonderful. Happy Reading!
**I received an ARC of this book courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and given freely**

The Audrey Hepburn Estate was an enjoyable, light read, with a love story about second chances. The author also weaved in a mystery and post WWII history.
The author explained how Hepburn ‘influenced’ the story in her author’s note, but I was expecting much more about Audrey and her life. Still a worthwhile read. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a digital copy of this book!

Review will be posted on 5/19/23

Emma Jansen has grown up on a beautiful Long Island estate, Rolling Hill, not because her parents own it, but because they work there. Her mother is a maid and her father is the butler. So, she has grown up adjacent to a wealthy lifestyle but is by no means wealthy. As the years go on, she befriends the owner of the estate's grandson, Henry, and the driver's son, Leo. She has such great childhood memories of running around the estate, exploring the rooms, swimming at the pool, barbecues for the 4th of July, and more. Except one memory haunts her of the cook, Fleur, who gets into a fight with the owner of the estate, Felix Van Der Wraak, and ends up falling to her death. Just she and Leo witnessed it and are still pretty unsure about what exactly happened. Many years later, she comes to find that Rolling Hill is dilapidated, and instead of being preserved, a developer, who happens to be Leo, wants to tear it down to build a development. This greatly upsets Emma as she has such wonderful memories there (or so she thinks!) and feels the estate should be restored. Throwing herself back into this world has her encountering Henry, who was her first love, and Leo, her former best friend; she is caught in the middle. Brenda Janowitz's The Audrey Hepburn Estate is a wonderful historical read that is a fresh take on Sabrina.



I really enjoyed Emma from the start of The Audrey Hepburn Estate. Janowitz really developed her character as readers get to know her from childhood at Rolling Hill up to the present day. Learning more about Emma's childhood at the estate filled in a lot of questions that I had about her and her experiences with Henry and Leo. She has a complicated relationship with her mother and slowly that is fleshed out and secrets are revealed. But The Audrey Hepburn Estate is about more than just family drama and an updated version of Sabrina, there's a lot of intrigue in it surrounding World War II and Nazis. Leo and Emma slowly learn what went on at Rolling Hill and they think there is more to it than they thought; perhaps Felix Van Der Wraak isn't just an art collector. As Emma discovers more about the estate's history, she, in turn, learns more about her family and herself.



Janowitz also gives readers some historical details about Audrey Hepburn's life which was very interesting; there's so much more to her than I initially thought. Also, I am a huge fan of Sabrina, so I really enjoyed this modern take on the tale. Readers who enjoy light historical reads will definitely want to throw The Audrey Hepburn Estate in their beach bag this summer.


Are you a fan of Brenda Janowitz? Is The Audrey Hepburn Estate on your TBR list? Have you read it? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.

A nice choice for Audrey Hepburn fans, specifically Sabrina fans.
I enjoyed the Sabrina and Audrey Hepburn eater eggs. I’m not a huge fan of dual timeline stories so it was hard for me to really get into.
Unfortunately I went into it thinking it would be a retelling of Sabrina in book form. In some ways I was disappointed (I love that movie so much) but in other ways, this book is so much more-more than a love story. It’s got more depth than I was expecting.

Brenda Janowitz never fails to write amazing stories intertwined with history. Her books lure me in from page one and keep me hooked until the very end. The Audrey Hepburn Estate is no different and I was simply hooked. I loved the storyline and did not see the twist coming. Great read.