Diva is the story of the world renowned opera singer Maria Callas.

Maria had a voice that moved audiences world wide .

She more than earned the right to be a Diva.

Her fame preceded her where ever she went and with fame comes an expectation from her fans.

Maria stated " the whole world expects you to play the part" and play the part she did.

Daisy Goodwin shows us a vulnerable side to the opera star. Her issues with her Mother, her sadness, her loneliness.

Maria had a well known affair with Aristotle Onassis for many years and the thing she coveted the most was marriage to him.

Aristotle bought her many things but money cant buy happiness.

I got totally lost in the story and the pages turned quickly.

Once again Daisy Goodwin has captured the reader's attention from beginning to end.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for a captivating read.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martins Press, and author Daisy Goodwin for allowing me to read the ARC of Diva in exchange for a fair review.

Even if you aren’t an opera fan, or care much about politics, or delve into foreign business, you will still be entertained and fascinated with the lives of Marie Callas, famous opera singer, the Kennedy’s, American politicians, and Aristotle Onassis, Greek businessman. It is always fun to read about how the rich and famous lived their lives, but, beyond that, how they lived in a world of always being in the public eye.

Marie Callas had a lot of pressure keeping her voice, as well as her body, in shape, almost ruining her career by partying one New Year’s Eve. The public demanded nothing but perfection from Marie, which seemed to happen when in the company of Onassis, her only true love. They lived a fairytale life, which began to crumble when Marie realized he “loved” lots of women. When Jackie Kennedy meets Onassis, their lives change forever, a change Onassis soon realized was a change he should have considered a little more.

I enjoyed this book, looking back at history and the people who shaped it.

Diva is a great story about the life of Maria Callas, famous soprano opera diva. A very talented woman who was terrified of losing her voice one day and not being able to perform at her best.

Maria was very discipled as an adult in practicing her voice and controlling her weight so she could be at her best to perform, She was aware of her strengths and weaknesses. Maria understood how important her clothing was even when she was not performing, but in public. She had a designer that put all of her clothing and accessaries together in diagrams so she would know what to wear to look her best. She knew that being a diva meant that she had to look like one all of the time.

The personal relationships of Maria were sad. Once her singing ability was obvious, everyone wanted to be her friend and take advantage of her. She never knew who her real friends were, including her family and spouse. She did get the opportunity to mix with the elite from around the world, which made her life interesting. The history included in the story made it really interesting. This story covers Maria's life from 1940 to 1968, she was not living in the US during WWII, so that part was interesting too..

I have read plenty of books that have asides; however, this book had asides that were not relevant or enhancing to the story in anyway. I felt like they distracted, and even if they connect later-- it did not hold my attention long enough for me to care.

I have always liked historical fiction - especially those stories sent in the first half of the 1900's - I have slowly been getting into the "semi-fictional" historical genre and was happy to be selected to read an ARC of this book. Full confession - I had no idea who Maria Callas was prior to reading this book and through this book I found her life pretty fascinating. This was a slow read for me, but in a very good way, as I kept stopping to do google searches - the semi part was very accurate - when they described a side character or dress or a certain picture I was able to find it in a google search and that just led me more into the story to see what the author was describing. For those that like historical fiction this is a fabulous read.

Another stellar novel by Goodwin. Excellent writing, a very interesting character - Maria Callas. Callas was fascinating sparking both empathy and frustration. No doubt she is portrayed as a complicated woman. Excellent story as a whole. Onassis left me shaking my head not in a good way. Looking forward to Goodwin's next novel.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 Stars

Opera superstar, Maria Callas, was known the world over for her unique voice and being a true Diva. When she was young her mother moved her from New York back to Nazi-occupied Greece where she learned about opera and her talent but her mother exploited her making her preform on street corners and for enemy soldiers. Maria kept a steadfast focus on her career and as she aged she became a remarkable singer preforming all over the world, partying with celebrities like Elizabeth Taylor, and living a glamourous life she could only dream of. It was the soprano's torrid love affair with Aristotle Onassis, before he married Jackie Kennedy, that set her world ablaze.

Daisy Goodwin returns with a historical fiction portrait of one of the world's most famous opera singers. I confess I was not very familiar with Maria Callas and found her to be a very interesting subject where Goodwin showed a balance between the focused performer and a woman in love. I wish there had been some more focus on her career and not just the Onassis affair. I found the prose and dialogue to be a bit choppy with too much conversation about her weight. This is an interesting snapshot of a talented woman and makes me want to learn more about her.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book; I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I knew something of Maria Callas because she's Kennedy family-adjacent, but since I don't appreciate opera, I only had a casual interest in her life. But sometimes historical fiction can compel me to read up on a subject afterwards to sus out the truth of one's story;

Diva was an okay book. I liked about half of it. It's not the best writing, but it was entertaining for a while. The backstory was interesting up until the part where Aristotle Onassis shows up. Then I had to deal with the cringy sex scenes. I'm not a prude, but I'm not looking for a "new adult" romance and find no reason for that sort of explicit description in an historical fiction novel. Add to the fact that none of the main characters were likable made this book less than enjoyable.

I am still interested in Callas and will probably add a biography of her to my TBR, but this book left me feeling like I still knew as much about her now as I did before I read the book.

Wow! Diva was a wonderful journey into the life and loves of operatic diva Maria Callas. I thoroughly enjoyed the way I was transported into her time and world - I could not put this down. If I could award more than 5 stars, I would. Easily one of my favorites of the year.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC.

What a fascinating piece of history. I'm not a follower of opera, so wasn't familiar with Maria Callas. Her story is tragic, in the sense that she was exploited by many people in her life, starting with her mother. How horrible would it have been to be forced to sing for soldiers like that.

Although she seems like a strong woman in the story, her husband has a great deal of control over her and her career, and she fell under the spell of Onassis and he almost destroyed both her life and her career. You really get a sense how difficult it would be for a woman to be successful during the 60s without a man steering things in some way. Kudos to Daisy Goodwin for giving Maria agency and a sense of her own worth through everything that happened to her.

Historical Fiction is at its best when it propels the reader down a rabbit hole to find out more about the subject. Diva is among the best and had me searching for and enjoying performances by Maria Callas. Beautifully written and extensively researched, this book drew back the curtain on some of the greatest stages of the world and allowed us to appreciate the remarkable talent that was Maria Callas.

4.5 Stars

This book will really sneak up on you. I wasn't super into it at first and I was expecting to give it 3 stars, but as the story went on it drew me in more and more. Going into this I knew absolutely nothing about Maria Callas, which is wild to me because I am a fan of celebrity gossip and as it turns out, her life was juicy. The bulk of the book centers around her passion (her relationship with Aristotle Onassis) and her art (her career as the biggest opera singer of all time) and how those two things influence each other. My feminine rage is at an all-time high after learning about Ari Onassis. I will be his enemy until the day I die. The other fascinating part for me was reading about her social circle full of celebrities, politicians, and royalty. Getting a glimpse into the lives of the famous and ultra-wealthy was kind of sick and twisted and I'm going to be going down a dozen different rabbit holes to learn more about this group of people. If you're going to read this I would recommend the audiobook. the accents set the scene for me and you get to hear several clips of Maria singing as well as an interview with the author at the end.

Thank you, NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

A fascinating piece of historical fiction about Maria Callas. The exquisite details of her life were such an informative read. I really enjoyed the journey that this book took me on throughout Maria Callas’ life. Her performances and the people she hung around with were really brought to life in this book. What a drama! Thank you NetGalley for providing the ARC.

Oh how I loved this book! It is probably the last book I'll finish and it's my favorite book I read all year.

The story is about the opera singer, Maria Callas and her love affair with Aristotle Onassis. Of course I have heard of both of those people so vaguely knew the story. The way the story in this book is told, it will draw you in and weave itself around you. I love books like that!

I can't recommend it more highly. Awesome book!

This is an amazing historical fiction diving into the life of Maria Callas. It also includes the scandalous love affair between this most celebrated opera singer of all time and one of the richest men in the world. I liked the author's writing style, which was very engaging and fresh. I didn't know much about the subject, so I went in expecting not much, but was pleasantly surprised and happy reading this book. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Diva by Daisy Goodwin is a wonderful retelling of the amazing life of opera singer Maria Callas and her famous relationship with Aristotle Onassis, and beyond. I found myself immersed in her story from beginning to end. This is a perfect book for anyone who loves history, Opera, love, heartbreak, or anyone interested in a Great Novel!

Thank you to NetGalley for the Arc of DIVA by DAISY GOODWIN.

I loved reading this book! I am not an Opera guru, and sadly I didn’t know much about Maria Callas. However, this read made me want to learn more!

I read the book over two days — and I couldn’t put it down. In fact, the only time I did was to sleep or look up the characters within the novel!

I was invested in Maria’s life and her journey. I rooted for her and applauded her strength. Goodwin amazingly captured society life. I couldn’t help but giggle at the way she described Lee and Jackie ☺️

I also appreciated how Goodwin emphasized Maria’s identities and the complexity of familial relationships.

Editorial note: The Arc included a few typos.

This was an interesting read for me. I was somewhat familiar with the characters but not so much the actual story. I appreciate historical fiction based on true events and people and the research required as well as the imagined stories and relationships. Thanks #NetGalley

Maria Callas has always believed that her voice was her gift from God. She has sacrificed much to become a diva and in constant demand to sing. Her husband sees her as the goose that laid the golden egg. Her mother feels as if she owes her and does not hesitate to tell anyone who will listen that that is the case. She appears content with her life, but is constantly wondering how long her voice is going to last. Her health seems to be an issue at points. When she meets Ari Onassis, she is intrigued by also uncertain. He tries to woo her and she is not an easy woman to impress. He does seem to pull out all of the stops to get her to be with him. I will say that he was an egomaniac who seemed to feel as if it was okay to string her along. He seemed to use people to his advantage. Since I was unfamiliar with their story, I was quite intrigued by this book. I felt like everyone wanted a piece of Maria and felt she owed them something. I liked the book and was quite entertained to learn of her life.
I received an ARC from the publisher for my honest review by NetGalley.

As someone who knew nothing about Maria Callas except maybe hearing her name once or twice but not knowing when or where, I honestly thought I would like this story because the synopsis drew me in easily.

Whether it was the writing style or the potential reading slump I was in, it took me what felt like an eternity to read through this book. I had very little connection to Maria, and I think honestly, part of me was more interested in the scandal and drama of her affair and relationship with Onassis, but I couldn't stand her relationship with either Meneghini or Onassis, and Maria deserved better than what she was dealt in life, and I honestly wish I liked this story more.

In the end, it was a decent read, but way too slow-paced for me, and nothing I'm screaming from the rooftops for. I will gladly suggest it to anyone who is looking for historical recommendations, so long as it seems like something they are interested in.

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳, 𝘱𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯 𝘦-𝘈𝘙𝘊 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺.