This was a surprisingly lovely read. I adored the characters and the plot was creative. I have recommended to my book club already!

I am intrigued by the premise – a disaster, survivors, what could have been, and books – of The Titanic Survivors Book Club by Timothy Schaffert. Unfortunately, the book becomes about romantic feelings, love reciprocated and unrequited love. This plot path is unexpected and unfortunately not a welcome one for me. The book is completely not what I expect based on the descriptions, and I walk away, disappointed.

Read my complete review at http://www.memoriesfrombooks.com/2025/01/the-titanic-survivors-books-club.html

Reviewed for NetGalley.

"The Titanic Survivors Book Club" by Timothy Schaffert had such an interesting and unique premise that I couldn't resist! I loved the romance at the heart of this story. Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I received an arc of this title from NetGalley for an honest review. I started this book and really liked it but then it was sadly archived and I haven't been able to find a copy at the library to read.

Wonderful story, great character development, great writing! Highly recommend this book. I thoroughly enjoyed it

THE TITANIC SURVIVORS BOOK CLUB
Timothy Schaffert, Doubleday, 2024, $29.00, hb, 320pp, 9780385549158
Among those who survived the sinking of the Titanic in 1912 are those who never got aboard: ticket holders who changed their minds at the last moment. And Yorick, librarian of the ship’s second class library, abruptly fired and left behind. Now the proprietor of a Paris bookshop, he is drawn together with a group of other intended passengers, all struggling with a strange survivor guilt affecting those who simply missed a deadly boat. They form a book club, based on the banned and censored books that Yorick smuggled into the library that sailed without him, and gradually they tell their own stories.
The novel revolves around Yorick and two others: beautiful Zinnia, heiress to a candy company, and the mysterious Haze who has no legal identity. The three fall complicatedly in love and navigate the alternating and conflicting relations between them while the situation in Europe builds toward the First World War. Their story is told by Yorick, supplemented with letters between the three. Yorick, named by a father obsessed with Shakespeare, also shares the book club with a writer of ‘penny dreadfuls,’ cheap romantic mysteries; a disillusioned evangelist; a famous aging actress; and a toy maker stuck with an unsalable inventory of commemorative Titanic-related playthings.
Full of details of pre-war Paris as intricate as the ethereal candies that Zinnia’s family produces, this is both a novel of the human heart and a novel rooted in the power of books and language and reading. The bookstore becomes a character in itself, and each book a specific message of hope and second chances.

Amanda Cockrell

This review ran in the Historical Novel Society magazine in May 2024

Mixed in execution for me, but what a fascinating concept, and what interesting relationships! Loved the exploration of survivor's guilt and relationships between survivors.

Thank you to Net Galley and the Publishing Company for this Advanced Readers Copy of The Titanic Survivors Book Club by TImothy Schaffert!

What happened to the "survivors" of the titanic? Not the ones who actually survived the sinking, but the ones who bought a ticket but never boarded the ship... This novel intertwines the lives of survivor who never boarded and survived because of it. They created a club and chased the dreams they otherwise couldn't have.

Honestly, I was a little bit bored throughout. It was a very genuine and unique idea but not a lot happened. I think it was maybe just a little too literary for me.

I went into this book without really knowing anything about it. It was different than I thought it would be, but I still liked it. It was a little slow, but a ended up being a surprising, enjoyable book. Thank you to Net Galley, the publish and author for an advanced copy of this book.

A survivor of the Titanic finds his name on the list of lives lost at sea. Shortly after, he is invited into a secret society of other survivors who supposedly perished on the ship. Amid heated discussions and blooming romances, the secret group harbors their own secrets that come to light when a member unexpectedly dies for real.

Initially, I was disappointed that the book didn't focus on the ship itself, but I still found enjoyment in the story. Though it starts slowly, once Yorick joins the secret society, the narrative becomes more engaging. With an overall atmosphere of dark academia and secrets reminiscent of "Dead Poets Society," this book offers a blend of romance and elegance among avid readers in Paris.

I really love learning about the Titanic and all the history behind it. I definitely requested this one simply for that. However, this book doesn't really focus too much on the Titanic and I found that really disappointing.

Yorick is the narrator of this tale of the survivors of the Titantic drowning. These people actually never boarded the ship for various reasons. One man, the toymaker, send out invites to 50 people who had tickets to meet at a hotel in Paris. Where they learned that none of them had been on the boat. What happens with this group as time goes by is a tale.
Yorick develops relationships with Haze [photographer] and Zinnia [wealthy Japanese candy maker]. Their relationship is the whole of the story but WWI arrives as does death. What happens to these three and also to the group and the books they read and discuss. Read this literary novel to discover the answers.

This was definitely an interesting take on Titanic survivors and I really appreciated that. I give this a solid 3.5 because I also liked the LGBTQ+ representation, Great premise but not a full win for me.

Yorick was supposed to be a librarian on the Titanic's maiden voyage. His name was even listed among the dead. But Yorick never boarded the Titanic. He was fired. Now, he struggles to come to terms with the near-death experience he didn't really have. And he's not the only one. Yorick is one of a dozen ticket holders who didn't board the titanic, narrowly escaping death. Brought together by circumstance and a need to process their unique experience, the Titanic survivors start a book club led by Yorick. The group and the relationship Yorick builds with a candy heiress and a photography change his life forever.

This was a wrenching look at the heartbreak of unrequited love and the ways in which people can come into your life unexpectedly and change everything you thought you knew. It's sadder than I expected with a thoroughly unique premise that I found fascinating.

The premise of this book was extremely intriguing. The ticket holders who never boarded the Titanic, all connecting through a book club in Paris. However, the book itself fell a bit flat for me.

Goodreads review - Thank you #NetGalley for the ebook ARC. I enjoyed the premise but it seemed to fall flat toward the end.

This I really enjoyed, it was a fresh take on something most never think about. What happens when you narrowly escape a tragedy but still feel immense grief and guilt. I would definitely recommend this to the Titanic obsessors and those who are looking for a historical fiction with a love triangle and book recommendations within a book.

This book drew me in with the very beautiful cover, but I didn't feel like it represented the actual contents very well. It was an interesting storyline but didn't keep my interest. I skimmed through the second half of it, and probably wouldn't recommend it.

I was fooled by the description of this book and I couldn’t even finish it. The bits I got to about the actual book club (which were few and far between) were engaging and what I thought this book would be about.

I don’t even have any friends or family I would recommend this to.

But as always thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for giving me a chance to like this book.