"Diva" by Daisy Goodwin is a Historical and Romance Fiction Story!

I never would have imagined reading this story about the gifted and talented Opera Soprano Maria Callas. Not in a million years...

...but here I am devouring it as it describes bits and pieces of Maria's early life, in flashbacks, sandwiched between her brilliant career and her life before and during her relationship with Aristotle Onassis. To tell you anything more would spoil your experience of reading "Diva"...

What I will tell you is that there's much more to know about Maria than what was offered in the gossip columns. I found Maria's life to be impacted and influenced by the relationships she established through the years. A few were lasting ones, most were not. Maria developed self-control and acumen concerning her voice and performance. The rewards for her passion and commitment were thunderous applause, cheering, and numerous curtain calls that established her as “la divina", the divine one. As a result, her personal life took a backstage to her career.

This was an immersion reading experience through the gifted DRC and ALC. The audiobook is narrated by Lorelei King whose voicing skills are consistently excellent and, as a result, I recommend the audiobook as the preferred format for this story.

Daisy Goodwin has written an enjoyable and interesting book about Maria Callas's fascinating life. My only critique is the use of character dialog to relay information rather than focusing on creative writing skills to allow the story to flow more naturally. A little fluff is fun, often desirable, and this is fiction, after all.

The ending? It left me wishing the author had continued the story of Maria's life after Onassis...

3.75⭐

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, Macmillan Audio, and Daisy Goodwin for a DRC and an ALC of this book through NetGalley. It has been an honor to give my honest and voluntary review.

This book centers around singer Maria Callas and offers look into her life with a bit of dramatic liberty to fill in some of the details. While I am not an opera fan, I am a fan of Daisy Goodwin and this book hooked me from the start. It pulls you into Maria's life with the richness of the storytelling. I especially liked the narration and bits of Maria's work between chapters.

I could not get into this book as I had hoped but I am sure that for someone more engaged with the subject matter, it will be a good read

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

New York Times bestselling author Daisy Goodwin returns with DIVA, a glamorous story of the scandalous love affair between the most celebrated opera singer and one of the wealthiest men in the world.

Maria Callas was known as a DIVA, with her magnificent voice, beauty, and flair for the dramatic — celebrated, famed, and honored by the grandest opera houses throughout the world. Insightful, an immersive tale that transports you to Europe during the mid-1900s and the life of “La Divina” Maria Callas.

Raised in Nazi-occupied Greece by a mother who mercilessly exploited her golden voice, they did not have a good relationship. She learned early in life to protect herself from those who would use her for their ends.

She is wowed by the rich Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis and falls madly in love, introduced to a world of luxury and showered with jewels and other famous and influential celebrities. They were together for nine years. She craved security and faithfulness but did not get the faithfulness.

Their love affair was suddenly over, and Aristotle Onassis would marry the most famous woman in the world, former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, leaving Maria.

The author, Daisy Goodwin, brings to life a woman we have read about, a woman of talent, but only in the heartbreak of losing her love did he find her true voice. He did not make her feel safe.

I enjoyed learning about the life of Maria Callas, her childhood, and her sister, Jackie, who was her mom's favorite. She used her talent to help her family, but it appeared they did not appreciate it. Maria married Giovanni Meneghini, who often took advantage of her, expecting her to perform when not up to it.

Beautifully written, a compelling inside story of Maria Callas, her insecurities, dysfunctional family, fears, desires, and talents to the rise and fame as one of the most renowned opera singers of the 20th century.

The novel is broken out into Acts One, Two, Three, and the Final Curtain, with globe-trotting as Callas performs in the classic opera houses of Europe and the US from the 50s to 60s with glitz and glamour.

DIVA is a compelling, absorbing historical fiction, meticulously researched with vivid settings and characterization—of love, art, and ambition— a spectacular fictionalized account of the life of famed opera singer Maria Callas. Elegant, visceral, and tragic.

AUDIOBOOK: I enjoyed the e-book and the audiobook narrated by a favorite award-winning, the fabulous Lorelei King, which includes a bonus conversation between the author and her singing teacher, soprano Josephine Goddard. It also contains music from Maria Callas. I highly recommend the audiobook.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for a gifted ARC and ALC in exchange for an honest opinion. #SMPInfluencers #CoverLove

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Pub Date: Jan 23, 2024
My Rating: 4.5 Stars
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Diva tells us the story of Maria Callas, the most celebrated opera singer of her time and her relationship with Greek tycoon, Aristotle Onassis.

Thank you to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, and St. Martin’s press for the ability to read along with a physical copy of the book while listening on audiobook.

The story starts in the late 1960’s with Maria trying to mend her broken heart. After nine years with Onassis, she learns of his new relationship with Jackie Kennedy. She built a world around him only to find it crumbling around her now.

I really enjoyed how Daisy Goodwin walks the reader through Maria’s backstory. Maria was born in NY but raised in Greece by her mother who exploited Maria’s natural talent. Maria marries a man who doesn’t perceive her as a woman, but rather a voice that makes money. When Maria meets Onassis, she feels seen as a woman. Maria and Onassis meet in Italy in 1957 and although Onassis does not know opera, he very much wants to know Maria! Maria is offended by his opera arrogance, but he pursues and wins her only to leave her for Jackie Kennedy.

I couldn’t help but think of my Mom through this whole story. I think this love affair was something she watched from a distance. I can remember growing up how she would reference this love triangle and the frustration she felt over Onassis’ choices.

I enjoyed the characters here – felt strongly towards Maria. There is just something about a strong, smart woman who know her career will not last forever. I enjoyed how the plot changed time and place seamlessly with enthralling prose that kept me engaged.

A sweeping novel about a celebrated opera diva in the 1950’s and 1960’s. I had no knowledge of Maria Callas prior to reading this book. Daisy Goodwin explores the life of this diva and her life on and off the stage. Maria came from a humble background to grow into one of the most desire artists of her time. Love affairs, music, and the rich & famous intermix. I feel more intrigued by who Maria was and am now a fan!

I highly recommend the audiobook. The narrator, Lorelei King, has an excellent ability to use accents to indicate various characters. There are interjections of opera and the end includes an author interview that is fascinating!

Thank you NetGalley, St Martin’s Press, Macmillan Audio, and author Daisy Goodwin for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I was interested in reading this book because I know very little about opera and almost nothing about Maria Callas. Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this audiobook—I now know much more! This is a gripping drama about the life and career of Callas, with a focus on her affair with Aristotle Onassis. The story is captivating and very accessible to readers who know nothing about the historical background or the world of the operatic diva. I especially enjoyed—and would highly recommend—the audiobook, which features clips of Callas singing between the parts of the book, and a wonderful interview with the author and her voice coach who helped her prepare to write this book. I always like hearing this background and additional insights and it was a great cap to the book.

A historical fiction book about someone I had never heard of and while this book didn't completely work for me, I am glad I read it and glad to know more about Maria Callas.

For me, this book didn't get going until at least 50% in and from there I was hooked, but it felt like it took a bit to get there. Some of the beginning was worth reading to establish how much of a diva Maria was, but for me it felt as though there was more than enough to get that memo!

When Maria meets Aristotle Onassis, that is when the book begins and you see her drop the diva attitude with him and it was so interesting to watch her give up all of what she had created for a man. This part of the book made me want to read more about both her relationship with Onassis, but Jackie's as well. I also had to look her up and watch some of the videos of her performing and seeing her in all of her glory in her space.

I am a fan of this author and have enjoyed her other books and will still read her future books, but sure hope for the plot to get going a little faster in the next one.

I read this book in both ebook and audiobook format and was glad to have both to be able to continue reading when I had chores to do. I liked the narrator and would listen to another one performed by them.

“‘Every time I hear you sing, I learn something new.’ Maria nodded. ‘That’s because you are an artist. We can all learn from each other. But Mario is only a performer. He thinks he is in command of the music; but we know, don’t we, that we serve our voices, not the other way round.’”

The premise of this book sounded so good but I DNF’d it at 12%. I don’t know if it was all of the name dropping instead of plot or what but I just could not get myself invested in the story. I put it down and tried to pick it back up multiple times but this book just isn’t for me.

The audiobook is done really well though, even if the story itself didn’t grab me. There are a lot of foreign characters and, thus, accents and the narrator did them beautifully! If I was going to finish this book I definitely would have done so with the audiobook. There are even some small musical scores with Opera singing. A very nice and authentic touch!

Thank you to Netgalley, St. Martin’s Press, Macmillan Audio, and the author for the ARC and ALC in exchange for an honest review.

I always know I am in for a treat with a Lorelei King narrated book. Diva did not disappoint. This is an intriguing historical fiction exploration of a larger than life diva, Maria Callas. Pop culture enthusiasts will enjoy the chic fashion and fabulous name drops.

𝐓𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞: 𝐃𝐢𝐯𝐚
𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫: 𝐃𝐚𝐢𝐬𝐲 𝐆𝐨𝐨𝐝𝐰𝐢𝐧
𝐍𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫: 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐢 𝐊𝐢𝐧𝐠
𝐏𝐮𝐛 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞: 𝐉𝐚𝐧𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝟐𝟑, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you St. Martin’s Press and Macmillan Audio for my #gifted copies of Diva!

Diva was such an interesting historical fiction novel and one that I had a hard time putting down once I started. Admittedly, I had no previous knowledge of Maria Callas or her connection to Aristotle Onassis, but I loved learning more through this novel!

Early in life, Maria Callas learned she had to protect herself from others who wished to use her talent for their own gain. Growing up in Nazi-occupied Greece with a mother who often exploited her, Maria had a voice unlike anyone else. In the opera world, she was known as ‘la Davina.’ When she meets Aristotle Onassis, she falls for him and his lifestyle. Their love ends abruptly when it is announced that Onassis is set to marry Jackie Kennedy. Heartbroken, can Maria move on from the one that broke her heart to find her true love and passion again?

I feel like the author did an exceptional job bringing Maria to life for the reader and painted a vivid portrait of her life. This was a beautifully written novel and while I struggled a bit at first to follow the various timelines, I quickly caught on and really enjoyed this one!

🎧I alternated between the physical book and the audiobook, narrated by Lorelei King. I found King to be so dynamic and I loved how she was able to adapt her voice to depict various characters and accents. I highly recommend the audiobook if you are listening for an extraordinary listening experience!

Posted on Goodreads on January 19, 2024: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/144922955?ref=nav_profile_l
**Posted on Instagram - Full Review- on or around January 23, 2024: http://www.instagram.com/nobookmark_noproblem
**Posted on Amazon on January 23, 2024
**-will post on designated date

Diva by Daisy Goodwin follows opera singer Maria Callas through her ups and downs of her career. Born in the United States, but grew up in Greece when her mother wanted to make sure that Maria and her sister Jackie got the proper training for their singing careers. Maria turned out to be her mothers cash cow during the war when Nazi's occupied Greece. Later in her career Maria married her manager who only loves her money. She soon meets Aristotle Onassis, who she laters have a four year affair with. The book was overall ok. I thought it was a bit slow.

After finishing this novel, it seems like Daisy Goodwin may not be the author for me. She is a beautiful writer, and it's clear that she has put a lot of research into her novels, but I have a hard time following novels written in omniscient third person. One minute we're learning the inner thoughts of one character, and within the next sentence it has totally switched to another character, and that gets very confusing. However, this will not stop me from recommending this to patrons who are looking for historical fiction titles.

However, there was a special element to this novel: the recordings of Maria Callas. This is something that is so unique that I would definitely recommend the audio version of the book first.

Thank you to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, and Daisy Goodwin for sending me the ALC in exchange for an honest review.

Diva by Daisy Goodwin is historical fiction, but reads like a biography. We gat to know Maria Callas, the world famous opera singer, from her early years in war ravaged Greece to her famous affair with Aristotle Onassis. I found the backstory new and interesting, and liked reading about how Maria tried to free herself from all the people who wanted to use her as a paycheck - including her mother and first husband.
However, I didn't find the description of her time with Onassis as engaging, which is the reason for the three star review.

Thank you NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for the chance to listen to this ARC audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

I thoroughly enjoyed finding out more about the life of Maria Callas! The only thing I really knew about her before listening to this, is that she was a famous opera singer, so I don't have the criticisms that die hard fans seem to. I loved the insight into her childhood as well as her married life and her great affair with Aristotle Onassis. You could see why some people thought she was difficult to work with, but I personally was able to identify with her and understand why she acted the way she did. I thought the writing portrayed her as a strong woman during times when it wasn't popular to be such a thing. She had her weaknesses as well, but that showed that she was only human & craved to be loved on the inside. I highly recommend this, as long as you keep in mind that it is a historical fiction audiobook so parts of it may be embellished for the storyline. Thank you to Macmillan publishers and NetGalley for the ARC!

Biography of Greek-American Opera Singer Maria Callas. Reads like fiction. I listened to the audiobook version of this book. The narrator executed the different characters and accent perfectly. Definitely not an easy book to narrate and Lorelei King made it sound easy.
An entertaining recount of the life and lives of Maria Callas. Upon meeting Aristotle Onassis Maria was catapulted into a near decade long affair. Maria was already wealthy and famous due to her talents. Growing up not feeling loved it was easy to fall in love with Onassis.
Many well known people crossed paths with Maria. The story is full of celebrity encounters including Marilyn Monroe, JFK, Winston Churchill, Greta Garbo, Princess Grace and Prince Rainier, and many many more.

I admit I knew very little about the details of Maria Callas’s life beyond her fame as an opera singer. I also didn’t know very much about her relationship with Aristotle Onassis prior to Jackie O. I find historical fiction exploring the lives of very real people to be a bit hit or miss, but Daisy Goodwin does a fantastic job in Diva.

Maria Callas is an incredibly talented and gifted artist. Rising to fame on the very best stages in all the major cities around the world. Like many stars, she was taken advantage of by those who managed her career. From the beginning she was exploited and used by her mother, leading to an estranged relationship later in her life; and her husband continued this trend. Even her lover, Aristotle, took advantage of her love for him; creating a very one-sided and emotionally abusive relationship.

The story begins in 1968, just after Aristotle marries Jackie Kennedy and Maria is dealing with the media frenzy surrounding her former status as his mistress. From here the story traces Maria’s start through her current diva status. Goodwin does a great job bringing a sense of realness to Maria which took some obvious fictionalization, especially the very personal and intimate details of her life. I didn’t mind these liberties and found that they made Maria more approachable as a character rather than an aloof icon. It’s evident from these details that her relationship with Aristotle was incredibly toxic and doomed from the beginning. The ending is a bit abrupt, but I found Maria’s strength and resolve in her decision to be refreshing in the face of Aristotle’s manipulation of her.

I listened to the audio production of the novel which was superb. Each act is broken up with recordings of Maria’s singing which serve as poignant markers of her incredible talent.

Thank you Daisy Goodwin, St. Martin's Press, and NetGalley for the free ARC of the audiobook.
Diva follows Maria Callas, a Greek opera singer who was married to Aristotle Onassis prior to his marriage to Jackie Kennedy Onassis, and follows her career and life. I did not know anything about Maria's life or career prior to listening to this audiobook - I honestly didn't know that Aristotle Onassis was married before Jackie. This was an interesting story. I think it would've been more enjoyable if I'd had any prior knowledge of the people/events or knew anything about the world of opera. The narrator was good. I think I would've enjoyed the book version a little bit more than the audiobook, simply because this type of narrative doesn't pull me in quite as much and my ADHD definitely gets my mind wandering.

Overall, it was an easy listen. It was very similar to Goodwin's other stories, such as, American Heiress and Victoria - both of which I have previously read and enjoyed. If you like any of Goodwin's other works, I think you'll enjoy this one! I'd give it a 3.5, but rounded down to 3 simply because the audiobook version didn't pull me in quite as much!

This is the second book I've read with Maria Callis as a character. Granted, both books are historical fiction, but I don't find Maria to be a likable person. I did not enjoy reading from her point of view.

I received an advance copy. All thoughts are my own.

The main character of this book is acclaimed Opera Singer Maria Callas who is known as one of the best soprano voices of all time. The story follows her life as a singer, flashes back to her childhood at times, and shows her interactions and relationships with people like Grace Kelly and Aristotle Onassis.

The story gives an interesting behind the scenes look of what life is like for an opera singer and everything it took to be one. I had no idea how much time and effort went into caring for a voice or the vocal rest needed to perform at such a high level.
While I’ve enjoyed listening to opera I’ve never seen a live performance and this story made me feel like that is an aspect of my life I need to remedy.

I did a combo of audio and digital versions and while I respect the narrator doing so many different accents and voices it was a lot to ask one person to do. I preferred the digital format this time around but one thing I did really like was that there were recordings of Callas herself singing as the audiobook transitions between chapters.

I also spent a good hour researching her life and watching clips her performances on YouTube. She was an incredible talent and one I’d never heard of before. The writing style wasn’t quite to my preference but I’m very grateful this book introduced me to Callas!

Thanks to St Martins Press for the arc and Macmillan Audio for the alc via Netgalley.