Told from dual timelines and perspectives, this story unfolded the mystery behind two women and their sufferings.
From Dore, we have a German woman who migrated to an unfamiliar Galapagos isle to start a new life. As her years of existence past there, she becomes increasingly isolated, anxious and even murderous. The isle and its patrons are full of secrets that need to be unfolded.
From Mallory, we have a young mom who recently lost a child and is going through a divorce. Returning to the isle of Floreana for work has opened old wounds and brought up secrets of the past. When she discovers Dore’s journals, she learns of what happened to the original patrons of the island decades before and how similar her life has become.
I found this book to be so vivid in imagery and also in describing the stark emotions of both women. I could really relate to the sense of isolation and how that haunts the mind. I would love to learn more about this island and its mysteries, based on this book featuring some true to life facts.

I’ve always been intrigued by the Galápagos Islands and this book transported me there. I especially loved the descriptions of the native animals - penguins, sea turtles, flamingos, seals and blue-footed boobies - but also learned about the islands’ harsh environment and history. This is the story of two women separated by a century who venture to live on Floreana, one of the largely uninhabited islands. In the present, there is Mallory who, 10 years ago, had followed her lover there to do research and build nests for the endangered penguins. Then, overwhelmed by the need to found a family, she left, got married and had a daughter, only to come back ten years later. The other timeline follows Dore Strauch in the 1930’s who moves to the island with Friedrich, her doctor and lover, to fulfill their dreams and heal her own illness. They are the first German settlers on the island, soon followed by another family from Germany, the Wittmers. Years later, a self proclaimed Austrian baroness arrives with her two servants/lovers who shows an erratic behavior and later mysteriously disappears. I didn’t know that this part of the story is based on true events know as the Galapagos Affair’. I found it difficult to read about this incredible paradise with amazing flora and fauna that, over the last centuries, has almost been destroyed by humans. I admired the two women’s bravery of following their dreams and settling in a new world but I really disliked Friedrich who turned into a selfish and inconsiderate man on the island. All in all, this book is an incredible and interesting read while very hard, sad and tense at times. Both women are doing their best to overcome tough challenges and adapt to changed circumstances and in the end find themselves. Trigger warnings: death of a child and death of animals. This book is thought-provoking in so many ways and will stay with me for a long time. I look forward to reading some of the author’s other books that seem just as interesting - 4⭐️
Thank you NetGalley, Little A and Midge Raymond for the opportunity to read this advance copy. I truly enjoyed it and the above is my honest review and own opinion.

Floreana is a look into The Galapagos Affair and a fictional embellishment of what might have been.

I was absolutely enamoured with this book, having the two women's stories paralleled over 100 years was so captivating. We follow Dore, a German woman disappointed in her life who follows a man to an uninhabited island in 1929, and Mallory, a modern day American woman working to preserve the local penguin population. I thought the island of Floreana itself was a beautiful character, full of challenges and secrets.

The author's note was particularly interesting - I was excited to learn this was based on a real historical story and immediately went on a deep dive to research the subject! I love learning about these little pieces of history so thank you Midge Raymond!

AN interesting dual time line novel (based on fact) set in the Galapagos. Dore and Mallory both saw Floreana as a place of refuge and hope but things weren't so easy. As is often the case with dual time lines, it's the earlier story- that of Dore-that I found more captivating. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Good storytelling and a wonderful setting made this a good read.

The novel is told through two POVs and timelines, Dore in 1929 and Mallory in 2020. Both women’s stories take place on Floreana, which is a small island on the southern end of the Galapagos archipelago.

I liked Dore’s chapters the best because her chapters were the most compelling and I could relate to her struggle with infertility! Dore is one of the first settlers to live on Floreana, escaping her life in Berlin. Meanwhile Mallory is in Floreana to escape her life back in Boston and to help with building nests to try and increase/protect the Penguin populations. Her chapters were more difficult to feel engaged with because they were more telling over showing, which I personally don’t enjoy.

The middle slumped a bit as it became slower paced and mundane in its details. But I appreciated the atmospheric setting descriptions and learning about animals/conservation efforts! I was also intrigued to find out this was based loosely on a true story 🤯

One of the secrets revealed was predictable from the start, but the rest of them were well executed surprises. There were a lot of parallels with the two women despite being almost a hundred years apart. This was an emotional read exploring grief, motherhood, environmental issues, and what it means to be human!

WARNING: it's another unpopular opinion review!!

I love a story that enables me to travel to exotic destinations, so it's easy to understand why I was immediately won over by the Galapagos Islands setting in Floreana. Add the fact that the historical part of the story was based on true events, and I couldn't resist adding it to my shelves... I'm sad to announce I ended up having mixed thoughts about this dual timeline story, although I suspect my particularly fickle reading mood might have had something to do with it. Either way, I can't deny that I struggled considerably to find the motivation to keep reading.

Dual timeline stories can go both ways for me, as I often find one much stronger than the other... Sadly, this is most definitely the case with Floreana. While I can't deny that I loved the whole penguin conservation angle in the present POV, Mallory as a character did absolutely nothing for me. Dore on the other hand is so much more interesting as a character even though she also lacked fleshing out more for me. Her time as first settlers on Floreana is fascinating though, and even more so knowing that her story is based on true events.

I found the mystery itself that was mentioned in the blurb to be rather weak, and somehow the way this element was incorporated into the plot killed any suspense that might have been possible. I think this lack of suspense probably has a lot to do with the pace as well, which is incredibly slow in both timelines. I know that Floreana is mainly a character-driven story and those tend to be slower, but the pace is hard to accept when you feel absolutely nothing for one of the key characters. To make things worse, most of the twists were incredibly easy to guess and the clues incorporated into the plot way too obvious.

I wasn't a fan of the romance incorporated into the plot either, and especially in the present timeline it could be distracting. There is a lot of focus on cheating, which is a major pet peeve and always makes me enjoy a story less... Especially when it's actively happening on the page. This story in general is quite bleak with a lot of heavy topics incorporated into the plot, although I do have to say that a lot of topics didn't really get the attention they deserved either once mentioned. Trigger warnings are in place for topics including animal death, infertility, abuse and child death.

I still feel that the premise of Floreana has so much potential, but the actual story fell flat for me. The present timeline was quite weak, and not even the penguin conservation element could save it for me... The historical timeline was more interesting, but still incredibly slow and quite bleak. It definitely wasn't the story for me, but I seem to be in the minority so far so definitely don't give up on my account if you think this story could be for you.

thank you netgalley for the e-arc. i want to re-read this just to experience again and then i'm letting my friends borrow the copy i'll have bought. i thought the writing was beautiful to a sentence level. i loved the dual timeline and the Galapogos setting.

This is a dual timeline story set on the island of Floreana in the Galapagos islands, focused on Mallory in 2020 and Dore in the early 1930's. Ten years ago, Mallory left behind her career doing conservation work to support vulnerable penguin populations to get married and raise her daughter, but now she is back on Floreana, trying to rediscover who she really is when she isn't "mom". Mallory stumbles upon hidden diaries written by Dore who "ran away" to Floreana with her lover, Friedrich, in 1929, only to discover her new life is different but not better than her old one. Dore and Friedrich are joined on the island by another German family and "the Baroness" (who soon declared herself the Empress of Floreana) and her two lovers. Dore's diary provides new and shocking insights into her life on the island and the mysterious "Galapagos Affair" --the sudden and unexplained disappearance of the Baroness and one of her lovers. This historic timeline is a fictitious account of real events, and while it starts as the somewhat sad diary of a woman disappointed in her life, Raymond does an excellent job of building tension and providing an interesting, if fictional, solution to the mystery. It took longer to get to know Mallory, but once I knew her whole story, her actions and inner conflict made sense. I found the descriptions of Floreana's harsh but amazing ecosystem and the deep personal introspection of two women, almost a century apart, compelling.

Floreana was such a delight and I found myself unable to put it down.

It’s the story of two women, separated by time, who both escape to the Galapagos Island of Floreana. In one timeline, an infamous “murder in paradise” is reimagined and we watch it unfold through the journals of Dore, a woman who left Berlin with her lover to create their own version of paradise. In the other timeline, Mallory is returning to the island and penguin conversation research after leaving academia to start a family. Both women struggle with isolation, loneliness, grief, and love. Despite being separated by time, both women go on their own journeys of self discovery while living on the island.

Thank you NetGalley and Little A for the eARC.

Thank you to Netgalley for this ARC of Floreana by Midge Raymond. I loved The Last Continent by Raymond, so I was excited to see this new book by her. While this story initially reminded me a bit of The Last Continent, it is different. It has a duel storyline of sorts, taking place in current day and also in 1929. The current day story follows Mallory who has returned to the island of Floreana to study penguins. She will be along side her former mentor and love-interest, Gavin. Although she is here to study this population of birds, she doesn’t share with Gavin why she’s really come back. It’s during this visit that she discovers some journals from a woman who was also here in 1929, seeking an escape. Both women, Mallory and this woman with the journals have secrets, which is what really made this story enjoyable for me. I do recommend this book.

As I am somewhat obsessed with the Galapagos Affair, I just HAD to read this book!

Obviously it is a novelization, and added the very popular second plot-string in the present about a different person finding out about the past, so I did not expect much on the topic of historical accuracy (a difficult thing, anyway, since we still don't know what happened). Honestly, the thing that bothered me most about Dores POV/story was, that the whole "pulling all their teeth before going"-thing was completely left out, and I just. I think it's such an interesting and just genuinely extremely weird move that I would've loved to read in fiction.
Otherwise, part of her story unfolds as we know the Galapagos Affair unfolds, told through Dores secret diary, and is mainly a novel about a deeply lonely woman that can't leave her verbally abusive non-husband. I haven't actually read any of the memoirs written by people "attending" the Galapagos Affair, so it felt like a very interesting viewpoint on the whole thing.
I wasn't a fan of The Reveal of Why, but I could've dealt with that. The character mentioned is one of the most logical perpetrators to the situation, so I was fine with that, despite the whole, uh. Rest, I guess.

What I was not fine with was Mallory, or our whole present-time-string actually. Mallory could've been an interesting character, all with her fleeing a domestic life to Galapagos, mirroring Dores travels, leaving behind her husband and daughter For Reasons, but she was either just so extremely distant as a character or felt like she wasn't even a character, but only a placeholder. She discovers Dores diaries on accident, finds a guy that helps her translate it and I don't know for sure what she does with the rest of her time, exept mope. And, yes, I get why she mopes, but it's very uninterestingly presented to the reader.

Also, the final reveal just sucks. That's it. It's just very lazy and sucks and I don't like it.

Floreana has the setup of many Based on Actual Events-novels, with a string of the past and a string in the present, with both main characters mirroring each other, and the setting with the Galapagos Affair certainly is an interesting one. So if one is not familiar with that, and enjoys those currently popular Based on Actual Events novels, then I definitely recommend this! I just don't like thim, so this is more on me than the book.
Still, I think the finale in both plot strings was somewhat lazy. But judge for yourself :)

Can we ever forgive one another for not being who we each thought we’d be? Floreana by Midge Raymond

The human heart is a mystery. We think we know our lover, believe we are connected in a deep and lasting way with shared dreams, soul mates forever. We risk everything. Sometimes, we find we are trapped in a life we never expected or imagined.

That was the story of Dore Stauch. She failed to give her husband a child. She was starved for love, to love. She met a doctor who gave her hope. They connected in mind and spirit and in body. In 1929, she left her husband to follow her lover to a new life in what was to be paradise, on Floreana, a small island in the Galapagos.

Homesteading took all their energy and all their time. Dore discovered her lover had changed. They slept apart, never touching. He ordered her and belittled her but gave her no care or concern. He broke their shared vegetarianism to slaughter the animals introduced to the island. New people came to settle on the island including a Baroness, impervious, cruel, exuding sexual power, and her lover who she had destroyed financially and controlled totally.

And so here I am again, with him on another island, to try to re-create the potential I saw back then–for the birds, and for us, too, the possibility of starting over in a completely different way. from Floreana by Midge Raymond

A hundred years in the future, Mallory escapes an unhappy marriage and unnamed crisis by returning to her work as a conservationist protecting the penguins on Floreana. It was where she found satisfaction in her work. And love, first with Gavin, devoted to their work, and later with Scott with whom she raised her child. Can she recreate the happiness in the life she had found on Floreana?

The women’s two world come together after Mall discovers Dore’s secret journals.

Based on actual people and unsolved murders, Raymond imagines the lives of women who learn they can’t rely on men for love. For all the changes over a hundred years, Mall discovers that human nature is unchanged.

Thanks to the publisher for a free book through NetGalley.

i was so excited for this based on the premise, as someone who has deep ties to the galapagos and is ecuadorian, but sadly this fell super flat and kind of felt like watching a bad lifetime movie.

mallory felt so surface level and almost overly dramatized? and while dore was much more interesting to read about, everything felt so rushed i just simply didn’t feel any depth or connection.

the plus side is it’s a very quick read; i finished it in less than a day. so if you’re looking for a quick story with not a ton of depth and some lifetime movie worthy twists, this one’s for you.

as always, i appreciate netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I was excited to read this book since it is rooted in a real story. Historical fiction is a genre I gravitate toward. I felt as though the first half of the book dragged instead of capturing my attention. I enjoy a slow burn if I'm receiving elements of progression from the storyline. The most redeeming part of the story buildup was the history referenced about the Galapagos islands.

Split timelines usually make me excited to learn more about how multiple characters are interconnected, or not. I was more interested in Dore's journey being the historical context of the novel than with Maggie in present day. I did, however, enjoy the scientific language behind the penguin research Maggie was involved in on the island.

At the 75-80% mark, the book began to capture my attention more. Both timelines start to intertwine and the themes of betrayal and love come to the forefront. I would recommend this book to someone that enjoys learning more about the setting and the science/history than the actual storyline.

In a sweeping saga that spans nearly a century we meet Dore and Friedrich on Floreana, a Galapagos island off the coast of Ecuador, in the early 1930s. Leaving their previous lives behind in Berlin they set out to seek a new life for themselves and do conservation work. They soon learn life on the island is more than they bargain for.

In present day, Mallory escapes a crumbling marriage and death of her child to restore the nests of endangered penguins native to Floreana. Gavin, her colleague and previous lover, is there to assist her though they have conflicting interests and ideas. It’s when Mallory discovers Dore’s diary she starts to unravel secrets she didn’t mean to find.

Loosely based on true events, Floreana is gripping and a unique twist on mystery and historical fiction.

Thank you to NetGalley and Little A for allowing me to read and review Floreana, to be published December 1, 2024.

𝑻𝒐 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒛𝒆 𝒐𝒏𝒆’𝒔 𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒇𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒍𝒚- 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒘𝒆 𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉 𝒐𝒇 𝒖𝒔 𝒊𝒔 𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓.

This novel is based on the mysterious events that took place in the 1930s on the Galapagos Islands. The first pioneers on the remote island were the lovers Doctor Friedrich Ritter and his former patient Dore Strauch. It was their very story of a primitive existence that stirred the Wittmers and their teenaged son to follow in their footsteps and build a life on the island. The new settlers, unwelcome, mostly kept separate from the couple, homesteading at a distance. It is when the seductive Baroness arrived on the island with her two lovers and a manservant, fueled with desire to build a resort, that a quiet war was born. It ended in death, and disappearances shrouded in mystery to this day. Midge Raymond spins a hell of a tale based on facts and her own imagination.

Dore Strauch never wanted to be a hausfrau, intimidated by her own longings, trapped by her fragile body and illness (multiple sclerosis) Dr. Friedrich is the first man to see her as the strong passionate woman she is. It is a meeting of the minds, despite feeling inferior to the exciting, philosophical physician, there is nothing she wants more than to be his woman. Seduced by the idea of getting far away from society to create their own paradise tests more than their physical limits, but their ‘soulmate’ bond. Their love of Nietzsche isn’t enough to prepare them for the real horror of the island, interlopers. Abandoning her husband, two decades her elder, Dore’s burn for Dr. Ritter leads her into the rugged, unforgiving wilds of Floreana. Her multiple sclerosis can be overcome, surely, by the balm of the sea breezes and her inner strength. As Friedrich slowly becomes more savage and allows for no weakness, the hard work steals her dreams of the tranquility Dore imagined prior to coming. The equality she believed they would share begins to fade as Friedrich makes all the decisions and work takes precedence over luxury and the pleasure of his touch. Just what did she get herself into? Why is she disappearing again, behind another man’s shadow? The insatiable, charming baroness may well ruin them all.

2020 Mallory is returning to Floreana, and her ex-boyfriend Gavin, after a decade. Drowning in memories of the past, she is back on the island to help build nests for the penguin population. Her life back home is a mess, things between Mallory and Gavin are unsettled, as she left him so long ago for someone else. Being near him elicits past desires, and when she finds journals full of secrets, she knows all too well how it feels having to keep them. Her reasons for returning to Floreana are not about penguins alone. She is trying to overcome tragedy, but the ghosts of the past may have revelations in store for her. Both Mallory and Dore are survivors, although their suffering is different, and they share more than Mallory knows.

This is an engaging read about love, loss, murder, betrayal, and mystery. Raymond did a beautiful job fictionalizing real-life quirky people and their bizarre tale. Her creative take is believable. Yes, it could be that this is what happened! Read it!

Publication Date: December 1, 2024

Little A

A dual timeline--which I like--set on Floreana, one of the Galapagos islands. Loosely based on a true story of the life of Dore and the other inhabitants. And add in the "Galapagos Affair" of 1929--also true--which IMHO added much-need spark.

1929, Dore Strauch, childless [after numerous unsuccessful attempts to carry a pregnancy to term] leaves her husband in Berlin, to go to the Galapagos with Friedrich Ritter, a doctor, also married--with whom she is having an affair. They decide that perhaps their two spouses can get together! It soon becomes appararent that Friedrich is not who she thought he was and life with him is not what she thought it would be.

Mallory, 2020. Leaves her husband in Boston to return to the Galapagos to continue her penguin conservation work [building nests] with Gavin, with whom she had a relationship. There is much about her daughter Emily and her peanut allergy, and how Mallory's life conformed to watching/taking care of Emily [vs. her work in the Galapagos where she was on a different plane].

Both women hope for change in their lives. Both are lonely. Both care to make a difference in their environment--and life/situations.

The novel moves back and forth between these two dependent and depressing women. Enter the most lively characters in the novel--the Baroness [especially colorful] and her two male companions/lovers. There also is a family on the island--the Wittmers--with whom Dore and Friedrich interact. I found the story quite bland despite the Baroness--in all likelihood due to their bleak, very spartan, pioneer-like lives.

Much information on penguins, conservation attempts, and wildlife in the Galapagos which was quite interesting. BUT much of the story was [to me] a depressing, slow-paced slog.

FYI: The Wittmers lived on Floreana from 1932 to 2000!

I must admit there were three surprises--all to do with Mallory--[NO SPOILER FROM ME] that did throw me for a loop/I did not see coming.

And the very end--grrr [sorry; just didnt care for it]!

Thanks to NetGalley for this advance reader copy in exchange for a review. The opinions stated here are my own.
This book has all of the elements I’m excited for in a historical fiction. Based on a true story, and a dual timeline where the stories are linked and revealed in equal doses, we have Mallory working to unravel a murder mystery over 100 years old while we learn her own secrets.
I found the book, while running on the short side, took too long to grab me though. The Dore storyline was so much more interesting, and I couldn’t connect with Mallory’s character. I liked the talk of Galapagos itself and how the history of the island developed as humans and invasive species arrived. I just “liked” the book until about 70%, and then it started getting good.
Pros: Galápagos Islands! I was hungry for more. I liked the Dore part of the story and hearing this unknown to me story.
Cons: I wasn’t connecting with Mallory and couldn’t figure out why she was even there but to make the story longer. The reveal here was just so sad to me, but felt like it came out of nowhere.
It could’ve been a 4, but for taking to long to keep my attention, it stays a 3 star.
Otherwise clean with no language.

This book follows two women living on the Galapagos Island of Floreana a century apart. One timeline is a historical fiction retelling of the Galapagos Affair during the settlement of Floreana. The other timeline is about a woman who returns to Floreana after several years for personal reasons and penguin conservation work.

I found Floreana slow-paced and focused primarily on character development as the chapters read like diary entries, though more action took place in the second half of the book. I enjoyed learning about penguins and the impact of invasive species on the Galapagos and the dramatic, inconsistent history of the Galapagos Affair.

Thank you NetGalley and Little A for the advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

I was excited for this one especially considering it was loosely based on a true story, but unfortunately it was a letdown. 
 
The first half of the book was very slow and I only really cared about the chapters from Dore's perspective. The second half picked up, but I was left wanting a lot more - this was marketed as a murder-mystery but there wasn't any excitement/suspense/mystery really! Mallory wasn't an interesting character until the very end when we learn why she returned to the Galapagos, but there wasn't enough time to do anything with her and her story line just ends - I would have been happier with the entire plot centred around Dore who was far more dynamic and engaging. Also for a story set in such a lush and vibrant setting there was hardly any description, so I found it hard to imagine having never been to the Galapagos - I think the short jumpy chapters between the two characters didn't really help with the immersion into the scene. 
 
These 2 stars are for Dore and Dore alone!
 
Thanks to NetGalley and Little A for the ARC!