Reminiscent of Titanic the movie, this read intrigued me at first, but got old by the middle.
The tale of a young woman tricked into believing that her boy loves her. The family she marries into is even worse. Pretty quickly, she finds out he used her, then he drowns on the Titanic's maiden voyage. Him, along with her father and her maid/nanny, who were forced to stay behind on ship. So she takes that as an opportunity to try for a new life rather than return to the "family" back home. She steals her maid's identity to start anew in America. This is about where the book gets less interesting. We follow her journey as she figures out how to make ends meet, then improves her financial state through business knowledge she learned from her father. But alas, the past catches up to her and she must unravel all she's achieved to run from it.
I really wanted to love this one but it just didn't do it for me.

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley.

Elinor, the daughter of a wealthy self-made man, is lured into a “story book” romance. She is wooed by and marries the son of an aristocratic English family. She does not realize that the true purpose of the marriage is to provide the money to keep up the estate and for her to provide a male heir to inherit the title.

When her father offers Elinor and her husband and young son the chance to visit America aboard the maiden voyage of the Titanic, she looks forward to the vacation from her unhappy home and controlling in-laws. When the ship sinks, she bravely takes the opportunity to search for a new life.

I loved the book and its adventure. With the advances in modern technology, including communications and DNA testing, would she be able to do the same thing now?

This book is an example of how historical fiction should work. I absolutely devoured this book, in one seating! Elinor was such a refreshing of a character and her story was a delight to read. Not to mention reading about the Titanic! Will be recommending this book to everyone.

4 stars

At first I thought it was a total knock off of the titanic but it was sooo much more than just the story of the Titanic. This was about a woman starting over with a new identity and making a new life for herself. It is a story of bravery and found family. A great historical fiction read!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

Thank you for allowing me to read this book as an ARC.
My typical genre to read is mystery but, at times, I like a good historical fiction...and am very picky about those then.
I absolutely loved this book! The storyline is not the typical Titanic storyline and it made me think how many people possibly took advantage of this horrible disaster to escape from the life they found miserable.
The protagonist is well developed and the storyline built up perfectly. The reader can easily identity with the protagonist's fear and excitement.
This author did an absolutely fantastic job writing this book and I enjoyed reading it immensely! A 5 🌟 read for sure!

The Lost Passenger is a beautifully written, fast-paced historical novel that had me hooked from the first page. Elinor is a strong, compelling character whose journey from English aristocracy to reinvention in America kept me fully engaged.

While the Titanic plays a dramatic role, the real heart of the story is Elinor’s resilience and the life she builds after. Full of tension, transformation, and heart, this is a must-read for fans of historical fiction. Solid 4 stars!

Do you love books about the Titanic? Do you love books with strong female characters? Do you love historical fiction? If you answered yes to any of those questions, then this is a book you will want to move to the top of your list.

Elinor thought she was marrying for love but her husband was marrying for money. His family had status but her family had money. Elinor quickly finds herself in a marriage that feels more like a prison sentence. Her mother-n-law rules the roost and even limits the time that Elinor gets to spend with her son, Teddy, to 20 minutes a day. When Elinor’s father surprises her with tickets for the Titanic's maiden voyage, she sees it as a welcome escape from the rigidness or her life and an opportunity to spend time with her son. When the Titanic goes down, Elinor and Teddy make it to a life raft and then to New York. She seized this opportunity to create a new life using another woman’s name but with nothing but the clothes on their backs, Elinor has to learn to survive on her own. But when another survivor recognizes her, the life she has created may be snatched away from her.

I loved the plot of this story. I wish we had spent a little more time on the Titanic but it served its purpose in the storyline. Although the book has a strong plot, it was very character driven. Character depth and development were excellent. Elinor is such a strong female main character. She is stubborn and opinionated and proud and independent. She has the grit that I love in a female character. I thought the storyline slowed a little in the last half but it still kept my interest. I loved the friendship that developed between Elinor and Ruth. I appreciated the closure I got at the end of the book. I would definitely recommend it to my historical fiction lovers.

ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT Frances Quinn!!! It's been a minute since I've read a 5-star novel, but this book earned every one of those stars! What a unique perspective of the sinking of the Titanic Ms. Quinn has presented. The most fascinating part of it all is that I honestly would not even bill this novel as just another "Titanic story." There was SO MUCH more to this novel.

I ran the gamut of emotion as I read this exquisite tale of Elinor Coombes, the daughter of the self-made "Cotton King," who worked for every penny of the wealth he was not born into. We learn that her father's wealth is enough for her new aristocratic husband's elitist family, but not Elinor's less-than-acceptable upbringing and mannerisms. She finds herself in a loveless marriage, in a life where every part of who she is seems to be dictated by her heartless mother-in-law, right down to the infant son she bore that they manage to tear away from her care.

Enter a gift from her father for first-class tickets on the maiden voyage of the Titanic... she is elated to escape the clutch of her in-laws and get some well-deserved time alone with her son. Though you well know the fate of the giant ship, you'll just have to read the novel to find out what happens to Elinor in the aftermath of this tragedy. It's a doozy that kept me on the edge of my seat until the end! I will share that Elinor is full of grit and determination, and each character along the way is so well fleshed out!

And to think I won this novel in a Goodreads giveaway! I hadn't won one in quite a while, so it was really fun to be chosen as a winner! Many thanks to Goodreads and Random House for this remarkable novel! And thank you, NetGalley, for also allowing me to read the gifted e-copy late into the night!

“The Lost Passenger” by Frances Quinn was interesting. I enjoyed the historical detail and research that went into this novel. I love the history around the Titanic and I encourage anyone else who is interested in the Titanic to give this book a try. However, modern sensibilities applied to characters in a historical setting is not my favorite type of fiction. The main character was very naïve for a woman of her social standing during that time period in England. She was shocked and surprised at finding herself in circumstances that she should have seen coming – especially since she was supposed to be an intelligent and savvy businesswoman. The main female character's modern perspective clashed too much with the traditional Edwardian emotions and actions of the other characters, making it difficult for me to finish the story.
Thank you Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Elinor who comes from self made money marries to a man who she believes she finds love and happiness with turns to a nightmare she has to risk
Losing her son or running. So she runs with her son and boards the famous titanic and her life becomes even worse. Surviving and making it to new York her life is nothing it use to be poor and alone she wonders what she did and if she did it right. The ending was super fast and didn’t like what she did.

I love historical fiction love the way she told this story. Good read

Thank you, NetGalley, for an e-ARC of the The Lost Passenger by Frances Quinn.
I love a good Titanic story, and the Lost Passenger didn't disappoint. A tragic story of Elinor, forced to marry and leave behind the world that she loved. Marriage brings abuse and heartache, but also the hope of a child. Elinor steals an identity in the sinking of Titanic, hoping to salvage a future with her child. Frances Quinn creates characters that you want to see overcome obstacles. The premise of the Titanic adds a historical element that grabs the reader.

Elinor is new money but marries into a titled family in the British countryside. When she finds out that her husband married her just for the money to keep his family's estate afloat, she begins to see how constricting and judgmental his family is to her. They constantly remind her that she has no real worth, but when she is kept away from her newborn son, she is desperate to find a way to return to any freedom in her life and spend time with her son. Her businessman father offers to take Elinor, her husband, and their son on the maiden voyage of the Titantic and Elinor jumps at the chance. Fate intervenes and Elinor sees an opportunity to start over with her son away from her husband's family's control, even if it means having no money for the first time in her life and in a new country.

I thought this book would be more tragic and dwell on the Titantic parts, and although it was a major plot point, I thought the author did a great job of using it but not making the entire book sad and desperate. This is a great story with lots of themes- old versus new money, generational power and its scrutiny, truth, hard work, secrets, and loyalty. I switched to audio after struggling to get into this book at first and it was really good that way and I loved where this story went. This one would be a great fit for historical fiction lovers who are tired of reading the same times and places repeatedly.

Thank you to Netgalley for the advance copy for review.

Elinor thinks she has married for love, but her husband has married for money. And then, as passengers on the Titanic, Elinor and her family experience the unthinkable. Elinor and her son survive the shipwreck, but her husband does not. Elinor doesn't want to return to England, so she takes the opportunity and pretends to be someone else to start a new life in America.

You may think that I've just given away everything that happens in Frances Quinn's The Lost Passenger, which I received a free copy of to review, but I haven't. Elinor's life in America is only the beginning, and her life before the Titanic provides the background for Elinor's brave decision.

Of course, the story is predictable, but it's also an interesting look at history: how people lived in New York tenements, how people made a living back then, what it was like for women. Even with all the money in the world, Elinor still had no control over her own life.

Those readers who enjoy historical fiction will like reading about Elinor's life in England and New York. Book clubs will want to discuss the juxtaposition between her two worlds and talk about what they would have done in her position.

The Lost Passenger is published by Ballantine Books and will be available to purchase on February 25, 2025. I received a free e-ARC.

James Cameron’s Titanic film debuted when I was sixteen, and I’ve been a junkie for the survivors’ stories since I was introduced to Jack and Rose.

The Lost Passenger is a survival story, but an unexpected one. Elinor is the cotton king’s daughter in Manchester, England. Though she lost her mother at a young age, her father has done everything he can to make her whole, including letting her help with his textile business. With a head for numbers and an eye for trends, Elinor’s input is welcomed. Unfortunately, most of aristocratic society doesn’t see her the way her father does, and in marriage she feels trapped.

When the Titanic goes down, Elinor desperately clings to a chance for reinvention for her and her young son Teddy. Using another woman’s name, Elinor realizes she has an opportunity to escape the life that was suffocating her and can make a living in the hustle and bustle of the Lower East side of New York City. In the land of opportunity Elinor thrives. Her business savvy isn’t seen as unbecoming, but rather inspirational. Other than the lies she must tell to keep her secret safe, Elinor feels like she has made it, until a unplanned encounter proves it could bring her new world crashing down.

Elinor is trapped between societal expectations and her own desires in England. The Titanic disaster changes everything. Tensions rise in New York as she tries to balance her past, the lies she’s living, and her determination to make a fresh start. But Elinor is nothing if not resilient and her survivor story is one that would inspire even James Cameron.

Thank you to NetGalley, Ballatine Books, and of course the author Frances Quinn for the advanced copy of the book. The Lost Passenger is out now. All opinions are my own.

Elinor falls in love and marries only to find out her that her husband and his family had reasons to want the marriage that have nothing to do with love. When her father offers her family a once in a lifetime trip on the Titanic’s inaugural voyage she uses what leverage she has to secure the trip and a bit of breathing room. When tragedy strikes and she survives a door opens that might change her life if she is brave enough to walk through it.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House for the opportunity to read and review this book. Reviewed on Litsy and IG.

This is an absolutely amazing and well written historical fiction! At the center of the story is Elinor, daughter of a wealthy self-made businessman. She is thrilled when she is invited with her father to a party at the home of an aristocratic family. She is soon swept off her feet and down the aisle to wedded bliss, only to discover it was her father's money and an heir that the family actually wanted. When their son is born, she hopes spending time with him will ease her heartache, but her husband's family restricts her time with her infant son, Teddy so he can be raised in the proper aristocratic way. When her father surprises the 3 of them with a voyage on the brand-new ship, the Titanic, she is thrilled for a chance to have some time with her son and her father. Fate intervened, as we all know, and Elinor makes a dramatic decision for herself and young Teddy. The author's description of that fateful voyage is vivid and chilling. Francis Quinn has written a beautiful and moving story of Elinor as she confronts the betrayals within her marriage, and her courage and determination to forge a new life after the tragedy of the Titanic. The author has created memorable characters that transported me back to that time period, and the challenges faced by people on both sides of the economy, particularly women. This was definitely a book that was hard to put down! Thank you to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for my advance copy of this book. The opinions of this review are my own.

Young Elinor is conned into marriage (although how she didn’t figure up something shady was going on is beyond me) and then is stuck in a marriage that is rather convenient for her husband. Her in-laws are horrendous. Her father gifts her a trip on the Titanic and when the ship goes down she is able to escape her life by taking on someone else’s and starting over.

My drawback in this one was that it was a bit slow developing at times. Thanks to NetGalley for the read!

Marrying above her class is too much for Elinor. She fakes her death and her son Teddy's on the titanic to escape to America to start a new life. An historical drama with lots of unpredictable turns of events. A real page turner and a must read!

I really enjoyed this book about a wealthy young woman stuck in a loveless marriage and having to meet all of the expectations of British aristocracy who gets the opportunity to reinvent herself and create a more meaningful life for herself and her young son when she survives the sinking of the Titanic. A nice break from the dual timelines that are so common these days, this historical novel gives the reader a real sense of the oppressiveness and misogyny of being a titled woman in England in the early 20th century, and the challenges of immigrants making new lives for themselves on the lower east side in NYC. Elinor overcomes so much, and the ending is satisfying without being overly saccharine. The story meandered a bit in places but it never felt slow, and I found myself fully absorbed from start to finish.

4+ but not quite 5 🌟s

Thank you to the author and publisher for providing me with an ARC thru NetGalley in exchange for my honest review of this novel.

When Elinor married an English aristocrat, she soon learned it wasn't for love., but for her father's money. Her husband's family lived by the rule of maintaining their heritage at any cost. The family's control of Elinor"s life included the sad tradition of having a nanny raise Elinor's baby, leaving her alone and isolated in a loveless marriage, seeing her son only thirty minutes a day. When Elinor's father bought her passage on the new ship "Titanic," she goes for it, never expecting the outcome. The Lost Passanger climbed to the top of my chart. The first person narration easily pulled me into Elinor's story, her love, anguish and hope. The writing is superb with suspense and the flaws and wonder of family. From a country manor in England to the Titanic and A growing NYC, I was on the journey too. The settings were beautifully developed and were a perfect way to immerse the reader in the time and place. Easily a 5 Star read, I cannot give this book enough praise.