Carnegie's Maid: A Riveting Historical Fiction Book Club Pick

I felt the author took too many liberties. Although a good story, it’s more fiction than historical fiction.

I received this book as a blind date book and was drawn to the themes on the outer wrapping covering the novel from my view: "Gilded Age Romance," "Rags to Influence," and "Historical Fiction." I was bought in after just finishing the latest season of The Gilded Age and wanting more. Not to be comparative, but I will say this book fell kind of flat for me. Understanding that it is historical fiction, I won't spend too much time talking about premise/plot. It is pretty clear from the title how this book would go. I had the hardest time with the "imposter syndrome" Clara felt to the point where I was truly confused if there was a case of stolen identity -- I still don't understand that part (after briefly reading other reviews that it was indeed stolen identity -- that was not obvious to me so it made her frequent mentions of "the real Clara Kelly" kind of annoying) Also, I sensed no chemistry in the writing of Clara and Andrew's relationship. It seemed more business, and at a point, I thought it was a better fit. I was even hoping the author would take a twist from the power imbalanced romance plot and show Clara truly taking advantage of her influence on Andrew's business decisions, but this novel was limited to sticking the history. It was a very quick read and the writing wasn't terrible. I just unfortunately found myself rolling my eyes at the main character a few times and yearned for a little more depth.

It kept my attention, although I think it creates a relationship that is unlikely. But truth is often stranger than fiction. Enjoyable book!

It was interesting

More like 3.75 stars. It was well-written and kept my interest. I learned things about Carnegie that I didn't know.