My rating: 3 stars

I seem to be the outlier here but this book, which I was initially excited to read, ended up falling a little flat for me. The first half or so of the book was really good, especially the chapters about Lorena Hickok’s (Hick’s) childhood and her background – that portion read like a riveting biography that I couldn’t seem to put down. I found myself wanting to know more about Hick’s personal story in terms of her family and the other people she had met during her brief stint with the circus. I was also fascinated by her perspective on some of the historical events and people she had covered as a journalist (i.e. the section on Lindbergh was quite interesting). As a result, I was able to fly through this first portion of the book pretty quickly. Unfortunately though, once the second half of the book transitioned into Hick’s relationship with the Roosevelts (Franklin and his wife Eleanor) and what her life was like living with them in the White House, the story really slowed down for me. While I did feel like a fly on the wall getting the “inside scoop” on some of the things that went on behind closed doors and some of Hick’s observations about the Roosevelts as well as the people around them were truly interesting, there were times when I felt that the details were a bit too repetitive and after awhile, I found my attention waning. A few times when I got distracted and later re-focused back on the story, I realized that I had inadvertently skipped reading entire paragraphs in certain sections, yet it didn’t feel like I had missed anything so I didn’t go back to re-read those paragraphs – usually not a good sign. Perhaps I had problems connecting with the second half of the story because it lacked emotional depth to me – it felt almost as though the narrator (Hick) was recounting her relationship with Eleanor as a detached third party rather than an intimate companion and friend. In comparisons, during the first portion of the story when Hick talked about her difficult childhood and her life prior to meeting the Roosevelts, it felt more personal and poignant – Hick’s personality came alive for me during those chapters and I felt every emotion she felt…but that personality and emotion fizzled in the latter half of the story and I was left with a sense that something was lacking. Perhaps I had the wrong expectations going into this book – from reading the summary, I thought I was going to get an emotionally rich, personalized (albeit fictional) story about Hick’s relationship with Eleanor Roosevelt and the struggles they endure in maintaining this “open secret” during the Roosevelt era. While there WAS some of this in the second half of the story, I felt that most of Hick’s personal story was overshadowed by that of the Roosevelts – the second half read more like a run-of-the-mill biography of Eleanor Roosevelt rather than an impassioned recounting of a love affair from Hick’s perspective.

This book didn’t quite work out for me but I think it was more of an issue with me not connecting to the story rather than problems with the book itself. The version I read was an uncorrected ARC and while the writing was very good, there wasn’t much information in terms of Author’s Note and historical context, both of which are things I usually look for when reading historical fiction, and in this case, I wasn’t engaged enough in the story to want to spend time looking up the historical details on my own so that was an issue for me as well. This one has gotten many glowing reviews though so I would encourage those interested to check those out for a more balanced perspective.

Received ARC from Random House via NetGalley

I was really excited to read this book. I find Eleanor Roosevelt to be an incredibly fascinating person and I had not previously heard of her relationship with Lorena Hickok. I know that this is a book of fiction but, after reading a little bit more about their friendship from other sources, I believe Ms. Bloom has taken a lot of liberties in writing this book. It isn’t widely accepted that their relationship was homosexual and there is a lot of that in this book. I also had a difficult time with Ms. Blooms writing style. I find the time lines somewhat confusing at different times and some of the other relationships of Ms. Hickok were vague and confusing as to when they occurred. I wonder if this is a result of the author having to make assumptions about relationships and history. The book has prompted to do more reading on this subject which is always a good thing

I loved Amy Bloom's <i>White Houses</i>! I hadn't read anything by Bloom in a very long time, and this book reminded me of what a spectacular writer she is. The fictionalized account of the relationship between Eleanor Roosevelt and Lorena "Hick" Hickok is delightful. I love that this is a love story between two women who are older, and that fact is embraced, rather than swept under the rug. I love that the story follows Hick, instead of Roosevelt, as she is by far the more interesting character.

The only trouble I had with the book was that, as with many fictionalized accounts based on true stories, it gives me that creepy feeling of walking on someone's grave. We will never be able to know the true nature of the relationship between Roosevelt and Hickok and it sometimes feels wrong to put words in the mouths of real people. That aside, it was a fantastic read.

I would recommend this book to all of my Eleanor Roosevelt nerds (you know who you are) and to anyone who is interested in a different perspective on the Roosevelt years than the one you got in school.

I hadn't heard about the Eleanor Roosevelt's open secret, and probably because of that I thought the premise of this novel was very interesting. I haven't read Amy Bloom before, so I'm not sure if she normally writes historical fiction, but this didn't feel like historical fiction to me. The language and style seemed very modern. At times, it felt like parts of the story were tossed in haphazardly; perhaps it would've been nice to have the fictionalized elements grounded in reality - having them shown alongside events that actually happened might have added to the sense of time and place.

The novel was easy to read but I didn't find the story compelling or well-organized. I can see it being good for book club discussions.

While Houses by Amy Bloom. I was so anxious for this book to be published and it was no let down. The historical fiction story is about the friendship and love between Eleanor Roosevelt and Lorena Hickok who was a journalist and eventually moved into the White House as First Friend. She worked with Theodore Roosevelt as well. It is a wonderful and uncomplicated story of a move than loving friendship. More than the first half of the book is debated to Lorena and from her childhood to become an adult which is told wonderfully by the author. I was much more impressed with the first half, although the book as a whole was enjoyable. Amy Bloom, as usual, is a beautiful writer. Thank you NetGalley for the advanced copy.

Thanks Random House Publishing Group - Random House and netgalley for this ARC.

This book just was not for me. I couldn't get myself interested enough to finish it.

White Houses Is the story of the romance between Eleanor Roosevelt and Lorena Hickok. Both women in their own way had very sad lives. Eleanor because she lived in the shadow of FDR and Hickok because of her brutal early life.

While the romance was scandalous it was by no means extraordinary. Bloom characterizations of Eleanor and Lorena are lovely, they were devoted to each other.

Amy Bloom is a wonderful writer, she has written a thought-provoking book about two lost souls that find a bit of happiness with another.

BROOKE’S REVIEW

Amy Bloom is a marvelous writer, and she brings to live much loved historical figures in her first historical fiction work, White Houses. Going behind the scenes during the presidency of FDR, this novel explores the relationship between First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and AP reporter Lorena “Hick” Hickok.

Told from Hick’s perspective, we learn about a story of deep friendship, and yes, love, between the two women. What’s fascinating about Bloom’s work is that she is able to write this story in a way that reveals the women without being overly sensationalist, but in a way that gives depth of character to each. This book is as much as about the individual women and their place in history as about who they were to each other.

PRAISE

“A remarkably intimate and yet informative novel of the secret, scandalous love of Eleanor Roosevelt and her longtime friend and companion Lorena Hickok, who relates the tale in her own, quite wonderful voice.”—Joyce Carol Oates

“Amy Bloom illuminates one of the most intriguing relationships in history. Lorena Hickok is a woman who found love with another lost soul, Eleanor Roosevelt. And love is what this book is all about: It suffuses every page, so that by the time you reach the end, you are simply stunned by the beauty of the world these two carved out for themselves.”—Melanie Benjamin, author of The Swans of Fifth Avenue

AUTHOR

Amy Bloom is the author of Lucky Us, Away, Where the God of Love Hangs Out, Come to Me (National Book Award finalist), A Blind Man Can See How Much I Love You (National Book Critics Circle Award finalist); Love Invents Us; and Normal. Her stories have appeared in The Best American Short Stories, O. Henry Prize Short Stories, The Scribner Anthology of Contemporary Short Fiction, and many other anthologies. She has written for The New Yorker, The New York Times Magazine, The Atlantic Monthly, Vogue, Granta, and Slate, among other publications, and has won a National Magazine Award.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.

This was a great historical fiction novel about the relationship of Lorena Hickok (Hicks) and Eleanor Roosevelt. From Hicks' perspective we learn of her childhood in South Dakota through he meeting Eleanor when FDR was governor. Hicks became known as the first friend, living in the White House. This was a love story well beyond mere friends and it spanned decades. While the affairs of FDR, including a long lasting one with his private secretary, were things I had heard about the romance of Hicks and Eleanor was not familiar to me beyond a passing knowledge that people hav3 said she was a lesbian.

Based on thousands of letters, the novel is a beautiful testament to a hidden relationship as well as to the strength of the Roosevelts in putting the country and their ability to lead it in front of everything else

White House by Amy Bloom tells of a love story between Eleanor Roosevelt and Lenora Hickok. Although, I knew the First Lady favorited woman to the President as I have read in the past, reading a fictionalized telling from this woman confirmed the stories. Amy Bloom chooses to have the love story told in a first hand account of the conversations and events between these two women. The diary style entries are believable with antidotes and tender moments of passion, but I found the see saw accounts of events difficult to follow. I enjoyed learning of Eleanor's true nature beyond her husband's infamous presidency and the people who she helped and loved. She truly was a good person who was not appreciated by her family or husband, but loved by many.

Thank you Netgalley for allowing me to read this arc.

This isn't my normal book but I'm glad I can't across it. It's an intimate portrayal of the Roosevelts which makes me wonder how much is true and how much is happenstance. Either way I'm glad I was brought along on the journey into their lives. The book was written really well, the transitions made sense, and I enjoyed it until the end.

Lorena Hickok, known as Hick, hated her father and when he died, she refused to help with his funeral expenses. She had a very tough upbringing and worked hard for what she got. Even before her mother died, she was abused by her father and they were dirt poor. She finally got a chance to leave home but had to work awful jobs for very little money. Some of the jobs took her to the circus and she taught herself to type and handle writing up information.

Now, Lorena is a tough newspaperwoman who knows how to commiserate and join in with her male counterparts. She was on top of the Lindbergh baby kidnapping and wrote many articles on it. Her fame won her the chance to cover first lady, Eleanor Roosevelt, at the White House. The interview they had went on for some time and Hick and Eleanor truly bonded.

Eleanor and Franklin had several children but their marriage was not close. Eleanor had had other women in her life, one of whom is Tommie Thompson. When Hick came along, she competed for Eleanor’s attention.

Over the years, Hick and Eleanor found many way to be together via vacations and such. Franklin had his own love affair with Missy, his secretary. Missy had a stroke not long before he died and he left half of his estate for her care.

The story depicts some of the time Hick and Eleanor spent together and how much Hick loved her. There are a lot of nice descriptions of dinners, dresses, gardens and such but other than that, this book left me flat. I had hoped to learn more about the good things they did for the country through their friendship. But, instead, I was disappointed to find it was a rather rough tell all about a person in history. Not my cup of tea at all.

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Before reading White Houses by Amy Bloom, I knew very little about Eleanor Roosevelt and her relationship with Lorena Hickok, a reporter and very close personal friend of Roosevelt's. Of course, after reading this novel, one can only presume what that relationship (and the one between her husband Franklin and his secretary) was like and if it were really as described in this novel. I, for one, do hope that Eleanor found the happiness it would seem the relationship brought her, even if this is a fictionalized account. I enjoyed reading the story and would highly recommend it!

Celebrity gossip has always been the rage. From who Rock Hudson was sleeping with to the breakup of Jennifer Aniston's marriage, the public devours rumors. Much has been written about Eleanor Roosevelt and her many affairs.

Eleanor Roosevelt was a trailblazer. She wasn't a First Lady who was going to sit back and just be a pretty face. She traveled the country, she met with the public, she insisted the White House live on the same food rations that the American people were using.

Lorena Hickok was a well respected journalist who lived at the White House and maintained a close relationship with the First Lady. Did this include more than just friendship? This is where White Houses by Amy Bloom comes in.

Amy Bloom has written a fictionalized account of the relationship between these two strong willed women. This is not about the politics or the struggle of hiding their true selves. This is a story about love. (Fictionalized) Eleanor and 'Hick' had a deep friendship above all things. They truly cared about each other.

They couldn't have been more different. Hick is often rough, or rather, a little self loathing. She had a hard life. Sex abuse, abandonment, all things that would have caused anyone else to just give up. Eleanor was bent on saving the world, growing up in the lap of luxury, boarding schools and a highly publicized marriage.

This story traces the (fictionalized..maybe?) story of the relationship. From the beginnings, to the deep 'in love' state, and to the end, these two women had an intense friendship that they both needed.

Bloom writes beautifully and has taken this story into places that people could only imagine. Only two people really knows what happened between Eleanor and Hick, but something it's nice to just imagine two people in love.

White House was released by Random House on February 13, 2018. Additionally, the book has been optioned for television. Congrats to Amy Bloom on this exciting news.

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and Amy Bloom for providing a copy of this book for review.

Eleanor Roosevelt has always been one of my favorite famous people and I was delighted to read something about her personally, even if it was a work of fiction, based on actual occurrences.

The book is well written - it is from the perspective of her long time friend and confidant, Lorena Hickok and provides a touching account of their relationship over the years in the White House and in New York.

I would have liked to read more about what Eleanor and Lorena did together and the trips they made and less about their sex life. In fact, I have two books, a biography of Eleanor Roosevelt and the Ken Burns biography of Theodore, Franklin and Eleanor, which I will now finish reading.
I thought Lorena Hickok seemed abrasive and did not do much to enhance Eleanor's life, however, no one knows her inner most thoughts, except from what Amy Bloom has read from their letters.

Overall, I thought it was an interesting book and I would read more from this author.

I love Amy Bloom's writing and her latest was a great read from start to finish. The aspect that appealed to me most was the voice in which Lorena Hickok ("Hick") spoke, as imagined by Bloom. Smart, pragmatic, clever, funny, wry, masculine, and tender, Hick used her smarts and journalistic talent to earn a living and then a reputation, but she didn't expect to fall in love with Eleanor Roosevelt. I confess, of all the impressions I ever had of ER, "sensual" was not one of them. Yet Bloom invites us into their relationship, and it's believable.

There's a strong core of irony running through the story, in that ER, born with a silver spoon in her mouth, can't shake off her blueblood nature even as she tries to identify with and help the common man. Yet Hick, born as common as they come, was ever loyal to ER even as the latter inadvertently broke her heart.

So interesting to "see" life behind the scenes in the Roosevelt White House. Hick's observations on the president, his women, the numerous minions, sycophants, and enemies, were compelling. I'd never had reason to think of Franklin Roosevelt much, but through Hick's eyes we see a master manipulator who could turn on the love and seconds later, Machiavellian cruelty.

If I could guess at a theme, it might be, "the very rich and privileged really are different from you and I, and there is no breaching the gap." Although Lorena Hicks breached it and then walked away, head held high.

Eleanor Roosevelt had always been such a fascinating First Lady. She was a pioneer with her active political and social causes during her White House years and beyond. Lorena Hickok set the stage for other women reporters to follow. This story gave voice to a warm, supportive, and loving relationship between two trailblazers who each secured an important place in history.
There were many other interesting stories interspersed throughout the novel such as Hickok’s reporting on the Depression and Veterans’ rights, the relationship between her and the rest of the White House staff, and Eleanor Roosevelt’s relationship with her children.
This was an extremely well written and researched novel.

First off I would like to thank Random House and Netgalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. When I was growing up (and this is surely dating me) Eleanor Roosevelt was held up to me as an example of an amazing modern woman that cared deeply about the poor, uneducated or oppressed. She was my first activist role model so I was intrigued when I saw this book. I was curious about her as a private person rather than the public person I had only known. And that leads me to my only complaint about the book as it was told from Hick's (her paramour) point of view and I was hoping to hear more from her point of view. I know this is a work of fiction but it was well researched and the writing was wonderful! Cudos to Amy Bloom! I loved reading about the elite life she came from but was saddened by Eleanor's relationships with her children and FDR, I'm glad she found love in her life but had a hard time reconciling her choice of a love mate with the public persona I had grown up with. Here were two women who were vastly different. I wanted to know more of Eleanor' thoughts and feelings. All in all I enjoyed this book very much. especially the writing.

This was a somewhat interesting book regarding the relationship between Eleanor Roosevelt and her very dear friend Lorena Hickok, during FDR's time in the White House.

Honestly, I struggled to read this book. For me, it was hard to follow, and generally I like historical fiction-type books. I believe it was difficult for me because it didn't flow very well between parts.

What a lovely little piece of historical fiction! I enjoyed it from beginning to end. This book is written from the perspective of Lorena Hickok, believed to have had a romantic relationship with Eleanor Roosevelt during FDR's presidency. (I was in the believer's camp, even before reading this book, based upon what I knew about their relationship already.)

It's not a long book, but is lovingly well-crafted. The author's affinity for her subjects shines through. Obviously the relationship had many many barriers, and it could have been a depressing book, but Bloom does a good job acknowledging the complexities of the situation without having them overshadow the story. Eleanor and Hick's love shines through, and Hick's personality and personal narrative is developed so that we understand "her side of the story" when involved with the larger-than-life personality of Eleanor Roosevelt, who we already feel like we know from the history books.

Unless you have a strong aversion to the genre of historical fiction (some object to creating "characters" from people who existed, as if "history" doesn't do the same in retrospect), or you can't handle a little middle-aged lesbian romance, then I strongly recommend this book.

I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.