A historical fiction book that takes back to the time of Ernest Hemingway and the moments before he meets his third wife, Martha Gellhorn. Martha is much more than one of Hemingway's wives and this book celebrates her life that she had before and during Hemingway.

I went into this book a fan of Meg Waite Clayton and was ready to see what she would do to make this historical moment come alive and I have to be honest it didn't meet my expectations. The book felt dry and just didn't move the way I wanted it to. I didn't expect it to grip me like a mystery/thriller book can, but I have read many historical fiction books where the story flows so fluid that it is hard to put down in hopes to find out what is going to happen next.

The big thing that kept me reading was the feeling of being behind the scenes in Earnest Hemingway's life. I found seeing behind the scenes in his life more thrilling than Martha's story and her part of his story. I wanted to feel more connected to Martha and to care about her and her future and I just couldn't get connected to her.

Rarely do I have such a hard time with a historical fiction book because I get so excited to read and try to decide what is fact and fiction, but I just couldn't do it with this one. I will not count Meg Waite Clayton out and will read her future books, but this one didn't strike a chord for me.