Unfortunately I received this book for free from the publisher with less than 10 days to read and review before it is archived. As I am unable read the book in full I will not post a review besides this statement. I will read it in the future however. Thank you though to the publisher and I’ll be happy to correct my review once the book is read in full.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in return for my unbiased review. I knew nothing about Lee Miller and little about Man Ray, but found this novel compelling and ended up researching the artists to learn more. This is a well-crafted book about a complicated woman. I am not sure the flash forwards were always logical or necessary, and I think the author elided much of Miller’s life, but I enjoyed the évocation of a very specific place and time. And I’m always happy to visit Paris, in life or in fiction.

Loved this book. I should have read this sooner. Thanks for the copy. I loved the cover of the book as well. I found that it blends well with the book.

The Age of Light started off just a little slowly for me, but nevertheless was entirely worth the read! By the end, I was so sad it was over. It makes you grapple with what you would sacrifice in your own life, and makes me really want to read more into the life of Lee Miller!

Thanks to Netgalley for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book had all the aspects to make it a fantastic read: Paris, art scene, drama and complicated relationships. Unfortunately I couldn’t get to the next level because I had a hard time with the characters. I wanted so badly to connect with Lee and Man Ray but I couldn’t feel it!

I did enjoy the overall premise of the story as well as the plot. That kept me engaged throughout the read. . But it never made it to that next level for me.

An exquisite story from beginning to end. I became as captivated reading the words as one would have looking at photos taken by Man Ray and Lee Miller. All of us are flawed and AGE OF LIGHT balanced both the good and bad in each of us. Beautifully written and highly recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC for my honest review.

A must read!! Rarely do I pick up romance or ANY book pertaining to love; however, this one is so relatable! The author did a phenomenal job of making the main character someone you can connect with. You'll grow to cheer for her and feel anger at her injustices! The story takes place in that transitional time when women were just gaining their rights to do more than have babies and stay home. Lee is wild, curious, talented, and beautiful. While her love for Man helps her personality and talents flourish, she finds that truly loving someone forces you to make sacrifices and put up with things you might not have otherwise. Is it all worth it? Where do you draw the line? I love how this story kept flashing back to Lee's time fighting the war. She spends her life searching for peace and without giving anything away...it took living and growing old to finally understand what being at peace meant.

I feel a little duped. This is a steamy romance novel masquerading as a historical fiction book.

I appreciated the bits of the book about photography and the war and those scenes totally redeemed the book for me. Maybe if I had not read other novels about Lee I would have felt different. I just didn't expect the book to focus so much on her sex life.

I appreciated the book and thought it was ok.

Thank you Little Brown for my copy.

I do love a book based on a real person, and The Age Of Light did not disappoint.
I admit I knew nothing about Lee Miller or Man Ray until I read this book, but I quickly got caught up in their story of making art, making love, and the life that happens in between.
Scharer is a strong writer, and the character development and pacing of this book is excellent. Miller is written with a tenacity and realism that is uncommon for women portrayed during that part of history, and it's frankly refreshing. She's deeply flawed and you find yourself loathing her at times, but ultimately rooting for her the entire time as she finds her way to the woman she wants to be - not what Man Ray, or her father, or society frankly expects of her.

I wanted to like this book. Clearly the author did a lot of research about photography. The Bohemian lifestyle of Paris seem to be the main thrust of this book in addition to the topic of photography as a source of income for the main characters. The main character seemed confused regarding her ability to understand real relationships. That became obvious towards the end of the book and pretty much the book ended a chapter after that. Very disappointing ending to what I thought was leading up to some sort of resolution.

This book kept popping up on my suggestions and Book of the Month and I decided to give it a try. I'm glad I did. I was kept intrigued right up until the end (and then my interest started to wane). I thought the ending was appropriate for the characters.

I have mixed feelings after reading this book. I enjoyed it, but oh the heartache. I loved Lee, I hated Lee. I felt bad for Man, I was angry and frustrated with Man. Whitney knows how to tug at the heartstrings for sure. A great historical fiction read, especially for the lovers of art, romance and all the scandal to go along with it.

This book was a bit of a drag to be honest. I liked the idea of learning more about Lee Miller the photographer, but felt like I learned more about Lee Miller's sex life than I did about the art she created with her camera.
I do judge a book on my own eagerness to pick it up and read it, and this one was put down much more often than it was picked up. I can't quite pinpoint what made it slow going though, I guess other readers will have to judge that for themselves.

I had no expectations for this book after reading a few conflicting reviews. I was gladly surprised by the contents and atmosphere of the story.

Since I didn’t know that Lee Miller or Man Ray were real people, nor that this was a fictional tale of their relationship, I imagined my own characters entangled in 1930s Paris. It was only after I finished the book that I discovered they were real people. Surprise!

Loved the narrative, the contrast between pre-war Paris and its excesses, and the snippets of Lee’s life as a war correspondent during WWII. Lee Miller was a creative, beautiful woman ahead of her time.

I had the pleasure to listen to this title as an audiobook beautifully narrated by Thérèse Plummer. In addition, I receive a copy from Little, Brown, and Company in exchange for an honest review.

While this book wasn't my cup of tea, I know a lot of customers who come in the library will enjoy it's romance and sense of place. I did like the author's description of the setting. It was lush, and easy to feel as though I were there at times. I had no idea the main character is based on a real woman, who I found really interesting when I began researching her.

I think I would have liked more about her adventures as a photo journalist and less of her falling in love. However, for readers who like a bit of romance, this will be great!

I really loved The Age of Light! Whitney Scharer did a wonderful job writing such an amazing love story that takes you back in time! Whitney does an amazing job transporting me as the reader to a magnificent location in such an romantic time! It was def a book that kept me interested!
I look forward to read more from her!

[4.5 stars]

I don’t normally love historical fiction or love stories (and The Age of Light is both), but I loved Scharer’s take on it! Mainly because it’s not just a love story or historical fiction…it could also be called a “badass lady book.” It’s the story of a woman who is defined by the man in her life trying to break out on her own…to be known for her own work. And, I do have an excellent track record with these kinds of historical fiction love stories (ex: Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald, Loving Frank). Scharer immediately immerses you in 1930’s Paris and I was engrossed in the story right from the beginning. Man Ray and Miller have a complicated relationship…he’s her teacher, boss, mentor, lover, and creative partner, but she also teaches him. I appreciated the fight in Lee…her drive to be known for her own work and her gumption at the end of the book. My one complaint is that I always love the Author’s Note in these kinds of books because it usually tells you where the story is historically accurate and where he/she took liberties for the sake of the story…this Author’s Note just contained the usual thank you’s to her team, family, etc. I should also warn you that this one is steamy…if that bothers you.

I loved the photography premise behind this story. It just introduces a whole new perspective on what the true art of photography was. It's just a bit hard for me to get into stories that have a war reference to them. I did like the steamy romance aspect.

2.5 stars rounded up to 3.

Thanks to Netgalley for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review

So having spent time on Google researching about Lee Miller and Man Ray and their outstanding work in surrealist photography and paintings, I was expecting maybe a bit too much from this novel. Alternating between the couple's chaotic relationship in the 1920's to Lee Miller's work during WWII, the best bits of the story are when the focus is on the art productions. With a fair bit of rationalizing, I rounded this story up to a 3 because the war bits are phenomenal and show Lee Miller's lasting legacy as an artist. No influence on the rating but more of a personal reaction- I felt both Lee and Man Ray were very unlikeable.

Decadent and captivating, THE AGE OF LIGHT is a sumptuous trip to a time when imagination flowed throughout Paris and the artists who we revere today drank champagne all night and created all day. Unraveling the artistic, political and social movements of the time, Whitney Scharer tells her story of 1930s Paris and the battlefields of World War II through the eyes of Lee Miller, esteemed photographer and photojournalist --- and lover of painter and photographer Man Ray. Told in nearly photographic prose, this debut novel crystallizes an iconic moment in time, and highlights the birth of Surrealism, photojournalism, and the roles of women in these and many other movements.

THE AGE OF LIGHT opens in 1966, when Lee is a middle-aged woman whose years of edgy photography and traversing war-torn Europe are seemingly behind her. Desperate to wake her from her artistic slumber, her editor at Vogue magazine visits her at her farm in Sussex, and asks her to write a piece about her years with Man Ray. At this point, both Lee’s editor and the reader are expecting a dreamy love story, but bold, tenacious Lee has something else in mind: the truth. So begins a story of toxic love, steamy sex and one of the most creative eras of our time.

When beautiful young model Lee Miller arrives in 1920s Paris, she is determined to make her way behind the camera. For years she has posed for her father, his friends and the fashion photographers of Vogue, but now she is ready to make her own way, on her own terms. Unfortunately, despite her good looks, she finds Paris unwelcoming and cold --- not to mention a bit dismissive of an American model. Her luck changes following a particularly terrible evening when she meets the Surrealist artist Man Ray. Employing her brash stubbornness and wicked determination, she convinces Ray to hire her not as a model, but as an assistant.

Surrounded by the glamour of Paris with their senses heightened by their artistic natures, Lee and Man soon begin to toe the line between colleagues and something more. Before long, Lee is not only Man’s assistant, but also his muse and lover, and Paris --- as well as art, sex and creativity --- come to life for her. But it is not always easy for Lee to play wife, coworker and fantasy, and her relationship is fraught with tension. Intellectual companionship and sexual intimacy can only support these two tortured artists for so long, and their tale is riddled with moments of passion, grief and borderline abuse.

I should say here that THE AGE OF LIGHT is definitely a steamy read. But unlike so many novels where men take the lead, this is all about Lee’s sexuality and how she learns to come to terms with her body. She is a confident woman, yes, but she also has suffered for her beauty, and when she begins to discover herself, the book takes on a wonderfully feminist bent.

Interspersed with these glittering chapters about the Parisian art scene are hard, cutting vignettes of Lee’s future life as a photojournalist during World War II. The Lee we meet here has shed her glamorous skin and become hardened, ugly and alcoholic. Her hatred for the Nazis burns off the page, as does her trauma: photographing dying and deceased soldiers day and night, turning to substance abuse to numb the pain, and employing sex as both a weapon and medicine. Where Scharer’s Paris chapters will make you swoon and soar, these will shock and horrify, resulting in a daring and vivid portrait of a complicated woman whose tenacity knows no bounds.

Through it all, it is Lee’s connection to her camera, and the art and science of photography, that truly grounds her and connects her to readers. Lee is not always “likable” --- her brash combination of determination, sexuality and talent will scare off some --- but when she is holding a camera, THE AGE OF LIGHT turns into a heartfelt love story. Scharer writes about photography with a passion that feels pure and obsessive, and her descriptions of finding the perfect image are absolutely scintillating. Even amateur photographers (like yours truly, who somehow manages to include her finger in every photo) will be dazzled by Lee’s love of photography and the way it allows her to better process the world around her.

That said, the area where Scharer truly shines is her descriptions of trauma and the means we use to recover. Even before arriving in Paris, Lee is no stranger to abuse --- she was raped as a child, her father photographed her in questionable attire, and her mother was distant and jealous --- but when she finds herself in yet another toxic relationship and later on the battlefields, her emotional pain leaps off the page. Scharer does not shy away from the harsh realities of Lee’s PTSD either, showing her disassociate, bed strangers, and even turn to alcohol and pills in order to numb herself or heighten her senses enough to produce the work required of her.

The shock of seeing Lee abuse liquor makes her previous scenes of downing champagne with Man Ray and his posse just a bit darker and all the more ominous. Despite the rawness of these scenes, it is clear that Scharer has a compassion for her version of Lee that makes her feel incredibly real, if not always relatable. You will not always agree with Lee’s choices, but you will certainly respect them, which is the sign of a talented author who knows how to develop her characters with grace and humanity.

Mesmerizing, wickedly sexy and full of girl power, THE AGE OF LIGHT is historical fiction for the modern reader. This unflinching portrait of one of the most iconic and yet often underlooked female artists will fill in many of the blanks in your knowledge of art history, while simultaneously reminding you to celebrate women’s contributions to the industry. Whether you have a Lee Miller print hanging in your home right now or have only ever heard of Man Ray, THE AGE OF LIGHT will immediately pull you in.