It starts out in present day San Francisco, where Mary inherits her grandmother’s house. With the discovery of a diary it changes to the story of Irish immigrant Mara McClain, newly arrived in Victorian San Francisco.
I thought Autumn Lady was a great historical read. I will definitely be looking for more by AnneMarie Dapp in the future.

I thought Autumn Lady was a great historical read. I will definitely be looking for more by AnneMarie Dapp in the future.
Four stars.

A historical fiction book set in the lively world of early San Francisco. I enjoyed many of the characters and the vivid descriptions. I also appreciated that the main character was a more independent woman than is often portrayed in this time period. It is obvious that the author did their research and more for this book. For many scenes though this book turned into a text-book for me as characters went into lengthy descriptions of their backgrounds or the background of the city. This slowed down the pacing for me considerably and made the dialogue feel clumpy and unrealistic.

When a newly orphaned young woman finds her great-grandmother's journal in the estate that she has inherited, she becomes swept up in learning about her forebears and possibly something about herself.

Most of this story takes place in 1890s San Francisco. There are colorful characters and seedy ones as well. They are a few tangents taken that feel a bit like a history lesson; not really blent into the story very seamlessly. I don't mind that so much, but others will. There are some dark scenes involving drug use, violence and prostitution. But overall, this is a story about love and friendship. There are a couple steamy scenes, but they were tastefully done.

I would recommend this for historical fiction lovers and romance fans.

Autumn Lady is a lovely book. I was pulled into the very early days of San Francisco from the first moment Mary started reading the diary. I felt that I was was there. Mara comes to San Francisco for a new start. She is a young lady of good breeding who wants to open an art gallery. She rents a room in a boarding house run by Sarah, a widow. There are a mix of people staying there and she makes some wonderful friends.. One person is Patrick Deane, the very handsome man who is a carpenter by day and boxes by night. Patrick saved Mara from a mugger when she first arrives and there is an attraction from the beginning. This is a story that captivated me from the first. As with any story, there are mean and jealous people who try to cause trouble. This book is so descriptive that you can feel and see the fog and the steep hills. I truly enjoyed reading it. I received this book from Net Galley and BooksGoSocial for a honest review and no compensation otherwise.

Autumn Lady has some great ideas, however the author struggled to get everything tied together. I wanted to enjoy this book. The cover looks amazing! More proof that you should not judge a book by its cover

An interesting historical novel of San Francisco as it is growing into a city with Mara McClain comes to open an art gallery. It is a time when women don't often go into business on their own. Mara meets a wide variety of people from the moment she puts her feet on San Francisco soil. It is a mix of ethnic and varied backgrounds. Can Mara meet the challenge? Read this story to find out.

Bring yourself to the time and era and you will actually believe that you are there! Characters come to life for you not only this time in history! I would recommend this story to anyone who loves this time and era!!

Autumn Lady
by AnneMarie Dapp
(#AutumnLady #NetGalley) is a wonderful read! It is the tale about the intriguing life of the young enterprising Mara McClain and how she challenged the confining Victorian mores of her time. San Francisco glittered during this era...filled to the brim with energy ...industry ....and the rawness of America’s frontier beginnings. The hopes of the newly arrived immigrants was electric and Mara McClain shone as one among many. Don’t miss this title as it is a glimpse into this country’s golden past. An honest ARC review.

This was a quick book to read that captivated me immediately, and I read it all in one day. It starts out in present day San Francisco,, but with the discovery of a diary it changes to the story of Irish immigrant Mara McClain, newly arrived in Victorian San Francisco. She is an artist, determined to risk everything she has to open a art gallery in this melting pot city of myriad cultures and gold rush wealth.

Mara finds a room in a respectable boarding house, and there finds both friends and a jealous foe. As she establishes herself, she also finds a despicable enemy in her landlord;, threatening her dreams of a gallery and even her life. Her fellow boarder and rescuer when she arrived in town, Patrick Deane, rapidly becomes her protector and stirs her feeling beyond friendship. I did find their romance becoming too steamy too rapidly, for the time period, making this book rating a 3.5 for me, but I'm rounding it up thanks to a compelling plot.

This book was given to me by NetGalley in return a fair and honest review. Thanks NetGalley and BooksGoSocial.!

I received this book from NetGallery and it seemed quite unfinished to me. I had to double check that it has indeed been published and wasn't an unfinished advanced copy (which is how it read).
I just went on a trip this year to San Fransisco so it was fun to read about the city in the early 1870's Gilded Age. I also like reading about different artist.
I didn't feel like there was much depth with the characters and never felt like I knew or understood them enough. I learned more about the landlady's personal story than I did Mara's or Patrick's. Where did she come from? Why was she here? What led her to want to open an art Gallery in San Fran?
There love/lust relationship went much too quickly as well... again, because I didn't feel like they knew each other well, I also wish the sex scene (and almost sex scenes) were less graphic. This book could be a great historical fiction, but you want to keep it classy and not turn it into a steamy erotica novel. There is a fine line, and I think it was crossed in this one.
I'm giving it two stars because I think there is a lot of potential. I'd like to know more about the characters and their feelings, right now they seem very generic. I'd like to know more about the Gilded Age. I'd like to watch the romance blossom more. Mara seems like she can be such a strong woman in a male dominated world - I'd love to see more of her stamina and strength. I'd even like to know more about Mary. Both stories seemed to end abruptly. Maybe my version was different because it was only 105 pages, but then the eBook repeated itself.
Thank you for reaching out to me and letting me read this novel.

A good historical book that mixes actions&adventure with romance.
The characters are interesting and likeable and the historical setting is well researched.
An enjoyable read.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley