BETHLEHEM
Serves up a delicious brew of tragedy, deception, buried secrets, courage, and forgiveness, finding the strength to overcome.. Emotionally infused tale based historically true events

Moody and romantic, this historical fiction moves on two timelines that dovetail neatly to provide inspiration and closure for two families intertwined across generations. Author Karen Kelly does a good job recreating both time periods, 1962 and 1918, and her principal characters are engaging and absorbing. The only stumbling blocks for me were the inclusion of extra family members who were only walk-on characters, at best, and oh so many nicknames! I realize the habits of this particular social group is to nickname themselves like crazy but with the addition of so many needless walk-ones, I almost lost sight of the plot. The book gets really good about half way through and becomes impossible to put down at that point. Don’t give up on the slow start, it’s worth the effort. I received my copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Family Secrets Shadow the Lives of Three Generations of Women

With the death of Frank Collier’s father, he takes on the responsibility for management of the family’s steel company in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Frank’s extended trips leave Joanna alone with the two children. This situation is putting strain on their marriage, so Joanna agrees to move to the estate owned by Frank’s family.

The house is already occupied by Frank’s mother, Susannah, and his grandmother. Although the women are friendly, Joanna feels increasingly out of place. The mansion reeks of tragedy. Although Joanna thought the move would bring her closer to Frank, she finds that her loneliness is driving them further apart.

If you enjoy books with haunting mansions, family secrets, and romance, this is a well done book. The opening is a little hard to get through. Many characters are introduced all with both nicknames and given names which are used throughout the text. However, the characters are compelling. The stories of Joanna and Susannah are told in the time periods of the 1920’s and the 1960’s. I found Susannah’s story more dramatic, but Joanna’s story of trying repair her marriage is also interesting.

The background is mostly about the family, but we get glimpses of the steel industry particularly in the 1820. The ending is the part that makes the book. It’s surprising and thoroughly satisfying.

I received this book from St. Martin’s Press for this review.

Karen Kelly is a new author to me so I wasn’t sure what to expect. I found Bethlehem to be a book that kept me wanting to turn pages to learn more about the characters and the town of Bethlehem.

The story of Frank and Joanna who go to live at Frank’s family home along with their two children are set in the 1960s. In the home resides the two matriarchs of the family, Frank’s mother and grandmother. This leaves Joanna feeling like she is a visitor in her home, decisions are made without her being asked, her children are given freedoms and without her consent, and Frank is always at work. Joanna feels like she is losing herself. The mother-in-law, Susannah, also gets to tell her story that starts in the 1920s and leads to the revealing secrets that she has kept close to the heart to not cause any family problems.

I felt that the start was a little hard to follow because there were so many characters introduced at one time. I struggled to keep them straight and to follow who’s story I was reading. As the story continued it became easier to figure out and I grew more attached to both the characters and the story itself.

Bethlehem is a woman’s historical fiction. It tells of life in a town that is supported by the U.S Steel industry but goes on to show the bond between a mother and daughter and the struggles of marriage. The cover should draw your attention but the storyline will keep you entertained.

Wow! What a read! I loved this book. Bethlehem by Karen Kelly is a back-and-forth in time read that is set in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and bounces between 1962 and the early 1920s. The 1962 section is told from the point of view of Joanna, and back in the early 20s, we see things primarily from Susannah’s perspective. Susannah is Joanna’s mother-in-law, and so the two time periods have an obvious connection that doesn’t feel forced.

I liked both time periods. The setting is the same, Brynmor, the Parrish family estate, and early on we learn that Susannah Parrish marries Wyatt Collier, the son of the head engineer at Bethlehem Steel, which is owned and operated by the Parrish family. The time period in the early twenties tells the story of how Susannah and Wyatt fell in love, and the 1962 section tells of Joanna, and her struggles living at Brynmor, and trying to fit in and live with her husband’s family.

For at least the first half of the book, not a whole lot of plot happens. I was enjoying the book, but wasn’t sure where it was going. We read about life at Brynmor, and read of Joanna’s struggles to fit in and feel a sense of belonging, and we see a youthful Susannah full of energy and happiness. Then the book starts to shift, and I realized all of the carefully crafted buildup, and I couldn’t put the book down. While it started quietly, it ended with a stunning conclusion that still leaves me a bit shaken.

Bethlehem is a book with a love triangle (or two) that works. Love, family, secrets, grief, and time all play a role. To say more would spoil the unwinding of this beautifully crafted story. This is a book about love – the kind of love you wish that you are lucky enough to find. It’s also a book about secrets and how they can weigh us down. I loved it!

Bottom Line: An excellent read. Would make a great book club selection!

Bethlehem is set in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania in the 1920s and the 1960s. It is the story of relationships within and among two prominent families, and the lengths they would go to to maintain those relationships. It is a story of loss, of secrets, and of forgiveness. Karen Kelly paints the story with masterful strokes deepened by the beauty of the language with which she paints. The painting has a darkness to it, but the colors are rich, and the final strokes bring light to her canvas.

While this book differs from the Christian fiction I typically review, the language is not offensive and, while there is great passion, there are no passionate scenes that one would take offense to. The book, though not Christian fiction, points to Jesus by demonstrating how attending church out of duty or to meet societies expectations without coming to know Jesus as Lord and Savior is often self-destructive.

I would recommend Bethlehem to my friends, and am grateful to St. Martin's Press for providing me with a copy in exchange for my honest opinion. I was under no obligation to write a positive review and received no monetary compensation.

Bethlehem, by Karen Kelly is a fabulous family saga that revolves around two women in two different generations. The story takes place during the 192o's and 1960's in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, the U.S steel capital offers itself as the backdrop of a wealthy family and two generations of women. This was a beautifully written novel that I could not put down. I loved this book! t was a haunting and magical tale. 5 wonderful stars! I highly recommend it!

This book is completely outside my go-to genre but I really enjoyed the jump between the 1920s and 1960s! It had a little bit of a historical aspect and coupled well with mystery and secrets! I really enjoyed the writing style as the story flowed well and never seemed dry.

Nice story about two intertwined women and their decisions to protect their families a couple of decades apart. At times I found this book to be a little slow - like dragging itself. But it is interesting with a nice writing style. The background of the steel era is also interesting. It got more interesting towards the end of the book when the two stories connect in a more obvious way.

Hardcover, 304 pages Published July 9th 2019 by St. Martin's Press
ISBN13: 9781250201492 Setting: Bethlehem, Pennsylvania (United States)
Rating: 4*

Set during the gilded, glory days of Bethlehem, PA two women come together, not realizing that in a short time, the secrets of betrayal and temptations they’ve held and kept will one day bind them together in a way that neither could have ever expected.

Arriving at the grand ancestral home of her husband’s family, Joanna is hoping to fortify her cracking marriage. But what she finds is not what she expected: tragedy haunts the hallways, whispering of heartache and a past she never knew existed. And her mother-in-law Susannah, is not someone who makes Joanna feel welcome. Too many women in a house that has seen too much tragedy and heartache and kept too many secrets.

It was touted as a historical based on the titans of the steel-boom era, namely Bethlehem Steel, but it turned out to be more than that in what I would describe as women’s fiction. Joanna has had to give up the house and home she had lived in with her husband and two children to move into the families humongous ancestral home. Living with her husband’s grandmother and mother who had held the title of mistress of that home. It made Joanna feel somewhat non-essential. Everything was taken care of by numerous family retainers who Joanna felt had more claim to the home than she would ever have.

Feeling somewhat neglected Joanna fell into the habit of spending her time in the nearby cemetery where she made friends with the quirky cemetery keepers and their enigmatic grandson. She also discovered the tiny gravestone of baby “Hayes” whom she wanted to uncover the mystery of who he was and why no one had claimed it to give him a name.

*** The book started slowly and to be honest, it was something I struggled with, but slowly the story started to make more sense as the author kept up the past and present theme of Susannah’s and Joanna’s life. Both would discover that their lives were similar but different. The characters were well defined, the pace did pick up, and it was a pretty good summer read.

Thanks to Net Galley for providing me the ARC of this book for an honest review.

Marilyn Rondeau

This book is one of my favorite historical books of the year! Set in Bethlehem Pa when Bethlehem Steel was still up and running. This book was wonderfully written and felt like I was there every moment. For historical fiction lovers, I definitely suggest this book!!

A rich and deeep multi-generational family saga, this story was a breath of fresh air for me in the historical ficture genre that is right now generally dominated with mostly WW2 titles. There are touches of WW history in this book, but the story is centered around the founding family of the Bethlehem Steel Company in Pennsylvania during its hey-day. Friendship, love, difficult family relations, and deception all weave together to culminate in an engaging read.

Reader Tip: Because of the many characters to keep track of in this story (some with nick-names in addition to birth names), it greatly helps to keep a note of the family tree and extended members when reading this book. But please don't let that disway you from reading this gem of a book, it is worth it!

I enjoyed this historical fiction, mostly because the plot and story could happen anytime. I don’t read a lot of historical fiction so it was nice to be able to focus on the storyline and not the year and time...just how decisions from one year can affect your future.

This book was a slow starter, but once immersed it was hard to put down. This story was told in two timelines and told very well. The elegance of Kelly’s words brought the story to life. Beautifully written this was a story of family, friends and forgiveness. A story filled with complex characters you will come to love. Well done!

The story is set in two different times, the 1920s and the 1960s. I love a book that uses this format. It's so interesting to see characters at different points in their lives. How the their life has shaped them. So the style was just what I like. The premise intrigued me also.
I have to be honest, the first half of this book I did not enjoy. At all. If I hadn't got this from Netgalley, in all honesty I think I would've DNF'd it.
Nothing happened, in the first half of the novel. It was dull. Also, there were just so many characters and they all had nicknames. I couldn't remember everyone, or figure out who was who. It just made the whole book unenjoyable. I've seen a few other people think this way too.
However, I'm so glad I didn't give up on this book. The second half I loved. Seriously, I looked at my kindle it was 50% when I started to enjoy this book.
Honestly I couldn't put it down. The story became interesting. There was a romance, that was so sweet and sincere, I loved it. There was some mystery, that had a very satisfying ending. Both of the stories just became better. The writing picked up. The whole second half was just cleaner. It had more direction. It also had one of my favourite epilogues. Sometimes they can make it break a story, but I loved this one.
The best thing was the characters became much more likeable, I mean what's a book without it's characters. I had such empathy for them. They turned this book around.
This is a difficult one for me to recommend but I think ultimately I would. Maybe read it if you're a patient reading who really likes to let a story build. Is it my favourite historical fiction book I've read this year? No. But it's certainly not the worst.
I have to thank Netgalley and St. Martins Press for gifting me with a copy of this book, in return for an honest, unbiased review. This book is out 9th July.

This was such a great summer read! Joanna moves to Bethlehem, PA with her family and into her husband's family's home. She spends her days with her two kids, her mother in law, and husband's grandmother. It is not exactly what she wanted, but she tries to make the best of it hoping to strengthen her marriage and do what is expected of her. In the meantime, there is also the story of Susannah (the mother in law) growing up. The Colliers and the Parrishes are wealthy heads of Bethlehem steel and their kids grow up together. The book is a bit hard to follow at times with the all the characters and the different people in each family in the earlier and later timelines. I wish a family tree had been included in the book, when I made one for myself, it was much easier to track which character was which. But once I got reading that didn't impede my enjoyment of the book. I love both story lines and enjoyed the relationship between Joanna and Susannah. I would definitely recommend this book.

Linda's Book Obsession Reviews "Bethlehem" by Karen Kelley, St Martins Press, July 9, 2019



Karen Kelly, Author of "Bethlehem" writes a Fiction novel, with some Historical Background. There are two storylines from around 1918 and 1962, two timelines that eventually connect. There is suspense, secrets, betrayals, romance, and twists and turns. Karen Kelly describes her characters as complex and complicated. The author discusses the importance of family, forgiveness, love, and hope.

The Historical part of the story describes the upstart of Bethlehem Steel, and the importance of the use of such materials, as well as the wealth it provided some families. The story is also described in the cemetery and the caretakers who know the history of the town. I would recommend this suspenseful and surprising novel.

Thank you to Net Galley for providing an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

My grandfather worked for Bethlehem Steel his entire life, though it was in Johnstown, PA and not Bethlehem, so when I saw the title of this book, I was immediately drawn to it. I was quickly engrossed in both the story from the 1960’s and the 1920’s. Each story flowed seamlessly and I was invested in both Joanna and Susannah’s stories. Beautifully written.

A poignant book that tells the story of how these two families at the height of the steel insurgence, are so intertwined. Hollins Parrish with his wife Helen and their 3 kids Kit, India and Susannah. Charles Collier with his wife Frances and their sons Chap and Wyatt. The story is told in present of 1962 and the past starting in 1918. Through the roaring 20's with flappers, jazz and the Charleston. In the blink of an eye, everything changed.Secrets were made and kept through the years. It amazes me how the more things change, the more they stay the same.

This family saga was a 3/5 star read for me, so I'm going to do things a little differently and list what worked and what didn't:
Pros:
- Isn't that cover just gorgeous? I absolutely love the cover and honestly chose to read this for the cover before reading the synopsis.
-Kelly is an eloquent writer and paints a vivid picture of the time periods, the 1920s and 1960s since the story is told in dual timelines.
-She really excels at her characterization of Susannah, or "Sassy" as she's called. I felt like I understood Sassy and completely empathized with her in the book.
-The women in the book: Susannah, Helen, Joanna, Doe are wonderful, strong, albeit flawed, female characters. I found their relationships and friendships to be a very engaging part of the novel.
-The 2nd half is the best part of the book and if you can hang in that long to read it, then you'll be rewarded with a beautiful story of love, family, forgiveness, and healing.

Cons:
-The novel is more women's fiction than anything; it's definitely not the historical fiction I was expecting.
- The first 50% of the novel is extremely slow, and I considered DNFing but as I said above, if you can get past this point, it's a beautiful story.
-The character of Joanna in the 1960s is underdeveloped and I thought unnecessary to the storyline. Sassy is definitely the focal point of the novel.

All in all, this was an enjoyable read. I didn't love it as I had hoped and like some of my Traveling Sisters who read it with me did, but I enjoyed it and the discussions we had! I encourage you to check out more reviews on Goodreads since I might be an outlier for this one!

*Thank you, NetGalley and St. Martins Press for the ARC. All opinions are my own.**