I feel very conflicted about this book. On the one hand, this is an historical fiction novel that is rich with details. Many of the characters are quite compelling. And the subject matter, the House of Mercy (which was a prison for women and children disguised as a place to help these people), is a part of history we should all know about.

But there were a few aspects of the storytelling that I found difficult to overlook. The author seems to use a particular minority group simply to further someone else's storyline. And another character's horrible behavior was excused because she had a difficult life. I think the bad outweighs the good, so unfortunately, I cannot recommend this book.

What I Liked:

Setting:

New York city in the Gilded Age was a time filled with contrasts. This was a moment in history where a select few had unprecedented wealth and prosperity. Their mansions were just blocks away from the crushing poverty seen in the infamous tenement building occupied by recent immigrants.

The author does do a credible job of showing how both groups of people lived. She shows the details of food, clothing, housing, and occupations that separated the lucky from the unfortunate.

Characters:

This book focuses mainly on three female characters, Effie (a young teen), her mother Jeanne, and a tough as nails older teen named Mabel. While all three characters were well written, I really enjoyed Jeanne.

Married to a wealthy businessman, Jeanne has been pampered most of her life. But her privilege comes at a price. She has to endure her husband's womanizing, her mother-in-law's criticism, and the disdain of her children. But as the new century unfolds, times are changing. Women are marching to demand the right to vote. I liked how Jeanne comes into her own power and doesn't let her husband (or her children) define her.

What I Didn't Like:

Use of the Romani people:

I really was uncomfortable with the use of the word, "Gypsy" throughout this book. While I did appreciate that the author addressed this in an afterword at the end of the novel, I still couldn't understand why she used that word again and again. She defended it by saying that she researched this group extensively and wanted to be "historically accurate". But, it struck me that the author only had the Romani people in the book as a way for one of the wealthy characters to rebel, and not to shed any light on who they really were or what their plight was.

While I am by no means an expert on this group of people, every tired cliche was used during scenes where the sisters visit the Romani. The clothes were described as colorful, and the people loud. There was exciting violin music and (of course) fortune-telling. I felt like these were stereotypes from old black and white movies from the 1940's.

What I would have loved to have seen was any acknowledgment of why they were living in wagons and constantly on the move, or how hard their life was. Instead of showing how they were harassed and pushed out of towns, the author seems to suggest the Romani were "free" compared to Effie and her wealthy sister. But freedom implies one has choices. I doubt that if the Romani wanted to settle in one place they would have been accepted.

Emotional Manipulation:

The other aspect of the book that I hated was how the author worked hard to make the reader feel sorry for Mabel, while making excuses for her horrible behavior. Yes, Mabel stood for all the abused and disadvantaged women of the time. She was born into extreme poverty. When she and her mother moved to New York there was one horror after another for Mabel. I did have deep empathy for this character.

But Mabel also did many terrible things (some truly unforgivable), and I was baffled that she didn't change much over the course of the book. While she did do some good, she never showed remorse or took any responsibility for her actions. One of the characters actually said Mabel shouldn't be blamed for what she did because of her unfortunate circumstances! So she shouldn't have to try to be a good person because she went through tough times?

Trigger Warning: This book contains scenes of sexual violence. It is not suitable for young readers.

The Girls With No Names gets ALL the stars from me! I couldn't put it down and finished it in three sittings. Throughly enjoyed the writing style and found the storyline extremely intriguing. I found the characters were very well written and interesting. I also appreciated how real this story was, so believable and at times relatable.

I really enjoyed the information after the story regarding the House Of Mercy and plan on doing my own research to learn more.

Huge thank you to NetGalley, Harlequin & Park Row Books for my review copy.

3.5 stars

<b>The Girls with No Names</b> takes the reader back to a time where women were still fighting to be heard. The Women's Suffrage movement was just starting to make headway. But women were still beholden to the patriarchal standards of society. If a woman did not conform, rebelled or acted "inappropriately" she could be sent away to a sanitorium. One of these houses for wayward women was the House of Mercy on 86th St and 5th Ave. in Manhattan. Its public aim was to rescue women from vice but in actuality it was a Magdalene laundry. The women were not redeemed from their sin, but imprisoned and exploited for free labor.

<img src="https://i.pinimg.com/564x/b1/8b/b8/b18bb8d5324c9dc5f34553742e764321.jpg"/>

Effie and Luella are inseparable. Effie, born with a heart defect, has spent her life under her mother's watchful eye and her older sister's shadow. Luella is strong, spirited and outspoken. One day the two sisters are drawn to a field by beautiful flute music. The bonds that they form with the Romani camped here threaten their idle existence. Ignorance and bigotry cause Luella to run away. Believing that her sister was sent to the House of Mercy for her defiance, Luella hatches a plan to have her returned home. It's a rather simple plan - get admitted to House of Mercy herself and her parents will have to come and rescue them both. The only problem is Luella isn't at House of Mercy and no one knows that Effie is there.

Of the three perspectives that this story was told: Effie, her mother Jeanne and House of Mercy girl Mable, I enjoyed Effie's the most. Her innocence was beguiling and I was really drawn to her character. The other women's narrative meshed nicely with hers and fit in the missing puzzle pieces to her story.

My only problem with the book was the repeated use of the word gypsy. I found myself cringing every time the word appeared on the page. Because I felt compelled to hear Effie's story and I recognized that Burdick was not disparaging the Romani people but exposing their detractors, I mentally went about scratching out the word g***y and replacing it with Romani. Although Burdick explains her use of the word in the Afterword, I am not sure if I were a member of the Romani if this explanation would slide with me. I can tell you that when I have seen racial slurs for African-Americans in literature I get highly offended.


<i>Special thanks to NetGalley, Justine Sha at Harlequin/Park Row Publishers and Serena Burdick for advanced access to this book.</i>

While this book was good, and worth reading, it went very slow. Sadly I had no problem putting it down again and again. The characters in the story were flat and not overly likable except for Effie. I rooted for her, but was pretty sure I was misplacing my hope. I can see this being a good book club book because it has several great discussion points.

Brilliant writing but the subject is really difficult as the characters go through such horrible circumstances. It details the terrible situation and treatment of females in that era. The storyline from multiple points of view is interesting and makes you interested to see how they fare later. I was annoyed at how women were treated!

It does start really slow but picks up pace later. It would be a good choice for bookclubs.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy to review!

An excellent read! I enjoyed learning about the lives of women at the turn of the century. The women in this story are strong, courageous and overcame many hardships to ultimately triumph over a society which tried to limit them. I would love to read more books by this author!

This book grabbed me from the very first when Effie was in the basement feeling like she was dying. Effie was born with a bad heart. A hole in her heart and she was not suppose to live a year. She’s 13 now and looking for her sister Luella.
Luella and Effie are sisters. Very close sisters who will do anything for each other. Luella never believed that Effie was really dying despite the fact she has a terrible heart problem and what they call “blue fits”. Their parents love them and trust them it seems completely. But when the Gypsies come around they love to sneak off and go visit them.
Luella is a ballet dancer in the very early 1900s and is 16 years old. She is very fascinated by the Gypsies and loves going to visit and listen to their music while dancing with them also. Effie is more fascinated with the fortune telling part. She goes along mainly because of Luella though. She seems to almost worship her older sister.
Effie was born in 1900 and with a hole in her heart. The dr told her parents that she would never survive to see her first birthday. Each year on her birthday Jeanne, the girls mother, is afraid it will be Effie’s last. She’s not ready to lose her baby girl. It seems the birth of Effie puts a distance between their parents in the fear of having another baby born with problems. But their problems are by far not Effie’s fault.
The parents seem to truly love the girls and give them a good life. Their father, Emory, does not allow to many maids or help and seems like he may be a little bit on the stingy side but it’s understandable if he’s doing this to teach his girls to be selfs reliable. Luella wants her own maid but Effie does not see the sense in that. Luella is growing up and wants things that her parents don’t understand. She’s like a free spirit in many ways.
One morning Effie awakes and Luella is gone. She is convinced her father sent her to the HOUSE OF MERCY. A place where young girls were sent if they were a bit out of hand or for other reasons. It’s not a very pleasant place though. The girls are treated more like slave workers than human beings. The so called Sisters who run the place are cruel indeed. Makes me wonder about any religion that allows such cruelty. Effie finds a way to get put in this awful place and meets a girl, Mable. Mable is a character I won’t forget soon. This book tells her story along with Effie’s and Luella’s. Jeanna tells her story of fear and heartbreak. Many points of views are told here. Each so worth reading and knowing. It explains so much about each of the characters of this book.
I love the end where the author told about the places like HOUSE OF MERCY that were everywhere back then. They were all cruel and treated women, both young and older, terrible. The research that was done for this book is very interesting and worth reading also. So at the end be sure and read that part.
This story will touch your heart. Make you hold your breath in several places and even laugh in a few. It’s told from several prospectives and the characters are so well developed. I loved them all. I think this book is one that will stick with me for a long time. The ending did make me cry, but also part of it made my heart happy. It’s the story of not just two girls, but three and the mother of two of them, and how they survived, dealt with and endured some things that no young girl should have too. I was also surprised that back then at 16 a girl could get married without the parents consent. Men could do whatever they wanted and got away with it, that part didn’t surprise me though. It’s the story of love, loss, finding one’s self and losing people who are a treasure. It’s well written and a very touching story.
Thank you to #NetGalley, #Harlequin, and a new to me author, Serena Burdick. I look forward to more from this author. This is my own review.
I have to give it 5 stars. A very high recommendation also. A must read.

This was a difficult book to read as teen girls had to endure such horrible conditions beyond their control. I was horrified when Effie, who has a serious heart condition, deliberately gets herself thrown into the House of Mercy. Why? Her sister is suddenly missing, and Effie believes Luella may have been sent there. Now she is trapped. Can she possibly survive?

Effie recognizes too late that she truly led a privileged life. Now she just wants to go home, thus she plans an escape with another of the imprisoned girls. Can they pull it off?

Alternating narratives were used to reveal the different perspectives of the women. I was appalled by what institutions like the House of Mercy got away with, using these girls for slave-labor.

This was a fast book for me, I had a hard time putting it down. The story was interesting but also sad. I enjoyed it! Definitely recommend! Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the early copy

Ugliness Beneath Wealthy Victorian New York of the 1910s

Louella and Effie live in the protected environment of wealthy New Yorkers in the Victorian era. Roaming about their wooded neighborhood, they discover gypsies camped in a field. Drawn to the colorful life the girls keep returning.

When the girls discover that their father is guilty of a shocking indiscretion, they act out their unhappiness. Louella becomes wild. Eventually, she is sent away. Effie thinks she’s been sent to the House of Mercy, a nearby home for wayward girls where they are virtually imprisoned and worked to death. Longing to find and rescue her sister, Effie gets herself admitted to the House of Mercy, but finds escape is not so easy.

The story is told from three points of view although the first half of the book is in Effie’s voice. After she enters the House of Mercy, we have chapters by Mable a girls who befriends her, and Jeanne, her mother. I loved Effie’s character. In spite of her poor health, she is plucky and takes on challenges that in some cases are beyond her. Luella is less likable. However, she seemed to have grown into a much more compassionate person at the end.

This is a story that tells of the terrible treatment of women and girls in the Victorian era. It’s hard to believe that religious institutions like the House of Mercy were so merciless and treated the people confined in their care so poorly. The book is well researched, and I found the scenes in the House of Mercy well done and interesting. The author discusses some of her research in the Afterword.

I received this book from Harlequin for this review.

I want to thank the Publisher and Netgalley for allowing me to read an advance copy of this book. In the beginning it started off slow for me, but picked up throughout the book. Also, I liked how the author used the names of characters in each chapter title. I enjoy a good historical book and this was a heartfelt book.

The next time I am dwelling on something unfair that happened, I am going to remember to be grateful for not being born in the early 1900s. Women had no rights and it didn't matter if you were rich or poor, step out of line, and you could be sent to a place like the House of Mercy. If you think that the people there spent time and effort trying to help these girls, you would be mistaken. The girls were treated horribly and often sent to this type of place for the egregious crime of just not conforming to a man's expectation.
Effie and Luella are sisters from a wealthy family. They love their parents, but their father is often away, and their mother lives a mostly joyless life. Luella is the more adventurous sister and Effie, poor, sweet Effie, born with a heart condition that makes her grateful for every breath. When the sisters discover something unpleasant about their father, everything changes. Luella disappears and Effie is certain she has been sent to the House of Mercy. Effie will do anything to find and free the sister she loves. While entering the House of Mercy may be relatively easy, leaving will be a different story.
The story is told by Effie, her mother, Jeanne, and Mable, a girl Effie meets at the House of Mercy. Effie has no idea of the horrors waiting for her. Between the sheltered life she lived, her poor health, and the fact that Luella is not there, learning to trust Mabel may be her only salvation.
This is the kind of book I reach for when I just finished binging my way through a pile of psychological thrillers. The pace is slow, it's character-driven, and it tells a story set in a time that I know about from history, but not well. It didn't keep me up late, make me cancel plans, or abandon my commitments, but it was a perfect read on a cold day that I thoroughly enjoyed.

I wanted to scream through much of this book for attitudes held toward women and girls and those who are "other," which has led to such pain for so many throughout history.

Thanks to Netgalley for the fee read in exchange for an honest review.

Sisters Effie and Luella are growing up in exciting times- suffragettes marching, unions forming. But they are still girls, and girls can be sent away by their families for any number of small infractions. When Luella is missing after discovering secrets her father is keeping, her sister just knows she has been sent to a home for wayward girls. Effie decides to get herself committed to House of Mercy as well. But has she miscalculated what is going on? Where is Luella really?

The story opens on the life of Luella and Effie Tildon, privileged children, raised by a strict mother and a father interested in keeping up appearances. Luella, the older sister, has a bit of a rebellious streak but dotes on Effie. Effie was born with a heart condition that leaves her prone to “blue fits” and leaves her parents amazed each year that she does not die. The girls are inseparable and make their own adventures..

When Luella goes missing, Effie assumes that her parents have sent her away to the reform school (work house) up the road, known as the House of Mercy. Desperate to be with her sister after her parents refuse to bring her home, Effie dreams up a plan and enters the House of Mercy under a different name only to find that her sister is not there.

Trapped by her own story, Effie finds herself stuck in the House of Mercy and falls victim to the cruelty of the nuns and the girls that find themselves there. Effie's gets entangled with another girl, Mable, who is also not using her own name but for far different reasons. While trying to save Effie, Mable's find herself face to face with her past.

This story touches on new York in the 1910's, the wealthy holding on to their traditions and the poor just trying to hold on, the women who would dare to spearhead the suffrage movement, and the women and girls who found themselves with no say in their own lives.

I enjoyed the authors' use of the names to highlight her title and the lack of identity woman had outside of their male relations. I wish there had been more history than just the touches of the suffrage movement and the workhouses for wayward girls.

Effie enjoys writing and the author would sometimes throw some of her fanciful stories into the narrative that were often distracting and didn't add much to the story.

It was a solid read, good for book clubs . 3.5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Omg! What a story! Absolutely loved it!

Luella is up no good! Oh boy! Effie loved her sister Luella so much as much as Mabel aka Signe...Effie reminded her of her sister Luella whatever she gets in trouble...Poor Jeanne, she lost both of them whose two are missing persons but now, they came back until Effie lost her fight until in late January...

Thanks to Netgalley for my copy for an exchange review...

Book: The Girls with No Names
Author: Serena Burdick
Rating: 4 Out of 5 Stars

I would like to thank the publisher, Park Row, for sending me an ARC.

So, I was just offered an ARC last week for this title and I almost didn’t agree to it. I mean, it comes out next week and I like to have my reviews up early. I’m actually glad that I ended up talking it. This book is one of those that is going to hit you in all of the right places and make you really question society. This is one of those books that make you really step back and think about how society attempts to mold people and also gives you a look into what used to happen to those who didn’t follow its’ rules.

The book has a lot of slow parts. Serena goes through and tells us each of the girls backstories. I really liked it, because it shows why they were locked up in the first place. The actual story really doesn’t start until at least a quarter of the way through. I know a lot of you are going to put this book down for that reason, but give it a chance. This really is one of those books where you need that slow start in order to actually build the story. Without all of those so called boring parts at the start, you really wouldn’t have much of a story to go on.

The characters were pretty good. However, they aren’t really going to stick out in my mind. Don’t get me wrong, I did enjoy them, but they are missing that punch to make them memorable. Plus, we did have a lot of them and I found it hard to keep more than one of them straight. In my defense, the names are very close. I did enjoy getting to see them struggle and how they grew. That’s what I really loved about this book was how the characters changed.

The writing style was pretty good. It kept me engaged and wanting to read more. It’s pretty easy to get into and is pretty straight forward. I do have to admit that I didn’t think it was as emotional as it could have been, but it did get the job done.

Overall, this book is worth the read-espcially if you like more historical pieces or literature. There is no romance, so if that’s not for you, then yeah.

This book comes out on January 7, 2020.

Youtube: https://youtu.be/VEQskubqhi0

Effie and Luella lived a privileged life and had to conform to all the strict rules set upon women in the 1910's.

Effie was the sister who had a health problem, and Luella was the sister who was beautiful. Both behaved, but were bored with their lives and the control their parents had over them.

One day the sisters were at lunch with their father and witnessed something he did that shocked and upset them. What they found out, made Luella become rebellious.

Luella being the bolder of the two sisters hinted that she knew her father's secret, and this made her father furious. Because of her rebellion, Effie woke up one morning to realize her sister wasn't there.

Did their father take her away or did she go away on her own?

After Luella left, Effie couldn’t function, and she needed her parents to tell her where Luella was. Effie wouldn’t give up, but did she go too far for the love of her sister?

We follow this disjointed family as each member seems to be living a life separate from one another even though they live under the same roof. Having to now deal with Luella gone, things became more difficult.

THE GIRLS WITH NO NAMES was an enjoyable read, interesting read with characters you will like but will want to tell to think before acting.

THE GIRLS WITH NO NAMES will be of interest to women’s fiction fans and those readers who enjoy family tension, life in the 1900's, sisterly love, story line twists, and secrets.

This book is one you won't want to put down. ENJOY!! 5/5

This book was given to me by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Life in the early 1900s was very confining for women and girls. Even the wealthy families who live in their mansions just down the road from the mysterious House of Mercy. 

Luella and Effie belong to one of those families. Their father is charming but away a lot and their mother comes off as cold and a bit distant. Effie was born with a heart defect that will eventually kill her. Her older sister Luella has always looked after her. They are good girls with very little to do.

One day playing by the forest they hear beautiful music playing and their curiosity gets the better of them. What they find is a gypsy camp. Luella, a dancer is amazed and never wants to leave, but Effie needs her. All summer they hang out with the gypsy camp and it is here Luella runs after she and Effie find out a secret their father is keeping.


Feeling betrayed and angry Luella has no intention of obeying her father or ending up like one of the girls at school being sent to the Mercy House. She just needs a plan.

And just like that, she disappears. Effie is devastated and believes her father has finally had enough of his rebellious daughter and parked her in the Mercy House.

Effie is determined to find her sister and the way she gets into the house is brazen and fearless. But once behind that door, the house is anything but merciful. This is just another workhouse for girls who won't knuckle under to society's rules. How will she get out of this place where no one and nothing is what it seems. Not even their names.

Effie meets a girl named Mabel and we hear her story as well. With all the lies everyone is telling it will take a miracle for her to find her way home. If she doesn't die in the process.

Historical Fiction with a lot of facts. These places existed everywhere. Magdalene Laundries, all more of the same. If a girl has an opinion she could easily never see the light of day again.  Everyone in this book was suffering in some way. Secrets and lies told to protect reputations and instead simply end up making things so much worse.

NetGalley/January 7th, 2020 by Park Row

This heart wrenching tale of two “nameless “ girls and the strength it took to survive was the best historical fiction book I’ve read all year. Set in turn of the century New York the story is told from the perspectives of Effie, her mother Jean, and Mable. The switches between points of view were smooth and easy to read. Serena Burdick does a wonderful job drawing you into the story. I felt like I was there suffering along side the characters. Even though I wish there was a little bit more about Mercy House I give this book five stars.