I loved this book! It's well-written, enjoyable, and a great read. The author did a great job of writing in a way that captures the readers attention, and makes you not want to put it down until you're finished! I would highly recommend it!

In Burdick's "The Stolen Book of Evelyn Aubrey", the reader is gifted with a wonderful story of family secrets and the quest to make your path in life. The eloquence Burdick brings to the page is just as masterful as her characters. THis is a truly amazing read.

I really don't think this book benefited from having multiple time jumps for narratives. If you're a fan of The Lost Apothecary, you will likely enjoy this.

I really wanted to enjoy this novel because it sounded very interesting. However, this was hard read, and I could not stomach myself to finish it. The abuse that Evelyn suffers really made me uncomfortable and was disturbing. Thus, this book was very intense and was not for me.

I seem to be reading a lot of dual timeline novels lately, and I'm honestly glad they've become such a popular writing genre. I thought this one was well done. Throw in a storyline about a missing book, a literary mystery, and I'm satisfied.

This was a great story, about Abigail, who lost her mother at age 14, and who has never known who her father was, and Evelyn, Abby's great-great-grandmother, of which Abigail has no knowledge until one day she finds a photo of her parents hidden in an underwear drawer. So begins her quest.

I didn't really like Abby at first. She seemed like a brat. I understand that she had issues stemming from the loss of her mom at the age of 14, but wasn't all that likeable. However, she definitely grew on me, especially after she decides to find out the truth. I really felt for Evelyn and I understand most of the choices she made, except for one.

I'm not a big fan of "gothic literature" and I've seen this described as such, but I enjoyed the atmospheric setting of the countryside in England. The book kept me interested and on the edge of my seat the whole time I was reading it.

I look forward to reading more books by this author.

Thank you, NetGalley, for the chance to read and review this book. All opinions expressed are mine and freely given.

I am going against the majority with this one, but it just didn't work for me. This is a dual timeline story with Evelyn falling in love with author. William Aubrey in 1898. Against the wishes of her family, they marry. He quickly becomes cruel and when he gets writer's block, he steals the draft of the book Evelyn has been working on and publishes it as his own. During that time, women had very little rights, so there was not much she could do about it. The second timeline is set in 2006, when Abigail's mother dies, she becomes more interested in finding her father. She stumbles upon his photo and a message that her great-great-grandmother was the author Evelyn Aubrey. Abigail heads to England in search for answers. She learns about Evelyn’s disappearance and how London society believed she was murdered. But from what she uncovers about Evelyn, Abigail believes her brilliant great-great-grandmother had another plot up her sleeve. Will Abigail solve the mystery of what really happened to Evelyn Aubrey? Will she find her father?

This was a dual timeline story that I struggled with. The two storylines didn't flow well in my opinion and I struggled to keep the story straight. I did like Evelyn and how she got back at William, but the present day story didn't really interest me. Overall, this book was just meh for me. If you enjoy a mystery that lasts over 100 years, family secrets and stories of women who get back at a man who takes advantage of them, then pick up this book. You may love it as much as the others did.

When You are More than a Muse: The Stolen Book of Evelyn Aubrey by Serena Burdick

BY HELEN PIPER

In her novel The Stolen Book of Evelyn Aubrey (Park Row Books, 2022), Serena Burdick describes the complicated lives of Evelyn, a young wife and writer at the turn-of-the-20th century England, and Abigail, newly minted college graduate in modern-day Berkeley, California.

Both women are trying to pursue their dreams whilst navigating their relationship with the opposite sex. Not an easy feat, regardless of when and where you live, and it soon becomes apparent that Abigail and Evelyn are related.

“I wanted to show how we carry our ancestry with us, to explore the possibility that we hold the history of our families in our bones even if we don’t know what that history is,” Burdick explains. “Abby has inherited her great-great-grandmother Evelyn’s physical traits, but also her inner struggles and desires. I asked the question: what does this story look like repeated through the generations? I wanted to show how family secrets haunted these women, and that only in unearthing the truth could they find their true voices.”

The book seamlessly intertwines Evelyn’s and Abigail’s fates, but that is only one point of this multi-layered story. In addition to showing the far-reaching consequences of family history, Burdick sets out to shed light on the challenges that comes with trying to lead a creative life. This is especially challenging if you are female, regardless of era.

Burdick says: “I am intrigued with how a person’s behavior, and psychological makeup, changes depending on what era they lived in. Society dictates so much of how we behave, what we fight for, or against.”

This fascination manifests itself in Burdick’s storytelling. You can see this when newly married Evelyn blames herself for her husband’s unhappiness despite doing everything in her power to please him. Women didn’t have much power in the late 19th century and early 20th century, and when Evelyn realizes that there is nothing she can do, she takes out a notebook and let her pen bleed words onto the page. Yet even this act is unusual for a woman in those days, and Evelyn’s insouciance will cost her dearly.

Burdick’s research into the era has been thorough and widespread. During reading you gather interesting details about the colonial British war effort in Sudan, and what to wear when going hunting. You also learn about how much water early motorists had to bring in order to cool the engine, and that the most fashionable place to holiday in the UK was Bath. Still, the research process didn’t end with politics, customs and trends. Burdick also ventured into the literary world for inspiration.


author photo by Danielle Tait

“Evelyn was definitely inspired by a number of different fictional Victorian women,” she says. “I was reading a lot of Wilkie Collins novels when I started this book, as well as Austen and Bronte and Dickens. The character of Lydia Gwilt in the Wilkie Collins novel, Armadale, was particularly inspiring.”

You can also see some classical allusions in the story. There is a whiff of DuMaurier’s Rebecca: a rural setting, a brooding husband and an eerie atmosphere. The dual timeline provides some relief, as the modern-day great-granddaughter looking for answers feels like a much more liberated woman. The quest to find her identity and traveling back to England to do so makes the story an enthralling read.

This is not Burdick’s first book set in a previous era. Her earlier works include Girl in the Afternoon, about a young woman wanting to become a painter during la Belle Epoque in France and trying to navigate a male-dominated world. In her book Find me in Havana, she explored the real life of Hispanic actress Estelita Rodriguez in Golden Age Hollywood.

“Technically, fiction allows the writer the freedom to portray a character however they like, and yet I am sure most of us feel an obligation to stay as true to these real-life figures as possible,” Burdick says. “For me, this can be limiting. With the exception of Find Me in Havana, I try to keep my protagonists fictional, while dropping in historical figures as supporting roles. Their presence adds to the believability, and places the novel nicely in history, but I selfishly like the freedom of writing a character exactly as I want them to be. I do, however, use real historical figures as inspiration. That way, I get the best of both worlds.”

This point is vividly illustrated by the betrayal of Evelyn, and how her husband, writer William Aubrey, is being portrayed in the story. Burdick explains: “I couldn’t rightfully accuse any real author of all the things I accuse him of.”

Thankfully, William Aubrey is not real, but as a fictional character, his actions creates consequences for generations to come. Still he makes for a thoroughly interesting read.

I wouldn’t want to be married to him though.



About the contributor: Helen Piper is the author of a novella loosely based on Joan Crawford’s life, and she is currently working on her first novel. Previously she worked as a lawyer

The Stolen Book of Evelyn Aubrey follows the cursed Aubrey women across multiple timelines. I particularly fell in love with Evelyn Aubrey and was sucked into the mystery of her disappearance.

I absolutely devoured this book. I found it to be fast-paced and intriguing. I felt less connected to Abby's storyline but as Evelyn and Abbys stories begin to merge I became consumed with a need to know the origin of the curse that plagues the Aubrey women and the truth of Evelyns disappearance. A tragic but heartwarming story of how one choice can affect the trajectory of generations to come.

At first, I thought the book would be body positive since both the MC's were described as being curvy, but then there were just some cringy comments made about people's weight, including one instance where Sally made multiple negative comments about her weight in quick succession which I found unfortunate.

My other gripe is that Abby, who is supposed to be 31, came across as being about 15. Maybe the author intended for her to be immature, but it just felt a little off. I kept having to remind myself that she was a grown woman.

Overall, it is a very enjoyable read and one that felt very different from anything else I read. Would definitely recommend it!

This is a really good time slip story! It is about Abby who is on a search to find out who her father is. Her mother never told her and now that her mother has passed, there are no clues. But, wait! Abby finds a photograph of a man she doesn't know and her mother, along with a book of poems written by Evelyn Aubrey. She sees a note on the photo from the man telling Abby's mom that the book's author is his great grandmother, indicating that their new baby (Abby) may also be a writer.

Abby now has her clue and begins a search that takes her to England and to the grand hall Evelyn lived in with her husband, another author, William Aubrey. The book goes between Evelyn's life in the 1900's and Abby's in 2006. Abby continues searching for clues to help her discover her father with the help of the current hall's residents/caretakers, Sally and her brother who are related to the Aubrey's by marriage. Friendships are made, lessons are learned and horizons are broadened.

Will Abby find out who her father is? Will she find even more than she asked for? Find out in The Stolen Book of Evelyn Aubrey. I loved this book. I was so invested in Evelyn's part that I couldn't wait to find out what happened. The part with Abby was good, too, but I found myself more involved with Evelyn's side. The author does a great job of tying the two together and bringing the whole thing to a satisfying conclusion. Serena Burdick also wrote The Girls with No Names which I also thoroughly enjoyed. She has now become one of my automatic read authors.

This review is pretty late. I got sidetracked with life and some of my timed-out reviews got delayed. I got the request to read this book with a selection of fall books I believe. It sounded super interesting so I downloaded the book to my Kindle. I was excited to read it.

Abby is lost in her life. Her mother died when she was younger and she was raised by her Grandparents. She just kind of floated through life but was desperate to find out who she was and where she came from. She pushed her boyfriend away because she needed to know who she was and he came second. She finds a picture and it leads her to England to find her family. Will it lead her to what she is looking for or will it take her down a path that she really doesn’t want to know about? First off, this book took me 19 days to read. I did not like it at all. The only reason I gave it two stars is that at a certain point, I was just invested in the story and needed to find out what happened to the main character. It felt like a chore just to read it and found myself on more than one count falling asleep and waking up with a start when my Kindle smacked me in the face.

I found Abby just plain annoying. I know that it is important to find where you come from. I mean I admit that I have paid for Ancestry.com things so that I could find out more about my family, even though my family is not broken. It just seemed like she was woe is me all the time about everything but didn’t see what was in front of her the whole time. However, maybe that was the journey she was supposed to have, but I thought it could have been written differently. The storyline with Evelyn was aggravating. She was certainly a grass was always greener on the other side of the fence situation. Her story could have been written in half the time and I honestly felt let down by her ending. Yes, she got a good ending but the road that we took to make it there was one that I felt could have, again, been written in fewer words. Maybe, I am just salty or something about the storyline, but read the book and make your own decisions about the book.

Thank you net galley for the advance reader copy of this novel. This was a historical fiction set in dual timelines that was part mystery part "other". This was a hard book for me to read as Evenlyn was abused by her husband, and the repeated loss of loved ones. There were happy moments of course, but overall the book felt just sad to me. I know many will enjoy this author but wasn't for me.

Thank you to the publisher, Harlequin Books, and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

In 1898 England, aspiring writer Evelyn, the well educated daughter of wealthy parents, marries acclaimed author William Aubrey, whose debut novel has brought him fame, but the initially happy marriage turns into something terrible. When William, in the midst of writer’s block and jealous of Evelyn’s talent, betrays her by stealing her novel and selling it as his own, Evelyn decides that it’s time for her to find a way out of this marriage – one that will also be a suitable revenge for everything she has undergone at his hands. A hundred years later in California, Abigail finds a photo of the father she has never known in a book of poetry by Evelyn Aubrey, supposedly her great-great-grandmother, and sets off on a journey to England in hopes of discovering her roots and perhaps finding her father. There, she learns of Evelyn’s mysterious disappearance and the common belief that she was murdered by her husband and is eager to find out the true story of what happened to Evelyn.

A very last minute addition to my TBR this year, this book was such an interesting read! Dual timelines are my favorite of course, and this one was well written, maintaining the mystery for as long as possible and allowing the reader to pick up clues and hints from both timelines to speculate on what Evelyn’s plan might have been, if she went through with it and how Abigail might piece it all together. I also like the writing style, especially as it made it easy to transition from late 1900s England to present day California with no trouble at all, bringing the backdrop of both timelines to life.

The character development, for both Abigail and Evelyn was marvellously done and I really enjoyed watching both characters grow throughout their arcs. I definitely enjoyed Evelyn’s storyline more – which I kind of expected since in dual timeline novels, I mostly tend to like the past timeline. Abby wasn’t the most likeable character for me, but the plot was interesting enough to keep reading her POV chapters. Evelyn was a great character, and remarkably strong and determined as she refused to just accept and go along with everything that happened to her and instead worked to find a way out and escape her horrible marriage despite the very limited options for women in England at the time.

The only thing I had a bit of trouble with was the Aubrey family line which I found confusing to keep up with in the generations between William and Abby. Though it’s easy to extrapolate as to what might have happened to Evelyn after her last POV, it would have been nice to have some sort of epilogue from her perspective with some more information.

The Stolen Book of Evelyn Aubrey had a clever plot that made it a pleasure to read and the mystery was certainly an intriguing one that kept me turning the pages. I would definitely recommend this book for those who like mystery novels with historical settings!

Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC copy of this book!

The story is told from two timelines: Abby’s story in 2006 and Evelyn’s story in the early 1900s. Some of the twists were predictable, but held my attention almost like playing "Clue"- I think I know what's about to happen, but I have to keep reading to make sure I'm right.
It's a good mix of gothic mystery and historical fiction - I kept waiting for Sherlock Holmes to show up! The storyline was a bit passive at times, but kept my attention enough to keep me reading. The descriptions and scenes from Evelyn's side of the story was compelling. Would be a good book club book.

This is like two books in one: a century-old mystery of a woman's disappearance and a present-day journey of self-discovery rooted in complex family drama.

With each chapter, this book toggles back and forth between journal entries written by Evelyn Aubrey and an investigation into the past led by her doppelganger great-great-granddaughter, Abigail. We first meet the 31-and-aimless Abigail as she begins to search for her father's identity, following her from Berkeley to England to Vermont as she simultaneously seeks to discover his whereabouts while uncovering Evelyn's story. Through the journal entries, we begin to see that Abigail is far more clever and complicated that she's given credit for by her husband William, her contemporaries, or the present-day scholars who study her husband's literature. As her story unfolds, we begin to ask: to what terrible conclusion is her story leading, and where is the journal now?

The mystery propels the story while the alternating present-day chapters offer context about the echoing ramifications from Evelyn and William's relationship. The story and structure remind me of A. S. Byatt's remarkable Possession, so if you enjoyed that tension between past and present, you will likely enjoy this novel as well. There are several plot points and characters here that could have been written with greater depth, but Evelyn in particular is enough of a compelling character to make the whole book worthwhile.

All in all, reading The Stolen Book of Evelyn Aubrey was an worthwhile way to spend an afternoon.

This is one of those novels where the first few lines just draw you in. Superb writing, complicated story. It is written in a dual timeline; it is 1898 when we meet Evelyn, a newlywed excited to start her new life with her new husband. She has shoved away what she perceived to be a boring future, pushing away another man with whom she decided was too common, too staid for the exiting future she'd rather have. In 1898 women are expected to be nothing more than wives and mothers. But with her new husband, a brilliant author, she feels she will find the life and freedom she wants to be able to write her own novels.
Fast forward to 2006, we meet Abigail, a young woman obsessed with finding her father. Her mother died without leaving her any clues as to who her patriarch might be. So, armed with only a snapshot she found among her grandmother's things, she flies to England to locate her missing father. Instead she finds the diary of a missing writer; the young wife of the famous author William Aubrey. What happened to her? And why did William Aubrey fall so heavily from grace? And how are these two women connected thru the years?
I think anyone who loves a good mystery would enjoy this enticing story. Thank you to NetGalley and Park Row for allowing me access to this new work.

Thank you to NetGalley and Park Row for sending me an ARC of The Stolen Book of Evelyn Aubrey in exchange for an honest review.

The Stolen Book of Evelyn Aubrey is a dual-point-of-view novel, centering around Evelyn Aubrey who lives in the 1800s, and Abigail or "Abby" who lives in California in 2006. Evelyn has married a man named William Aubrey and both of them are writers but Evelyn has no idea what she has gotten herself into. Meanwhile back in the present, Abby goes on a journey of self-discovery that will change everything she thinks she knows about her family.

I enjoyed several aspects of this novel, including the dual POVs as well as the incredible mystery of the Aubrey family that the author centers the story around. I found this super interesting and at the end of the story, everything came together in a really beautiful way.

On the opposite side of this, I feel like the story could have been a little bit shorter. To me, it felt as if Evelyn's story continued a bit too far and if the author had cut off Evelyn and just continued with Abby, I feel like she could have still tied up the story at the end.

Overall, I would give this book 4.5 stars and recommend this to anyone who enjoys thrillers/mystery novels. However, I would suggest looking into trigger warnings as the author does tackle some tricky subjects.

This book really just took me for a ride. I loved the build up, the character development, and the writing. I would definitely read more from this author!

This is a dual timeline story about Abby in the present and her ancestor Evelyn in the 1900’s.
Abby is struggling to find herself and uncover the mystery of who her father is. Evelyn is a writer stuck in an unhappy marriage. She makes the best of her situation and finds a way out. I enjoyed both characters but found the timeline of family members difficult to follow. Parts of the story dragged but the ending was hopeful and tied things together well.
Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin for the advance copy.

The Stolen Book of Evelyn Aubrey is a dual time line book. In the late nineteenth century Evely married William, a supposed famous author, or was he? Out of the darkness in their marriage Evelyn writes and William takes and publishes. They have one child and from this springs a sad and relatively unhappy family.

Abigail unbeknown to her is related to this family many years later, through her father - whom she doesn't know or has met. She is a rather unsettled young woman who goes on a journey to find out who her father is, starting in England and then back to the USA.

Both women, Evelyn and Abigail, related to each other, make their own journeys into new ways of seeing things and starting over. We don't get the full story of Evelyn but we can surmise that she went on under a different name in America. Abigail on finding what she has looked for and more, seems to have found her footing and will go on to make a good life for herself.

I enjoyed reading this novel, I wanted to find out what happened to each woman and how one life affected another. That said, it didn't quite draw me in enough to rate it highly.  3.25 stars.

Thank you Netgalley and Park Row for the chance to read The stolen book of Evelyn Aubrey by Serena Burdick.
Another dual timeline novel, at first I wondered whether I would like this as it seemed to start off a bit slow, but I quickly became immersed in the two storylines: 1898; Evelyn, who ended up in a abusive marriage with William, who ends up stealing and publishing Evelyn's novels as his own; and 2006, Abby, who discovers that her mysterious father she never knew, may be a great grandson to poetess Evelyn Aubrey. She sets off to England to discover her Father, and the mystery behind the disappearance of Evelyn Aubrey. The two timelines wove seamlessly together, and I never had an issue switching from one to another. I found the ending both heartbreaking but in someways uplifting.