This book seemed to have an agenda rather than telling a story. I did not finish this book because I felt the agenda was pushed rather than letting it be a backdrop.

Another wonderful collaboration between Benedict and Murray showcasing a woman from history who is not as well-known as she deserves to be. Benedict and Murray get the reader inside the characters' heads so that we feel their ups and downs.

After reading The Personal Librarian, I was curious to see what Ms. Benedict and Ms. Murray were going to do with The First Ladies. Sadly, I felt this book was lacking substance. There was a lot of telling and not a lot of showing, which kept me from being invested in the story.

This is the story of the friendship between Mary McLeod Bethune and Eleanor Roosevelt and how it grew and changed as they worked together towards civil and women's rights. Unfortunately, it became unnecessarily repetitive. On a good note, this book will probably introduce many people to the achievements of Dr. Bethune.

This book is told from the points of view of the main characters. I'm getting tired of this style and wish authors would go back to telling a complete, whole story without falling back on it.

I was not a fan of this book, but I would give this writing pair another chance.

My thanks to NetGalley and Berkley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The First Ladies successfully conveyed a relationship not often enough spoke of. Unveiling bit by bit how two history making women’s lives intertwined . Wonderfully written!

I feel like this was a well researched book about Eleanor Roosevelt and Mary McLeod Bethune. Although written as fiction, I could differentiate to what was real and fiction. It was a great story about influential women when at the time, women still were brushed under the rug.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC

Excellent! About Eleanor Roosevelt and a civil rights activist that I don’t know about Mary McLeod Bethune. A Black activist becomes friends with the most powerful woman in America. An uplifting story

Happy to include this title in my recent round-up “The Past is Prologue,” highlighting historical fiction reads for the Books section of Zoomer, Canada’s national culture magazine. (see column and mini-review at link)

“The world Eleanor and I are trying to create is vast and wide and equal. What have I dreamed that I haven’t been able to accomplish?”

A peek into the very real friendship formed between two First Ladies… Eleanor Roosevelt, the First Lady of the United States and Mary Bethune, the “First Lady of the Struggle.” Their friendship was scandalous in the days of segregation. They were not just friends, but leaders and partners in the fight against racial inequality and injustice.

The writing style is not my favorite but it was interesting to read about the racial barriers challenged at the time. Huge evils such as lynchings and the “right to fight” down to the more personal barriers such as dining together or shaking each others hands. These women were determined and fought the good fight together. These were big mountains they moved and I was inspired by their friendship.

“I know that only together do we soar.”

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

This account of the friendship between Eleanor Roosevelt and Mary MacLeod Bethune was at times riveting, discouraging and delightful. This writing duo does a great job of pulling you into a story with some known elements and then skillfully writing between the lines as to what likely occurred. I knew nothing of Dr. Bethune and only a little about Mrs. Roosevelt. I finished the book feeling happy to have seen their friendship through triumph and struggle and proud of all they accomplished together. Thanks to Berkley and NetGalley for this ARC. This is my honest review.

I immediately wanted to read this book based on the story richness of the last novel they did together. It was very interesting to o see the connections between the two women. I love historical fiction and these two ladies did not disappoint and his second time around.

Thank you NetGalley, for an e-ARC of First Ladies by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray.
In typical Marie Benedict style, I learned a lot about a time of American History while being entertained. Benedict has a gift for sweeping the reader into a time period and seamlessly combining fiction and fact.

4.5*
The writing pair that gave us the amazing book The Personal Librarian are back at it again with The First Ladies. Here Eleanor Roosevelt and her friendship with Mary McLeod Bethune are the focus. Both are strong women who made an impact on American history.

What shines through this account is the way the two approached racial issues with such clarity and honesty. They worked together to influence Eleanor’s husband and the government to put African Americans into positions that allowed them a voice. There were obstacles that thwarted Mary and the forward progress for equal rights, but she would not turn back or give up. Her efforts were helped by Eleanor’s continued advocacy. Their friendship is a shining example of how much can be accomplished toward inroads in racial issues through respect and collaboration.

This story is uplifting because of the mutual esteem the two women had for each other and the graciousness with which they approached difficult problems and came up with positive changes. This is an important story about race, about women and about changing the course of history.

3- 3.5 stars!

I was in the mood for a solid historical fiction and this one did not disappointed 😊 I learned a lot about these two incredible women! I admire their courage and bravery during such a difficult time. As much as I enjoyed learning about these two, I found the plot to be pretty slow moving and repetitive (& yes, even for a his fic!). I preferred Mary's chapters vs. Eleanor's, but getting both of their POVs was SO IMPORTANT to the story/this time period. There was definitely some heavy content which gave emotional pull. But it kinda felt anti-climatic at the end? 🤔 Overall, it was a good book but I am not rushing to recommend it to everyone.

I am still looking forward to reading this author duo's other title, The Personal Librarian, soon!

Thank you so much Berkley Pub for my gifted copy!

I thoroughly enjoyed The Personal Librarian by these two authors so of course I could not wait for their new book The First Ladies. The First Ladies is a historical fiction novel about the friendship between First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and civil rights activist Mary McLeod Bethune. I was astonished that I had never heard about Mary McLeod Bethune after reading about all her many accomplishments in this book. Probably one of my favorite things about these two authors is how they draw attention to women whose critical contributions to our world have been lost to history or ignored.

​The First Ladies is such an inspiring story about how much good can be accomplished when we join forces to work together and find common ground. The friendship they had was extraordinary and I love how the authors drew upon their own friendship to fill in some of the gaps. I hope that these authors continue to find stories of women to inspire us and shine a spotlight on those whose hard work may have been overlooked to history.

I received this book courtesy of the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A new book by Marie Benedict always makes me happy and the ones that she writes with Victoria Christopher Murray are always a treat. This looks at the relationship between Eleanor Roosevelt and Mary Bethune Cookman, two women that accomplished amazing things at a time when women were supposed to be at home. The story is told from each of their perspective and highlights both their triumphs and their personal struggles and is fascinating.

This story of two women that were able to accomplish amazing things is a don't miss title for historical fiction fans.

An excellent read about a truly amazing and little known chapter of history. I learned so much as I read and I am excited to do more research - exactly what I aim for when reading historical fiction. However, Marie Benedict’s writing style is just not my favorite. While her tendency to “tell, not show” wasn’t as noticeable in the first half of the book, the second half made up for it and did tarnish the experience a little bit. But, I continue to read her books because the topics and focus on under-appreciated women make up for this. Overall, I highly this chance to learn more about the formidable Eleanor Roosevelt and Mary Bethune. Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for the ARC!

I really enjoyed this historical fiction novel. I have read other novels by Marie Benedict and enjoyed them. This title did not disappoint. The story moves between two very impressive women- Eleanor Roosevelt and Mary McLeod Bethune. It was a joy to learn more about the friendship between these women. I additionally was happy to learn more about Mary McLeod Bethune. I had taught my students a mini lesson about her, so I had a little background knowledge. But I learned so much more reading this book. It had me stopping to look up photos in Google of the things the authors were describing. If you enjoy historical fiction, then you would enjoy this novel. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this as an ARC.

The writing duo of Benedict and Murray has written another bestseller in "The First Ladies." Their writing is seamless, I am amazed how their voices blend together perfectly to produce such an interesting story. I enjoyed reading about their friendship in real life and how that translated into the friendship of Eleanor Roosevelt and civil rights pioneer Mary McLeod Bethune. Any historical fiction fan will enjoy this story. I look forward to recommending it to our library patrons.

I am amazed at how much historical data, some fictional historical data, Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray put into this book. These women are already extraordinary writers and from reading their last book, The Personal Librarian, I knew I would be reading this one and the next one.
I knew a lot of history on Eleanor Roosevelt and Mary McLeod Bethune, but this book added a whole lot more. Eleanor, a strong woman, wanted to make changes in this world, growing up with a wealthy family who sometimes did not see the real her and a mother who did not love her as a child should be loved, but she had a mother in law, Sara, who did provide some support, especially when her son became president. She also had a close, very close relationship with another woman.

Mary, on the other hand, was born free in 1875. She became an educator, a business woman, self-funded her first school by selling sweet potato pies, President of the NACWC, an advisor to President Roosevelt, the list of accomplishment goes on. Her school, Daytona Literary and Industrial Training School for Negro Girls became Bethune-Cookman University which still stands today.
This is a historical fiction book, and there are some characters who were not part of history, but what is the best of this book, is how history was made because these two women took a risk and endangered their lives, should be studied (Get it together Florida, Texas and other states trying to cover up history), and acknowledge fully how their friendship, intelligence, humor, warmth, fighting for civil rights, helped them survivor. While this book is a historical fiction and not every character will be true or the events that took place happened in that order, it will show you that these two women, from different backgrounds, who developed a friendship that endured hostility to, create civil rights movements that are still being done today and should continue. You cannot white wash this.
One of my favorite scenes in the book is when Eleanor flies with one of the Tuskegee Airmen, Mary, who is unable to take that ride says “As Mr. Anderson brings the engine to life, its roar drowns out all the noise of the airfield. Right as the plan begins to tax, Eleanor turns to the window, and I grin widely and waive. But then, as the aircraft moves father away, tears pool in the corners of my eyes. I am overcome with emotion. Yes, I am thankful for the opportunities that will come for these well-trained pilots and others who follow. But the gratitude that fills me is beyond that. In just minutes, I will watch my friend take an unprecedented flight—for both of us.” That made me cry and proud to be black.

Thank you to NetGalley and to Berkley Publishing Group for an ARC of this book.

I was really excited to see a new book by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray. I love Historical Fiction and both of these authors, so I was excited to dig in and start reading.

This book is about two strong and powerful women (Elanor Roosevelt and Mary Bethune) in their own rights. This was a great story of friendship and overcoming adversity, and I loved every page of it.

This book is really fast paced, and I felt like I was actually there in this story with them. This is a must read for anyone who enjoys History or Historical Fiction. I really learned a lot about this amazing friendship and their journey.!