Thank you to Netgalley for access to the advance listening copy of this historical novel about the life
of famed Greek American soprano Maria Callas.

It took me a few chapters to get immersed into this story. I rarely DNF books so I continued on until I got settled into the story. In the beginning chapters, the story switches from her early days in the 1930's to the 1960's, frequently shifting In time and location.

The heart of the story takes place once Maria had become a world-renowned opera star, playing the famous opera palaces like the Met in NYC and La Scala in Italy. We learn how disciplined she is, both in terms of her craft and her personal appendence, specifically her weight. She is married to the much older Battista, who is also her manager, and seems more interested in exploiting her talent for money than in her welfare. That is how her mother saw her, as the novel makes clear, as a means of survival.

The world Maria moves in is full of the famous (Marlena Dietrich, Elizabeth Taylor) and the very wealthy like her lover, Aristotle Onassis. Their entanglement takes up a fair amount of the story, and his marriage to Jacqueline Kennedy is part of the story.

I was left feeling that Maria Callas, while a determined and intelligent woman, was essentially alone in the world. Her maid, Bruna, seemed loyal as did her friendship with director Franco Zeffirelli. To have such fame and wealth, but no real love.

As always, I listened on audio. Lorelei King, a new narrator to me, did an okay job. Her voices for both males and females were distinct and she caught the atmosphere of this posh world. But I did wonder if another narrator might have settled me into this story earlier. Not a bad performance, but a touch aloof in her characterizations.

I am a big fan of Daisy Goodwin and really enjoyed Diva. I did not know much of Maria Callas and I found this extremely interesting. The storyline between Onassis and Callas was the main storyline. The whole affair seemed doomed from the beginning and of course predictable but I loved all the characters and how they rounded out the story. Highly recommend.

Author Daisy Goodwin clearly tells the reader that this book is not a biography yet she tried to stay close to historical facts. I had heard of Maria Callas as an opera singer and romantically tied to Aristotle Onassis but learned so much more about this woman!

The book starts by giving us Maria Callas's background growing up (which always gives us a backdrop on why people are who they are) with a mother who favored her sister Jackie over her. Maria was raised to sing in the streets for money which started her on a career singing. As she was trained and learned to sing opera in languages she didn't even speak, she became one of the most well-known and loved opera singers of her time. The audiobook as clips of her singing from different operas.

Her husband was also her manager, which wasn't always easy because she could be quite "difficult", thus the title Diva! Aristotle Onassis, Greek billionaire, took an interest in her and invited her and her husband to visit him on his yacht to get away from the press. This is how she got to know him, Princess Grace, Jackie Kennedy and her sister Lee Radziwill. As most know, Onassis was quite the womanizer. Readers follow this story through her life, her career and her loves. Not knowing a lot about her, I found this story so compelling and hard to stop reading and listening to it.

My thanks to Net Galley, St. Martin's Press, and Macmillian Audio for an advanced copy of this e-book and audiobook.

Maria Callas was an ultra-famous opera singer during the middle of the twentieth century. Her path to stardom was not paved with gold, however, and her frosty demeanor reflected the hardships she'd faced in her life. Faced with the unrelenting charm of the richest man in the world, however, Maria started to think that maybe she could let her guard down for Aristotle Onassis. Her optimism will prove to be ill-placed, though, when Ari becomes obsessed with gathering fame and power, putting Maria on a path to discover what truly matters to her.

I adored this book! I highly recommend the audio version, as there are clips of Maria singing throughout the story. Also, Lorelei King does an incredible job with the characters' voices and accents.

If you love the golden age of Hollywood and entertainment, you will enjoy this book as much as I did. I knew extremely little about Maria Callas before diving in, and I found her character to be incredibly rendered by Daisy Goodwin. I will definitely read this one again, if only to spend more time with Maria.

Thank you to Daisy Goodwin, St. Martin's Press, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for my advance audio copy.

I have read a few of Daisy Goodwin books and have liked them. I have heard about Maria Callas, but didn’t know much about her besides being a great opera singer. This book really takes a deep dive into her life, and I got to know a lot about Maria. I would have read a few of Daisy Goodwin books and have liked them. I have heard about Maria Callas, but didn’t know much about her besides being a great opera singer. This book really takes a deep dive into her life, and I got to know a lot about Maria. I would have liked to know more about her life besides her love affair with Aristotle Onassis. But it being a fiction book, it was interesting. Well written and researched.
Having listened to the audio version of the book, I feel the reader did a fair job.
l'd have liked to know more about her life besides her love affair with Aristotle Onassis. But it being a fiction book, it was interesting. Well written and researched.
Having listened to the audio version of the book, I feel the reader did a fair job.

I want to start off by thank Net Galley and St. Martin's Press Audio for this advanced audio copy of Diva. This book has been a chance for me to learn about the great Maria Callas. As a Greek-American, I feel like I need to know her more: her background, her work, the persona in general, and what I learned did not disappoint.

Daisy Goodwin gives us VIP access to historical events such as the Kennedy concert which also featured the Marilyn Monroe's Happy Birthday performance, meeting Greek magnate Aristotle Onassis, dinners in Monte Carlo alongside Grace Kelly and Lee Radziwill, her times on The Christina,.. I was also so engrossed in her relationship with her mother, sister and father, how she kept looking for someone to love her, accept her for who she is. I was amazed by her dedication to respect the voice God has given her. How strict she was with herself (little social events prior to recitals, sticking to a strict diet to maintain the figure that matched her persona, no smoking, the way she was dressing on ang off stage. Overall, I gained so much respect for this woman who, despite her fame and fortune, kept looking for that one thinking missing, and who, I believe never got over the loss of that baby she conceived with Ari.

This audio book was so condensed with cool info and fun gossip that I will for sure listen to it again over the holidays. I cannot praise this book enough and it spiked my curiosity to read more about Callas and Aristotle Onassis, two Greek legends so full of mystery and glamour. And I loved the vocal recordings of La Callas spread throughout the narration which gave us the chance to also learn more about her through her voice.

I also very much appreciated the interview of Daisy Goodwin at the end of the book. A big plus!

This book shared a story that I did not know. The opera singer, Maria Callas, who fell in love with Aristotle Onassis. She believed he saw her for more than her voice and introduced her to a life of luxury and fame. Her life came crashing down when it was announced that he would be marrying former first lady Jacqueline Kennedy. 
I truly enjoyed the historical parts of this book. I liked the inside look into Maria's life, before, during and after her love affair. I liked the connections to other famous people in history, it was truly fascinating, heartbreaking and wonderful story. That being said, I found some of the book to be kind of boring. The descriptions of the locations, jewelry, clothing at times distracted from the interesting part of the story (and this is coming from someone who loves clothing!) - i wanted less of the "tabloid" and more of the history. I was able to skim through parts of the book without losing the importance of the story. Overall, a book I would recommend to anyone interested in history and celebrities!
Thank you netgalley for my advanced audio book.

I loved this story! It was beautifully told and written well. It tells the story of a strong woman who is willing to give things up for love. This story feels very real, like it could be someone’s truth. Overall a beautiful read, well done.

Another amazing book of the great diva, Maria Callas. I highly recommend this read. I listened to the audio. The narrator was wonderful.

I really enjoyed this story! I listened to the audiobook after reading and really enjoyed the narrator. I went into this book not knowing anything about the subject. This was a beautifully written dramatization of the life of Maria Calles. It kept me engaged with great character development, and a little bit of drama and scandal. Overall a solid read I enjoyed and would be happy to recommend to others.

I loved this book! It was amazing being able to learn about Maria! So beautifully written and I was transported back in time. I didn’t want it to end. Thanks NetGalley!

I read the book and was quite disappointed, so hoped that perhaps listening to the audio would give it some life. Perhaps HEARING a voice would make Callas come to life and make her more sympathetic and "human" to me. Unfortunately, the audiobook did the opposite. The narration was so bland and boring that I found myself skipping through parts and speeding up the output the rest of the time. It's as if narrators see supermodels excel when showing bored and unemotional faces in fashion shows and think they have to do the same when narrating books. I just don't get it. So, following is my review of the novel. It's far kinder than one of the audiobook would be (it's one star less for the audiobook, sorry but the narration really didn't work):

Of course, I’ve heard of Maria Callas. But, I knew nothing about her other than that she was a famous opera singer, so, when I saw this book, I thought it would be a great opportunity to learn about a completely different subject.

However, the book certainly didn’t do her any justice. She came across as a very selfish, obsessed, jealous, woman who let herself be derailed by an undeserving man. If this book was set in contemporary times, people would be aghast. The idea of a hugely talented artist, neglecting her talent, giving up her career, leaving her husband, all for a man who clearly was sleeping with other women, offered her no future, and never led her to believe that he would marry her (which is seems is the only thing she wanted from him) is appalling.

It’s not just Callas who is maligned. All women in the book are portrayed as vile creatures: Grace Kelly, Elsa Maxwell, Jackie Kennedy, Lee Radziwell, the Duchess of Windsor, Clementine Churchill, and of course Callas’s own mother and sister are but a few of the women skewered in the story. Only Marilyn Monroe (and strangely) Tina Onassis are slightly sympathetically drawn.

The men are equally horrible. Except Zeffirelli?

Outside of all the chaos (or is she completely inside?) is Bruna , Maria’s loyal lady-in-waiting, but she is so unwavering loyal it almost felt like Stockholm syndrome. What’s her reward, what was her motivation?

Because of the sex (albeit unoriginal in description and unsexy) it’s not a book I would include in my class library, nor recommend to students, but I don’t think I would anyway. It was a bit too long, repetitive, and dragged at points.

All of this said, it’s not a terrible book. It’s just not an homage to the diva of the title but instead, a sad story. I read to the end but it took me a while to get through. I did learn about a new topic, and I was inspired to listen to some opera and learn more about some of the people, places, and events in the story, so I guess something positive came out of my time commitment.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinions.

Diva by Daisy Goodwin is a captivating tale of passion, fame, and heartbreak, centered around the legendary opera singer, Maria Callas. This novel transports readers into the glittering world of opera, where Maria Callas, known as "la divina," reigns as a celebrated icon. The novel delves deep into the life of a woman whose remarkable talent and indomitable spirit led her to success, despite a tumultuous upbringing. Diva is a beautifully written and emotionally resonant novel that immerses readers in the complexities of love, fame, and the enduring spirit of a legendary artist. The audiobook version of this book is equally fantastic, featuring an outstanding narrator.