3.75⭐ rounded up

So much about this book, I really enjoyed. The time period and McCarthyism is fascinating to begin and the locale of Malibu when it was more of a beach colony than it is today. And the three main characters all with interesting back stories and secrets. Lastly, the plot itself had plenty of twists to keep the readers interested. The main thing for me is I couldn't really connect with the characters on an emotional level. More than likely, that's just a me problem. Thanks to netgalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Meissner is an auto read author for me. I love the stories she tells about women and history. I really liked the time period of this in th 1950's, Malibu area. The inside lives of rich and famous that are really just normal people.

We follow 3 POV's and what has brought them to their current circumstances. The care and concern Melanie has for her neighbor, Elwood, leads the storyline. I really wish that I enjoyed this but I found the story slow and not all that intriguing. I had to push myself to finish it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for the gifted e-arc of this book.

In the mid-1950s, the lives of three very different women become interwoven in unexpected ways on quiet cul-de-sac in Malibu, CA. Melanie is a rising starlet who gets caught in the crossfire of McCarthy’s Hollywood blacklist. Eva, her housekeeper, is in America as a refugee displaced from Europe after World War II. Next door to Melanie on Paradise Circle is June and her brother-in-law Elwood, a reclusive screenwriter and Melanie’s only confidant. After Melanie realizes she hasn’t seen Elwood in a while and she sends Eva next door to investigate, the women’s lives become entangled, and it will only take a spark to ignite all of their secrets.

This character-driven historical fiction novel is beautifully written and compelling. While the pace is gentle, I was fully immersed the entire time. As always, the author does an exceptional job of researching and highlighting an impactful time in history through richly drawn characters. The women are each so strong and resilient, and I loved the bonds of found family that formed between them. Audiobook narrator Lisa Flanagan does an excellent job of bringing all three women to life, giving them each a distinct inflection and voice.

There isn't a lot of historical fiction devoted to the 1950's and I find that time period fascinating so requesting this ARC with the showstopping cover was automatic for me. Character driven stories with survival of any sort at the center have something extra when they are done right and WOW! Meissner outdid herself here. I loved getting lost in these pages. It is a divine feeling to experience.

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Melanie Cole was an up-and-coming Hollywood starlet whose name gets thrown out there as being a communist to save someone else's skin during McCarthy's 'Red Scare' resulting in her being blacklisted. She's whisked away from the prying eyes of journalists and paparazzi who smell blood in the water. Her new temporary address is in Paradise Circle in Malibu. I doubt poor Melanie even knew what a communist was.

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Melanie's neighbor is the eccentric screenwriter Elwood who is cared for by his sister-in-law the widowed June. Their conversations take place through open windows or doors because Elwood suffers from agoraphobia. From the outside it would be easy to say that June enabled Elwood's illness to run both of their lives, but being in situation like hers would be difficult during that time period.
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Eva worked as Melanie's housekeeper, and she kept many secrets. Her life was wrought with difficulties stemming from the war and her being an immigrant. Her heartbreaking backstory sucked me in. I'm sure I didn't cook the evening I was reading those chapters. Cereal for everyone!! I admired her quiet strong spirit and work ethic. She kept going forward and that's remarkable under the circumstances.

The brief moments when we see these characters glimpse beauty in the mundane spoke to me because it is in those moments, we truly live.

As the threat of a wildfire draws nearer these women will have to lean on each other in ways they never imagined. These characters show their humanity through their fears, flaws, and courage.

I soaked up everything about this story: characters, pacing, plotting, every last bit. It was in a word incredible. The growth and connections each of these three unique ladies made was inspiring making me glad I grabbed <i>A Map to Paradise</i> and set off this journey!

*Now Available*

Huge thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for a complimentary copy! All opinions are my own.

I love all of Susan’s books and I was thrilled to be chosen for this campaign. I love the 50s era of the book and the beginning of the Cold War. People are concerned with communists in their own neighborhoods. Melanie is a fledgling starlet in Hollywood when she gets messed up in the wrong crowd and gets blacklisted from the industry. She goes into hiding and only speaks to her housekeeper Eva, and Elwood, a screenwriter who lives next door. Elwood has his own issues, he’s become a shut in after a traumatic car accident.

One day, she can’t seem to reach Elwood by calling his or calling on the phone. Each day that goes by without her any contact from Elwood has her suspicious. He lives with his sister in law, who is his caretaker and when June gets hurt, Melanie sends over Eva to help, but also snoop around.

This book is a very slow burn that builds up towards the end. I liked how they all were in the film industry in their own way. The wildfires towards the end are eerie timing with the wildfires that just occurred in California. I loved how the women become a found family, relying on each other for emotional and physical support.

I requested this book solely because Susan Meissner wrote it, and I was not disappointed. I haven't read much of anything taking place during this time and it was interesting to see how the Hollywood blacklist in the 1950s affected celebrities of the time. But what was even more compelling to me was the next door neighbor, Elwood, and why he seemed to have disappeared. As the three FMCs interact and connect more and more, each of their own secrets come to light, and it makes for an interestingly complicated situation. Their characters were all fully developed and had depth and intrigue. Despite having a slower pace, this book still held my attention. Read this if you enjoy historical fiction and more character driven stories!

Thank you to the publisher for the gifted copy.

A Map to Paradise follows three women in 1956 California. Melanie is an actress that's black listed by Hollywood due to her supposed ties to a Communist. Eva is Melanie's housekeeper with some secrets in her past. June is her next door neighbor with some secrets of her own - she's been living with and caring for her reclusive brother in law, Elwood. Elwood hasn't been seen in a while, and Melanie starts asking questions. Turns out that there's a lot more to the story than she expects.

I really enjoyed reading a book set in the 1950s. I didn't realize that the fear of Communism spread to Hollywood (just never knew much about it, I guess), and reading about how people were blacklisted and also questioned by authorities for their ties to anyone suspected of Communist ties was very interesting.

I do think you need to suspend reality a bit at the end, as it all wraps up very neatly and it's a bit far fetched. The second half of the book moved faster than the first for me, and it reads a bit differently than this author's previous books. I didn't get quite as sucked in, but it was still an enjoyable book.

Susan Meissner’s new novel is a historical mystery set during the McCarthy era and the Red Scare. It revolves around three women who form an unlikely alliance. Each has been exiled in different ways, but all long for home. Their bond evolves into a found family, and the female friendship at the heart of the story is undoubtedly its biggest highlight.

Lisa Flanagan is one of my favorite narrators, and her narration brings the story to life beautifully. I love how she distinguishes each woman, giving them unique voices that make it easy to follow and connect with their individual journeys.

The story of A Map To Paradise takes the reader to Malibu, California in 1956.
Melanie Cole is a Hollywood movie star that has been put on a blacklist by the movie studio's, because she is suspected of being a communist, which she never has been. She is not able to do her work as an actress anymore because of this, and has to stay at home at her house that is rented from other people. The only company she has is her housekeeper Eva, a woman who moved to the USA after the war in Europe, and who has a little side story about that in the book.

The house next door belongs to Elwood, a Hollywood scriptwriter, and his sister-in-law and caretaker June lives at the house too. The mysterious word about Elwood that goes around in the neighborhood and in the movie studio where he still writes scripts for, is that he has sephere agrophobia and never leaves his house. Sometimes he is seen by the windows and he is able to talk from his room upstairs.

One day Eva and Melanie spot June digging in his beloved rose garden. After this, Elwood is never seen again. Eva and June start to talk to each other, and Eva starts visiting the house more and more during the story as she and June become friends. Also she never sees Elwood leaving his room, and even never hears him making any sound. There obviously is something mysterious going on around him, but what?? During the story, we learn more about the background of Melanie, Eva and June. And then a huge wildfire breaks out in Malibu, and the mystery evolving Elwood takes a turn for the bad, and is on the brink of being found out..

At first, I didn't know what to think of this story. Certainly the first half of the story took of in a slow pace. But just before the half of the story, the story got more and more pace, and slow pace of the first part was just a take-off to a great and mysterious further development of the story. It got better and better and that lasted untill the final page of the book, and how the story was wrapped up was also very good, and three characters of the story got all new perspectives and goals in live. This is just another brilliant page turner by Susan Meissner. I truly wonder how she knows to create such amazing and gripping story every time and time again. Besided the great storyline, the characters of Melanie, June and Eva where also terrific. Not the most realistic characters, but characters you can imagine in an old movie set in LA or Hollywood. The mystery around Elwood was just the right dose of mysterious-ness, altough I could predict a little what had happened to him as it was quite clear he wasn't alive anymore. When the wildfire breaks out in Malibu, this mystery around him got in a fast paced rollercoaster , but I won't put too much spoilers around that here..

Overall, I truly enjoyed this new and entertaining page turner by Susan Meissner!

I love a good 1950s setting. This book is about something I didn't know much about = the McCarthy era blacklist in Hollywood. The book is about 3 women - Melanie who is hiding out in Malibu, Eva who is Melanie's cleaning woman, and Jane - who is hiding things, literally. I loved the premise of this book but it fell a little flat for me. I love the historical fiction and the characters but just needed more.

As usual, her writing is phenomenal. This one had a story line that felt different from her other Historical Fiction novels. I did enjoy it but it was a little slower. A lot happened at the end which is ok but it just felt like some parts in the middle dragged and weren't as entertaining.

This is a hard book to explain without giving anything away, but I’ll give it my best shot. It’s 1950s Hollywood, and blacklisted starlet Melanie Cole is living in a secluded house in Malibu with her only company her housekeeper Eva, a displaced person due to World War II who is very quiet, and her neighbor Elwood, an elderly screenwriter who is afraid to leave his house. Melanie and Elwood strike up a friendship, and one day, Melanie sees Elwood’s sister in law digging up Elwood’s beloved rose bushes. That’s where we start the book.

This book didn’t go anywhere I expected it to, and I loved it. I’ve read very few books that discuss the Red Scare, especially how Congress called out and intimidated various Hollywood actors, writers, and producers for supposedly furthering communism, and this book wove in that context while making Melanie’s story feel unique. It feels especially poignant and timely when people in America are being detained and deported for their political views, and for me it was a reminder of how important people standing up for what they believe in is. This book also depicts the sexism and double standards that still exist in Hollywood (and the world lol), as well as what happened to people who had no home to return to after World War II.

If I’ve made this book sound very focused on politics and cultural issues, it is and it isn’t - it’s mostly about the unlikely friendship that forms between three women with very different circumstances, making sense of horrible trauma and loss, and rebuilding when things have been burned to the ground. We cycle between the women’s perspectives, and the author does an amazing job of giving each woman depth and difference. It’s also just a really fun, well written book. The narrative arc is unexpected yet makes sense, and I loved every minute of it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for an advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review!

This started out strong and I was very excited to receive a digital copy, but about half way through I didn’t care about the characters or the story anymore. It wasn’t the Susan Meissner I have grown to love.

I knew from the cover this be a great historical fiction. It was a fast read that was entertaining, but I also learned from. I love strong friendship tropes and this one really hit that for me. The Malibu setting added a glamorous ambiance as well.

Set in Malibu in 1956, this novel tells the story of three women. Eva is a displaced person who emigrated to the US; Melanie is an actress who has been blacklisted and is shunned by Hollywood; June is a widow caring for her agoraphobic brother-in-law. Eva is working for Melanie as a housekeeper, while June lives next door. The events that will bring these three women together unfold in unexpected ways. Recommended. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

I enjoyed the writing and plot a lot in this historical. It may have started a little slowly but quickly picked up as the reader learns the problems each woman is facing. I found each interesting but June was my favorite to read about. I liked how they slowly got wrapped up in each other’s problems and the way they decided to work through it. They bonded in unexpected ways and were quick to adjust when obstacles were in their way. Secrets and drama always pull me in and I liked the way it ended.

Thank you @suzyapprovedbooktours @susanmeissnerauthor the publisher and netgalley for the gifted copy.

This is a character driven, completely fascinating historical fiction, set in the McCarthy "Red scare" era of the 1950's. Melanie's first film has just been released with great reviews for her per performance! Despite her acclaim for that film, Melanie is now a blacklisted star simply because she is associated with the star of that movie and other actors who have been blacklisted. She cannot find work. Since she and the star have somewhat of a relationship, he invites her to live in his home and pays her expenses, as he is now on Broadway. He also hires Eva, a displaced person of Polish descent from World War II to stay with Melanie, assist her and run errands, so she can avoid publicity. Melanie and Eva's closest neighbor is Elwood, a screenwriter who refuses to leave his home, and his widowed sister-in-law, June, who is his caretaker. All is not as it seems, however, and as the friendship of the three women deepens, the surprising secrets of all of their lives are revealed. Susan Meissner has written a fast-paced historical mystery, full of plot twists, the history of that era, and the power of friendship and love with quite an exciting conclusion! I thoroughly enjoyed it! Thank you to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for my advance copy. The opinions of this review are my own.

🍐Bite-size review: This was an excellent historical fiction with a dash of mystery! The pacing was just right, we got the entire story behind each character’s motivations and it created a full and intriguing plot. I loved the female friendships and the 1950’s Hollywood setting.

More thoughts: When I think of Hollywood, I usually picture the height of cinema in the 1930’s. A Map to Paradise explores the beginning of Hollywood’s decline in the 1950’s. Cold War tensions were high and actors became a target for the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) investigations. I did not know much about this part of Hollywood history and it made for such an interesting backdrop!

Thank you very much Berkley Publishing and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC!

This was my first read by Meissner, but it certainly won't be my last! It was quietly moving, full of intriguing characters and interesting storylines.

Set in 1950s Malibu, the book focuses on three women facing different struggles and the bond that forms between them. Melanie is a blacklisted actress; Eva is her cleaner who has dangerous truths in her background; and June is the neighbor who is hiding a secret of her own.

The stories of each woman drew me in, and I was fully invested in the way the different narratives wove together as they slowly trusted one another. The book has a central theme of loss- loss of a dream, a home, a love, an identity, and it explores each of these in a beautiful and engaging way. It was a compelling read that I'll be highly recommending.

Read if you enjoy:
✨️ Historical fiction
✨️ 1950s setting
✨️ Stories of female friendship

In Susan Meissner's new novel A Map to Paradise, three women hide from the world In their own unique ways. Melanie Cole is an actress tied to an actor on HUAC'S list of suspected communists. She stays in her Malibu home waiting for a call that she's been cleared and can return to acting. Her maid Eva Kruse tells people she is Polish to hide her German-Russian heritage. A survivor of the gulag, she is terrified to be who she is in the era of the Cold War. June Blankenship is sister-in-law to Melanie's friend and neighbor Elwood, a man who has isolated himself after a tragic auto accident. The women converge when Melody suspects Elwood has disappeared.

This story twists and turns in unique ways, from the arrival of a nephew Melanie never knew existed, to a dark chapter in Eva's past. Each story wraps up in a way that rewards each character. I expected more of a novel detailing HUAC and the effects of the Blacklist ; instead the novel is more of a celebration of female friendship (although that friendship evolves from a macabre situation.) A Map to Paradise is a unique glimpse into how getting what you want may produce desperate consequences, but through perseverance one can find a happy ending.