This was a fresh story about the Titanic and one of the survivors. I enjoyed reading it and liked the characters, especially Elinor. It was an emotional read as well. I didnt like that the synopsis tells pretty much the whole story. Other than that it was great! I highly recommend for fans of historical fiction.

*3.5 stars - rounding up*

Elinor Coombes thinks she has found the man of her dreams - Frederick - who sweeps her off her feet and proposes to her after a whirlwind courtship. He is heir to Winterton a large estate that is currently run by his father Lord Storton and Lady Storton. After marrying Frederick Elinor moves into Winterton and quickly finds out that all is not as wonderful as she thought - she has been tricked into the marriage for her money and life at Winterton is miserable. After giving birth to their son Teddy Elinor's life becomes even worse as she never gets to see her own child and sees a future mapped out for him that is cold and lifeless.

She is ecstatic when she has the chance to go on the maiden voyage of the Titanic with Frederick, Teddy, and her father. This is her chance to spend some time with her own child and with her father who she hasn't seen since getting married. We all know what the fate of the Titanic is and without going into detail the sinking presents Elinor with an opportunity to have a new life for herself and Teddy in New York - however this new life comes with secrets and lies. Could Elinor lose everything and have to return to Winterton?

When I first started reading this book it didn't quite grab me - I didn't find the characters too engaging and found Elinor to be a bit whiny. Of course, I loathed the Stortons who are the kind of villains of the story. I went into this book not really knowing what it was about so when I read that they were going on the Titanic I was immediately interested as I love any history regarding the Titanic. Honestly though the bit about the Titanic is really just setting up the backdrop for Elinor to start her new life. The book really picked up for me when Elinor and Teddy began their new life in New York. I really loved the new characters that were introduced - Ruth, Per, Anna. They brought some much-needed warmth and flavor to the book. This is also where I really grew to love the character of Elinor - she really came into her own - with each chapter you could see her strength and confidence growing and I loved the character development. She managed to deal with two situations that could have ruined her new life with grace and cunning - instead of totally panicking and I admired that. I won't spoil how it all turns out, but it was a nice, good read - I had never read anything by Frances Quinn before and I enjoyed this. Thank you to Ballantine Books and Net Galley for an advance copy of the book for my honest review.

I absolutely loved this book and I can;t wait to check out the audiobook version of this book

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for granting access to this book.

I truly enjoyed this story; the author covered the background of the characters perfectly, plus the Titanic sinking was done well and she had wonderful explanations of why Elinor made some of her decisions. My only con was she repeated various statements multiple times, as if the reader had forgotten what was already said previously.
Nevertheless, this book was a great read. I loved how Molly (Elinor) adapted, jumped right in and flourished in her new environment and I especially was impressed with her new family’s generosity. It was educational to hear about the carts they sold their wares from in the streets, what an enterprising way of selling.
I highly recommend to any Historical Fiction fan.
I received an ARC from Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine and NetGalley for my unbiased review – This one comes in with a high 5 stars.

I was recommended this book by a friend. I have always found any book that had the titanic mentioned in it to be a book I would love to read. This was such an intriguing book and while the titanic was brought into the story till about a third of the way thru, the build up and the character details helped mack the titanic aspect more meaningful. This was my first book by this author but i will definitely be looking up more books by her as a lover of historical fiction. Highly recommend!

Thank you to netgalley for an early copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

I am such a Titanic girlie so I was really excited to receive this book. Elinor is bamboozled into a marriage with a future Lord and heir to an estate in England. She is miserable and under the control of her in laws. When she has a baby, she is told that she is mad for wanting to spend more than 20 minutes a day with him and "that's the way things are". When her father buys first class tickets on the Titanic for himself, Elinor, her husband Frederick and the baby, she jumps at the chance to escape the mansion for several days. When the Titanic sinks, her maid/nanny Molly dies on the ship. Molly was supposed to stay with family in New York, so Elinor takes the opportunity to escape her old life and start over.

I really enjoyed this book, more so the first half. The second half after she arrived in New York was a little bit slower but I still enjoyed it. It was very relatable with her having a toddler, and how hard of a worker she was.

I actually really enjoyed this book. Elinor entered into marriage under false terms and had to try and adjust to a life she didn't want. When opportunity presented itself to get away from the crazy, mixed up world she was in.
This story wasn't one that had you going crazy wondering what was next but a historical novel that is worth reading.

Tricked into a marriage by the aristocratic groom’s family, Elinor finds herself shunned by them; she is not even permitted to raise her own son. When her father buys Elinor and her son tickets on the Titanic and the ship subsequently sinks, Elinor realizes that this is the opportunity she has been looking for. The Lost Passenger is an absorbing story about starting over in a new place, charting a different course, triumphing over adversity, and finding hope in the face of loss. For fans of engaging historical fiction.

THANK YOU for this ARC
This story was amazing.

Elinor, who was lured into a fake marriage, is lucky enough (lucky isn't really the word... you'll see) to get tickets to the maiden voyage of the Titanic with her husband, son, father.

Life isn't pretty at home, so when the Titanic ship goes down, she has to chose, go home to her insufferable life, or disappear and become someone knew.

This was a very different perspective of the Titanic, one I hadn't heard before, and I LOVED it. I didn't want it to end!!

This book offers an intriguing historical drama about a young mother who fakes her and her son's deaths on the Titanic to escape her past and start anew in New York. The premise is immersive and filled with potential for tension and emotion, but while I appreciated the concept and setting, it didn’t fully captivate me. It’s a solid story with compelling moments, but it didn’t quite reach the level of unforgettable for me.

This book was beautiful, sad, heartbreaking, empowering, and heartwarming all in one.

The thing that drew me to this book initially was the Titanic aspect. I have always been intrigued with stories surrounding that tragic event.

However, this story has a little to do with that but more to do with a surviving mother trying to start a new life with her son. I was so drawn into this story and felt like I was there watching Molly in NYC. I feel like I could hear the sounds, smell the smells, and see everything.

I love the strength and resilience given to this character and though the end was rushed and not my absolute favorite, I did love how in the very end it all came full circle.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House for the advanced copy for my honest review.

Very good. Between 4 and 5 stars.

Woman's husband marries her for the money her father provides as part of dowry; this manipulation was by the husband and his parents in order to better secure their estate.

I don't want to give away the plot, but it leads to transit on the Titanic.

Very good historical fiction.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine books for this historical fiction book. Approx 384 pages. Publication date is Feb 25, 2025.

I’m surprised I haven’t seen more reviews or buzz about this book. It’s absolutely fantastic! I’ve read many books based around the Titanic tragedy, but this is a completely new take and something I never considered - how easy for someone to disappear and start over if they were on that ship and survived. The story was so intriguing and held my attention from start to finish. I will definitely be recommending!

Thanks for the opportunity to read!

A wonderful story about perseverance and strength of spirit.

As a sucker for anything related to the Titanic, this was an immediate interest because the inciting incident of this book was the sinking. But the rest of the story was just as captivating. Elinor is a character that grows on you, and while some of her naivete about her married life was a bit grating at times, it was hard not to sympathize with her.

Having consumed a lot of media around this time period and around dynastic English families, Elinor's treatment was not surprising to me, which is probably part of the reason it was sometimes hard to be on her side. it felt like she should have known better, having grown up in the upper class, even if her upbringing was far different. That didn't make the treatment and what Elinor went through and ultimately felt she had to sacrifice any worse. At times, this story could have been a horror story.

The decision to shed her old life and step into that of a woman she barely knew is a fascinating premise, and one I dont feel like I've seen explored in terms of the Titanic before. There was so much chaos, the world was so different; did this happen in real life? Did some survivors see this tragedy as a means to escape? I love the what if of it all. Elinor in America is a wonderful character, watching her change and learn how to live and stand on her own two feet was a wonderful journey.

Elinor Coombes thought she was marrying the man of her dreams. It turned out he wanted her only for her rich father’s money. Elinor was never welcomed into her husband’s aristocratic family and found out too late that her only purpose was to let her husband steal her inheritance and to provide him with a son. Elinor’s father buys the family tickets to sail on the maiden voyage of the Titanic, and as the boat is sinking, Elinor makes a fateful decision to erase her past and start a new life with her young son Teddy, in New York. The author does a good job describing life in New York City in the early 1900s and the strength and determination it would take Elinor and those who helped her to survive there. I would like to thank NetGalley and Penguin Random House for providing me with an advanced reader’s copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A woman in a love less marriage, with a small child, sees an opportunity for a new life. After surviving the sinking of the Titanic, and the death of her husband and father, the protagonist reinvents herself and her son and embarks on a new life in America. Filled with historical details, this story depicts the struggles of immigrants fleeing to the new world in the hope for a better future.
I did find some parts of the book a bit unbelievable, especially when the main character gets recognized multiple times in a city teeming with hundreds of thousands of people, but all in all, this was a solid read.

Elinor is the only child of a wealthy mill owner, marries a titled man for love only to discover her new husband married her for money. She’s unhappy and becomes even more so when she gives birth to a son who is immediately given to a nanny’s care and she is only permitted to see him for one twenty minute period per day. When she learns he’ll be sent off to boarding school at age 7, and then to Eton, she realizes fully that she has no rights even as a mother.

When a family trip on the Titanic ends in tragedy Elinor is given the opportunity to try to create a new life for herself and her son, if she’s willing to try.

The Lost Passenger was engaging (if fairly predictable), kept my attention, and kept me turning the pages.

I enjoyed this one.



Thank you to Ballantine Books and NetGalley for the DRC

Really enjoyed this! I am primarily a thriller reader but have gotten into historical fiction recently, and this story intrigued me. The author seems to have done her research to portray life accurately for this time period. I sympathized with Elinor and understood her motivation, but expected the story to be a little more twisty and turny - probably the thriller reader in me. I will say I was surprised it took 2 years for the story to come to a head, and I didn't quite understand the reason the Tommy Jenkins character was added in (I mean, I do, but overall I wasn't sure it added a lot). I was almost expecting a reconciling in England for Elinor but I was happy with her happy ending. It was a great story of immigrant struggles and community in turn of the century NYC. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the galley of this good read!

Centered around the sinking of the Titantic, The Lost Passenger by Frances Quinn delves into the fictitious life of Elinor Coombes. Born into the working class in England, Elinor was chosen by a future earl to be his wife, all in order to fill the coffers. Elinor thought they had married for love. Years down the road, after a miserable marriage, Elinor's father bought passage on the doomed Titanic for Elinor, her husband, their son, and him. Upon the Titanic disaster, Elinor saw a way to change her life and that of her son. Would she have the courage to do it?

I thought the character of Elinor was whiny and self-centered, at least at first. The book was slow in development. However, Elinor did develop into a stronger character as the book evolved.

Releases Feb 25th. I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

An interesting tale of a life not as expected and how to overcome and change your path.
I totally enjoyed this book. The characters are kind, generous and caring. Of course we also have the mean, selfish characters early in the story but they enable the plot to evolve.