The Forgotten Room

Holy wow. This book was stupendous. It's told from three alternating but interconnecting story lines of Olive (1892), Lucy (1920), and Kate (1945) surrounding their struggles, hopes & dreams, crushing loss, and love. You could tell the different writing styles of the three authors, and it did take a few chapters to find my reading groove. Nonetheless, I could feel myself connecting with all three women and felt personally victimized by the ending of the book (prepare yourself, there were onions in my house that night and I needed some tissues). This book definitely left me with a book hangover, and I couldn't recommend it fast enough to my bookworm friends. I can't say enough good things about this book, so just buy it already. Do it.

I've found this novel to be like a puzzle waiting for the reading to put the pieces together to understand what connects the 3 or was it 4 female characters. Could it be the illicit affair between the working class and the high society, or the allusive find of a true soul mate and love? It is a mystery that takes the reader through 3 different stories during different times such as 1890's, 1920's, and 1944. Could they all be related to Harry Pratt? A must read for all.....

When three incredible authors come together I did not know what to expect, but I have to say the way of the writing and the flow of the story was perfect. A generational story of three women who have to choose between their true loves and another path for their families and future. Kate and Cooper uncover secrets going back three generations within both of their families.Secrets, true love, fate and finding out the truths of what really happened all those generations ago.

I enjoyed the mystery and several scenes drove me to tears. What I loved the most was that their destinies were their decision, not an accident or a reaction to another person's choice.I've thrown a lot of books with heart-breaking love stories across the room because of characters' stupidity. Even with three love stories, this book was not one of them.

I love Karen White so when I saw that she was one of the authors of this book I knew I had to read it. Well, today I finished it and I cried for several minutes. It is such a beautiful and yet tragic story. It is beautifully written, a really great book. I love the use of different eras and how the entire story is centered around one building and three women and the connection they all shared. A great book. A keeper.

I really enjoyed this book. I have read the majority of Beatriz Williams books and love them, so I was pretty much sold just by that fact. The concept is really fun, three generations all living in one house for completely different reasons. The love story is fun too. I do have to say I flew through this book, if not because I really enjoyed it, then to see if it was going down a dark path.....you'll see.

I have read so many of Karen White`s books and have enjoyed each one. This one however tells the story of three women and how their lives intertwine. I enjoyed going back and forth with Olive, Lucy, and Kate trying to figure out how they were related. Each gave up love until the last generation.

The Forgotten Room is a collaboration by three well-known authors of romantic suspense that enjoy using the device of time-shift. The story is told from three different perspectives from three different points in time--three generations starting in 1893 and ending in 1944. Beatriz William's Schuyler family is entwined with the women of this novel--unfortunately, I have read only two of William's Schuyler sister-themed stories, so I am not quite sure as to where the Schuylers in this tale fit into the family tree. William's feisty-woman character is easy to pick out as is Lauren Willig's prose. As I am not at all familiar with Karen White, and not at all sure that each of the authors decided to choose and concentrate on a particular time period and character for this collaboration or if they all sat down and contributed to each of the narratives when they felt the inclination. My guess is that Williams wrote Kate, White wrote Olive and Willig wrote Lucy. Not sure about this, just basing it on my reading experience with these authors.Because the novel has three authors, it tends to be a little choppy in terms of style and flow. It took me a few cycles of the three characters perspectives to fully get into the story--and even then it took me a while to figure out the relationship between the characters. From the start the only connection besides the mural of St George and the Dragon is the old Pratt Mansion which has gone from private estate to boardinghouse to hospital all within the span of a few generations. The Forgotten Room holds its secrets, but for the most part the secrets that it holds are rather superficial as by the time its secrets have been revealed, the reader already has it all figured out. The ruby necklace is what really ties the characters together; the forgotten room is pretty much forgotten . . . .For those who enjoy this type of read, "the Forgotten Room" will compel you to keep the pages turning until you get to the very end where the social pressures and sadness of the past finally come together for one of the characters. The last chapter as an Epilogue seems redundant. The reader already knows what it will reveal; it seems like more of a writing exercise than a necessary point in the plot denouement. What would work better would be a Prologue where the character featured looks back from that moment in the room and sets the whole drama in motion rather than have the three women start things off, allowing the reader to flounder a bit as to what their relationships are and how their issues will be rectified.I thought the Kate segment a little too pat; the part with Dr. Greeley being such a dreary skirt-chasing character a little too 2-dimensional. Kate as the doctor comes off a little too Pre-Raphaelite model and the character of Prunella Pratt not utilized to its full potential by any of the perspectives.Bottom line? Interesting idea--a collaborative effort by three novelists. Does it work? It does, but the result tends to be a little redundant, a little choppy and a little foggy in terms of who the characters actually are and how they impact each other. The plot is typical; those who like the three featured authors will enjoy figuring out their respective contributions. Not a particularly memorable book; give me "That Summer" by Lauren Wlllig or "Along the Infinite Sea" minus the framing story by Beatriz Williams any day.Diana Faillace Von Behren"Buzzard's Eye View"

Loved this novel, savoured every chapter and didn't want it to end. I adore Karen White's novels and shall now be checking out more from the other authors of the beauty of a book!

I liked the way that the story moves between the key chapters. The description of the attic room is almost magical.

Okay but a little difficult to get into - lots of time changes meant I was nearly halfway through the book before I really knew the characters.

I've always loved Karen White's books. What happened here? I immediately started feeling uneasy during the first chapter, and by the end of another few chapters, I knew the plot and more I felt like I was reading a "pot boiler." Couldn't even bother to finish it, and I was left with a feeling of sadness. At least I still have her other excellent books to reread.

This was a very intriguing book.You have to go with flow and it took 3/4 of the book for me to piece together the story that was unfolding. I was really cheering for Kate to break the cycle.I thoroughly enjoyed it. A Great Who Done It.