Revell Blog Tour: The Pursuit of Lucy Banning by Olivia Newport

Lucy Banning may live on the exclusive Prairie Avenue among Chicago's rich and famous, but her heart lies elsewhere. Expected to marry an up-and-coming banker from a respected family, Lucy fears she will be forced to abandon her charity work--and the classes she is secretly taking at the newly opened University of Chicago. When she meets an unconventional young architect who is working on plans for the upcoming 1893 World's Fair, Lucy imagines a life lived on her own terms. Can she break away from her family's expectations? And will she ever be loved for who she truly is?

 I always enjoy reading debut novels and discovering new authors, so was happy to read The Pursuit of Lucy Banning; along with the fact I really enjoy historical fiction.


First off, the book cover is quite eye catching and I commend the art department who designed it. I was instantly intrigued to learn what the story was about after just a glimpse of the outside. 


The premise was an interesting one, and I found the characters of Lucy, Charlotte, and Will to be likeable/easy to sympathize with. I also appreciated that they didn't come across as overly stuffy or snobbish in how they spoke to or interacted with others. I felt I could connect with their feelings and understand where they were coming from. 


The story, while focused more on Lucy, also features the household maid, Charlotte, in a fairly prominent role as well. While some of her past is talked about, there is a lot more that I found myself curious about, so I'm looking forward to the next book in the series. 


While I found myself enjoying this book, I was a bit disappointed with the romance between Will and Lucy. As I said, I was fond of the characters, but didn't feel there was enough tension or interactions between the two of them to sufficiently convey their growing attraction/love for one another. They seemed overall content to be friends, then rather suddenly without much shift in intention, were quickly pledging a love connection without much prior buildup. I was happy to see them together, but thought their relationship happened too quickly to be entirely believable.


That said, The Pursuit of Lucy Banning was a sweet, thoughtful, light, read that I could recommend to anyone who enjoys historical novels.


I received a complimentary copy of this book from Revell Publishers in exchange for my honest opinion.


“Available May 2012 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.”