Author: Joy Lanzendorfer

A #HistNov #25PagePreview | feat. “Right Back Where We Started From” by Joy Lanzendorfer

Posted Friday, 28 May, 2021 by jorielov , , 0 Comments

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Acquired Book By: I am a regular tour hostess for blog tours via Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours whereupon I am thankful to have been able to host such a diverse breadth of stories, authors and wonderful guest features since I became a hostess! HFVBTs is one of the very first touring companies I started working with as a 1st Year Book Blogger – uniting my love and passion with Historical Fiction and the lovely sub-genres inside which I love devouring. Whether I am reading selections from Indie Authors & publishers to Major Trade and either from mainstream or INSPY markets – I am finding myself happily residing in the Historical past each year I am a blogger.

What I have been thankful for all these years since 2013 is the beautiful blessing of discovering new areas of Historical History to explore through realistically compelling Historical narratives which put me on the front-lines of where History and human interest stories interconnect. It has also allowed me to dive deeper into the historic past and root out new decades, centuries and millenniums to explore. For this and the stories themselves which are part of the memories I cherish most as a book blogger I am grateful to be a part of the #HFVBTBlogTours blogger team.

I received a complimentary copy of “Right Back Where We Started From” from the publisher Blackstone Publishing in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

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On why I elected to write a smaller review for this novel:

Earlier in May, I was able to resume full-time hours at work and since then, I’ve been working a lot of double shifts – which has altered some of my readings this May all the way round as I’ve been a bit more fatigued than I expected to be as I’ve been slowly re-adjusting to working full-time again since February. I decided to give a sampling of a preview of what my first impressions of “Right Back Where We Started From” were today rather than to feel guilty I’ve been reading this story a bit slower than others given the fact I’ve also have been working on most of my days off rather than to stress about trying to read this too fast. I am enjoying working again but I’ve found it to be a bit of an adjustment to re-find the balances in my life.

I am always keenly fascinated with Old Hollywood and the years from 1900-1949 which is why I have a firm affinity for Classic Movies and stories set round those decades. Everything was just becoming new again and discovered – if you extract the war years and focus on the homefront, it was an interesting time in American History. Especially as there were such landmark changes – for women and men alike and for the industries which were coming online for the first time. Back then, it was easier to find a niche of entrance into the film industry (or rather, perhaps it only appeared to be?) but it also was a moment of great change for our country.

This novel reads like a delishly alive Biographical Historical Fiction piece – as it is rooted in the telling of one family’s generational story – anchoured through the women and told with their own perspectives in tact. I love when authors can take that vantage point and run with it – as if you’ve not only had the chance to live their lives with them but you get to see the backdrop of where in History they had lived, too.

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A #HistNov #25PagePreview | feat. “Right Back Where We Started From” by Joy LanzendorferRight Back Where We Started From
by Joy Lanzendorfer
Source: Publisher via Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours

If misfortune hadn’t gotten in the way, Sandra Sanborn would be where she belongs–among the rich and privileged instead of standing outside a Hollywood studio wearing a sandwich board in the hope of someone discovering her. It’s tough breaking into the movies during the Great Depression, but Sandra knows that she’s destined for greatness. After all, her grandmother Vira crossed the country during the Gold Rush and established the Sanborns as one of San Francisco’s most prominent families, and her mother Mabel grew up in a lavish mansion and married into an agricultural empire. Success, Sandra feels, is in her blood. She just needs a chance to prove it.

In between failed auditions, Sandra receives a letter from a man claiming to be her father, which calls into question everything she believes about her family–and herself. As she tries to climb the social ladder, family secrets lurk in the background, pulling her down. Until Sandra confronts the truth about how Vira and Mabel gained and lost their fortunes, she will always end up right back where she started from.

Right Back Where We Started From is a sweeping, multigenerational work of fiction that explores the lust for ambition that entered into the American consciousness during the Gold Rush and how it affected our nation’s ideas of success, failure, and the pursuit of happiness. It is a meticulously layered saga–at once historically rich, romantic, and suspenseful–about three determined and completely unforgettable women.

Genres: Historical Fiction



Places to find the book:

Borrow from a Public Library

Add to LibraryThing

ISBN: 9781094089027

Published by Blackstone Publishing

on 4th May, 2021

Format: Hardcover Edition

Pages: 400

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Published by: Blackstone Publishing (@BlackstoneAudio)

Converse via: #HistFic or #HistNov or #HistoricalFiction
+ #RightBackWhereWeStartedFrom and #HFVBTBlogTours

Available Formats: Hardback, Audiobook and Ebook

About Joy Lanzendorfer

Joy Lanzendorfer

Joy Lanzendorfer’s work has appeared in the New York Times, the Washington Post, The Atlantic, NPR, Smithsonian, Poetry Foundation, and many others. She was included in The Best Small Fictions anthology and was a notable in The Best American Essays 2019. She has been awarded grants and residencies from the Discovered Awards for Emerging Literary Artists, Wildacres Residency Program, and the Speculative Literature Foundation.

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Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

  • 2021 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge
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Posted Friday, 28 May, 2021 by jorielov in #25PagePreview, Blog Tour Host, Historical Fiction, Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours