This book was on one of my book shelves for awhile. I randomly chose it, and I'm glad I did. I finished it in one day.

The background is Paris France 1887-1889, and the plot is intriguing. Gustave Eiffel with his engineers are building an iron structure. It towers higher and higher, and looks like a magical structure of light, a building without any outer structure. It causes some to marvel, and many to call it an atrocity.

Weaving historical detail with a cast of characters who depict Paris, France in the time of struggling artists in their new, brazen form titled impressionism.

Paris is a mix of the upper class who dress to impress, while severely looking down upon the poorer lot. Juxtapositioned are prostitutes, opium dens, and an aura of sexuality. By the end of the book, the reader sees Paris as a fascinating city, with a severe undercurrent of seediness.

There are street beggars, people whose lot in life was suddenly changed by the end of a job, a death of a husband, and those who simply were not born into a higher echelon and have no means of ever fitting in with the rich and powerful.

The plot twirls around true-to-life characters of Gustave Eiffel, who is the main engineer of the tower is and his co- engineer Émile Nouguier both are famous for designing the architectural structure titled the Eiffel Tower, built for the 1889 Universal Exposition in Paris, France.

Emile falls in love with Scottish born Caitriona Wallace, a woman whose life is forever changed when her husband dies. All too soon, her finances are dwindling, and thus she takes a position of chaperone to two very spoiled young adults whose uncle funded their trip to Paris with the hope his nephew would become less immature, and his niece would find a suitable wealthy man to marry.

When Cait meets Emile Nouguier, both are drawn to each other. Alas, this is a tale of a woman of a much lower social status, and a man who desperately wants to break tradition and claim her as his wife.

While overall, the plot is marvelously woven, but, there seemed to be too much frivolous information that took away from what could have been a beautiful masterpiece.

Recommended.

3.5 Stars ( )

I have received this e-ARC from Netgalley in return for my honest review.

A tender love story yet with expected unexpected ending. Though slow at some point with a little extra unnecessary fillers, Beatrice does writes well with straightforward prose. I loved that the love story revolves around the amazing Eiffel Tower. A simple, historical romance on the go for me.

You can read my full review here:
http://www.sholee.net/2016/11/mpov-to-capture-what-we-cannot-keep-e.html ( )

Scottish widow Caitriona Wallace has taken a position as chaperone to the high-spirited Arroll siblings, Jamie (an aspiring engineer) and Alice (an eligible heiress). While visiting Paris, they encounter Émile Nouguiet, designer of the Eiffel Tower, construction of which is about to begin in anticipation of the 1889 World's Fair. The attraction between Cait and Émile is almost immediate, but he is in need of a wealthy wife (to salvage the family glassworks, although, as an engineer, Émile has no interest in them) and Alice is the likeliest prospect. Émile also has a mistress, Gabrielle, the wife of a mediocre artist, whom he would like to discard (seeing the dead-end the relationship represents). -- For the most part, a well-written historical novel, with more emphasis on the characters and their interrelationships than on the backdrop. Still, there are holes in the narrative, and Cait's back story takes a bit too long to reveal itself. ( )

Émile Nouguier, co-designer of the Eiffel Tower, is the romantic interest of Scottish Cait in this unconventional romance rather conventionally told. The details about construction of the Tower are fascinating, as are those of nineteenth-century Paris. ( )

I loved reading this book. It was well written and the descriptions of Paris for this time period were enchanting as well as realistic and historically accurate. I wanted a little more of the love story. It ended well and there were some spectacular moments throughout the book. I just wish there were a few more of them. ( )