The Survivors Guild by Gabriella Saab

 

My thoughts

This is a story of survival. Two young women who survived the sinking of the Titanic... The two main characters, Marguerite and Bea, who survived a horrible tragedy. Bea saved Marguerite's life and from there they became the best of friends. Not without a lot of trials and errors though. This is a story not of the trip on the titanic but the night of it's sinking. How these women met, saved a baby and each other...

Marguerite is engaged to an older rich man, Lord Hexwick. She's not in love with him but she does accept that it is her duty to do this for her parents. Ugg how I hated hearing that. They are new rich and he is old money. 

Bea, was traveling with her cousin Melhem to find a better life. From Lebanon where their families are. They intend to work hard and bring them to America. When the titanic hit the iceberg though things changed. Bea met Marguerite who was in the water. Bea helped her thus saving her life. A man shoves a baby into Marguerite's arms. Together Bea and Marguerite save the baby. They figure out from the blanket he's wrapped in that his name is Remi....

There was also Marguerite's maid Lisette. And of course her fiance Lord Hexwick. Lisette is such a good person. She does everything she can to help Marguerite and Bea. Lord Hexwick on the other hand is a jerk.... Period.

This story takes you from the sinking to the nice house that Marguerite lives in with her parents. To the high society ladies who frown upon Bea and her being Lebanese. But Marguerite does all she can to help Bea and to help find Remy's family. Marguerite and Bea start the Survivors Guild to help displaced Titanic survivors. 

This book is so good. It's a story basically set after the sinking of the Titanic. A story of friendships, family, love, loss, hardships. Learning to accept help from friends. And a mother reunited with her child....

A very well written novel. Researched well and told from the two main characters points. Bea and Marguerite. Nothing is left unsolved in this story. This author did a great job. 

Be sure and read the Author's Note at the end. A lot is there that I found interesting.

I also listened to the audio and it was so well done. Both narrators did a fantastic job of keeping the characters separate and interesting. 

Thank you Harper Muse and Harper Muse Audio for the arcs.

5 stars 

About

In 1912 aboard the RMS Titanic, Nabiha “Bea” Nohra is traveling to America to find work, eager to earn the funds necessary to afford passage for the family she left in Lebanon. On the same ship, heiress Marguerite Ashby sails home to celebrate her engagement to a dull British lord, a marriage that will secure her new-money family’s place in old New York society. But when the Titanic sinks, the two women’s paths are fused together when Bea saves Marguerite’s life and they are unexpectedly charged with the smallest survivor—a baby boy.

No one claims the infant, so the women form a committee to aid survivors and locate the baby’s next of kin. Bea works as the child’s nanny, desperate to bring her family to America before the difficulties in Lebanon overwhelm them. Meanwhile Marguerite hopes the committee’s charitable efforts will win society’s respect and render an advantageous marriage unnecessary, sparing her from marrying a man she does not love—unless her parents force her to fulfill the obligation no matter what society says. And when finding the child’s relatives proves to be no simple task, the women are soon enmeshed in deception and uncertainty as they seek to determine where the baby truly belongs.

The committee might grant the acceptance Marguerite craves, connect Bea with the stability she needs, and lead them to the baby’s relatives. But a committee helmed by an American heiress and a Lebanese nanny is hardly customary. Surviving a shipwreck is only the start. As Marguerite’s wedding looms nearer and Bea faces the increasing hardships of adjusting to her new country, they must fight for survival once more. This time, to survive New York society.