Review: More Precious than Gold by Renee Yancy

More Precious Than Gold

by Renee Yancy

About the Book

When artistic, middle-class Kitty Winthrop discovers the grandmother she always believed dead is actually the uber-wealthy leader of New York City high society, Kitty jumps at the chance to make her debut into that world despite her mother’s disapproval. After dancing lessons and etiquette classes, she enters the high society life as the granddaughter of a New York City blueblood, wearing the gorgeous Worth ball gowns she used to design for her portfolio. But she soon discovers all that glitters isn’t gold, and ball gowns, jewels, and fancy parties don’t feed the soul.

As America enters World War I, Kitty makes the choice to forego the life of wealth and luxury promised by her grandmother and pursue a nursing career at Bellevue Hospital. She catches the eye of Dr. Samuel Hayden, a young physician in charge of the medical wards who falls hard for her.

As Kitty and Samuel fall in love, the Pandemic Flu of 1918 strikes New York City and the world. Soon the student nurses are working sixteen-hour shifts, people in the prime of life are dying, and the city morgues are overflowing with the dead. Through this incredibly stressful time, Kitty realizes she want to pursue medicine, but Samuel won’t hear of it. As the flu epidemic reaches its lethal peak, hearts are tested, lives are lost, and no one knows who will survive to see if love can overcome all obstacles.

My Thoughts

At turns sweet, while at times haunting, More Precious than Gold tells the tale of a debutante turned nurse during WWI and the Spanish flu pandemic.

I have conflicting feelings about this book. The first half of the book didn’t really capture my attention. There were some things that didn’t really line up with the era the book is set in, and that hurt the reading experience for me. I also thought Kitty was a bit naïve. I think this might have been intended, since she was fairly young and sheltered, as well as to show growth for her as the book progressed. Yet the last half of the book was more what I had expected when I first heard about it. Kitty’s experiences as a nurse during the Spanish flu pandemic are vividly portrayed, making her a heroine that readers can admire. This part of history was most accurately portrayed and it feels almost surreal to read about it given how we’re living through COVID-19 at the time of this book’s publication.

If you’re a fan of sweet Christian fiction, then More Precious than Gold might be the book for you.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Vinspire through NetGalley. All opinions expressed are my own.