In many ways this story just deserves to be clinked into a tall glass with some ice and a lemon slice and a sprig of mint. So much of it is so classic and stylish, so vivid in its description (which I'm sure is testament to the author's painstaking research). The story and the characters are interesting, the settings evocative, but I felt the plot went over so slightly off the boil towards the end. From the beginning - the present chapters of Teddy being interviewed, set against her telling the story of What Actually Happened - I felt like there was going to be a huge reveal. And there was a reveal, it just wasn't huge. That's not to say it should be (not every story needs a shocking twist), but I felt that's what I was expecting and I didn't quite get it. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the story.

I found this book quite slow paced and found that it went into a lot of detail that didn’t drive the story which made me lose slight interest. However, I did want to find out how this story ended.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The cover of Teddy drew me in, and the novel delivered on its promise of gripping historical fiction with a feminist twist. Set in 1969, it follows Teddy, a privileged Texan struggling against societal expectations and financial constraints. Her journey from a constrained life in America to the glamorous but confining world of high society in Rome reveals deep internal conflicts and a yearning for authenticity.

As Teddy navigates her new life, the novel contrasts her struggles with societal pressures on women. Her complex relationship with her free-spirited Aunt Sister highlights the constraints placed on women who defy conventions.

Teddy is more than historical fiction—it's a powerful feminist commentary wrapped in a compelling narrative. With a satisfying conclusion, it’s a must-read for fans of historical and feminist literature. Perfect for a summer read!

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Teddy is a member of a rich and powerful Texan family but has remained unmarried until now. She has moved to Rome with her new husband full of good intentions but Teddy can't seem to get it right. She spends too much money on clothes, is looked down on by the educated women in the Embassy and cannot keep house. At a party she is caught in a compromising position by a photographer and also sees a man from her past.
This is a book with high concepts and on many levels it works. The character of Teddy is quite well-developed and I loved the idea of her being a pawn in a bigger political game. However I found her husband rather underwritten and the plotline around the Russian spy never really seemed to go anywhere. It was a great holiday read but not one I will remember

Teddy is a 35 year old woman in the 1960s who moves to Rome from Texas with her new husband. Teddy is scatterbrained but glamorous, torn between her impluse and doing what is expected of her. She unwittingly gets caught up in a political scandal and the narrative of the novel is Teddy explaining how she got here to the detectives interviewing her. This lends a conversational, gossipy tone to the book.

I really liked the premise of the story, frothy and fun, but for some reason this fell flat for me. I didn't find Teddy convincing as both extraordinary and unaware.

Beautiful cover, and I would still recommend for fans of books like Lessons in Chemistry or Where The Crawdads SIng.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the eARC.

Glamorous, sticky and tense, this is the perfect summer read. I wasn’t expecting a mystery element to this book at all, however once that was introduced I wanted more from it. I found the book to be very slow paced which I didn’t think went with the mystery side of things. Had it just been a sort of literary drama, the slow more focused approach to the writing would’ve worked better. However I still very much enjoyed this book!

Teddy arrives in Rome newly married and a new life on the horizon. Her husband works in the American embassy. She starts working there cataloguing the artwork but then at a party his photographed kissing the ambassador. Can she recover? Can her marriage survive? I found it a bit too long and didn’t enjoy it that much

What a marvellous debut novel taking the reader to the glamour and sultry heat of Rome in 1969. We meet newly wed Teddy, ready to start a new life with her diplomat husband, but her past it turns out won’t stay hidden. Slowly everything begins to unravel, in this riveting tale of deception and lies. Stylish and suspenseful I love it. Thank you to Fourth Estate and Netgalley for letting me read this ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I absolutely loved reading this book, the setting was so interesting and I love the storyline! The characters were interesting and I loved the time period it was set in! Definitely gave me the seven husbands of Evelyn Hugo vibes!!

I enjoyed Teddy, but it wasn’t quite what I expected. I thought it was going to be a sizzling summer read and while I loved so much of it - the gorgeous writing, the 1960s glamour, the backdrop of Cold War tension and descriptions of Rome itself, the hints at Hollywood corruption and the subsequent mysteries of Teddy’s past, it didn’t fully manage to win me over. The fact that the chapters are told in flashback and lead the reader up to present day revelations is effective in keeping you engaged in the story, but by the end I just felt sad for Teddy as she wades - not always successfully - through the misogyny of those around her, and I spent a lot of the book being angry on her behalf. In turn, I felt mixed emotions after the final chapter ended. I’m glad she was able to take back some autonomy, and hated what she had to go through to get there.

Overall Teddy was a thought provoking but frustrating read. A massive thank you to Netgalley and Fourth Estate for the e-ARC.

When reading “Teddy” I felt like I was transported into the romance and glamour of a 1950s Rome.

Teddy was a wonderfully complex character and the tension radiated throughout the novel. It was difficult to get into at first but stick at it!

Teddy is an intriguing and well told story set in 1960s Rome. I really enjoyed the Teddy’s character and was intrigued by her and her storyline. I was hoping for a bit more of a dramatic twist at the end although I did enjoy the plot development.
This book is well written and easy to read. I was intrigued and keen to read on to uncover the events Teddy has found herself wrapped up in.
Overall this was an enjoyable and fun read. I’m looking forward to reading more by this author in th future.

Teddy is an interesting read. The MC, whose name is given to this novel, is a person of high life. The story is set in 1969, and mainly in Texas and then Rome. Teddy's life is not what it seems.
Overall, I found the concept interesting.
Characterisation 3
Plot 3
Concept 3.5
Mood, atmosphere 4
Writing 4
Pacing 3
3.5 stars.

Emily Dunlay has written a great story set over a number of hot nights in 1960s Rome. I thought the writing was brilliant, and I felt invested in Teddy to keep reading to find out what had happened - the opening page hook (her dress covered in someone else's blood) was a great page turner. The only think I was disappointed with was [SPOILER] I expected it to have a bit more of a feminist twist that she'd been keeping something secret from everyone and that she would walk away the winner. There is a twist, but it's a bit tame, and predictable. I would have liked it to have been more linked with Teddy being an unreliable narrator and actually she was a spy - in reality she was the woman she'd been portrayed as all along.

Teddy is the story of a Texan woman from a well-connected family. It is 1969 and she makes a “late” marriage at 34, following a whirlwind courtship. Her husband, David tells her he is a minor diplomat, about to be posted to Rome. As a lover of art she envisages a life of high style and culture, but once in Rome she finds herself constrained, until the ambassador takes an interest and offers her a role in cataloguing the embassy’s collections. However this opportunity brings complications.

Teddy’s contradictions are powerfully portrayed. She is an heiress but she is always short of money. She is kept on a tight leash by her family and is prone to irrational extravagance whenever she has the opportunity. She tells us she is a beauty, but she is constantly ill at ease in her own body. She prepares excitedly for set-piece events, then feels she is all wrong - she has the shape and style of the fifties but the young women who surround her have an entirely different aesthetic. She is full of shame about her sexual history and terrified of her secrets coming out. There is also the alternating desire and disapproval she experiences from her husband and her own ambivalence to him.

That interesting duality in Teddy’s character is not seen in the secondary characters who feel more like types than rounded individuals. There’s a cold, distant mother, an aunt who went off the rails, a Reaganesque actor-turned-ambassador...I also felt there wasn’t enough plot to sustain the story so it was filled out with more wardrobe mishaps and self-sabotaging behaviour from Teddy. This became frustrating and led me to skim at times.

It’s fairly clear that Teddy’s marriage isn’t all it seems from the start – not least because the story is framed as her account of events to sinister, anonymous men from the embassy. However, it takes a long time to get there. And I struggled with Teddy’s naivety, given her upbringing and the brutal political operators in her family.

Still, it’s a well written and atmospheric read and the chance to travel to Rome (and Capri, where Teddy and David honeymoon) will make it a popular choice for holiday read.

Set mainly in Italy during the 1950’s, this is a slow-burning story which I found difficult to get through at times, but it has left me pondering at the ending, and I really cannot decide if I found this a disturbing read or a disappointing one. The setting and fashion descriptions are gloriously described and I could vividly imagine each scene, particularly towards the end as the tension develops.

The book is cleverly structured to allow the eponymously named protagonist,Teddy, to tell her story over the course of an interview with the police who are investigating a crime. There are many hooks and suggestions to build the intrigue as to why she is being interviewed, and it definitely implies that she is guilty of something heinous.

I have to confess that I found Teddy a difficult female to warm to as she often comes across as vapid, vain and shallow; however, she was a victim of her time and I couldn’t help but quietly applaud her in the end for finally making a decision for herself - come hell or high water! Teddy seeks approval and security but consistently makes the wrong decisions. I found her indecision and indolence when her husband was away quite unforgivable and really wanted to shake some sense into her. I couldn’t quite grasp her desire to please David, her husband, as there did not seem to be much love between them. Eugene is a red herring and I never quite understood his role in the story, other than to show how deceptive Teddy could be?

Something in this story did not quite work for me. I was not invested enough in Teddy to follow the intricate plotting of lies on top of lies. Did I ever get to know the true character of Teddy? She clearly had been raised to expect little from life, yet her own family had more secrets to hide than those usually found in soap operas! I felt sorry for the predicament that she found herself in and the difficulties of her financial situation, though often she does not make the best of a situation but makes things even more difficult for herself.

This is probably a read that I need to revisit. I feel like I missed the point, but I’m sure the error is all mine. This is a dark, brooding story that’s layered like an onion and as each layer is removed it is clear that there is so much more to reveal from this gritty, sordid story that is probably inspired by more truth than I really want to know about!

Completely immersive 1960’s Rome, taking in both the fashionable glamour and abhorrent sleaze being the wife of an American diplomat. Fascinating read.

Emily Dunlay transported the readers to Rome in 1969. We saw the glitz, the glam and the ugly environment of Teddy’s life after she has married David, a diplomat. Growing up with wealth, Teddy knew she was going to be something. Whether that was rich with money or rich with beauty, she knew she was going to be important. We see the parties, the sparkles, the good times but also the bad times. Teddy’s depressive states where she felt lonely and sad and this made the whole story feel real. If you’re a fan of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, you will definitely enjoy this one!

This book was so good! The entire cast of characters were so complex and Emily portrayed all characters so well. I really felt the emotions of Teddy when she was lonely, and as she always wanted to be someone that stood out to others it must’ve been hard having the husband she did. I was hooked immediately and although I was unsure on Teddy at first, I understood her more and felt sorry for the way she was feeling.

A fabulous book and I can’t wait to read more from Emily in the future! Definitely recommend.

This is the sort of book I love to read in the summer , it's pure escapism and a perfect beach read (especially if you are in Europe!). There's glamour, intrigue , suspense, politics, romance, it's all in there ! It's a bit of a slow burn but once yu get into the story you will be invested. I think this would make a great screen adaptation , the backdrop would be amazing ! One for the tbr if you like a glitzy easy summer vacation read

The precis of Teddy piqued my interest, the glamour of US society and Rome in the 1960’s - the anticipation of a new life for Teddy, with a chance to leave her past behind and escape. I wasn’t disappointed, Emily Dunlay’s writing is beautiful, capturing the essence of the time and places, and as the story unfolds you fall deeper in to Teddy’s life and the people around her.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me to read Teddy.