Product Description

"Vividly evocative of the time and place...[Ware] deftly blends history and romance in a page-turning story." Library Journal

Early in 1906, the ground in San Francisco shook buildings and lives from their comfortable foundations.

Amidst the rubble, corruption, and deceit, two women-young architects in a city and field ruled by men find themselves racing the clock and each other during the rebuilding of competing hotels in the City by the Bay.

Based on meticulous research, A Race to Splendor   tells the story of the audacious people of one of the world's great cities rebuilding and reinventing themselves after the immense human tragedy. Filled with courage, passion, and conflict, Amelia Bradshaw's spirit will capture your imagination as she strives to redraft her life amidst the ruins with both help and hindrance from a wayward son of privilege who pulls her into worlds she'd never have known.

Praise for Race to Splendor:

"Ciji Ware continues to shine a spotlight on women's accomplishments in history. Highly recommended, this novel glows with a careful blend of history and romance" Historical Novels Review

"Ware's trailblazing woman is a feisty host for an affecting story of the struggle to rise above the wreckage of mankind." Publishers Weekly

Editorial Reviews

A Race to Splendor is a penetrating look at what it takes to survive and what it means to succeed in a city that has literally crumbled. Greed and envy, anger and rage, and love and lust all make an appearance in this fascinating exploration of human nature. The intriguing, dedicated personalities in Ware's latest release provide an excellent source of information about the San Francisco tragedy as well as captivating entertainment.- ForeWord

A Race to Splendor is an entertaining summer read.Booklist

A Race to Splendor is fast-paced, meticulously detailed, events come to life as do the characters, and Ware sweeps the reader away with her ability to transform readers into the past. I highly recommend A Race to Splendor to anyone who enjoys historical fiction or is new to the genre.- Rundpinne

Another big thumbs up to Ms. Ware for writing well-rounded baddies and showing us why they're bad instead of telling us with snarling lips, stinking breath, and feral smiles.At Home with a Good Book and the Cat

Ciji Ware continues to shine a spotlight on women's accomplishments in history. Highly recommended, this novel glows with a careful blend of history and romance Historical Novels Review

Ciji Ware is acknowledged as one of the best historical fiction authors, and she does not disappoint in A Race to Splendor. Meticulously researched, she transports the reader to turn of the century San Francisco and makes them feel the devastation and the pioneering spirit that rebuilt the city.Booksie's Blog

My first Ciji Ware novel but definitely not my last; the pages literally turn themselves! Queen of Happy Endings

Meticulously researched, this richly detailed novel, whose earthquake scenes are so real that readers will believe they are witnessing the event, will enthrall... an unforgettable story. 4 1/2 Stars RT Book Reviews

Ware's research is impeccable and she brings these situations and circumstances to life for readers. She gives a face to a tragedy that many don't know much about and I thought she did a wonderful job of it. Debbie's Book Bag

Ware's trailblazing woman is a feisty host for an affecting story of the struggle to rise above the wreckage of mankind. - Publishers Weekly

About the Author

Ciji Ware

CIJI WARE is a New York Times & USA Today bestselling novelist, an Emmy-award-winning television producer, reporter, writer, lecturer, and host. Her latest work, LANDING BY MOONLIGHT, published October 15, 2019, was inspired by the exceptional American women who volunteered as "Churchill's Angles"--secret agents during WW II, parachuting into occupied France to fight the Nazis.

Ware's Four Seasons Quartet "THAT..." series includes stand-alone titles set in CORNWALL, EDINBURGH, VENICE, and PARIS that were released between 2013-2017. A novella "The Ring of Kerry Hannigan," part of the RING OF TRUTH anthology with novelists Diana Dempsey and Kate Moore, was released as a single title in the spring of 2015.

Ware has won numerous awards for her 12 works of fiction, including the Dorothy Parker Award of Excellence; the 'Golden Quill' award for Historical Fiction; 'And best Fictionalized Biography' for her 18th c. historical novel, ISLAND OF THE SWANS. For the latter work, she has bestowed in Edinburgh the honor of FSA Scot, of which she is exceedingly proud. Another historical novel, A RACE TO SPLENDOR, debuted in April 2011 on the 105th anniversary of the devastating 1905 San Francisco Earthquake and Firestorm and was short-listed for the WILLA (Cather) Literary Award in 2012.

In 2015, Ware was named to the Martha's Vineyard Writers-in-Residence program where she began a long-term project: REINVENTING...ME, a memoir of her years in all aspects of media. Currently, she is working on the second of two novels in her Spy Sisters series set in WWII based on the lives of several American women secret agents in the armed conflict.

Ware's most recent nonfiction, RIGHTSIZING YOUR LIFE: Simplifying Your Surroundings While Keeping What Matters Most, was named by the Wall Street Journal as "One of the Top 5 Books on Retirement Issues." She continues to lecture extensively on the subject of domestic downsizing for people age 50+ as she relates her own journey from 4000sq. feet of living space in Beverly Hills and Santa Barbara, down to a "cottage by the sea" of around 1000 square feet in the San Francisco Bay Area--and loving it! She is also the author of JOINT CUSTODY: Making Shared Parenting Work.

For eighteen years, Ware was heard daily as a commentator on ABC Radio & TV in Los Angeles. During her noted career as a broadcaster, she has worked as a reporter or anchor for PBS and all three major network affiliates, covering a wide range of topics in the areas of health, consumer, lifestyle, and women's issues.

Ciji Ware is also a sought-after event speaker, and print journalist, (AARP, Travel & Leisure, and other national magazines) and has the distinction of being elected as the first woman graduate of Harvard College to serve as President of the Harvard Alumni Association, Worldwide. The author is married for four decades+ to Internet marketing executive, Tony Cook. The "Cook-Wares" have a son, daughter-in-law, and three grandchildren.