The Chelsea Girls by Fiona Davis
New York’s iconic Chelsea Hotel is the backdrop for this riveting tale of the friendship and trials two women experience in their twenty-year friendship. The Chelsea Girls by Fiona Davis is a dazzling piece of historical fiction. FINDING FRIENDSHIP IN WAR Landing in Italy during World War II, Hazel Riley is a wide-eyed new addition to the USO tour. She is an aspiring actress that is best known as an understudy. Her fresh-faced appearance and reticence to take charge quickly earns her the nickname Hayseed Hazel. Maxine Mead, on the other hand, is the leading lady oozing with personality and looks to become a star. Quick thinking, brave, and confident,…
A Trace of Deceit by Karen Odden
Annabel’s older brother, Edwin, was a risk-taker – disappearing for days or weeks at a time. He usually turns up slack-jawed from the opium den or burdened with gambling debts. But when Edwin is murdered in his apartment, Annabel must piece together events and clues to discover who killed him and why. DELIBERATE DEATH Do you know that sick feeling that something is terribly wrong? And later finding out you were right? A painting student at the Slade in London, Annabel Rowe is a keen observer of life and of people. When her paintbrush drops suddenly, she senses something is amiss. However, rushing to Edwin’s apartment after class, she discovers…
Lies in White Dresses by Sofia Grant
Based on true stories from the 1950s, Lies in White Dresses spins a tale of three women in search of the “Reno Cure” – a quick divorce. They share desperation for a new beginning, but long-hidden secrets and unexpected tragedy threaten to be their undoing. STRANGERS ON A TRAIN Francie Meeker and Vi Carothers have been best friends since they became neighbors decades ago. Experiencing life together – Pregnancies, raising children, and welcoming grandchildren – they find themselves in a new stage. Both in unfulfilling marriages, Francie hounded Vi for ages to travel to Reno to get divorced once and for all. Once Vi finally agrees, the two board a…
Book Review: Mistress of the Ritz by Melanie Benjamin
Book Review: Mistress of the Ritz by Melanie Benjamin The lowdown from Goodreads Publication Date May 21st 2019 Nothing bad can happen at the Ritz; inside its gilded walls every woman looks beautiful, every man appears witty. Favored guests like Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Coco Chanel, and the Duke and Duchess of Windsor walk through its famous doors to be welcomed and pampered by Blanche Auzello and her husband, Claude, the hotel’s director. The Auzellos are the mistress and master of the Ritz, allowing the glamour and glitz to take their minds off their troubled marriage, and off the secrets that they keep from their guests–and each other. Until June…
Book Review: The Little Shop of Found Things by Paula Brackston
Book Review: The Little Shop of Found Things by Paula Brackston The lowdown from Goodreads Publication Date October 16th, 2018 A new series about a young woman whose connection to antiques takes her on a magical adventure, reminiscent of Outlander New York Times bestselling author of The Witch’s Daughter Paula Brackston returns to her trademark blend of magic and romance to launch a new series guaranteed to enchant her audience even more. Xanthe and her mother Flora leave London behind for a fresh start, taking over an antique shop in the historic town of Marlborough. Xanthe has always had an affinity with some of the antiques she finds. When she touches them, she can…
Book Review: Park Avenue Summer by Renee Rosen
Goodreads Book Review: Park Avenue Summer by Renee Rosen The lowdown from Goodreads Publication Date April 30th, 2019 Mad Men meets The Devil Wears Prada as Renée Rosen draws readers into the glamour of 1965 New York City and Cosmopolitan Magazine, where a brazen new Editor-in-Chief–Helen Gurley Brown–shocks America by daring to talk to women about all things off limits… New York City is filled with opportunities for single girls like Alice Weiss who leaves her small Midwestern town to chase her big city dreams and unexpectedly lands the job of a lifetime working for Helen Gurley Brown, the first female Editor-in-Chief of a then failing Cosmopolitan Magazine. Nothing could…
Book Review: The Beautiful Ones by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Book Review: The Beautiful Ones by Silvia Moreno-Garcia The lowdown from Goodreads Publication Date October 24, 2017 A young woman finding her way It is Antonina Beaulieu’s first Grand Season in the elegant city of Loisail. A chance to take her place in high society, to find a suitable husband, and to leave her checkered past behind. Because Antonina possesses telekinetic powers, powers she can’t control, that have made her the subject of cruel gossip. A gentleman with a secret Famed telekinetic performer Hector Auvray is also new to the city. He arrives in Loisail with the intent of recapturing the heart of his former flame, the beautiful Valérie Beaulieu,…
Book Review: The Editor by Steven Rowley
Book Review: The Editor by Steven Rowley The lowdown from Goodreads Publication Date April 2nd, 2019 After years of trying to make it as a writer in 1990s New York City, James Smale finally sells his novel to an editor at a major publishing house: none other than Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. Jackie–or Mrs. Onassis, as she’s known in the office–has fallen in love with James’s candidly autobiographical novel, one that exposes his own dysfunctional family. But when the book’s forthcoming publication threatens to unravel already fragile relationships, both within his family and with his partner, James finds that he can’t bring himself to finish the manuscript. Jackie and James develop…
Book Review: The Things We Cannot Say by Kelly Rimmer
Book Review: The Things We Cannot Say by Kelly Rimmer The lowdown from Goodreads Publication Date March 19, 2019 In 1942, Europe remains in the relentless grip of war. Just beyond the tents of the Russian refugee camp she calls home, a young woman speaks her wedding vows. It’s a decision that will alter her destiny…and it’s a lie that will remain buried until the next century. Since she was nine years old, Alina Dziak knew she would marry her best friend, Tomasz. Now fifteen and engaged, Alina is unconcerned by reports of Nazi soldiers at the Polish border, believing her neighbors that they pose no real threat, and dreams…
The Beantown Girls by Jane Healey Book Review
The Beantown Girls by Jane Healey Book Review The lowdown from Goodreads Publication Date February 5th, 2019 1944: Fiona Denning has her entire future planned out. She’ll work in city hall, marry her fiancé when he returns from the war, and settle down in the Boston suburbs. But when her fiancé is reported missing after being shot down in Germany, Fiona’s long-held plans are shattered. Determined to learn her fiancé’s fate, Fiona leaves Boston to volunteer overseas as a Red Cross Clubmobile girl, recruiting her two best friends to come along. There’s the outspoken Viviana, who is more than happy to quit her secretarial job for a taste of adventure.…
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