Natalie Tan's Book of Luck and Fortune

By: Roselle Lim
Published Year: 2019
Publisher: Berkley
Pages: 320

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I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This in no way shape or form influenced my opinion.

Summary (Provided by Goodreads): At the news of her mother's death, Natalie Tan returns home. The two women hadn't spoken since Natalie left in anger seven years ago, when her mother refused to support her chosen career as a chef. Natalie is shocked to discover the vibrant neighborhood of San Francisco's Chinatown that she remembers from her childhood is fading, with businesses failing and families moving out. She's even more surprised to learn she has inherited her grandmother's restaurant.

The neighborhood seer reads the restaurant's fortune in the leaves: Natalie must cook three recipes from her grandmother's cookbook to aid her struggling neighbors before the restaurant will succeed. Unfortunately, Natalie has no desire to help them try to turn things around--she resents the local shopkeepers for leaving her alone to take care of her agoraphobic mother when she was growing up. But with the support of a surprising new friend and a budding romance, Natalie starts to realize that maybe her neighbors really have been there for her all along.

First Impression

This cover is life! The purple! The gold foil! I love everything about it. This book first caught my eye on a list of upcoming 2019 books to look out for. Between the cover and the summary I was immediately sucked in. When given the opportunity to review this book I about jumped out of my skin. I couldn’t wait.

What I thought

via GIPHY

Natalie moves back home after her agoraphobic mother who she hasn’t talked to in 7 years dies. When she gets back to their home in Chinatown she is resentful towards her neighbors who never helped her with her mother as she was growing up. She plans on holding the funeral and then leaving until she finds out her mother has left her her grandmother’s old restaurant. Opening her own restaurant has been Natalie’s dream and is the reason she left and didn’t talk to her mother for so long. Before she opens the restaurant, one of her neighbors gives Natalie her grandmother’s old recipe book and tasks her with mission of feeding three neighbors magical meals to fix their problems if she wants her restaurant, and their neighborhood to succeed.

I just… ok. Where do I start? I think I’ll start with all of the things I didn’t expect from this book and maybe then move on to the parts that just didn’t work for me.

First off, I know that I should have expected magic with the whole feeding neighbors to fix their moods, but it was a bit weirder than I expected. Like it wasn’t just internal magic where someone eats a meal and then they fall in love or get lucky or something. The magic reaches into the outside world and has actual effects on people and objects. For example, when two of the neighbors fight the sidewalk actually cracks. I couldn’t quite tell if only Natalie was able to see these magical events or if everyone could and just accepted them? Honestly, it was never made very clear.

There was another magical moment late in the book that came out of nowhere and made zero sense. It was like an afterthought and very unnecessary. I also expected this book to have more romance. I thought I remembered finding it on a list of contemporary romance novels to look out for, but maybe I was wrong because there is little to no romance in this story. The romantic interest feels like it was thrown in as a recommendation from the editor because they wanted a romance in there. It’s instalove with zero development that occurs over little to no time and brings nothing to the story. Daniel could not exist and it would make no difference at all.

Now, on to what just didn’t work for me. In short, the writing. The characters were flat and underdeveloped. I didn’t connect with anyone and they all changed their minds in a second whenever it benefitted another character. The casual flip flop of the characters drove me crazy. I don’t know how to explain this very well, but because of this and the writing I never was able to fall into the book. I always felt like I was reading an author manipulate characters. Does that make any sense? I know this is a debut novel, but the writing and the editing did nothing for me.

It’s so painful to have a book that you looked forward to so much be so disappointing. The only thing that worked for me in this book was the concept. None of the execution worked for me. the only reason I didn’t give this book one star is because there were parts that were entertaining enough that I didn’t feel like giving up on the book until I was almost done. The only thing I can hope for is that they made a lot of changes for the final copy of the book that I didn’t get to read in my ARC. If you’re looking for a contemporary novel with a bit of magic that’s done well, I would highly recommend On The Other Side by Carrie Hope Fletcher instead.

Book Club June 2019- The Joy Luck Club

By: Amy Tan
Published Year: 1989
Publisher: Penguin Books
Pages: 354

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This month’s pick was my choice. I originally had picked The Flatshare by Beth O’Leary, but then found out that it wasn’t going to be released in the US until May 28th, and book club was help on June 1st. As a result, I had to find a different option at the last minute. Since I enjoyed Crazy Rich Asians last summer, I thought it would be fun to check out one Kwan’s inspirations.

Summary (Provided by Goodreads): Four mothers, four daughters, four families whose histories shift with the four winds depending on who's "saying" the stories. In 1949 four Chinese women, recent immigrants to San Francisco, begin meeting to eat dim sum, play mahjong, and talk. United in shared unspeakable loss and hope, they call themselves the Joy Luck Club. Rather than sink into tragedy, they choose to gather to raise their spirits and money. "To despair was to wish back for something already lost. Or to prolong what was already unbearable." Forty years later the stories and history continue.

With wit and sensitivity, Amy Tan examines the sometimes painful, often tender, and always deep connection between mothers and daughters. As each woman reveals her secrets, trying to unravel the truth about her life, the strings become more tangled, more entwined. Mothers boast or despair over daughters, and daughters roll their eyes even as they feel the inextricable tightening of their matriarchal ties. Tan is an astute storyteller, enticing readers to immerse themselves into these lives of complexity and mystery.

What I thought

This book was absolutely nothing like I expected.

I thought that this was going to be a story about the Joy Luck Club, and after the first chapter, thought it was going to involve June traveling to China to meet her long lost half-sisters. Instead, it felt more like a series of short stories about 8 Chinese and Chinese-American women. The only time the Joy Luck Club even meets is in the first chapter.

At first, I was a bit confused and frustrated as I couldn’t follow along with what was going on or where the story was going. It wasn’t until I viewed it as short stories that I was able to appreciate the stories and the writing. It was still confusing at times trying to remember who was who and which characters were related to which ones. Some of the daughters’ stories were similar, so it was a little difficult for me to keep some of the details straight.

When I finished the book, I felt like I had enjoyed it and that I liked the insight into the Chinese and Chinese-American culture. But looking back on it, I do feel like some of the stories were left unfinished. It was like I got a glimpse into everybody’s lives, but that I didn’t get to see much of what happened. I think if there is a sequel (I have no idea of there is or is not) I would read it, in hopes of finding out what happened to these characters.

What Book Club Thought

Well… I think it says a lot when only 2/5 book club members finish the book. Everyone agreed that it was difficult to follow the characters and remember who was connected to who. As a result, it was hard to connect to the characters themselves. I think overall, there were bits that were interesting that we wish had been capitalized on more, but that in the end we just didn’t get it. the other consensus was that if the first chapter had been the entire book, we would’ve liked it much more. We are all curious about the movie now, none of us are sure how this book translates to movie format.

Somewhere Only We Know

By: Maureen Goo
Published Year: 2019
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)
Pages: 320

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Summary (Provided by Goodreads): 10 00 p.m.: Lucky is the biggest K-pop star on the scene, and she's just performed her hit song "Heartbeat" in Hong Kong to thousands of adoring fans. She's about to debut on The Tonight Show in America, hopefully a breakout performance for her career. But right now? She's in her fancy hotel, trying to fall asleep but dying for a hamburger.

11 00 p.m.: Jack is sneaking into a fancy hotel, on assignment for his tabloid job that he keeps secret from his parents. On his way out of the hotel, he runs into a girl wearing slippers, a girl who is single-mindedly determined to find a hamburger. She looks kind of familiar. She's very cute. He's maybe curious.

12:00 a.m.: Nothing will ever be the same.

First Impressions

Last year I discovered Maureen Goo and she quickly became a new favorite author. I love the characters that she writes as well as the way she introduces me to new parts of Korean culture. This book got added to my TBR before there was even a cover. While I do like the cover, and it would be one that younger me would’ve been attracted to, I don’t know if I would have just picked it up off the shelf at my current age.

What I thought

This book was so sweet.

Lucky is a famous K-pop star. While in Hong Kong, she decides she wants a hamburger so she goes out in to the middle of the night to find one. While doing so, she runs into Jack. Jack is an American living in Hong Kong with his family. He is taking a year off between high school and university and is moonlighting as paparazzi. When he first runs into Lucky, he doesn’t realize who she is. The next morning, he learns about her true identity and decides it’s going to be his big break if he can convince her to spend the day with him while he secretly takes pictures. Lucky, not knowing that Jack knows who she is, decides to enjoy her day of freedom which turns into so much more.

I loved the idea of a pop star getting a secret day in a city to do whatever she wanted. What I loved, unexpectedly, about this story was Lucky. The balance found in her personality with her strength and her innocence was perfect. She knew what she wanted and who she was, but at the same time she didn’t. I also liked that she didn’t take shit from anyone and knew how to use her power, but not in a mean way.

Jack on the other hand was cute and fun, but felt a little generic to me. I liked the chemistry between the two, but his whininess about liking photography but it being something he could never pursue eventually worked on a nerve. Luckily, (no pun intended) it didn’t take away from the book for me. Just not a character I particularly loved.

I was also impressed with how Goo managed to make an entire book with only two characters work so well. Their exploration of Hong Kong was fun and made me want to look into a city that has never been on my radar. I love how rich with Asian culture Goo’s books are. First, she introduced me to K-dramas, and now I’m curious about K-pop!

While this isn’t my favorite of Goo’s books, it’s such a cute YA romance. I love that the entire story takes place over the course of a day. It’s a whirlwind romance which I would’ve daydreamed about as a teen. I flew through this book and enjoyed every minute of it. I think what was ultimately missing for me is that Goo does parental relationships and friendships so well, and even though the story worked with just two character, I find myself missing that aspect of her writing. I would highly recommend checking this story out and looking into more of her books!

Little Big Love

By: Katy Regan
Published Year: 2019
Publisher: Berkley
Pages: 384

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I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This in no way shape or form influenced my opinion of this book.

Summary (Provided by Goodreads): Liam Jones was the love of Juliet's life. He was her brother's best friend, then her best friend, then the father of her little boy. In those shining weeks after Zac was born, she had never been happier and neither had Liam.

And then one night, Liam disappeared without a trace.

Ten-year-old Zac Hutchinson collects facts: octopuses have three hearts, Usain Bolt is the fastest man on earth. But no one will tell him what happened to his father and where he went.

When Juliet, inadvertently admits that his father is the only man she's ever loved, Zac decides he is going to find him and deliver his mom the happily ever after she deserves.

But Liam left for a reason, and as Zac searches for clues of his father, Juliet begins to rebuild what shattered so many years ago.

An unforgettable, heart-stopping story of the secrets we keep and of love in all of its many forms.

First Impressions

A few years ago I read Regan’s book, How We Met and really enjoyed it. When an opportunity to review another one of her novels came my way, I couldn’t turn it down. I also originally saw the British cover, which I love much more than the US version.

What I thought

I’m trying to think of how to review this book without being mean.

Zac is turning 11 and wants to find his father. Juliet has told Zac that his father left them shortly before he was born, but she and her father Mick know the true story.

I started reading this book in January. I was enjoying it, but not loving it. Interested enough to keep going, but I didn’t feel bad or feel a pull to it when I had to put it down to read a few other review books. When I finally caught up and was able to pick it back up again, I just felt dragged down. Zac irritated me, I had no sympathy for Juliet, and Mick was kind of a dick.

After trying to get back into the book so that I could finish it, I gave up. I decided to skip forward to the end to see how the story resolved and ultimately was glad that I did. I think if I had continued with the story I ultimately would’ve been frustrated with the ending and angry that I wasted my time.

The dichotomy of a story switching between the perspective of a 10 year old boy and his mother didn’t work for me at all. I couldn’t connect with a child’s perspective trying to tell an adult story. He got on my nerves and I just didn’t like his chapters. Juliet also had a very woe-is-me attitude that got irritating quickly.

Without going on too much, this book just didn’t work for me. It moved too slowly, had too much going on, and characters I couldn’t connect with. I think, unfortunately, this book has made me question whether or not I would pick up anything else by Regan. While the beginning of the book wasn’t horrible, I think the fact that I put it down for months without ever feeling a need to pick it back up again pretty much says it all.

The Unhoneymooners

By: Christina Lauren
Published Year: 2019
Publisher: Gallery Books
Pages: 432

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I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This in no way shape or form influenced my opinion of this book.

Summary (Provided by Goodreads ): Olive is always unlucky: in her career, in love, in…well, everything. Her identical twin sister Ami, on the other hand, is probably the luckiest person in the world. Her meet-cute with her fiancé is something out of a romantic comedy (gag) and she’s managed to finance her entire wedding by winning a series of Internet contests (double gag). Worst of all, she’s forcing Olive to spend the day with her sworn enemy, Ethan, who just happens to be the best man.

Olive braces herself to get through 24 hours of wedding hell before she can return to her comfortable, unlucky life. But when the entire wedding party gets food poisoning from eating bad shellfish, the only people who aren’t affected are Olive and Ethan. And now there’s an all-expenses-paid honeymoon in Hawaii up for grabs.

Putting their mutual hatred aside for the sake of a free vacation, Olive and Ethan head for paradise, determined to avoid each other at all costs. But when Olive runs into her future boss, the little white lie she tells him is suddenly at risk to become a whole lot bigger. She and Ethan now have to pretend to be loving newlyweds, and her luck seems worse than ever. But the weird thing is that she doesn’t mind playing pretend. In fact, she feels kind of... lucky.

First Impressions

Over the past year, Christina Lauren has (have?) easily become one of my favorite authors (or two of my favorites since they write together?). I have read 3 of their prior novels and have loved 2/3 of them. They have become a must-read for me so I didn’t even read the summary before requesting to read this one early. I do love the cover too.

What I thought

I wasn’t as crazy about their most recent book, My Favorite Half-Night Stand, as I was the other two that I read, so I almost got a little nervous about this one. Luckily, it turns out I had nothing to worry about.

Ami and Olive are identical twins but polar opposites. Ami has always had great luck and wins every contest she enters. She even won the majority of her wedding and her dream honeymoon to Maui. Olive on the other hand, claims to have terrible luck. But on the night of the wedding, that changes. Everyone at the wedding with only Olive and Ethan (the grooms brother and her nemesis) being the exceptions gets food poisoning from the seafood buffet. Because the honeymoon was a prize, they can’t reschedule so Ami insists that Olive takes the honeymoon in her place. Unknowing to Olive, Ethan’s brother Dane insists the same thing.

The love to hate trope is my absolute favorite in romance novels. The sparring that always occurs always makes me smile and I just love seeing the development when characters realize that they didn’t really dislike each other but instead were trying to bottle their sexual tension.

Olive and Ethan are a great pair. I like that while Olive insists that she is unlucky, she’s not bitter or grumpy about it. sometimes characters that are negative can become annoying and Olive did not. Ethan is also nothing but charming from the beginning. Even when he’s being “mean” he’s not off-putting.

I connected to these characters immediately and love the setting too. The book did follow a few storylines that were unexpected but worked so well together. The only negative I have to say to about this book may be that the conflict resolution was a bit abrupt.

This book was fun from beginning to end. There was no waiting for the action to start. It’s hard to find much to say because I didn’t love this book because it was unpredictable or unique or whatever, but it was still unputdownable. It’s hard to put what I loved about this book into words other than the fact that Christina Lauren are great authors who know how to tell a fun story.

I flew through this book and could not put it down. I thoroughly enjoyed everything about this story and want everyone who needs a smile on their face to read this book. I think I would put it second behind Josh and Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating in my ranking of Christina Lauren books which is saying a lot. If you’re looking for a fun read or if you have enjoyed other books by them, I would highly recommend checking this one out.

The Great Pretenders

By: Laurie Kalpakian
Published Year: 2019
Publisher: Berkley
Pages: 400

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I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This in no way shape or form influenced my opinion of this book.

Summary (Provided by Goodreads): The daughter of Hollywood royalty, Roxanne Granville is used to getting what she wants--even if she has to break the rules. But after a falling-out with her grandfather, a powerful movie mogul, she has to face life on her own for the first time....

Roxanne forges a career unique for women in the 1950s, becoming an agent for hungry young screenwriters. She struggles to be taken seriously by the men who rule Hollywood and who often assume that sexual favors are just a part of doing business. When she sells a script by a blacklisted writer under the name of a willing front man, more exiled writers seek her help. Roxanne wades into a world murky with duplicity and deception, and she can't afford any more risks.

Then she meets Terrence Dexter, a compelling African American journalist unlike anyone she's ever known. Roxanne again breaks the rules, and is quickly swept up in a passionate relationship with very real dangers that could destroy everything she's carefully built.

Roxanne Granville is a woman who bravely defies convention. She won't let men make all the rules, and won't let skin color determine whom she can love. The Great Pretenders is a riveting, emotional novel that resonates in today's world, and reminds us that some things are worth fighting for.

First Impressions

This cover got me. It is gorgeous. I love the shade of blue and the pop of the yellow dress is wonderful. The summary also interested me. Old Hollywood? Female agent? Covering for Soviets? It sounded like the kind of action packed historical fiction that I enjoy.

What I thought

When I first got this book, I was so excited about it that I read the summary of it to my mom. Her first response was “Wow. Seems like there’s too much going on there.” Well Mom, you were 100% right.

After the death of Roxanne’s grandmother, she decides to become an agent for writers in Hollywood. After running into sexual harassment and misogyny, she decides to start her own agency. She continues to struggle until one of the old Hollywood writers who was run out of town because of accusations of being a communist contacts Roxanne, he asks if she would be willing to take one of his screenplays and present it to a studio with a different writer as a front man. In amongst all of this, Roxanne meets and falls in love with a black man who is a journalist for an NAACP newspaper.

Phew! Is there enough in that brief summary for you?

I will say, I loved the first quarter of this book. It was a bit overly detailed for me, with a lot of long descriptions about unnecessary points that I found myself skimming. But, the story itself I enjoyed. I liked reading about the struggle of a woman in Hollywood, even though she is quite possibly the most privileged woman in Hollywood that you could get. Her grandfather owns Empire and she’s basically handed everything on a gold plate. However, that doesn’t mean that she doesn’t face the typical challenges of a woman.

I liked the story up until Terrence, the black journalist, became a focus character. It just felt like at that point the book split and became two different stories. While Roxanne, the agency, and the danger of falsely presenting blacklist writers was once the lead focus, it completely disappears once she starts to fall for Terrance. All of a sudden, those aspects are no longer talked about and instead it’s about the difficulties of being in a biracial relationship in the 1950s.

So, here’s the thing, I have no issue with that being a storyline, but it’s not what I expected to get myself into and I didn’t like that the book did a complete 180 on storylines somewhere between 25-50% of the way through the book. Add that to the fact that there is a lot of excess descriptors that could be edited out and I just lost interest in this book.

I was about 200ish pages through when I found myself completely spacing out while I was reading. The interest and momentum I had when I started reading the story had disappeared. Unfortunately, I skipped to the final part and skimmed the ending of the book.

After reading the final few chapters, I was glad that I ended up skipping to the end, because it appeared that the Terrance/Roxanne love story continued to be the lead story throughout the rest of the book.

Even though I technically finished the book, I skipped about 130 pages. If you are interested in reading a story about the struggles of a biracial relationship in the 1950s, this book might sit better with you. The fact that this wasn’t what I was expecting was part of my problem. There also was A LOT that was going on. I wish that this could’ve been two different stories; one that was about being a female agent, and one that was about being in a biracial relationship. I also wasn’t a fan of the writing itself, as I feel like it was overly written.

Book Club May 2019- Happiness: The Crooked Little Road to Semi-Ever After

By: Heather Harpham
Published Year: 2017
Publisher: Henry Holt & Co
Pages: 318

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Folks, we have another book off of Reese Witherspoon’s book club list! Meghan was the picker this month and honestly didn’t know that this book had been on Reese’s book club list a year ago when she picked it.

Summary (Provided by Goodreads): A shirt-grabbing, page-turning love story that follows a one-of-a-kind family through twists of fate that require nearly unimaginable choices.

Happiness begins with a charming courtship between hopelessly attracted opposites: Heather, a world-roaming California girl, and Brian, an intellectual, homebody writer, kind and slyly funny, but loath to leave his Upper West Side studio. Their magical interlude ends, full stop, when Heather becomes pregnant - Brian is sure he loves her, only he doesn't want kids. Heather returns to California to deliver their daughter alone, buoyed by family and friends. Mere hours after Gracie's arrival, Heather's bliss is interrupted when a nurse wakes her, "Get dressed, your baby is in trouble." 

This is not how Heather had imagined new motherhood – alone, heartsick, an unexpectedly solo caretaker of a baby who smelled "like sliced apples and salted pretzels" but might be perilously ill. Brian reappears as Gracie's condition grows dire; together Heather and Brian have to decide what they are willing to risk to ensure their girl sees adulthood. 

The grace and humor that ripple through Harpham's writing transform the dross of heartbreak and parental fears into a clear-eyed, warm-hearted view of the world. Profoundly moving and subtly written, Happiness radiates in many directions - new, romantic love; gratitude for a beautiful, inscrutable world; deep, abiding friendship; the passion a parent has for a child; and the many unlikely ways to build a family. Ultimately it's a story about love and happiness, in their many crooked configurations.

What I thought

Heather and Brian are a couple and living in New York. Brian has no desire for children but Heather does. When Heather gets pregnant, Brian makes it clear he doesn’t want to be a part of the baby’s life and recommends that Heather head back to California to be with her family. When the baby is born with a life threatening illness, Heather has to learn how to move forward as a single parent and Brian has to decide whether or not he wants to be a part of Heather and their child’s lives.

I have read a decent amount of memoirs and I find that when I’ve truly enjoyed one, I feel better for having read them. As clichéd as it sounds, I feel like a good memoir leaves me feeling like my life has been changed for the better. Unfortunately, I did not feel that way after reading this one.

I found the style of the beginning of the book to be confusing and disorienting which made it hard to get into. The first part of the book is told in alternating paragraphs basically. One paragraph is about the story of how Heather and Brian met and fell in love and the other is the birth and subsequent emergency of the baby. I didn’t care about the relationship at that point as I wanted to know what was going on with the baby. I feel like that ended up setting the tone for me for the entire book. I just found I didn’t care about Heather and Brian even though I knew that I should and that there was a lot of insight to be had in their interactions.

There were also moments in the story where I wanted to scream and yell and throw the book across the room. Not because of the unfairness of the situation, but because of the way things were being handled. It infuriated me.

Ultimately, while I found it to be an interesting story that had some good points, it’s just not one that reached me. I don’t have that feeling of “OMG this is amazing and something everyone needs to read!”

What Book Club Thought

It seems like everyone pretty much felt the same way that I did. There were bits and pieces that we appreciated and definitely parts that we found interesting, but overall it wasn’t a book that we loved. It did lead to some fun science discussion and a little bit of moral compass discussion. I would say that if this book sounds interesting to you that you should read it with a group so that you can discuss it with people.  

Park Avenue Summer

By: Renee Rosen
Published Year: 2019
Publisher: Berkley
Pages: 368

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I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This in no way shape or form influenced my opinion.

Summary (Provided by Goodreads): 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 have prepared Alice for the world she enters as editors and writers resign on the spot, refusing to work for the woman who wrote the scandalous bestseller, Sex and the Single Girl. While confidential memos, article ideas, and cover designs keep finding their way into the wrong hands, someone tries to pull Alice into this scheme to sabotage her boss. But Alice remains loyal and becomes all the more determined to help Helen succeed. As pressure mounts at the magazine and Alice struggles to make her way in New York, she quickly learns that in Helen Gurley Brown's world, a woman can demand to have it all.

First Impressions

What can I say. I’m a sucker for the historical fiction novels with a backwards woman on it. I know they are all the rage in historical fiction right now, and I love them. Needless to say, this book got me on the cover. Add in the fact that it was the story of the editor of the editor who created the magazine Cosmopolitan as we know it today and I was in.

What I thought

This book fascinated me!

Alice has just oved to New York City from Ohio and is an aspiring photographer. When she learns that it is going to be a lot harder to get a job as a new photographer than she originally thought, she accepts a position as the secretary to Helen Gurley Brown; the new editor of Cosmopolitan. Through Alice, we learn about the struggles that Helen goes through to turn Cosmo into the strong woman’s magazine that we all know and love.

Before I get into my review of this book, I have a fun fact to share. I told my mom about this book when I got it, not really knowing who Helen Gurley Brown was (I know, it’s sad). I had heard of Sex and the Single Girl, but didn’t know who the author was, let alone that the author went on to create Cosmo. When I told my mom her first comment was “You know your Grandfather dated her right?”

WHAT?! WHAT?!

Mind blown guys. Apparently, my Grandfather briefly dated Helen Gurley Brown shortly after she moved to LA before she became who she did. In fact, she wrote about him in her book and every time she came on TV my Grandmother would snarkily call out “Dear, your girlfriend is on TV!” Like, I’m dying. This is hilarious.

Back to the story itself, I was fascinated by everything about this book. Knowing next to nothing about Helen Gurley Brown, I loved reading her story. I know this isn’t a biography, so a lot of this is fictionalized, but the author mentions that it is largely based on fact. I liked Alice as well and liked how Helen’s story was told through her perspective and not through Helen’s.

Alice’s story balanced out Helen’s very well. Like I said, this wasn’t a biography of Helen Gurley Brown, so it was nice to have a solid secondary story. Alice is finding herself as a newly independent woman in a big city. She is struggling to figure out who she is and who she wants to be. I also liked that while there was some drama, it wasn’t overly dramatic and she doesn’t get sucked into a lot of extra drama. I feel like Alice is what I would have been like in the 1960s if I had moved to New York. She has struggles, but she doesn’t suffer.

The story is quick paced and I enjoyed reading a historical fiction novel that wasn’t based around war. There are strong female characters and I greatly appreciated each of them. I also liked that NYC was a character in and of itself but in a way that it didn’t take over. I know that Rosen has written a lot of other historical fiction, and while I haven’t read any of her previous novels, this one has piqued my interest for sure. I look forward to going back and reading more of her novels.

This was tough for me. I definitely feel like this is a solid 3.5 stars for me. Even though I knew Cosmo was going to be successful, I was curious about how it got to be where it did. Like I said, I knew nothing about Helen Gurley Brown and this book made me want to go out and learn more about her. I feel like any time that a historical fiction novel makes me want to learn about the fact part of the story, it has done its job. The writing is quick paced and strikes the perfect balance between fact and fiction.