August 2019 Book Recap & Ratings {Monthly Book Wrap-Up)

August 2019 Book Wrap-Up

August Recap:

Who else can believe that it is already almost September?! August is always a funny month because part of it is full-on summer and then the end is getting back into our regular routine of school. I read a lot of great books this past month, my favorite being The Most Fun We Ever Had by Claire Lombardo. I also did some vacation reading and really enjoyed The Forever Summer and The Islanders.

August Book Recaps, Ratings & Links to Reviews:

5 star book review for The Most Fun We Ever Had

The Most Fun We Ever Had by Claire Lombardo

(This one is currently on sale HERE and if you haven’t grabbed it already you should, it’s one of my favorite books ever and is only $12 right now for the hardcover!

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

You can read my full (raving!) review HERE. This just might be my favorite book I have ever read!

Book Review of The Islanders

The Islanders by Meg Mitchell Moore

My Rating:⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⁣

*Full review coming soon. A great beach read that is enjoyable but not super fluffy! I loved connecting with these characters and especially loved Lu, her story just got me.

Diane Chamberlain Book Review

Big Lies in a Small Town by Diane Chamberlain

My Rating:⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫⁣

You can read my full review HERE. This one doesn’t come out until January but this review also lists some of my favorite Diane Chamberlain books you can read before then!

Book Review of Domincana a Book of the Month selection

Domincana by Angie Cruz

My Rating:⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫⁣

You can read my full review HERE. Dominicana was my August Book of The Month selection(*referral link) that is being released next week. It is a coming of age book that reminded me a lot of A Woman is No Man and the writing is just beautiful!

book review of On Being Human

On Being Human by Jennifer Pastiloff

My Rating:⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫⁣

You can read my full review HERE. I am a huge fan of memoirs and this one was one of those books that I wasn’t quite sure about while reading a lot of it, but then ended up being a very powerful read that I kept thinking about once I was finished.

book review of The Whisper Man, a book of the month selection

The Whisper Man by Alex North

My Rating:⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⁣

You can read my full view HERE. I  am pretty hard on the thriller genre but this one was well-received by me and many of my book reviewing friends.

book review of The Arrangement

The Arrangement by Robyn Harding

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

You can read my full review HERE. This book was suspenseful and total brain candy but I found it quite enjoyable!

The Forever Summer by Jamie Brenner

The Forever Summer by  Jamie Brenner

My Rating:⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

*Full review coming soon. This was my first Jamie Brenner book and it was the perfect summer read! I loved the characters, the storyline and just found it super engaging with a satisfying ending.

The Tattooist of Auschwitz

The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris

My Rating:⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

*Full review coming soon. I decided I needed to read this before Cilka’s Journey is released this fall! I listened ot it on audiobook and it was heartbreaking and powerful.

Permission to Feel by Marc Brackett

Permission to Feel by Marc Brackett, Ph.D.

My Rating:⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫⁣

You can read my full review HERE.

book review of Drawing Home by Jamie Brenner

Drawing Home by Jamie Brenner

My Rating:⭐️⭐️⭐️

You can read my full review HERE. This was my second Jamie Brenner book and I just had a hard time connecting with any of these characters.

parenting book book review

Being at Your Best When Your Kids Are at Their Worst

by Kim John Payne

My Rating:⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫⁣

You can read my full review HERE.


Disclosure: Some of the links above are affiliate links. This means if you click through and make a purchase, it helps support this blog at no cost to you. Thank you! 

Permission to Feel by Marc Brackett | Celadon Books | Book Review

Unlocking the power of emotions

Permission to Feel by Marc Brackett, Ph.D.

Book Summary:

“Marc Brackett is a professor at Yale University’s Child Study Center and founding director of the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence. In his 25 years as an emotion scientist, he has developed a remarkably effective plan to improve the lives of children and adults – a blueprint for understanding our emotions and using them wisely so that they help, rather than hinder, our success and well-being. The core of his approach is a legacy from his childhood, from an astute uncle who gave him permission to feel. He was the first adult who managed to see Marc, listen to him, and recognize the suffering, bullying, and abuse he’d endured. And that was the beginning of Marc’s awareness that what he was going through was temporary. He wasn’t alone, he wasn’t stuck on a timeline, and he wasn’t “wrong” to feel scared, isolated, and angry. Now, best of all, he could do something about it.

In the decades since, Marc has led large research teams and raised tens of millions of dollars to investigate the roots of emotional well-being. His prescription for healthy children (and their parents, teachers, and schools) is a system called RULER, a high-impact and fast-effect approach to understanding and mastering emotions that have already transformed the thousands of schools that have adopted it. RULER has been proven to reduce stress and burnout, improve school climate, and enhance academic achievement. This book is the culmination of Marc’s development of RULER and his way to share the strategies and skills with readers around the world. It is tested, and it works.

This book combines rigor, science, passion, and inspiration in equal parts. Too many children and adults are suffering; they are ashamed of their feelings and emotionally unskilled, but they don’t have to be. Marc Brackett’s life mission is to reverse this course, and this book can show you how.”

Publication Date:

September 3rd, 2019

Genre:

Self-Help/Parenting

My Rating:

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

My Review:

Permission to Feel is a wonderful guide to recognizing our own emotions and those of others. Author Marc Brackett has spent years researching this important topic after his experiences as a child showed him how life-changing it was to have someone see, listen and truly recognize the things you have gone through as an individual.

While Brackett has spent decades studying this important topic, he presents the information in this book in an attainable and accessible manner for his readers. The first part of this book dives into how understanding emotions and determining their sources can help us influence our behaviors moving forward. When we understand where and why we are feeling a certain way, we can regulate our own emotions instead of them regulating us. The more we know the more we can find practical strategies for dealing with what we feel and why we be might feeling that way.

Brackett shares that emotions are a powerful source of information. He shares that when we become “emotion scientists” we can learn how to use our emotions wisely, even when they are challenging emotions. Learning how to use them instead of ignoring them can help our figure out our steps forward.

Both physical and emotional symptoms can help us identify our feeling so we can respond appropriately. Feelings are strengths we all have when we learn how to label and understand them. When we can better understand both ourselves and each other, more people are able to be their best most authentic selves. “Emotional skills are the key to unlocking the potential inside each one of us.” Highly recommend!!

Thank you to Celadon Books for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

The Better Together Book Club | Charlotte, Vermont Public Library | A Motherhood Book Group

motherhood book club book selection

Connections Through Reading

One of the most wonderful parts of the online reading community is the connections I have made through it. I have met book lovers from all over the world as well as in our very small state of Vermont. While I love the reach online connections can allow you, there is something so special about connecting in person.

Better Together A Motherhood Book Club

Last spring I had the idea of starting a local book club centering around issues that are not only a big part of my life but so many of the women around me. Through the help and support of our local library, this dream has become a reality.  The Better Together Book Club is a book group focusing on motherhood and will be starting this fall!

motherhood book club

The Better Together Book Club

My friend, reader, fellow mom and elementary school Literacy Coach/Specialist Kelly and I are delighted to be co-facilitating this group together! We have been working hard behind the scenes and couldn’t be more excited to finally be making this public! Information went out in the Charlotte Library Newsletter yesterday so we thought it was the perfect time to share online as well.

Book selections will change monthly and will be a mix of fiction and nonfiction, including topics pertaining to parenting, marriage, mental health, self-care and the work/life “balance”. We will meet and discuss the book and topics relating to it as well as enjoying some tea and light snacks. We are also so honored that we already have some of the authors scheduled to come when we discuss their book!

Our First Book Club Selection

Our first book club selection will be To Have and To Hold. While I am lucky to have had many conversations with the people in my personal life, never have I read something that explains the complexities of motherhood and marriage in such a profound manner until I read this book. The highs and lows of parenthood, the immense love and also the intense quest to reclaim ourselves as women and partners when our lives will never be the same are so real and valid.

Author Molly Millwood will join the discussion on Thursday, October 10 @ 7:00pm.  Books are available for loan at the circulation desk. Registration is required by contacting Susanna or Margaret at the Charlotte Library at info@charlottepubliclibrary.org Once the spots are full a waitlist will be started. While this event is open to anyone in the area, priority will be given to Charlotte residents if a waitlist occurs.

Hardcopy & Ebook Copies

Charlotte librarians Susanna and Margaret have been so amazing at helping get this group up and running with us. Our October book, To Have and To Hold, is now available as a “Charlotte Only” book on Libby (which decreases the wait time significantly!). They also ordered 10 copies of To Have and To Hold which will be available at the library for pick up after Labor Day!

Book Club Ongoing Schedule & Communication

After our first event, The Better Together Book Club will continue to meet monthly at The Charlotte Library the second Wednesday of every month from 7:00-8:30pm.  Subsequent books will be available a month before each book club so everyone has time to read them. All announcements will be shared and in our private facebook group which you can be added to once you are registered.

If you live in the area, we would love to have you join us! If you don’t, we would love it if you would like to follow along. We plan on sharing updates about each book club on my blog which will include our discussion questions and highlights of our discussion. I will also announce the next book we will be discussing at that time.

I just talked with Susanna and we only have a few spots left so if you are interested, shoot them an email at info@charlottepubliclibrary.org to register! And please feel free to email or comment below with any questions. **Update, as of 8/30/19 there is a waitlist for this group**

 

 

Being at Your Best When Your Kids Are at Their Worst by Kim John Payne | Shambhala Publications {Book Review}

Being at Your Best When Your Kids Are at Their Worst by Kim John Payne

Being at Your Best When Your Kids Are at Their Worst

by Kim John Payne

Book Summary:

“A practical, meditative approach that can be used in the moment to help you stay calm and balanced when your child’s behavior is pushing you to your limit–by the popular author of Simplicity Parenting.

When children are at their most difficult and challenging situations arise, how can we react in a way that reflects our family values and expectations? Often, when children “push our buttons,” we find ourselves reacting in ways that are far from our principles, often further inflaming a situation.
When our children are at their worst, they need us to be at our best—or as close to it as we can be. Educator and family counselor Kim John Payne, author of Simplicity Parenting, offers techniques that simply and directly shift these damaging patterns in communication and parental behavior. These grounded and practical strategies will help you:
• Slow down the interaction
• Be more in control of your reactions
• Open up a much wider range of helpful responses
• Sense what your child’s deeper needs are even though they are misbehaving
• Respond in a way that gives your child a feeling of being heard and still puts a boundary in place

Payne’s meditative approach can be done anywhere, anytime; it lifts you out of old, unwanted patterns of action-reaction and prepares you so that the voice you speak with is closer to the parent you want to be. His concrete and simple techniques can help you, and your children, be at your best, even in the most challenging of times.”

Publication Date:

September 3rd, 2019

Genre:

Parenting/Self-Help

My Rating:

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫⁣

My Review:

This title totally grabbed my attention and then I saw it was by the same author as Simplicity Parenting and I was sold. One of the most challenging parts of parenting is staying even-keeled and compassionate when the noise and chaos level is high, which is often…Our kids are wonderful and parenting is also the hardest thing I have ever done.

My husband and I often talk about the daily struggles being the hardest part of this stage of life. It can feel like a rollercoaster ride of emotions and there is this constant that can really push you to the limit. In addition to the needs of our children, we have the obligations of work, home and the daily expectations of just being an adult. It can be hard to find a balance between all of these and have a calm response when life is anything but that.

Kim John Payne writes in an approachable and relatable manner which makes this writing accessible. He then dives right into advice and tools about how to break the “action-reaction” response with your children. This sounds like it would be simple, but when you are in the thick of it it can be so hard. He then moves into a 4 step
“compassion response” that adults can use to respectfully and effectively communicate with children, especially when they are in crisis.

I love how he talks about the why and also the how of this approach. The idea of staying self-regulated when a child (or any person for that matter) is easy to conceptualize but often hard to execute “at the moment”. This book is a practical guide for any parent or person that works with children. I found it helpful AND encouraging which is the best combination when it comes to “self-help” parenting books.

Thank you to Shambhala Publications for an advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

Big Lies in a Small Town by Diane Chamberlain | St. Martin’s Press {Gen The Bookworm Book Review}

book review of Big Lies in a Small Town by Diane Chamberlain

Big Lies in a Small Town by Diane Chamberlain

Book Summary:

“North Carolina, 2018: Morgan Christopher’s life has been derailed. Taking the fall for a crime she did not commit, she finds herself serving a three-year stint in the North Carolina Women’s Correctional Center. Her dream of a career in art is put on hold―until a mysterious visitor makes her an offer that will see her released immediately. Her assignment: restore an old post office mural in a sleepy southern town. Morgan knows nothing about art restoration, but desperate to leave prison, she accepts. What she finds under the layers of grime is a painting that tells the story of madness, violence, and a conspiracy of small-town secrets.

North Carolina, 1940: Anna Dale, an artist from New Jersey, wins a national contest to paint a mural for the post office in Edenton, North Carolina. Alone in the world and desperate for work, she accepts. But what she doesn’t expect is to find herself immersed in a town where prejudices run deep, where people are hiding secrets behind closed doors, and where the price of being different might just end in murder.

What happened to Anna Dale? Are the clues hidden in the decrepit mural? Can Morgan overcome her own demons to discover what exists beneath the layers of lies?”

Publication Date:

January 14th, 2020

Book Genre:

Fiction

My Rating:

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫⁣

My Review:

Big Lies in a Small Town

Big Lies in a Small Town (Amazon Affiliate Link)

Diane Chamberlain is one of my very favorite authors and I always highly anticipate her new book publications. Her 2018 release, The Dream Daughter, ranks as one of my favorite books ever (you can read my full review HERE) and was a tough act to follow.

So it totally made my week when I was recently sent an advanced readers copy of her upcoming 2020 release, Big Lies in a Small Town and I just couldn’t resist reading it right away!

Chamberlain is gifted at writing engaging and compelling novels that tackle tough topics with such awareness of others. Her topics are thought-provoking and always cause great self-reflection for myself as the reader. Chamberlain’s vividly detailed plotlines and multifaceted characters bring you inside the story and you can feel the emotions of the characters she shares. In Big Lies in a Small Town, Chamberlain shares a dual narrative as well as a past and present timeline with ease.

She introduces us to the worlds of Morgan Christopher and Anna Dale and the events who made and changed them. I don’t know how she does it, but I can connect personally with every one of her characters, even if our lives and worlds are so different. There are many “heavier” themes including alcoholism, sexual assault, racial issues of the 1940s, and many family secrets which she handles both sensitively and eloquently.

Not only does she make you feel but she makes you think when reading her novels. I really enjoyed reading this one but I kept thinking about it long after I was finished which is the sign of a great book for me.

Here Are Some of my Diane Chamberlain Favorites!

I highly recommend adding this to your winter reading list and in the meantime, catch up on some of Chamberlain many other amazing reads, there are so many to choose from!

The Dream Daughter

Necessary Lies

The Silent Sister

The Stolen Marriage

Pretending to Dance

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for an advanced copy of Big Lies in a Small Town. All opinions are my own.


Disclosure: Some of the links above are affiliate links. This means if you click through and make a purchase, I receive a small commission that helps support this blog at no cost to you. Thank you!

Drawing Home by Jamie Brenner | Little, Brown & Company | Book Review

book review of Drawing Home by Jamie Brenner

Drawing Home by Jamie Brenner

Book Summary:

“Summer has started in idyllic Sag Harbor, and for Emma Mapson that means greeting guests at the front desk of The American Hotel. But when one of the town’s most famous residents, artist Henry Wyatt, dies suddenly, Emma learns he has mysteriously left his waterfront home – a self-designed masterpiece filled with his work – to her teenage daughter, Penny. 

Back in Manhattan, legendary art patron, Bea Winstead’s grief at her lifelong friend and former business partner Henry’s passing turns to outrage at the news of his shocking bequest. How did these unknown locals get their hands on the estate? Bea, with her devoted assistant Kyle in tow, descends on Sag Harbor determined to reclaim the house and preserve Henry’s legacy.

While Emma fights to defend her daughter’s inheritance, Bea discovers that Henry left a treasure trove of sketches scattered around town. With Penny’s reluctant help, Bea pieces them together to find a story hidden in plain sight: an illustration of their shared history with an unexpected twist that will change all of their lives.

Drawn together in their battle for the house, Emma and Bea are forced to confront the past while facing a future that challenges everything they believe about love, fate, and family.”

Publication Date:

May 7th, 2019

Genre:

Domestic Fiction

My Rating:

⭐️⭐️⭐️

My Review:

I recently picked up Drawing Home for a vacation read. A few weeks ago I read my first Jamie Brenner novel, her 2017 release The Forever Summer. After enjoying that one so much, I had high hopes for this one. I ended up finding Drawing Home to be just okay. I wanted to connect with the characters so much but I had trouble because the emotional depth was really lacking for me.

I understand that this is a “beach read” but it just had such promise and didn’t deliver. Because of this, I had a harder time connecting with the storyline and then the ending wrapped up so quickly in a not very believable way for me as the reader. While this was a bit of a miss for me, I do really love Brenner’s writing style. I am planning on reading The Husband Hour next and I have high hopes.

The Whisper Man by Alex North |Celadon Books| Book Review

The Whisper Man by Alex North book review

The Whisper Man by Alex North

Book Summary:

“In this dark, suspenseful thriller, Alex North weaves a multi-generational tale of a father and son caught in the crosshairs of an investigation to catch a serial killer preying on a small town.

After the sudden death of his wife, Tom Kennedy believes a fresh start will help him and his young son Jake heal. A new beginning, a new house, a new town. Featherbank.

But the town has a dark past. Twenty years ago, a serial killer abducted and murdered five residents. Until Frank Carter was finally caught, he was nicknamed “The Whisper Man,” for he would lure his victims out by whispering at their windows at night.

Just as Tom and Jake settle into their new home, a young boy vanishes. His disappearance bears an unnerving resemblance to Frank Carter’s crimes, reigniting old rumors that he preyed with an accomplice. Now, detectives Amanda Beck and Pete Willis must find the boy before it is too late, even if that means Pete has to revisit his great foe in prison: The Whisper Man.

And then Jake begins acting strangely. He hears a whispering at his window…”

Publication Date:

August 20th, 2019

Genre:

Thriller/Suspense/Mystery

My Rating:

⁣⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⁣

My Review:

The Whisper Man came highly recommended and it did not disappoint. In a very oversaturated thriller market, it can be hard to find a suspenseful book that feels unique and satisfying anymore. I was hesitant to read another so-so thriller but The Whisper Man was a pleasant reading surprise.

The characters are detailed and well written and the story is captivating and chilling. This book takes you on a suspenseful ride while also keeping you guessing until the very end. It’s a race against time to solve a decades-old mystery that just might be happening again and it is full of twists and turns with a satisfying ending. If you love suspense and thrillers, you should definitely add this one to your reading list!

Thank you to Celadon Books for an advanced copy of this book. 

The Most Fun We Ever Had by Claire Lombardo | Doubleday Books {Book Review}

The Most Fun We Ever Had by Claire Lombardo

The Most Fun We Ever Had by Claire Lombardo

Book Summary:

A dazzling, multigenerational novel in which the four adult daughters of a Chicago couple–still madly in love after forty years–recklessly ignite old rivalries until a long-buried secret threatens to shatter the lives they’ve built.

When Marilyn Connolly and David Sorenson fall in love in the 1970s, they are blithely ignorant of all that’s to come. By 2016, their four radically different daughters are each in a state of unrest: Wendy, widowed young, soothes herself with booze and younger men; Violet, a litigator-turned-stay-at-home-mom, battles anxiety, and self-doubt when the darkest part of her past resurfaces; Liza, a neurotic and newly tenured professor, finds herself pregnant with a baby she’s not sure she wants by a man she’s not sure she loves; and Grace, the dawdling youngest daughter, begins living a lie that no one in her family even suspects. Above it all, the daughters share the lingering fear that they will never find a love quite like their parents’.

As the novel moves through the tumultuous year following the arrival of Jonah Bendt–given up by one of the daughters in a closed adoption fifteen years before–we are shown the rich and varied tapestry of the Sorenson’s past: years marred by adolescence, infidelity, and resentment, but also the transcendent moments of joy that make everything else worthwhile.

Spanning nearly half a century, and set against the quintessential American backdrop of Chicago and its prospering suburbs, Lombardo’s debut explores the triumphs and burdens of love, the fraught tethers of parenthood and sisterhood, and the baffling mixture of affection, abhorrence, resistance, and submission we feel for those closest to us. In painting this luminous portrait of a family’s becoming, Lombardo joins the ranks of writers such as Celeste Ng, Elizabeth Strout, and Jonathan Franzen as visionary chroniclers of our modern lives.”

Publication Date:

June 25, 2019

Genre:

Family Life Fiction

My Rating:

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⁣

My Review:

I have read a lot of books this summer but none that really blew me away. A memorable book for me is one that keeps me thinking about it long after finishing it. Many of my book choices during this time of the year are easy and engaging but not always ones that stick with me forever. There is definitely a time and place for both of these types of reading and they each fill my reading bucket in very different ways.

I kept seeing The Most Fun We Ever Had on Bookstagram and I put it on my TBR list but I  wasn’t sure if summer was the time to read it. I was a little nervous about the length and I didn’t know if I was in the mood for a family saga piece of writing during this more hectic time of the year. After seeing yet another raving review I decided to read it on a whim and boy was I wrong!

When you are reading a 500+ page book it is a real commitment. Your reading experience is more like a marathon and just not a sprint to the finish. Author Claire Lombardo pulled me right into the lives of the members of the Sorrenson family and I had a hard time putting this one down. The writing was both captivating and completely absorbing. I ended up going back and forth between both reading the hard copy and listening to this on Audible. This made it an absolutely amazing and engrossing reading experience and was perfect for this style of writing.

While there were a lot of well-developed characters and the narration jumps back and forth from present (2016) to the past I never felt confused or that it was hard to keep track of it all. This is all such a testament to Lombardo’s skilled writing ability.

The story was compelling and the characters were both raw and relatable. I loved that their relationships with each other and themselves showed the intricacies of both families and just being human. The nuanced history and complexities of relationships that have spanned decades were presented in such a completely compelling manner. There were humorous parts and so many memorable quotes that I will never forget.

When I wasn’t reading or listening to this book I was thinking about it.  It was difficult to leave this fictional family at the end of my reading journey, which for me, makes this truly a remarkable read. I highly recommend this debut(!!) novel and I can’t wait to read what Lombardo shares next.

Happy Money by Ken Honda | Gallery Books | Book Review

book review Gen The Bookworm

Happy Money by Ken Honda

Book Summary:

“Too often, money is a source of fear, stress, and anger, often breaking apart relationships and even ruining lives. We like to think money is just a number or a piece of paper, but it is so much more than that. Money has the ability to smile, it changes when it is given with a certain feeling, and the energy with which it imbues us impacts not only ourselves but others as well.

Although Ken Honda is often called a “money guru,” his real job over the past decade has been to help others discover the tools they already possess to heal their own lives and relationships with money. Learn how to treat money as a welcome guest, allowing it to come and go with respect and without resentment; understand and improve your money EQ; unpack the myth of scarcity; and embrace the process of giving money, not just receiving it.

This book isn’t to fix you, because as Ken Honda says, you’re already okay!”

Genre:

Self-help & Personal Finance

My Rating:

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⁣

My Review:

Happy Money is not a self-help book about how to manage your money but more about your actual relationship with money. It covered some really thought-provoking topics including how many of us have deeply ingrained thoughts and beliefs about finances that we adopted from our experiences with money as young children.

Honda’s theory is that your relationship with life will mirror what your relationship is like with money. I appreciated his dialogue about being grateful about money going out and coming in and the power of having a healthy and positive mindset about money.

I didn’t think there was anything earth-shattering in this book but I liked the proactive approach he shared while also being aware of how our foundations and histories with money are a huge part of the relationship we have with it now. Sometimes the biggest thing we need to make a change is having the awareness of how we became the way we are today, so this in itself was very insightful.

*I was given a copy of this book to review. All opinions are my own. 

 

Rouge by Richard Kirshenbaum | St. Martin’s Press | Book Review

Gen The Bookworm book review

Rouge by Richard Kirshenbaum

Book Summary:

“Like Swans of Fifth Avenue and Truman Capote’s Answered Prayers, Richard Kirshenbaum’s Rouge gives readers a rare front-row seat into the world of high society and business through the rivalry of two beauty industry icons, by the master marketer and chronicler of the over-moneyed.

Rouge is a sexy, glamorous journey into the rivalry of the pioneers of powder, mascara, and rouge.

This fast-paced novel examines the lives, loves, and sacrifices of the visionaries who invented the modern cosmetics industry: Josiah Herzenstein, born in a Polish Jewish Shtlel, the entrepreneur who transforms herself into a global style icon and the richest woman in the world, Josephine Herz; Constance Gardiner, her rival, the ultimate society woman who invents the door-to-door business and its female workforce but whose deepest secret threatens everything; CeeCee Lopez, the bi-racial beauty and founder of the first African American woman’s hair relaxer business, who overcomes prejudice and heartbreak to become her community’s first female millionaire. The cast of characters is rounded out by Mickey Heron, a dashing, sexy ladies’ man whose cosmetics business is founded in a Hollywood brothel. All are bound in a struggle to be number one, doing anything to get there…including murder.”

Genre:

Historical Fiction

My Rating:

⭐️⭐️⭐️

My Review:

Rouge is a historical fiction novel that introduces you to two women who are competing against each other in the beauty industry starting in the 1920s. Kirshenbaum delivers an entertaining read that gives us a look at high society, business tactics, betrayal and the power of beauty.

I found that the story was engaging but that the characters lacked a depth that would help me understand them more as people and not just as business rivals. Women running businesses at this time was not common and I would have loved to see more behind the scenes details of this important and powerful topic. Because of this I had trouble really connected with the characters are anything but a more superficial level. I would have loved to hear more of the “real story” and less of the rivalry and antics that took over during the storytelling.

*I was gifted a copy of this book to review and all opinion are my own.