Review: Glimmer As You Can by Danielle Martin

Glimmer As You Can

by Danielle Martin

Publisher: Alcove Press

Pages: 306

Format: book

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  Welcome to the Starlite. Let your true self shine.

1962. In the middle of Brooklyn Heights sits the Starlite: boutique dress shop by day, underground women's club by night. Started by the shop's proprietor after her marriage crumbled, Madeline's social club soon becomes a safe haven for women from all walks of life looking for a respite from their troubled relationships and professional frustrations. These after-hour soirées soon bring two very different women into Madeline's life--Elaine, a British ex-pat struggling to save her relationship, and Lisa, a young stewardess whose plans for the future are suddenly upended--irrevocably changing all three women's lives in ways no one could have predicted.

But when Madeline's ne'er-do-well ex-husband shows up again, the luster of Starlite quickly dampens. As the sisterhood rallies around Madeline, tension begins to eat at the club. When an unspeakable tragedy befalls their sorority, one woman must decide whether to hide the truth from the group or jeopardize her own hopes and dreams. 

Kritters Thoughts:  In the 1960s, in NYC, women were starting to find independence and tucked in a little out of the way spot, a boutique dress shop becomes a women's club at night and more than a club but a refuge for a menagerie of women.  Following multiple women through this book, the reader gets a glimpse of the life and times of different women as they navigate the changing world of the 1960s.

Often when I read a book that takes place in this time period, I get the sense of women being divided and staying in their homes and not having a social life beyond their families.  To read a book about an underground club and see real authentic women friendships of the time was so fun to read.  I loved that these women lifted each other up and encouraged them to aim high in whatever each of them were trying to achieve and they had this home base that would take care of them through the highs and the lows. 

Without a significant piece of history in this book, I didn't feel as though I learned a whole lot unlike when I read a book that has a significant historical event, but instead in this book, I got to zero in on the women of the time and the things they were experiencing.  This historical fiction book was more about the characters of the time than the events of the time and that was an interesting change from my typical historical fiction reading.  

This was a great debut and I hope for more from this author.    

Rating: definitely a good read, but can't read two in a row

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from TLC Book Tours.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.