The Manhattan Girls by Gill Paul BLOG TOUR #TheManhattanGirls @GillPaulAUTHOR @RandomTTours @AvonBooksUK #BookReview

 

NEW YORK CITY, 1921

An impossible dream.

The war is over, the twenties are roaring, but in the depths of the city that never sleeps, Dorothy Parker is struggling to make her mark in a man’s world.

A broken woman.

She’s penniless, she’s unemployed and her marriage is on the rocks when she starts a bridge group with three extraordinary women – but will they be able to save her from herself?

A fight for survival.

When tragedy strikes, and everything Dorothy holds dear is threatened, it’s up to Peggy, Winifred and Jane to help her confront the truth before it’s too late. Because the stakes may be life or death…

The Manhattan Girls by Gill Paul was published on 18 August 2022 by Avon Books. My thanks to the publisher who sent my copy for review as part of this #RandomThingsTours Blog Tour 

I've been a fan of Gill Paul's books for a few years now, and I honestly think that her books get better and better. I love the fact that she takes well-known women from history and creates fictional stories around them. It is clever and entertaining and in The Manhattan Girls we are introduced to four amazing, colourful and fascinating women, headed up by the witty and acid-tongued Dorothy Parker. 

I adore the 1920s setting, it's my favourite era in historical fiction, along with the 1960s, probably because although they are forty years apart, they were so similar. Women were beginning to think for themselves, to go out and enjoy themselves, to drink and to have affairs, they certainly were swinging times.

Gill Paul excels in her descriptive writing, with the fashions of the time so brilliantly explored, along with the glamour of the hotel settings, the speakeasys and the general air of hard work and very hard play. 

The story centres around a Bridge club started by the four lead characters; Jane Grant, a New York Times reporter who has dreams of starting her own magazine, Winifred Lenihan, Irish immigrant and now an upcoming Broadway star, Peggy Leech; novelist in waiting and of course, Dorothy Parker, best known for her witty poetry and short stories.  Four very different women, all at varying times in their lives, careers and relationships but all brought together by their love of gossip, illicit gin and a game of cards. 

The Manhattan Girls is glorious, I lapped it up in almost one sitting. Totally losing myself in the Jazz Age and the unfolding dramas of each of the women. It's wonderfully researched, making reference to names that remain well known, and not always for the best reasons. Gill Paul excels in bringing her characters to life, as we follow them through joyous times and also their most desperate moments. 

A wonderful read, it is fascinating, glitzy, heartbreaking and utterly entertaining. Highly recommended.

Gill Paul is an author of historical fiction, specialising in the twentieth century and often writing about the lives of real women. 

Her novels have topped bestseller lists in the US and Canada as well as the UK and have been translated into twenty languages. 

The Secret Wife has sold over half a million copies and is a book-club favourite worldwide.

She is also the author of several non-fiction books on historical subjects. She lives in London and swims year-round in a wild pond.

www.gillpaul.com

Twitter @GillPaulAUTHOR