Glimmer As You Can: A Novel

Starlite boutique is a dress shop owned by Madeline Abbott in Brooklyn Heights, she a talented dressmaker and clothes designer. After Madeline’s marriage ended, she starts a social club at night in her shop, a safe place for women to meet and forget about their troubles. Some of the ladies like to chat, others listen to music, dance, and sing, read poetry, have a drink and sleepover.<br /><br />Elaine Huxley joins the club, she’s English, and living with her fiancée Tommy. Elaine's unhappy in her relationship, Tommy’s drinking too much and he doesn’t work. If she leaves him and gets a job, she worries Tommy’s life will spiral completely out of control and she will be to blame.<br /><br />Lisa O’Malley works as an air hostess, and is madly in love with Billy. Out of the blue, Billy fails to pick her up from the airport, he stops calling and Lisa doesn’t know why? She starts to visit the Starlite, she realizes her whole life revolved around what Billy wanted to do, keeping him happy and worrying about the dreaded weigh ins to keep her job. <br /><br />When Fred Abbott starts lurking around, Madeline doesn’t trust him, she worries about her own and her friend’s safety at Starlite? The women rally around Madeline, determined to keep Starlite open and do what every it takes to keep Madeline safe. <br /> <br />Glimmer As You Can is a story set in the 1960’s, it’s about how women’s roles and expectations changed at the time and they felt empowered. However, societies and most men’s attitudes hadn’t changed, they saw women’s liberation as a threat, why would women need to meet at night and it has dire consequences for one member of the Starlite club.<br /><br />I received a copy of this book from NetGalley and Alcove Press in exchange for an honest review, Danielle Martin handled difficult subjects in her book with sensitivity, and four stars from me.<br /><a target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow" href="https://karrenreadsbooks.blogspot.com/">https://karrenreadsbooks.blogspot.com/</a><br /><a target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow" href="https://www.facebook.com/KarrenReadsHistoricalFiction">https://www.facebook.com/KarrenReadsH...</a>

It’s 1962 and located in Brooklyn Heights is a dress shop called The Starlite which is owned by Madeline, a talented dress designer and ex wife of a local councilman. After hours, the shop becomes a club, a haven for women young and old looking for a true sisterhood. The women read poetry, dance, sing and escape their own worlds filled with restrictions. Within this diverse group of women, we get to know Elaine, who is living with her alcoholic fiancé and works as a fact checker for a newspaper. And Lisa, who works as a Pan-Am flight attendant and loves her job but views it as temporary as she has set her sights on getting engaged while overlooking her boyfriend Billy’s many faults.<br /><br />The Starlite gives the women strength to look beyond the limitations society has bestowed upon them. When tragedy strikes, will their sisterhood hold them together?<br /><br />The early 60s is an interesting time in history and author Danielle Martin does a good job creating the right feel for the period. While on the cusp of great societal changes, when this book takes place, women are still second class citizens. Most of the male characters in the book are either pathetic or horrible which seems a bit too much. You’ll root for the women while realizing how much times have truly changed. <br /><br />Many thanks to NetGalley, Alcove Books and the author for an advance copy of <b>Glimmer As You Can</b>. I was born and raised in Brooklyn and this book offered a nice journey back in time to a place I know so well. <br /><br />And isn’t that a great book cover?<br /><br />Review posted on <a href="https://www.michelereader.com/post/glimmer-as-you-can-a-story-about-the-strength-of-sisterhood-in-1962-brooklyn" rel="nofollow noopener">MicheleReader.com</a>.

Enjoyed reading about the spirit of friendship between the characters in this book. Couldn't put it down.

Character-focused, historical women's fiction set in early 1960s Brooklyn. Women from different walks of life but constrained by the same societal limitations find stolen moments of freedom at a social club run by the bullied ex-wife of a corrupt politician. <br /><br />Excellent development of the female characters. Each seems distinct and relatable, from the naïve flight attendant to the fact-checker who wants to be a reporter. The historical setting is well drawn, and the introduction of events like the Cuban Missile Crisis is deftly handled, providing a mounting sense of peril in the narrative and a motivation for a character's leap of faith. <br /><br />The male characters are not so well developed. Except for one peripheral character, they are one-dimensional disasters, varying only in the primary misery they inflict - lecher, liar, lout, lush. The linear narrative builds slowly, and the reader will see the train wreck far before the characters encounter it. That is not a criticism. It is, I think, part of the point: the women's lives are so cruelly circumscribed that it is difficult for them to avoid harm. <br /><br />Some readers may be heartened by how much has changed since the time of this book, others dismayed by how little. Either way, this well-written evocation of the power to be oneself and show oneself resonates across decades.<br /><br />Recommended.<br /><br />Many thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Author here. I've read this book approximately 12,000 times - that's how much I can vouch for it.<br /><br />

Glimmer As You Can is an uplifting story of friendship between 3 women from different walks of life set in the early ‘60’s. Danielle Martin has written a solid debut and I can wait to see what’s next!

What a phenomenal read. I loved these ladies and hated the men! This novel definitely gives you all the emotions. Five stars!

GLIMMER AS YOU CAN<br />BY DANIELLE MARTIN<br /><br />I just loved this historical fiction novel called, "Glimmer As You Can," by Danielle Martin because it celebrates the deep bonds of friendship between women. It takes place in New York City and the time period I am guessing is the early 1960's while John Fitzgerald Kennedy was still president and it mentions the Cuban Missile Crisis. These beautiful women with warm hearts all support each other and the ages vary from young twenties to middle forties. The men were all chauvinistic mostly and maybe it was like that back then but I don't remember my mother or father or anyone that I grew up with acting the way these men act in this novel.<br /><br />Lisa is a beautiful young aged in her twenties and she works as a flight attendant for Pan-Am airlines. Her character was pure and it was interesting to learn that at this time period flight attendants could only work until they were 32 years old. Their jobs would be terminated if they got married and they had random weight checks and could be terminated also or would have to resign if their weight was 130 pounds. Lisa is going steady with Billy and she makes transatlantic flights and lives at home with her mother and father in a shabby apartment but a she often helps her loving parents financially. Billy is a no show after Lisa gets off from a long flight and she meets one of the other two main character's named Elaine and Madeline and she shares a cab with one of them since Billy was supposed to pick her up at the airport and he has ghosted Lisa. Lisa insists on paying back the other woman for her half of the cab ride and the other women tells her no it isn't necessary but Lisa insists and that's how she forms a friendship and gets invited to the women's social club at night which takes place in Madeline's Starlight Dress shop in Brooklyn Heights.<br /><br />Madeline is the owner of the star lite dress shop and she is also a seamstress married to a cheating husband named Fred Abbott who is politically well connected and has his sights set on running for public office. First he was always away at night at men only social political activities so he says. He starts to get bolder by bringing his younger flings into their apartment. Madeline catches him and he expects her to be his fake wife. In other words, Madeline pretends to be married to him but they have their own separate lives which Madeline goes along with until she caught him with his latest lover in their home. Madeline doesn't have enough money to get her own apartment and decides to sleep on a cot in her shop. Fred divorces Madeline and she is a very strong woman who gets no financial assistance from Fred but she seems happier to be rid of him because she has her own circle of friend's that meet at night in her shop as an all women's social circle. The women read poetry, they dance to music on the record player and they eat good food and drink alcohol. <br /><br />Elaine is a close friend of Madeline's and she is married to an alcoholic with a trust fund who never seems to feel he needs to get a job. He invents gadgets but none that has earned him any money. Elaine is ambitious and applies for a job at the world famous newspaper called the Chronicle. She has been college educated in a journalism degree but there are only three women that work at the Chronicle as investigative reporters. So Elaine's only option to get a dream job at the Chronicle is to be hired as a fact checker. Her husband Tommy as bad as he sounds and her have a loving but dysfunctional relationship. When Elaine goes to work her husband guilt trips her. Her sister Catherine is a jazz singer who stays with them sometimes. When Elaine goes with her sister Catherine to the Star Lite social club at night Tommy will use that as an excuse to go out and drink to get drunk staying out all night.<br /><br />Billy begs Lisa's forgiveness and they get back together and he showers her with flowers and promises but Lisa has made close friend's with Madeline and Elaine and the other women and she enjoys going to the Star Lite social club every so often. She is still a flight attendant and she hopes that Billy and her will get married. Lisa doesn't like Billy's father who she can smell the same cologne on Billy which turns her stomach. Billy's father was on board a flight with Lisa and she discovered that he cheats on his wife because he is with a young woman romantically involved but Lisa tries to avoid him in the flight by not serving him and she tries to stay hidden. Billy's family comes from money and he buys Lisa a huge diamond ring and proposes to her at Woolworth's over ice cream sodas. I remember how delicious Woolworth's ice cream sodas were and I used to always get one with my friend's and I would also order the french fries. I was just a young girl then and we would walk downtown and go to Woolworth's and shop and would end up getting something to eat and drink at the counter.<br /><br />These three women Lisa, Madeline and Elaine seem to be the perfect support system and they are all very sympathetic and likable character's. There are many more women who attend the Star Lite social club and all of them have a great time staying up until the early hours. Anybody is woman is welcome and they sing, paint, read poetry dance and it is a haven for domestically abused housewives who also attend as well as some of the upper class women who have husband's that are into politics who know Fred. The men are all unlikable except Elaine's husband Tommy while immature I had great empathy for. At least Elaine and Tommy share a love for poetry and literature and they do love each other. I have set up the basics in this review and have not given away any major spoilers. There are tragedies that will happen making this heartbreaking at times but I loved the women's many festivities and wish there was that sort of social club consisting of women only and all three of these women will tie into each other's lives that make this a five star read. We have come a long way with women's equality since the early 1960's. I found the cheating spouses appalling and Billy's behavior bordered on crossing Lisa's boundaries. Madeline, Elaine and Lisa were realistically portrayed for their time. There are both tragedies and great bonds between women and I really loved this book and highly recommend it for fans of historical fiction and older women who were alive during the 1960's JFK era.<br /><br />Publication Date: November 10, 2020<br /><br />Thank you to Net Galley, Danielle Martin and Alcove Press Publishing for providing me with my ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.<br /><br />#GlimmerAsYouCan #DanielleMartin #AlcovePress #NetGalley

I really immersed myself in the lives of the characters in this book. I could imagine myself joining this circle of friends and connecting and relaxing in this women's social club. I was sorry to see the book end and wanted it to keep going on. Great read!

I stayed up all night reading this book. This story of women who get together in a social club drew me in. I felt like I was part of this group of strong and independent women. A must read. I highly recommend.