Must Read Books Reviews doesn’t normally read historicals, but they took a chance with Jezebel. And in all honesty, its one of the most thorough reviews I’ve ever seen regarding one of my books. You can really tell that they read the book and they took the time to really give me an honest review and I really respect that as both an author and a reader. Raise your hand if you’ve read a review that barely backed up the reviewer’s rating. (Both of my hands are in the air:)
Curious about the review? Here’s a peek at what their reviewer Courtney thought about Jezebel:
This is the first historical novel review we’ve written for this blog and I think this was a nice one to start with, Courtney. 1) The setting. Most of this novel takes place in New York City, in 1938. We travel through clubs, private parties, dance venues, and even Madison Square Garden. We also get a feel for the discrimination that our protagonist, Celeste, lives with. Brown gives this facet of the novel a light, but revealing touch. She doesn’t pound you with it but provides several key scenes with the overt racism that Celeste experienced and you felt the awfulness of it without it taking over the rest of the book. 2) Celeste. Celeste is a dancer who is drawn back home to attend her estranged father’s funeral. It’s here that she meets a boxer, Shane Brennan. Celeste tries to deny the attraction and curiosity she feels for him but his persistence and politeness wears her down. While she tries to figure out what to do about Shane, she also is trying to clean up her act. You see, she’s been know to drink too much, sleep around too much, and lose amazing career opportunities with these self-sabotaging behaviors. She’s taking her move to New York as a chance to try to improve herself and her chances at living her dream career. 3)Shane Brennan. Shane Brennan is a boxer who has one huge secret that could derail his relationship with Celeste. He knows that this secret could destroy any chance he has to get to know her, so what does he do? He keeps the secret to himself.