Hardcover: 421 pages
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers; 1st edition (December 14th 2010)
Language: EnglishISBN-10: 0385740344
ISBN-13: 9780385740340
Source: Purchased from Power Books
First Sentence: "She didn’t feel like wearing a garter tonight."
Favorite Line from the Book: "I’m no more of an expert on the subject than any other girl. But this much I know: Love is worth everything. If you really love someone, you’ll have no regrets. Even if it turns out badly."Book Summary:
Jazz . . . Booze . . . Boys . . . It’s a dangerous combination.
Every girl wants what she can’t have. Seventeen-year-old Gloria Carmody wants the flapper lifestyle—and the bobbed hair, cigarettes, and music-filled nights that go with it. Now that she’s engaged to Sebastian Grey, scion of one of Chicago’s most powerful families, Gloria’s party days are over before they’ve even begun . . . or are they?
Clara Knowles, Gloria’s goody-two-shoes cousin, has arrived to make sure the high-society wedding comes off without a hitch—but Clara isn’t as lily-white as she appears. Seems she has some dirty little secrets of her own that she’ll do anything to keep hidden. . . .
Lorraine Dyer, Gloria’s social-climbing best friend, is tired of living in Gloria’s shadow. When Lorraine’s envy spills over into desperate spite, no one is safe. And someone’s going to be very sorry. . . .
From debut author Jillian Larkin, VIXEN is the first novel in the sexy, dangerous, and ridiculously romantic new series set in the Roaring Twenties . . . when anything goes.
I picked up this book not only because of the gorgeous cover, but also because of the era that this was based on. As much as I love dystopian novels, I also adore historical-based YA novels. I am curious to read an era full of glamour, mobsters, speakeasy, and intrigue. And I must say that this book has it all.
The novel was told in alternating point of views of our three girls: Gloria – the rich, perfect girl who has it all, beauty, money, brains, and above all, an engagement with Chicago’s one of the most sought after bachelor, Sebastian Grey; Lorraine – the best friend of Gloria who simply wants to veer away from being Gloria’s shadow and be someone who is considered by everyone in the society as the “better” choice; Clara – Gloria’s cousin from Pennsylvania. A girl with a past that she wanted to run away from and came to Chicago so she could start over. For me, I find the three perspectives refreshing and necessary. You can actually imagine Chicago in the 1920s through their own points of views. It is a necessity in such a way that through giving each character an alternating chapter, you can definitely know more about each of them and understand them and the reasons for their choices and actions.
Love stories are definitely present in this novel and I feel that they’re an added bonus to the diversity that was included in this book. Who can resist a love which is definitely considered a taboo in society, a love which you can never have? Or who can resist the urge to read more, if love and jealousy are the reasons to be vengeful? Or who can ever resist going chapter by chapter, searching for that part of the story which will finally include the “living happily ever after”? I know, I couldn't and I was hooked with all the love stories involved in this book.
Intrigue is one of the things which made this book a fast read. Don’t let me get started with the prologue. That, by itself, already won me over. The ending too, gave a cliff-hanger and you just wanted to get a copy of the second book in this series.
All in all, Jillian Larkin wove a very intricate, intriguing, and wonderful novel with all descriptions which will help its readers imagine an era, so different from ours, without any difficulty and you’d want to get more of it.
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1 comments:
I really enjoyed this one, too! I was completely surprised by it, had never intended to read it, then it showed up on my doorstop---and I loved it! Great review!
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