Glimmer As You Can

What a wonderful debut book from Danielle Martin! Glimmer As You Can is a story where the women courageously rally and the men are pretty much all deplorable.

It’s 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.

I enjoyed immersing myself in this quick and interesting story. I was transported back to the 1960s and joined an intriguing group of energetic Boeheim women. Martin has the ability to bring you into the world of her characters and allows you to connect and feel for them as all three lead characters found themselves dealing with real problems that are still relevant to this day... which is sad in more ways than one. These struggles did not hold this group of ambitious women back, and they were there for each other when it counted. At one point I even found myself wanting to join their magical Starlite night groups. What really impressed me was Martin’s ability to write and bring together three women in different age groups that were dealing with their own individual hardships (hardships maybe putting it lightly).

If you enjoy books that are about the spirit of friendships, sisterhood and the courage and spirit it takes to live as a woman in this world, than this book is for you!

Thank you Alcove and Danielle Martin for my advance reader copy in exchange for my honest review.