Emily Hourican's Guinness Girls series has caught my eye before but An Invitation to the Kennedys, which is book four, is the first I have read. Whilst I think it would have been nice to have the background of the previous three books, I never felt like I'd missed out on anything by starting with this one so it works fine as a standalone novel.

In fact, what drew me to it most of all was the fact that it features Kathleen 'Kick' Kennedy. Best known as one of the Kennedy clan (sister to JFK and Bobby), she's most interesting to me because of her connection to Chatsworth and I've always thought her quite a glamorous addition to the Cavendish family, despite the fact that it seems she was more of a down to earth tomboy.

In this book, Joe Kennedy, Kick's father, is appointed as the US Ambassador to the Court of St James and so some of the family are in Britain which is where she meets Billy Cavendish and some of the Guinness clan. Much of the book takes place at the country seat of Chips Channon and his wife, Honor. Honor's sister, Lady Brigid Guinness, is the same age as Kick and so a friendship naturally ensues. There are all the ups and downs that comes with being in society in the 1930s and the war on the horizon becomes the elephant in the room with political manoeuvres coming into play.

This is a stylish and sophisticated story set in a high-status world. It's a story of the upper classes, two prestigious and well-known families, and what happens when they converge. The complexities of social niceties against the stirring emotions, both politically and romantically, provide quite the backdrop to an interesting time for the characters, Europe and worldwide. Hourican writes engagingly and with confidence about fascinating characters. I thought this was a glittering and evocative read. ( )