“The Flappers” series is set during Prohibition in the 1920′s, and follows the lives of rich cousins Gloria Carmody, Clara Knowles, and their friend Lorraine Dyer who love partying, drinking forbidden liquor, and living the life of Flapper Girls. Gloria has just been released from jail, and is working as an undercover detective for the FBI trying to find some dirt on Forrest, a rich millionaire so she can really be freed.

Read the rest of the review on my blog: http://shouldireaditornot.wordpress.com/2012/12/23/diva-jillian-larkin/ ( )

Diva was just an ok read for me. I was happy just to finish it. There were no highs or lows, just a story with an average plot. I will say what/who held my interest was Lorraine. She was the life of the story. She was the glue that held it all together. I trudged through this book to see what she would do or say next. I also liked Melvin. I knew he would get his just due in the end. I'm sorry but I don't have much more to add. However, the story was very descriptive-scenes,clothing and a bit of history.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Random House/Delacorte for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.



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I received this as an advance copy and enjoyed the other two books of the series so I was eager to jump into the final book. The roaring 20's and all its decadence captivates the reader and it is easy to see how you can lose yourself in the fun without seeing the underlying lessons of interracial relationships, gangsters and that crime doesn't pay. Gloria gets out of jail if she can get the dirt on someone. The other girls are just trying to figure out how they fit in. At the end they all realize that it isn't all fun and games even if there is a rainbow ending. Even though you could read this as a stand alone I would suggest reading the series in order to appreciate the great storyline. Chicago never looked so good or so dangerous! ( )

Diva by Jillian Larkin
YA Historical Fiction
Rating: PG
Coffee Beans: 4 of 5 stars
Spoilers: Nope
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book free via the publisher in exchange for this honest review.

Publisher’s Summary:
Parties, bad boys, speakeasies—life in Manhattan has become a woozy blur for Clara Knowles. If Marcus Eastman truly loved her, how could he have fallen for another girl so quickly? Their romance mustn't have been as magical as Clara thought. And if she has to be unhappy, she's going to drag everyone else down to the depths of despair right along with her.

Being a Barnard girl is the stuff of Lorraine Dyer's dreams. Finding out that Marcus is marrying a gold digger who may or may not be named Anastasia? A nightmare. The old Lorraine would have sat by and let the chips fall where they may, but she's grown up a lot these past few months. She can't bear to see Marcus lose a chance for true love. But will anyone listen to her?

Now that the charges against her have been dropped, Gloria Carmody is spending the last dizzying days of summer on Long Island, yachting on the sound and palling around with socialites at Forrest Hamilton's swanky villa. Beneath her smile, though, Gloria's keeping a secret. One that could have deadly consequences . . .

My Review:
I received Vixen (book 1 in the Flapper Series) a couple of years ago and LOVED it. I requested an ARC of Ingenue, book 2 in the series, and was denied. When Diva, book 3, came out, I tried again and was rewarded.

What I liked:
Even though I hadn’t read Ingenue, I knew where Vixen left off and where Diva picked up, and with the clues that Larkin sprinkled in throughout the story, I was able to fill in the story holes and not miss a beat.

Larkin does, once again, a brilliant job of making this another character driven novel. I love how the story is told from the points of view of all the main characters. Doing that really gave me a well-rounded and personal feel for each of the girls (and occasional guy), as well as a more 3-D image of the story. We’re given a view from Gloria that we would NEVER get from Clara. And the humor Lorraine provides would never be there had we only been told the story from Jerome’s point of view. You can’t help but form strong attachments to even the smaller-role characters with the way Larkin writes.

The 20’s has always been a favorite time period for me, and to have Larkin describe everything the way she does just puts me in heaven. I’d love to see this made into a movie so I could visually lust after all the gowns and shoes.

Favorite Line: It was better to risk loving too much before it was too late and all you were left with was regret. (pg 305, ebook)

What I didn’t like:
Even though I loved all the fashion talk about clothes and dresses, and I know that that was a big component of the 20’s, the name dropping got to be bit much at times.

I was a bit confused with Larkin’s dialogue tags. There would be a quote, then another person would be performing an action tagged onto someone else’s dialogue.

There were a few really good emotional scenes that really carry the momentum of the story that were interrupted with too much narrative which pulled me out and made the scene lose the impact Larkin was trying to give it. Also, there were a few high tension scenes that were just too short lived.

Overall, this is another terrific book in the Flapper Series, seamlessly knit with the first two, and an easy read. I really enjoyed reading it and will go back and pick up the second book just so I can get more of the Gloria, Clara, and Lorraine.

Happy reading, my friends! ( )

I really love to read about this era - I think I am a flapper at heart, and I wish I could have lived during this era, dancing all night long, but sans the mobsters. This book was the final in this series, and the ending surprised me!

The best part of this book, I thought, was the unlikely pair of Clara and Lorraine, united in their love for Marcus and desire to stop his wedding. They believe he is marrying a con artist, and team up to make sure he realizes it before it is too late. Another good duo that evolves is the one that deepens between Lorraine and Melvin. I knew Lorraine had a heart beneath all her designer fashions!

Gloria's story, as it is in the other two preceding books, is set apart from Lorraine and Clara's. She is staying with Forrest Hamilton, to find out his secret, so she can report it to the police, so that she can stay out of jail. Hoo. She ends up uncovering more than one secret, and one is a secret that could get her killed.

The story comes to a big, blow out of a conclusion. I loved seeing everything all come together in the end. I don't want to give too much away, so I am keeping this review short. I think if you like to read about the roaring twenties, you will definitely like this book. ( )