I absolutely adored this book. I didn't expect to love it nearly as much as I do, but wow, was I pleasantly surprised. I enjoyed the setting, it was just perfectly nostalgic enough for an old time New York and it was an excellent stage for the story. I really grew to love the characters, I found them relatable, charming as all get out, and the author's treatment of them made them feel authentic. Callahan writes some real gems too. I think I'll try very hard to remember Vivian, "There's a reason the fairy godmother gave Cinderella two glass slippers..." ( )

Pretty surprised that this kind of "chick-lit-y" novel was written by a guy. It pulled me in right away, especially for the time frame, 1955, and the setting - the glamorous Barbizon Hotel for Women in NYC. There are, as per usual, three resident female characters - Laura, a Smith College intern at Mademoiselle magazine; Dolly, an attendee of Katherine Gibbs secretarial school from Utica; and Vivian, a Brit hat check girl at the Stork Club and aspiring vocalist. They each have their adventures in the big city, but there is a refreshing lack of clichés throughout, and a very vivid sense of how adventurous women of that time were when they left the farm, the country club, or even their home country to try out the dream life in NYC. I rank it beyond a beach read, though it would work for that purpose too. I think the characters and their situations will remain with me for a good long time. ( )

I enjoyed this book very much it was like listening to an old B&W Movie, which I love BTW. Especially Dolly’s voice it was the voice of so many characters in old films.

The Barbizon Hotel and New York City were almost their own characters in this story, and it gave a look into many different classes of people in the 1950’s from the elite of Park Avenue to the emerging bohemians and even the back alleys where no single girl should go. Every character in this book is so fully fleshed out I could see everything they did in my head, even the side characters were fascinating. Every character is flawed in one way or another and is trying to hide these flaws which lead to some very interesting storytelling. These three girls Laura, Dolly and Vivian come from such completely different worlds yet as roomies in the big city they become fast friends. I loved how strong all these women were even when they didn’t think they were (Dolly I’m looking at you). They are trying to find careers and maybe a husband but that is secondary, Laura finds two wildly different men so there is a bit of a love triangle but it is very well written and I could see why Laura was attracted to both of them. Vivian’s find is less satisfactory and we see her go through the toughest choices. And Dolly dear sweet Dolly I just enjoyed her character, she isn’t as pretty, skinny or chic as her roommates but she is a good friend. I also loved the bookstore I would hang out there all the time too!

Kristin Kalibi was a new to me narrator and I was blown away, great voices, every character had a distinct sound and even all of the secondary characters had their own voices I will definitely be on the lookout for more books she has narrated!

As I said I really enjoyed this book , if you like historical fiction from the 50’s and old B&W movies I’d say to give this one a try and I highly recommend the audio version of this because Kristin Kalibi’s narration makes this book even better.

4 Stars

I received this book from the publisher for a fair and honest review. ( )