Skip to main content

Starring Adele Astaire by Eliza Knight: A Book Review

Starring Adele Astaire

Author: Eliza Knight

Genre: Historical Fiction

Publisher: William Morrow

Release Date: 2023

Pages: 395

Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsis: USA Today bestselling author Eliza Knight returns as she delves into the life of Adele Astaire, who served up smiles and love both on and off the stage—with and without her also famous brother Fred Astaire—along with a determined young dancer with rags-to-riches dreams.


     A spirited rising stage star…


     Adele Astaire was a glittering, glamorous star, dancing with her brother, Fred, endearing herself to audiences from New York to London. But although she is toasted by royalty and beloved by countless fans, Adele Astaire has dreams of a loving husband and a houseful of children. And when she meets Lord Charles Cavendish, her wishes may just come true—but at what cost?


     A determined young dancer …


     Ever since Violet Wood could walk she’s wanted to dance on the London stage. Befriended by Adele, filled with ambition, she is more than willing to make the sacrifices it will take to becomes a star herself, and her rags-to-riches hopes are within reach. But the road to fame is never easy.


     Two women with unquenchable spirit …


     From the fast-paced world of roaring 20s New York to the horrors and sacrifice of wartime London, Adele's and Violet’s lives intertwine, and each must ask themselves is fame worth the price you must pay?


     My Review: Starring Adele Astaire tells the life of Fred Astaire’s sister, Adele. Adele Astaire is a highly acclaimed dancer. She has reached the heights of stardom. Yet, she dreams of love and creating a family of her own. She falls in love with an English nobleman. However, there are obstacles that prevent them from marrying. Could Adele keep both her career and love or must she give up both?


     I really like Adele. She is kind and very intelligent. She recognizes talent and gives them encouragement. I also like how she tries to find freedom and the ability to make her own choices from her controlling mother. I also felt pity for her because she longs for love and her career keeps her from it. Therefore, I hoped that Adele will get the happiness and love that she desperately longed for in the novel! Thus, she was a very captivating and intriguing character!


     Overall, this novel is about friendship, freedom, and sacrifice. I liked Adele’s relationship with her brother, Fred. I found it to be endearing and sweet! I did not like how the book also focused on Violet Wood. I thought that it was unnecessary and distracted me from Adele’s story. Therefore, it would have been better to focus solely on Adele. Nevertheless, it reads like a soap opera! It is a breezy read that will keep you turning pages! Starring Adele Astaire is perfect for fans of Goodnight from Paris,The Only Woman in the Room, and Josephine Baker’s Last Dance!


Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Inanna, Queen of Heaven and Earth: Her Stories and Hymns from Sumer by Samuel Noah Kramer and Diane Wolkstein: A Book Review

Inanna, Queen of Heaven and Earth: Her Stories and Hymns from Sumer Author: Samuel Noah Kramer and Diane Wolkstein Genre: Nonfiction, History, Biography, Religion, Mythology Publisher: Harper Perennial Release Date: 1983 Pages: 256 Source: Personal Collection Synopsis: With the long-awaited publication of this book, we have for the first time in any modern literary form one of the most vital and important of ancient myths—that of Inanna, the world’s first goddess of recorded history and the beloved deity of the ancient Sumerians.      The stories and hymns of Inanna (known to the Semites as Ishtar) are inscribed on clay tablets which date back to 2,000 B.C. Over the past forty years, these cuneiform tablets have gradually been restored and deciphered by a small group of international scholars. In this groundbreaking book, Samuel Noah Kramer, the preeminent living expert on Sumer, and Diane Wolkstein, a gifted storyteller and folklorist, have retranslated, order...

The Rose Code by Kate Quinn: A Book Review

The Rose Code Author: Kate Quinn Genre: Historical Fiction Publisher: Harper Collins Release Date: 2021 Pages: 635 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: 1940, Bletchley Park, Buckinghamshire.        Three very different women are recruited to the mysterious Bletchley Park, where the best minds in Britain train to break German military codes.       Vivacious debutante Osla has the dashing Prince Philip of Greece sending her roses – but she burns to prove herself as more than a society girl, working to translate decoded enemy secrets. Self-made Mab masters the legendary codebreaking machines as she conceals old wounds and the poverty of her East-End London upbringing. And shy local girl Beth is the outsider who trains as one of the Park’s few female cryptanalysts.       1947, London.        Seven years after they first meet, on the eve of the roya...

Olympias: Mother of Alexander the Great by Elizabeth Carney: A Book Review

Olympias: Mother of Alexander the Great (Women in Antiquity) Author: Elizabeth Carney Genre: Nonfiction, History, Biography Publisher: Routledge Release Date: 2006 Pages: 240 Source: Personal Collection Synopsis: The definitive guide to the life of the first woman to play a major role in Greek political history, this is the first modern biography of Olympias.      Presenting a critical assessment of a fascinating and wholly misunderstood figure, Elizabeth Carney penetrates myth, fiction and sexual politics and conducts a close examination of Olympias through historical and literary sources, and brings her to life as she places the figure in the context of her own ancient, brutal political world.      Individual examinations look at: the role of Greek religion in Olympias' life literary and artistic traditions about Olympias found throughout the later ancient periods varying representations of Olympias found in the major ancient sources. ...