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

Eleanor of Castile: Queen and Society in Thirteenth Century England by John Carmi Parsons: A Book Review

Eleanor of Castile: Queen and Society in Thirteenth Century England Author: John Carmi Parsons  Genre: Nonfiction, History, Biography  Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan  Book Release Date: 1998 Pages: 388 Source: Personal Collection  Synopsis: Medievalist feminist studies' early concentration on the lives of prominent women has more recently given way to an interest in their less exalted sisters. Historians have seemingly avoided the careers of medieval queens, creatures of romance and legend, women who enjoyed rank and wealth merely as a consequence of birth or marriage. A renewed interest in such women has, however, followed the opening of new avenues to the study of women and power in the Middle Ages. That the lives of these women will reward reconsideration has been amply proven in the works of such historians as Pauline Stafford and Janet Nelson. Eleanor of Castile studies the wife of Edward I of England, a woman eulogized since the sixteenth century as a model of ...

Interview with Meihan Boey

       Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing author, Meihan Boey. She is the author of The Formidable Miss Cassidy , which is the first novel in the Miss Cassidy trilogy. The first novel is about how a Scottish governess helps her employer's family who is haunted by a malevolent spirit. She has recently released, The Enigmatic Madam Ingram , which is the second novel in the  trilogy. In this interview, we discussed not only her latest novel, but also Singaporean mythology. Thank you, Mrs. Boey! What inspired you to write The Formidable Miss Cassidy ? Did you know it would be a trilogy before you started writing or did it form while you were writing it?  Yes, I did know I wanted to create a trilogy - I just didn’t know at the start whether or not I would be able to get there!  The Formidable Miss Cassidy started life as a COVID project, sent as a short story to a little Canadian indie press. Because I didn’t think a typical Canadian audience was go...

The Enigmatic Madam Ingram (Miss Cassidy #2) by Meihan Boey: A Book Review

The Enigmatic Madam Ingram (Miss Cassidy #2) Author: Meihan Boey Genre: Historical Fiction, Fantasy, Paranormal  Publisher: Harper Perennial  Book Release Date: September 8, 2026 Pages: 512 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: Miss Cassidy returns to nineteenth-century Singapore to help solve another dazzling supernatural mystery in this follow-up to the award-winning novel that The Guardian called a “classic-in-waiting.”        When Letty Ingram arrives in Singapore in 1906, she is an enigma even unto herself. To the residents of the small Scottish village where she lives, she is a wealthy, half-Malay recluse who emerges from her home only for walks with her great beast of a hound. To Letty, she is a woman trying to lift a curse that causes her lose consciousness and wake up in strange places—sometimes, with blood on her hands—and no memory of what occurred.        Letty ...