Photographer Slim Aarrons took pictures of the jet set ; Lilly Pulitzer dressed them. The Beautiful People tells of Margo Hightower, given a job as Slim Aarrons assistant. Margo is left alone in the world after a family financial scandal. Margo's mother ensures her own security without a thought to Margo's well-being. Margo must paddle her own canoe without ever having dipped a toe in the water. As Slim's assistant Margo meets Palm Beach millionaires and soon Lily Pulitzer takes Margo under her brightly colored wing.

Soon Margo's life entwines with the powerful elite ; she trips over First Lady Jackie Kennedy, while Jackie is sitting on Lilly Pulitzer's kitchen floor. Lily takes a shine to Margo, and Margo, in need of a mother figure, is open to the friendship and the extravagant perks of being in Lily's social set. But of course every silver lining has a cloud. Will Margo actually find a career in her own means of support - or will she become absorbed by the glamorous life? Michelle Gable populates the novel with real life wealthy socialites and creates a seductive world of fun, beauty, and excess. As Margo sees more and more of the world she learns more and more about herself and who she could be.

THE BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE will be perfect for next summer's reading lists. The frothy storyline begs to be read by a pool with a cocktail in hand.

At first, our main character, Margot, is annoyingly naive. But this is on purpose. And she's young so we forgive her.

As she begins working for Slim Aarons and gets swept into the world of the wealthy, the tension ratchets up.

Gable has clearly done a lot of research, and I especially enjoyed the sensory details and the historically accurate jargon that puts us in the correct historical frame of mind.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance e-galley; all opinions expressed herein are my own.

“The Beautiful People” by Michelle Gable is an entertaining story about the glittering and scandalous Palm Beach socialites of the 1960s. The story is about a young woman trying to both fit in as well as find herself while working as the assistant for the famous photographer Slim Aarons. The novel revolves around the true lives of Lilly & Peter Pulitzer and the creation of the clothing empire she built. We get to meet many of their famous friends like the Kennedy’s, Vanderbilt’s and Roseau’s and hear about the difficulties in their lives. This is a well researched interesting read that had me googling old photos of all the people in the story. I was hooked from the very first page!

Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Enjoyed this! I can't wait for others to read this. Thanks netgalley & the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Michelle Gable does a great job in writing books like this, it had a great overall concept in this historical elements. I enjoyed that the main character is a failed debutante and getting into the Palm Beach scene. The rest of the cast worked overall and had a great feel overall.

Fun, light, and feel-good. A great vacation or summer read.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61348013

I absolutely enjoyed this book. The main character, Margot was believable in how she starts so naive and evolves during the two years she spent working for photographer Slim Aarons (real person). She is one of the few fictional characters in this well researched book on Palm Beach circa early 60's. I spent a lot of time looking up the actual pictures mentioned in the book to see what these people looked like in real life. Well told story!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the Kindle ARC. The Beautiful People was the first book I've read by Michelle Gable. I initially expected a frothy, salacious novel but as I got further into the story, it got heavier and more substantial. Margo "GoGo" Hightower is a fictional assistant to the real photographer Slim Aarons, whose photgraphy was initially panned by large publications but with time became respected. Margo is young and not sure what to do with her life and finds herself in Palm Beach, Florida during the early 1960's. Palm Beach was known for its wealthy residents -a life that Margo and most of society have never seen. Real life people, such as Peter and Lilly Pulitzer, Wendy Vanderbilt and The Rosseaus are woven into the story of money, high society and the glitz of that time period. After several missteps with the wealthy folks of Palm Beach, Margo finds her path in life. The book was hard to put down once I got into it and while its considered historical fiction, a lot of the story was based on true events in the lives of the characters. Anyone, like myself, who is fascinated by looking at and reading about lives they will never live will enjoy this book. Coincidentally, about 2 years ago, I saw a review of Slim Aarons' photography book "Style" and I received the book as a gift. It was so interesting to match up the people in The Beautiful People with some of Aarons' work.

The Beautiful People by Michelle Gable is one of those books that just screams: read me while sipping an icy cocktail by the pool- bonus points if the pool happens to be at a yacht/country club! But no matter where you are or what your drinking, this novel is absolutely delicious!! Highly recommend!!!

I really enjoyed this book! It was out of my usual comfort zone but I’m glad I gave it a try because I enjoyed it!

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book. The story focuses on Margo Hightower a young debutante in the early 1960’s who is dumped by her boyfriend, it focuses on her getting a job for a famous photographer as an assistant and her adventures and travels with the rich and famous especially in Palm Beach, Florida.. I initially thought that this book would be a fluffy, light story, I was pleasantly surprised by the depth of this book, Margo’s dealings with Slim and also a peek into the lives of the famous, especially Peter and Lily Pulitzer. I thought that there was character development Margo’s interactions with these people, never truly acknowledged, the back stabbing and cattiness among the “Society Matrons “. I enjoyed reading about Margo’s adventures and that she subsequently ends up with a new life as an independent, responsible young woman with a career

The book took a while to draw me in but once it did I could not stop reading it. The author's ability to provide background information and the development of the storyline provides the reader with information about life in Palm Beach during the 1960s. The socialites, personalities and connections made between the various characters is enjoyable to read and truly give the reader a glimse into life during the time period.

Michelle Gable's ability to connect real life people to a fictional storyline should be applauded. Whether it is the Kennedys, Pulitzers or Vanderbilts, the author's focus on people that are well-known help make a connection with the reader. The characters are well developed and I appreciated the suggestions/follow-up about the characters are the end of the book.

The 1960s Jet Set bursts into life in this colorful novel that shifts from Acapulco to New York to Palm Beach, with famed high society photog Slim Aarons, Jackie Kennedy, a bevy of Vanderbilts, Capote’s “swans,” and beloved designer Lilly Pulitzer. Captivating!

Michelle Gable writes wonderful historical fiction.I was drawn into The Beautiful People a book that weaves fictional characters with actual people who were in the headlines at the time.A book that drew me right in and kept me turning the pages.#netgalley #harlequin

This book grew on me the longer I read, indeed, that epilogue and character follow ups were the highlights for me. Upon reflection, the early chapters and middle portions of the book did an excellent job of setting the stage and painting an accurate picture of the "inaccurate" way this group of wealthy people wished to be portrayed. I was annoyed by the superficiality of the lifestyle and only when the book concluded did I realize what a masterful job Gable did in sucking me into Palm Beach's skewed version of reality. As suggested, I looked up Aarons' work and the images available at Getty Images Gallery.

I enjoyed this fictional take on real people and true events. Many famous people were mentioned but in an authentic way that didn't overshadow the story itself. It's not everyday that Jackie Kennedy is a side character!

Finally, I liked the way Gable handled the Margo/Slim relationship, especially when it was revealed that he did have her true interests at heart - the LIFE magazine credits, his ham-fisted attempts to save her from herself, etc. etc.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing, Graydon House for the opportunity to read The Beautiful People by Michelle Gable. I am a huge fan of Ms. Gable's work and am never disappointed in how seamlessly she weaves her historical fiction so that her readers are hungry for more when the book ends. Flawlessly done!