The story was interesting. I thought it was going to be a little bit more fact-based than it turned out to be. I really liked how the book dealt with the idea that people interpret the actions of others through the lenses of their own preconceptions and experiences.

Because of the title, I thought the focus of the story would be Helen. However, it seemed as if the story centered around Albert more than it did around her. Which wasn't too bad, since I really didn't care for Helen very much. She seemed to be far more focused on her own needs than those of the people she professed to care about.

I think the story could have been quite a bit shorter. There were a few years in the middle that seemed to take quite a while. Also, I didn't really care for the descriptive sex scenes. Still, I did care enough about the story to want to know how things ended up. The ending was fairly satisfying, if a tiny bit too convenient. Overall, an interesting story.

I love Historical fiction and was not disappointed with this one.
The story is inspired by the story of Jacob Ruppert,
the millionaire owner of the New York Yankees
and his mysterious bequest in 1939 to an unknown actress,

Very well written,rich story about loyalty,friendship
sexual identity,secrets,love,loss and life. Although at times
the story did run a little slow, it was still fun to
dive into a story during "Roaring Twenties" and the Jazz age.

Very full interesting characters intriguing and vibrant.
Runs a little over 400 pages but a great and well worth your time!

I enjoyed Van Alkemade’s first book, Orphan #8, so I was eager to read this one. I wasn’t disappointed. Set in New York in the early 20th century, this novel was nicely evocative of time and place. The characters were all beautifully drawn, likable but full of the type of realistic human flaws (deviousness, vanity, selfishness), that plague us all. As with her first book, Van Alkemade put a lot of focus on the oppression suffered in those days by women, people of color and, especially, LGBT people. Beautifully written, too. Excellent book, highly recommended.

This review was based on an ARC ebook received in return for an honest and unbiased review.

This book was much longer than it needed to be in my opinion since some parts seemed to drag on.
Most of the time, however, I enjoyed the plot line and thought the character development was great.

I loved this story -- compelling from start to finish. I didn't want to put it down and wondered and worried about the characters. What an interesting historical mystery! The author did a great job of imagining this unknown tale.

4 absorbing stars to Bachelor Girl! ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Kim van Alkemade is back with another heartfelt, thought-provoking novel inspired by a millionaire, known as the Colonel, who owned the Yankees, hired Babe Ruth, and left a “friend” an heir* to his fortune. The story begins with the will reading, told in alternating chapters and Helen, the heir, and Albert, the Colonel’s personal secretary, take the reader back in time twenty years, illustrating how their friendship was formed and how they were tied to the deceased.

New York City from 1918 to the late 1930s is the exuberant setting, and realistic themes of the time are portrayed, including homosexuality, racial discrimination, class, abortion, prohibition, and the inequality of women. My favorite aspect of the book was the budding friendship dynamics between Helen and Albert.

This is a slower read, one in which to relax and get cozy. A delightful study of companionship, featuring lovable characters, amid the vivid backdrop of NYC.

Thank you to Kim van Alkemade, Touchstone, and Netgalley, for the complimentary copy. Bachelor Girl is now available.

Thank you, Netgalley, for this arc! In Bachelor Girl van Alkemade pulls back the curtain of the early 20th century and shows a sad part of history when particular members of society weren't free to live out in the open with whoever they loved. She mingles fact and fiction into a heartbreaking and beautiful story. I found Bachelor Girl to be just as compelling as the author's previous novel, Orphan #8. I recommend both - they were wonderful!

Interesting. This historical novel is more about Albert, a homosexual man, than it is about Helen, the bachelor girl of the title, although the two are inextricably linked. Set between 1916 and 1939, it tracks the lives of those two, as well as of Jacob Ruppert, owner of the NY Yankees. It's well written and offers considerable insight into gay life in the time frame, although less so into how women were treated. Helen has an illegal abortion, leaving her unable to have children, and she remakes herself from actress into producer at Ruppert's urging. She has an intriguing relationship with Clarence, an African American man with whom she grew up- and there's an underlying thread of how African Americans were treated in NY during the time frame as well as how some "passed." Some of the language and attitudes seem so dated and offensive until you remember that these words and attitudes are coming out of the mouths of people in the 1930s. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Recommend this to fans who like niche historical fiction.

Another great book cover, wouldn’t you agree?

I started reading Bachelor Girl on my trip home from vacation. After reading a little over 2 hours during my flight home I noticed I only got 13% of the way through. 1) Either I am a very slow reader, or 2) this is a long one. I am going to go with #2: the paperback is 416 pages.

I enjoyed this read and didn’t mind the length, its just not one of those you can plow through in two days. If you could, well then I change my initial answer to #1 – I am a slow reader.

Three characters with three damning secrets: one cannot live one’s true life out in the open, one’s grave mistake changes the path of their life forever, and the other well we don’t know for certain what theirs is until the end of course…boom!

These three characters – Albert, Helen, and Jake – share an unusual bond an rely heavily on each other’s companionship. Oh, and one of them is a millionaire and the other two work for him. Throughout the course of this book you will ask: “why these two individuals?” And that is what will keep you reading until the end.

I came to a conclusion on the third person’s secret (about 70% of the way through) and was super excited that I was right! I second guessed myself a few times, but stuck to my guns and was thrilled when I found out the truth. (What, you do not get this excited about solving a book’s mystery?! I can’t be the only one!)

The story is told through Helen and Albert’s perspectives and the chapters alternate between the two. Upon the start of each chapter it’s not always initially obvious which perspective it is – as the chapters are not marked ‘Helen’ or ‘Albert’ – but when you find your reading groove you can figure it out pretty quick.

This is a fun story for historical fiction fans. Time period covered is 1918 – 1939 in New York City.

Fun fact: it is inspired by a real life story of a millionaire – owner of the NY Yankees – who left a substantial inheritance to an unknown ex-actress. If you like baseball, there are a lot of historical baseball references in this book too!

3.75 stars; Bachelor Girl is a compelling piece of historical fiction inspired by the January 21, 1939 New York Times article that an unknown former actress had received quite a large inheritance from the owner of the New York Yankees, Colonel Jacob Ruppert.

The novel is told from two points of view: Ruppert's secretary Arthur Kramer and Ruppert's friend Helen Winthrope, spanning 21 years (with some jumps along the way) and the friendship the threesome developed over the years. From the signing of Babe Ruth to the building of Yankee Stadium, this tale weaves in known historical record into a story that is largely character driven.

Issues of race, sexuality, female ambition are intertwined are the undercurrent of the novel. At times I did struggle with remaining engaged with the book, hence the 4 star rating, but the book overall was an interesting read, and I appreciated the different viewpoints that the book provides so that I could get a glimpse into the Jazz Age.

Wow, great book!! This was one of the most well written books I have read for a long time. The chapters are narrated and switch between the two main characters, Albert and Helen. Their relationship with Jacob Ruppert in a professional and personal aspect is so well told. This is a historical fiction book, and it is stated at the end that Albert and Helen are based on fictional characters, but the information on Jacob was based upon true and verified research of his accomplishments. I won’t go into the description of the book, it is described very well.
The writing style by the author reminds me of other great authors, like Pat Conroy, Daniel James Brown, David Guterson or John Irving. They build a story, paint a picture, and make you feel like you are right there with the characters. It seems as if the story is surrounding them all and you are just watching their lives unfold. This writing style eliminates the “he said, she said” and I love that. I could truly envision Eagle Rest, could see Jacob in his immaculate attire, felt the pain for Helen, felt like I was there at the World Series with Babe Ruth and I was a passenger on the celebration train. The ending was a complete surprise.
Now for the downside: Albert is a “pansy”, the storyline dwells on this aspect so much, I think we could have left out a lot of Albert’s personal life and still had a really great book. There are some descriptive sexual encounter scenes that I struggled with, but reviewing the book as a whole, I had to get over those because there is so much more that it has to offer. This book has joined my other greats in my top ten list, it took me a few days to think about how I was going to write this review because I loved this book so much and the love between Jacob, Helen and Albert was so real. So I had to get over it, and review it for what it is, an absolutely wonderful story. I will be reading more by this author.
I thank Net Galley and Touchstone Publishing for allowing me the opportunity to read this book for free for my review.

I’m a sucker for a good historical fiction novel. I love learning about history with lots of juicy details to keep it interesting. This novel packs a whole lot of punch into a small package. The story is well rounded, set in New York City beginning in 1918. There is a lot of American history happening here. The novel brings us into the orbit of Colonel Jack Ruppert where the rest of the galaxy revolves.......NY theater life, some history of the Yankees and Yankee Stadium along with Babe Ruth, homosexual lifestyles of the time, mental illness, general prejudices against race, and sexual equality of the early 1900's.

I must admit, I had no idea who Col. Jake Ruppert was prior to reading this novel. A most influential, wealthy, powerful and interesting man. The book is told in alternating chapters by Helen and "her guy" Albert the two main characters, both who end up in the Colonel's employ. There are many other characters to enjoy; Helen's mother, Felix, King Arthur, Clarence, Bernice Johnson and Mr. Nakamura. These fictional characters fill the story with bright color and massage our imaginations. They were oh so entertaining! I was so caught up in all their daily lives, I didn't want their stories to end.

Loved, Loved, Loved this book! Thank you for this wonderful journey into the past Ms. van Alkemade. Many thanks also to Net Galley and Simon and Schuster for granting me the pleasure of an ARC of this novel.

Unfortunately this books does a disservice by the misleading blurb. I was interested in this book because it claimed to be based on the real bequest to a young woman named Helen by the owner of the Yankees. In actuality this book is really focused on Albert who works for the owner, George Ruppert. The book alternates chapters between the POV of Helen and Albert but Albert is by far the focus. There is no secret about Albert. Right away we find out that he is gay and obviously that’s an issue in the 1920s. Albert is not comfortable with being gay and gay relationships are described in a way that could be an issue for most readers. The word Pansy is used over and over to describe him and the idea that only the very feminine stereotype of a gay man exists. That man is treated as the giver only of sexual satisfaction and not the receiver of it. While the novel should revolve around Helen as the woman who will receive the fortune we really only see her as a side note to Albert and George. Her character is quite a sad one until the end. The novel starts with a glimpse of the reading of the will and then backtracks to the beginning with the characters starting out with George. I really wish it had continued from the point of the will. It was big news when this unknown woman received this inheritance and could have been a great story about what she did with it. There are very few references to baseball and a few cameos from the legends of the time. The few scenes with Babe Ruth and his mistress were scene stealers and showed just how much better the book could have been if it had stuck with the central tenet of the inheritance. I was disappointed to find out at the end of this book that the only part that was based on reality was the bequest itself. All of the other characters were completely fictional, even the characters who were based on real people. This is a very disappointing work of historical fiction.

This book was a work of art. I enjoyed the way the book took you back to learn about what happened in the first chapter. I love the way the author talked about each character. As it is in the real world each character has secrets and the author did a great job of developing the characters and only giving little details about the secrets. I am not a baseball fan but loved the references to Babe Ruth and the creation of the stadium. I guess the hardest part of the book was the segregation of the blacks and of the "pansies" . This was the time that the book was written in and I am glad that the majority of this segregation no longer exists. Thank you for the opportunity to read this book, really enjoyed it.

Author Kim van Alkemade has used an unsolved mystery concerning Colonel Jacob Ruppert, millionaire owner of the New York Yankees who passed in 1939, and Helen Winthrope Weyant, a little known showgirl from Broadway, to weave an electrifying account of why he would leave her the $300,000 and a third of his estate. Although fiction, it is well written and believable. The story revolves around Jacob, Helen and Albert Kramer, the personal secretary to Jacob. Their lives are fleshed out and you are drawn into the drama.

Each chapter is told in the first person by either Helen or Albert. This method allows the author to fill in the background of each character and build a story that grips the reader and compels them to keep reading. It begins in 1918 when they meet and continues as their lives are entwined with Ruppert’s. Both Helen and Albert assume they know the answer to why Jacob acts as he does and doesn’t question the results until Helen is made an heiress.

I enjoyed this story and couldn’t put it down. The plot is well thought out and has surprising twists and turns. You think you know the ending but it isn’t as it seems. Because of the adult nature of the story line, I recommend this for mature audiences. If you love historical fiction, sprinkled with fact and fiction, this book is for you.

This book grips you from the beginning. I really enjoyed it, will be reviewing it on my blog

The author packed a lot of thought into this novel. A look at alternative lifestyles in their historical context. Well done characters help the readers get the feel of heartache and strife when laws and the government decide on what was moral and right and the consequences of being yourself.

This is a fabulous historical fiction novel that touches on issues that are still prevalent today.

Colonel Jack Ruppert dies and leaves Helen Winthrope his estate, a large sum of money and 50% of the New York Yankees. Why Helen? Why this one employee?

The characters are all well developed and likeable. Topics such as homosexuality, racial inequality, women's rights and abortion are all touched upon, bringing this book to life and into reality.

Thanks to NetGalley and the author for the opportunity to read and review this book.

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This is really 4.5 stars but darn it no halfs.
The book's chapters alternate between the two main characters. Granted Helen Winthrop Weyant is the title character. Both she and Albert Kramer (the other main character) were fascinating to me. They were well developed. The reader sees their flaws, their strengths, their struggles, and also sees how they view the other through the alternating chapters. Their lives are greatly intertwined with Colonel Jacob Ruppert, the owner of the New York Yankees.
I really wish more was known on Helen Winthrop Weyant as this book left me wanting to know more about the woman who inherited part of the New York Yankees at a time women were really meant to be wives and not much more. I am not spoiling anything as the description says as much. The book is mostly focused on the build-up to that as passed Colonel Jacob Ruppert in 1939 and the book is from 1918-1939.
This book touches on eugenics, race relations, class relations, prohibition, women's issues, and more topics without being overbearing or losing sight of the plot. I love Kim van Alkemade's 'Orphan #8" and am so glad I read this as well.