⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 / 5 (4.5/5)

Park Avenue Summer by Renee Rosen is described as Mad Men meets The Devil Wears Prada, and I have to say I wholeheartedly agree. As a lover of both of them, I could definitely see them both in this book.

What it's about: It is New York in 1965 and Alice Weiss has just moved there from Youngstown, Ohio looking for a job. Thanks to a friend of Alice's deceased mother, Alice gets an interview to be the assistant for Helen Gurley Brown who has just become the new editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan magazine. With people quitting right and left, Helen ends up hiring Alice pretty much on the spot. But growing up in the Midwest has not prepared Alice for the whirlwind she ends up in at Cosmo. Between the pressure of the magazine and trying to find her way in New York with both life and love, Alice has her work cut out for her.

I can't quite put into words how much I was moved by Park Avenue Summer, and I honestly don't think I even have the vocabulary to properly express just how good it was for me. I loved Alice's character even though she is fictional, and being able to see Helen and Cosmo at that time through her eyes. Alice is dealing with her own pain as well as trying to keep up with Helen, plus trying to make friends, pursuing her passion of photography, and vetting love interests. She is one very busy single girl, and I loved reading her story.

I knew very little about Cosmopolitan magazine's history, and wasn't even aware of Helen Gurley Brown being their first ever female editor-in-chief. I used to read Cosmo all the time and it was so interesting seeing how Helen made it what it is today. I loved Helen's story almost as much as I loved Alice's, and Park Avenue Summer made me want to read more about her as well as read her book Sex and the Single Girl: The Unmarried Woman's Guide to Men, Careers, the Apartment, Diet, Fashion, Money and Men because it was so controversial.

The chapters weren't too terribly long, and even though it took me about 5 hours and 15 minutes to read, it felt like I was flying through the book. I laughed out loud so many times, but also cried a decent amount, especially towards the end of the book. Park Avenue Summer is another one of those novels that I recommend having tissues close by for when you read it!

Final Thought: I really loved Rosen's writing style, and this made my reading experience thoroughly enjoyable. I think that if you are at all interested in Helen Gurley Brown or the history of Cosmo magazine, Park Avenue Summer will be a must read for you. I loved how much it felt like Mad Men, and reading about New York in 1965 was an interesting experience that I loved. I am most definitely looking forward to reading more from Rosen!

I received an Advance Review Copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

I loved, loved, loved this book. I grew up reading Cosmo, probably started reading it much younger than was really appropriate, but I couldn’t get enough of that magazine. Every page gave me something new to read and love. I was not aware of Helen Gurley Brown’s scandalous career at Cosmos; to be honest, I knew nothing about her. Park Avenue Summer introduced me to an extremely influential woman that I don’t think gets enough credit for changing the landscape for women in the 1960s.

Thinking about Cosmo now, it is laughable to imagine men at the wheel of a women’s magazine. Men know nothing (NOTHING!!!) about what women like, want to read about, and seek from the world. They’re clueless, and I love that HGB knew this all those years ago.

Park Avenue Summer seems very well researched and after reading the author’s note about creative license, I was even more captivated by the story, wondering if the parts that were made up could have actually happened. I love that Renee took a true story and wove in many intricate, yet embellished, ideas to push the narrative forward, yet not blow it off course completely. The whole book felt real. I feel like I know Helen, and I want to know Alice.

Books like this make me realize that, try as I might, I’ll never make it as a writer. Im in awe of this masterpiece, and am very fortunate to have received an advance copy. All thoughts are my own.

Alice arrives in New York eager to start a career in photography. But first, she needs a job. And she lands one working for controversial author of <i>Sex and the Single Girl</i>, Helen Gurley Brown, in her new role as editor of Cosmopolitan magazine. Together, they fight the conservative higher-ups who will do anything to bring down Gurley Brown's vision.

I really enjoyed this! I've been interested in Helen Gurley Brown's peculiar role in second wave feminism and the sex positivity movement for a while. This story was set up really well with Alice as a foil for Gurley Brown's steel magnolia persona. She's the single-woman-about-town that Gurley Brown wanted to reach, so they have a great dynamic. I was engaged throughout and really enjoyed the character development that played out. Definitely a fun read!

New York City in the summer of 1965 comes alive in this captivating novel by Renee Rosen. Alice Weiss leaves her Ohio town to seek her fortune as a photographer in New York City. Although Alice lost her mother when she was young, she remembers all of the wonderful things her mother shared with her about living there and Alice knew that one day she would live there, too.

Thanks to a referral from her mother's friend, Elaine, she gets an interview with Cosmopolitan Magazine and meets the legendary Helen Gurley Brown who has just taken over the magazine as editor. Alice manages to get hired as a secretary and soon becomes Helen's personal assistant. Things aren't going well for Cosmopolitan magazine. Circulation is way down and Ms. Brown wants to make the magazine sexier and edgier for a new generation of women. Employees begin to quit because they don't want to work for the woman who wrote the scandalous Sex and the Single Girl bestseller. With budget constraints, people trying to sabotage Ms Brown behind her back and the publishing company resisting everything Helen tries to do, it looks like Cosmopolitan might close and Alice will soon be out of a job. But Alice is resourceful and loyal to Helen and decides to do everything she can to help Helen succeed as the first female editor of Cosmopolitan.

Reading Park Avenue Summer I was transported to 1965 with Alice as she pursued her dream, learned to navigate New York City and view it through a photographer's lens, made friends, found loss and love, ate in legendary restaurants like the Russian Tea Room, the 21 Club and the Plaza Hotel. In 1965, can a woman demand to have it all as Helen Gurley Brown proclaimed? Read Park Avenue Summer and see what you think.

Included at the end of the book is a Readers Guide, an interview with the author and Discussion Questions.

Thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for providing me with an advanced copy of Park Avenue Summer. It will be available in bookstores on April 30th.

I first became aware of “Cosmopolitan” magazine when its intrepid editor-in-chief, Helen Gurley Brown, visited “The Tonight Show” with Johnny Carson in the late 1970s. It was on those shows that I learned of her radically feministic book “Sex and the Single Girl,” which was published in 1962.

This story takes place three years later, in 1965 Manhattan. The publishing world is still the old boys’ network and women were supposed to be at home. Alice Weiss (a fictional character) has left her Ohio home for New York, with dreams of becoming a photographer. Thanks to an old friend, she gets an exciting job as the secretary to HGB, a woman who knows what she wants but doesn’t know a thing about publishing a magazine.

The Hearst Corporation wants to shutter Cosmo, but HGB wants to bring it into the twentieth century and revitalize its contents and looks. She wants to aim it at young women who want something more before they settle down to a home and a family. It’s HGB’s job to turn the magazine around but not offend old conservatives. Easier said than down when the old boys’ network is sabotaging her every move and decision.

Readers get to see the birth of Cosmo and how HGB raised it from the ashes. Daily life is hectic in the magazine world, and readers get a chance to see what life was really like back in those days: the cigarettes that everyone chain-smoked, the lunchtime drinks, the deals.

Author Rosen was fortunate to meet and talk with Lois Cahall, the woman who probably knew HGB better than anyone else. I’m sure that’s why the story feels so intimate. With Alice as its narrator, modern readers get a glimpse into a storied past. Along the way, Alice finds a way to have everything HGB says she can have, and more.

“Park Avenue Summer” receives 6 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.

This book is a delight from beginning to end! Park Avenue Summer transports readers to Manhattan in 1965, a time when so many things were changing, especially for women. When Alice Weiss arrives in Manhattan from Ohio, she is naive and insecure, but determined to find a career as a photographer. Instead, she becomes secretary to Helen Gurley Brown, the new editor of Cosmopolitan Magazine who wants to transform Cosmo into a fresher, sexier version. The behind the scenes workings of the magazine and the publisher’s opposition to the changes Helen wants are entertaining and lively! Alice is the heart of the story, though, and it was heartwarming and charming to watch her transition from small town girl to a young woman who is confident, and who embraces the new opportunities that the time and New York City provide her. The author did such a wonderful job of placing me right into that time and place, with fashion, music, pop culture, and the living-breathing feeling of being a modern young woman in 1965.

BOOK REVIEW: PARK AVENUE SUMMER BY RENEE ROSEN
Going into the story, I think Helen Gurley Brown, the famous editor of Cosmopolitan magazine, is the big star of the novel. Honestly, I assumed (incorrectly) Allison is just a way to share Brown’s story. I’m so wrong & I’m so happy about it! Take it easy, don’t’ count on me to say that too often!

HOT CHILD IN THE CITY
I love Allison. She displays such vigor moving to the big city & striking out on her own. As we travel throughout the summer of 1965 with her, we see her grow. Truly, her growth is genuine, believable & inspiring.

Throughout Park Avenue Summer, Allison is able to discover more about herself, better understand her feelings about love & family. Ultimately, she figures out what is meaningful to her. In many ways, Helen helps guide Allison from a distance. Through working for Helen Gurley Brown, Allison has further confidence to strike out, dow hat makes her happy & make no apologies for it. As Helen might say, We can have it all, but we have to go out there and get it.

HELEN GURLEY BROWN
Helen is something else. On one hand, she’s a feminist icon. Taking on the task of reinventing, Cosmopolitan, she fights for what she wants. Bravely, she’s talking sex, birth control & empowering women. Too bad these old men who control the publishing world do not want to jump on board.

Within Park Avenue Summer, there’s a really great juxtaposition between Betty Friedan and Helen Gurley Brown. I love that scene. In different ways, I feel they are both feminist icons. That’s the thing about Helen. On one thing, she is encouraging women to explore their sexuality, to live & enjoy life. On the other hand, she is printing articles focused on pleasing a getting a man. It seems Helen is stuck in the mindset of the ’40s & ’50s but open to exploring what else is out there for women. Her ideas are really interesting & perfect for book club discussions.

THE VERDICT
I am Really Into This book! Park Avenue Summer is a fantastic historical fiction read. You know what, I needed a historical fiction book that wasn’t too heavy! Rosen’s writing will stay with me. The story is emotional, memorable & touching. Renee Rosen transports you directly to New York City during the summer if 1965.

Read Park Avenue Summer if you’re looking for a lovely story about female empowerment & you want to escape for a bit to 1965 NYC. If you’re like me, you’ll enjoy the celebrity name drops like Hugh Hefner, Nora Ephron & more.

Special thanks to Renee Rosen, Berkley & NetGalley for providing my copy in exchange for an honest & fair review.

The year is 1965 and Alice has moved to New York City from Ohio. She has no job and very little money but her mother always encouraged her to go to NYC and after her mother's death, she was determined to go. She had a camera and a portfolio of pictures and wanted to be a successful photographer but soon finds out that there are lots of very talented photographers in the city. Through a friend of her mother's she ends up getting a job as a private secretary to Helen Gurley Brown. Helen has become very well known due to her novel Sex and the Single Girl and has been hired to edit Cosmopolitan magazine. Cosmo first published in 1886 and was full of recipes and articles about how to clean house and be a good wife. When Helen took over the failing magazine, her goal was that it should represent what was going on with women during this time - her girls as she referred to them. Her girls were single girls who wanted a better life for themselves and had questions and doubts about their bodies, sex, men and their careers.

With Alice as the readers window into the front office at Cosmo, we learn about the fights that Helen had with Hearst management over her proposed changes and the underhanded things that were done to try to keep her from reaching her goals at Cosmo. As Helen fights the Hearst leadership for her girls, Alice also begins to change from a girl in small town Ohio to a strong woman in NYC.

The author of Park Avenue Summer did some great research for this book. She had everyone wearing the clothes that were popular during this time and eating at the famous restaurants. Since I've never been a smoker, it was interesting to be reminded of how everyone smoked - and I mean everyone -- they smoked at work, at restaurants and while they were out shopping.

This was a terrific look back at an icon of the 60s who helped women realize that they weren't alone in their quests to have careers and a life of their own.

Thanks to the publisher for a copy of this book to read and review. All opinions are my own.

“Park Avenue Summer” was an amazing story of the (fictionalized) personal assistant of Helen Gurley Brown. Helen Gurley Brown shook up the world when she wrote the scandalous “Sex and the Single Girl” and became the editior of Cosmopolitan magazine and transformed it into the edgy, modern magazine we know today. This book begins with Alice Weiss, a fictional character, taking a job as Helen Gurley Brown’s secretary at Cosmopolitan shortly after Brown takes the helm. Alice is in awe of Brown and becomes an integral part of Cosmopolitan and transforms herself into a modern New York City girl. The author has said she was inspired by the show “Mad Men” and it shows. The narrator carefully details Brown’s clothing, jewelry and opulent gin-soaked meals at the Russian Tea Room, 21, Le Grenouille and others in it’s heyday. Alice goes through a transformation, discovering secrets about her family, and making decisions about love, sex, and career. This was an enjoyable read that will have many searching for copies of “Sex and the Single Girl”. I would recommend to readers who enjoy the 1960s culture, historical fiction, women’s liberation, women’s fiction, and stories set in New York City.


Special thanks to NetGalley for my complimentary copy in return for my honest review.

Park Avenue Summer is a fascinating glimpse into the early days of Cosmopolitan magazine(as we know it!) and it’s first female editor, Helen Gurley Brown. Rene Rosen’s research is always evident in her books but her work shines through in this novel! I lost sleep over this book simply because I couldn’t put it down and read into the early hours. Grab a copy of this book, a martini and settle in for an amazing read! I received an advance copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

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This book was described as Man Men meets Devil Wears Prada, so how could I resist that?! I really hadn’t read anything else to know that this is a fictional account of the time when Helen Gurley Brown took over as Editor-In-Chief of Cosmopolitan Magazine. This was a delightful book that kept me reading well into the night.

The book is told through the point of view of Alice. Alice’s mother had once been a model living in New York City, and she had wanted to move her family there from their small hometown. Her mother died, though, when Alice was thirteen, and the family never moved. Now in her early twenties, Alice’s father has remarried, so Alice, an aspiring photographer, decides to follow her mother’path and moves to New York City to start her career. She contacts her mother’s best friend, Elaine Sloane, an editor in the publishing industry. Although Elaine doesn’t know of any photography jobs, she does connect her to a friend who can help Alice learn the photography business. The only job Elaine knows of is a secretarial job, so Alice pursues that and is soon the secretary to Helen Gurley Brown who has just been named the new Editor-In-Chief to revive the failing Cosmopolitan Magazine.

Helen has some unique ideas for the magazine, pushing the boundaries of what everyone considers decent, and often scandalizing the higher-ups at the parent company, Hearst Corporation. She is in constant battle with her parent company executives and other employees trying to undermine her. At times, it appears that Alice is her only ally.

I loved seeing how Helen battled back to get around the various obstacles thrown her way. I will say I would like to know if all of the characteristics HGB displayed in the book were accurate portrayals. I did find some documentation substantiating her hose frequently being snagged was true to character. Alice’s story was an interesting one as well. I liked that she was a loyal person with high ethics, and I enjoyed her romantic adventures and personal growth. Her storyline had some intrigue with some family secrets revealed. The author does an excellent job of capturing the time period and setting. I definitely recommend this one. Be on the lookout for it in April.

I know it was cheesy but I am huge fan of The Devil Wears Prada and when I saw that this book seemed similar, I wanted to give it chance. I adored Alice and her her new boss Helen. Helen wasn’t afraid to break down in front of Alice and was willing to give her a chance even though she didn’t have any experience in the magazine business.

This was a story of female empowerment and the ways in which a woman had to fight through a male dominated business to make her mark. This is based on actually events but created with the liberty of a fictional novel. It was not dull or dry, it was creative and well written.

I thoroughly enjoyed this story and highly recommend it.

I adored this beautiful book!! Was my first book by this author and I will read more by her... was hooked on these characters right from the start...

4.5 stars for my first Reneé Rosen book - which also has me asking myself “why did I wait so long to check out this wonderful writer?”

Set in 1965 at Cosmopolitan magazine under editor Helen Gurley Brown, we meet young Alice, Helen’s assistant. Brown is determined to turn Cosmo into more of a guide for women to find their sexual side and along the way, Alice learns more about herself in this way and others. Exploring Alice’s family life as well as her life in New York City, Rosen creates a vivid picture of what the landscape was like for women in the dating world at this time and also the business world - seeing how Brown faces so many obstacles with the male executives at Hearst Corporation, when she’s helming the magazine. Park Avenue Summer is a compulsively readable novel - once I cracked the cover, there was no putting this one down!

I received an advance copy. All opinions are my own.

Alice, a budding photographer, travels from her small town to New York. Through her connections, she lands a job as a secretary for Helen Gurley Brown, the new Cosmo editor. Helen's ideas to sex-up the magazine are fought at every turn. Editors and writers resign, and the magazine's budget is slashed. Yet, Alice stands by her side, determined to help Helen make a success of the magazine.

This was a well written and enjoyable book. I liked how the author blended historical figures with fictional characters. Alice felt like a real person, she was multi-dimensional, and full of hopes and dreams. Overall, highly recommended.

For fans of THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA, Renée Rosen takes us into the office of Cosmopolitan Magazine’s Editor-in-Chief Helen Gurley Brown in 1960s New York City. As a young woman in my 20s I devoured Cosmopolitan, eager to read its advice about beauty and fashion. PARK AVENUE SUMMER gave me a look inside the workings of the magazine. It also revealed some surprising aspects of Helen Gurley Brown’s life that I was totally unaware of.

Alice Weiss is eager to escape Youngstown, Ohio and follow in her mother’s footsteps of an exciting life in New York City. As a budding photographer she dreams of breaking into the high competitive field. She contacts her mother’s lifelong friend Elaine Sloan who sets her up with an interview with Helen Gurley Brown. With no magazine experience, Brown has just been given the job of Editor-in-Chief of the struggling Cosmopolitan Magazine. Alice is shocked when she is hired as Helen’s secretary.

Rosen gives the reader a delightful mix of characters – some I rooted for and others I hissed at. From the beginning it is obvious that the big dogs at Hearst Publications want the magazine to fail. Helen has a vision of the future of her magazine but the guys from Hearst block her every move. The writing was so vivid that I could easily visualize little bitty Helen standing up to the Hearst guys. All along I am rooting “You go, girl”. Sniping, back-biting, duplicity, sabotage…it is all there. Small-town Alice grapples through it all to find who and what she wants to be.

It is soon apparent that Weiss is just a tool used to showcase Brown. The chapters with the two protagonists are captivating. In my opinion, the story lost its sparkle in the chapters about Alice’s life. Fortunately, the majority of the book focuses on Brown and Weiss. I loved the focus on the strong female friendships – Alice’s mother and Elaine, Elaine and Alice, Alice and Helen. So refreshing amongst the competitiveness of the industry.

I received an Advance Review Copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Park Avenue Summer is a scintillating work of historical fiction that looks back at New York City in 1965 and Helen Gurley Brown’s revolutionary take-over of Cosmopolitan magazine. This lively and fascinating story is told through fictional Alice Weiss, a young, Midwestern woman, who has come to New York City to make her mark as a photographer. Unable to land a job in her chosen field she accepts a position as Helen Gurley Brown’s secretary, seeing first- hand the struggles and hard fought battles of HGB to change Cosmo from the staid, married women’s magazine to a magazine for her “girls”, the young women on the cusp of the sexual revolution! While HGB fights for her visions, Alice is carving out a life for herself in this new society. She wants dreams of a career instead of marriage, and wants to have a relationship with no strings attached instead of husband hunting.

New York City and the exciting times of the 1960's come alive in the hands of Renee Rosen. This is a perfect blend of fact and fiction. Whether you remember the feeling of unlimited possibilities of this era (the idea that a women can succeed in a man’s world), or you have simply heard the war stories from the writings of the early feminist and your mothers, this book will transport you back to the New York of a different era! I highly recommend this to fans of historical fiction, those interested in the life of Helen Gurley Brown and lovers of everything New York!

Thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for the e-ARC.

The whole time I was reading this book it took me back to my childhood...the fashion, the scandalous Cosmo headlines and cover, my sister reading Valley of the Dolls and Sex and the Single Girl. It was a time travel vacation. New York City, 1965. I love reading historical fiction, and this was a treat! I read very few books that are from the 60s let alone about such a force ‘Helen Gurley Brown’ and the publishing industry ‘old boys club’. This was a fun, great read!

Alice, from Ohio, is reliving her Mom’s life, living in NYC. Unfortunately, her mom isn’t here to live it with her. Alice, moves to the City after her engagement ends. She contacts her Mom’s roommate who has connections with ‘HGB’ and gets Alice an interview. We get to see the start of a coming of age period for women with the feminist movement and sexual awakening...Brown vs Steinem. Women vs Men in business. You will fall in love with some the characters, dislike others, cry at time and cheer at others. The family background is so reminiscent of this era.

I highly recommend this book. I received an ARC of this book. opinion is mine alone.

This was a totally fun & enjoyable read. The story of an aspiring photographer who moves to New York in the 1960s and find herself as the assistant to a newly appointed editor in chief at the moribund publication that we now know as the behemoth, Cosmopolitan. It felt like a historical fiction take on The Devil Wears Prada and I ate up every word on a recent flight (to New York, in a happy, coincidental turn of events). This book could happily slip into beach bags everywhere. Thank you Net Galley for the advanced copy!