This book was absolutely delightful. I don't think I had ever read something similar. It was liberating and bohemian, and full of passion too. The book tells the story of Vivian, who moves to New York to spend some time with her aunt Peg. In the city, she discovers what it means to live on the edge. She makes friends that belong to a different world, she dances till the early hours of the morning and has sex with different men. It's a refreshing novel full of humour and theatre references. I enjoyed it very much!

It was a very nice story (and made me think a lot about feminism and the role of women in society) and, even though I thought Vivian's final thoughts and adventures in New York seemed a bit out of nowhere, I would recommend this book to anyone.

I enjoyed this book far more than I thought I would. The story follows Vivian ,who was no angel but also had a degree a innocence about her, through her life from a young woman to old age. You meet the people who were important to Vivian and those who have an impact and left a memory good and bad. Just a beautiful read start to finish

There is so much to this book. I found myself welling up as i read the final chapter. Following a naive 19 year old through her life as she writes her letter to Angela on how she met her father. It was not what I was expecting at all. And everytime the story went in a new direction, i didn't know what to expect. From the second Vivian steps foot in New York we are transported to a new world that we experience through Vivian. Each character introduced I fell in love with as they crashed into Vivian's life. Shaping her into a woman i felt I knew towards the end of the book. When I thought Elizabeth couldn't bring anymore characters to hold in my heart she gives us Frank. From her drunken escapades, to sewing wedding dresses and one mistake, we watch her slowly and subtly transform. I loved this book so much, I know that it will be one I will return to a recommend to friends (I already have recommneded it to a few already) It was beautifully written. Beautifully detailed. Built, like one of the many costumes Vivian makes.

I have mixed feelings about this book. Although I did enjoy it, I wasn't too sure about the whole premise of the book being a letter to Angela. I understand that in telling the story, detail needs to be given, but I'm not sure if this was an actual letter whether so much detail would have been put in, especially in regards to sexual encounters Vivian had through her life.

I enjoyed the setting of 1940s New York, and the ending was good, but a mixed review for me.

This was really a tale of two halves from my perspective and when I say “halves”, I’m actually talking about thirds - the first two thirds of the book were deceptively simple and I was wondering what I was missing. It appeared to be a novel of mere frippery: frothy without much substance. Great for an escape into 1940s NYC with starlets and showbiz-types who were free from conservative thought and behaviour. Even the main character, Vivian, seemed to have little substance to her, with one of the other characters commenting very unkindly (but rather truthfully) that:

“The thing that you don’t understand about yourself, Vivian, Is that you are not an interesting person... I believe that you’ve been labouring under the misapprehension that you are interesting...”

That was exactly how I felt. I had also been feeling maddened by the constant mention of Angela, to whom this tale told, with interruptions continually breaking my ability to become engrossed in the book - sentences like “I was always pretty, Angela” and “Not to worry, Angela” peppered throughout.

Then, the final third of the book made sense of the first two thirds and Vivian became a character full of life and substance. I became interested in who she was, once she had started herself to discover herself the answer to that question and ended up in tears reading the conclusion. The final third truly saved the book - I just wish a hint of that poignancy had shown itself sooner in the novel so the first two thirds didn’t feel like such a slog with a superficial protagonist.

I’m so glad to have finished this book and would recommend it to those who like female fiction with real heart.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Bloomsbury Fiction and Elizabeth Gilbert for a copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately this book didn’t do it for me.

I’ve only dropped one star because it’s a good premise and it’s well written, it just didn’t engage me and I couldn’t relate.

I liked the idea of a book where women are not destroyed by their sexual desires but I’m not sure the book was executed in a way that did this.

Read if you like reading about other people’s sex lives!

This is my first book by Elizabeth Gilbert and therefore did not know what to expect, the writing is lovely and very descriptive of New York during the 1940's. However I found it a bit of a chore to keep on reading, I didn't find any of the characters very engaging and did not care for their stories. I struggled to see where the story was going to go. This book was just not for me.

Thank you to NetGalley & publisher for the copy in exchange for a honest review.

Female sexuality and glamour in forties New York.

While WWII is still far away in Europe, 19-year-old Vivian Morris is sent down from her ivy league girls’ college. Not knowing what else to do with their daughter, her parents pack her off to live with Aunt Peg who runs a down-at-heel New York theatre. Vivian takes to the bohemian lifestyle with vigour.

City of Girls has all the forties glamour and wisecracking witty dialogue of a Carole Lombard film. Narrated by the protagonist looking back on her life, the humour is balanced with much pathos. On top of all this, Gilbert comments on society’s moralisation of female sexual agency.

Joyful and poignant.

My thanks to NetGalley and Bloomsbury Publishing for the ARC.

I didn't get on with City of Girls to begin with, but I don't think I appreciated how commercial Gilbert's writing is. Once I had adjusted to that (it's a little like reading YA fiction, albeit with more sex), and once Vivian had grown up a bit and become more likeable, I enjoyed it. Most of the book - certainly the first half - is a slow build/scene-setting, and I preferred the quicker pace of the second half. Having said that, Gilbert's evocation of 1940s-70s New York City is interesting, and she's clearly done some research. The ending is rather poignant; I would recommend this for a holiday read, as it's quite easy to pick up and put down.

I really enjoyed this book. I suspect I was predisposed to because of the current pandemic lockdown making me more likely to enjoy something that was just pure escapism. I was completely distracted by 1940s New York, though, and felt all the better for it.

The characters felt very well rounded and believable and the whole story cracked along at a really fast pace. It’s very well written and quite thoughtful in places too and obviously very well researched.

I’m really grateful for the free copy of this. I haven’t read anything by this author before but thought this was great - exactly what I needed! Thank you.

Unexpectedly I thoroughly enjoyed ‘City of Girls ‘ by Elizabeth Gilbert. I didn’t particularly like the characters, except perhaps Peg, but I loved the depiction of New York and of the lives of the inhabitants of The Lily. The novel is a like a secret pleasure and I couldn’t resist it’s lure.

Absolutely stunning. A beautiful story of 1940s glamour that cleverly speaks to the modern world. A book to remind you of the joys of reading.

A thoroughly enjoyable read. It made me laugh out loud at times and moved me to tears at others. I was gripped by the story from beginning to end. I highly recommend it.

This is written in the form of a letter from Vivian Morris to Angela, the daughter of the only man she ever loved, and she’d known many men along the way. She had had an interesting and varied life, which we are allowed to follow, from her at aged 19, just before the start of the American involvement in WWII, until 2010. Vivian was born privileged and thought everyone had the sort of start to life that she did.

I found this a difficult book to read, and very nearly put it aside completely. However, having been lucky enough to get an ARC to review this, I felt I should finish it. I’m glad I did. When Vivian is describing her relationship with Angela’s father, you get an insight into what it must have been like for servicemen during the war, the horror of war itself and the mental and physical anguish suffered by some of the survivors. This is obviously a well written book; in some early parts of the story you felt as though you could have been with Vivian during some of the situations she found herself in. I couldn’t empathise with her character, though her aunt Peg is someone I would like to have met. I can’t say I particularly enjoyed the book, but I’m very glad I read it

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for an ARC in return for an honest review.

I enjoyed this book a lot. In some ways it is a classic 'woman's life' narrative, following Vivian Morris from the age of 19 in the 1940s and recently dropped out of Vassar, to late in her life in 2010 as she writes to a younger woman recounting the story of her life. Elizabeth Gilbert provides a forward where she tells us that she wanted to produce a 'champagne cocktail- light and bright, crisp and fun' as well as telling the story of a woman who has a varied promiscuous sex life 'without ending up under the wheels of the train'.

I think she fails at both of these and to be honest it would have been better if she had let the novel stand for itself. The overwhelming feel of the novel to me is thoughtful and slightly downbeat, and it is a sexual escapade that does cause a crisis of sorts for Vivian and changes her life forever.

Having said this it is an interesting story told well and I'm glad I read it. Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for a review copy.

I have to admit I struggled with this one; it has it's moments but for the most part it was a bit of a slog.

Vivian arrives in New York to live with her Aunt Peg, but it's not the life that a genteel young lady is used to. Given free rein, Vivian and her friend Celia become wild young things, filling their time with nothing but fun once the work of the day is over . . .

I couldn't wait to get started reading this one; the blurb really attracted me and I was sure it was my kind of book. In a way, it was - but I found the style of writing not to be to my taste. For a start, the whole story is told by way of a letter and this is the longest letter I've ever come across. There are some really exciting moments but, whilst I am no prude, I found a lot of it to be rather sleazy. The bit I adored more than anything was all the sewing details and Vivian's skill and thirst for learning more about this. There was a few other bits which brightened up the story for me but, for the most part I had to make myself keep reading and it was a relief to reach the final page. Overall - after considerable thought - I have given this one 2.5*. However, I am sure that others will love it .. we all have different tastes after all!

My thanks to the publisher for my copy via NetGalley; this is - as always - my honest, original and unbiased review.

I was drawn to this book as it promised a fun and light read in the world of New York's theatrical world. I thought it would be an ideal escapist book for these tricky times.

The first part of the book absolutely delivers this. The narrator, Vivian Morris, is upbeat and cheerful in telling the story of her arrival in New York in 1940. Freshly expelled from her university course for minimal effort, she goes to stay with her Aunt Peg, an eccentric family member who runs a dilapidated theatre. Vivian soon makes friends with the showgirls and starts living the high life in a city full of men and alcohol, far away from the war raging in Europe. I loved this bit of the story - the theatre people and Vivian's joie de vivre make for compulsive and upbeat reading.

The tone shifts a bit in the second part of the book as Vivian ages and there is more of a war theme. I'll admit to not enjoying this bit as much, although its beautifully written and quite touching.

Overall, this is an evocative and compelling novel with a really unique heroine at its heart. I'd recommend it wholeheartedly although it didn't quite deliver the consistent high I was looking for.

Elizabeth Gilbert wrote that her goal with City of Girls was to write a novel that would go down like a champagne cocktail, light and bright, crisp and fun and she has more than achieved that. City of Girls is all of those things which are much needed in these strange times we are experiencing at the moment, but it is also much deeper. At its core it is a series of love stories, a love story between Vivian & New York, Vivian and her friends, and finally Vivian and someone unexpected in her life. On paper as a reader you should not like Vivian, but Elizabeth Gilbert shows you her strengths, weaknesses and her vulnerabilities and you grow to love her and want her in your life as your friend.

I was given a copy of City of Girls by Netgalley and the publishers in return for an unbiased review.

This isn’t the usual type of book I read but I was looking for something completely different. I was a little unsure whether this would be the book for me but I don’t mind telling you, I was completely seduced. Elizabeth Gilbert is a brilliant writer. This is evident in every single word which she uses to good effect to draw me to a crescendo of emotions one minute followed by a diminuendo the next. It is some time since I have been so emotionally involved in a book. The story is told by an elderly lady, Vivian, to the unknown (to the reader), Angela. It is, at its most simple, the story of Vivian’s fascinating life. It is so much deeper than this, however. It is a microcosm of New York from the 1940’s onwards and the story of a group of people who live, work and love there. It is the story of a crumbling theatre and the people who work there. It is the story of awakening sensuality and sexuality, and yet is done with such sensitivity that the reader is drawn in. It is all of that and so much more I loved this book. I genuinely could not stop reading and desperately wanted to know what happened and who Angela was. A brilliantly executed story of the lives of a group of artistic temperaments who gel and are drawn toward each other. The characterisation is the best I have read and I read a lot. I would highly recommend this book to all women whether you read this genre or not. Elizabeth Gilbert is my new favourite author and I cannot wait to read more by her.

A fun grown up tale of a magical time and place, while also showing is me of the realities of life at the time. Some racy scenes and some real emotion.