Madeline, Lisa, and Elaine have one major thing in common- they are all involved with dreadful men. Madeline, who owns the Starlight Dress Shop runs a social club there in the evenings but she sleeps in the store because she is unable to afford an apartment thanks to her hateful ex. Lisa, unwisely, loves Billy and, she claims, her job at Pan Am but she doesn't seem to delight in it- only to point out the problems, Finally, Elaine lives with her alcoholic fiance (who also has other mental health issues) and her sister; she's just gotten a job (not clear to me what they were living on before that since Tommy didn't work). There's a lot of sadness here. The point is that the women support one another. I admit that I came close to giving up on this early on (it would have benefited from another edit) but I was curious about the social club, which, as it turns out was not a lesbian bar (which is where I thought this was going). Oddly, I suppose, I was surprised by the number of times menstruation is mentioned (and the different terms used). Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. It's an interesting read at times but frustrating at others.

This one just didn't hit the mark for me. The premise was intriguing but the characters were not engaging. The club also came across as shallow and I was never really interested in the activities. there. Nothing deep ever seemed to transpire and anytime something came close to being developed, the topic or setting was changed. The writing just felt flat.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book.

What a wonderful debut book from Danielle Martin! Glimmer As You Can is a story where the women courageously rally and the men are pretty much all deplorable.

It’s 1962. In the middle of Brooklyn Heights sits the Starlite: boutique dress shop by day, underground women's club by night. Started by the shop's proprietor after her marriage crumbled, Madeline's social club soon becomes a safe haven for women from all walks of life looking for a respite from their troubled relationships and professional frustrations. These after-hour soirées soon bring two very different women into Madeline's life--Elaine, a British ex-pat struggling to save her relationship, and Lisa, a young stewardess whose plans for the future are suddenly upended--irrevocably changing all three women's lives in ways no one could have predicted.

But when Madeline's ne'er-do-well ex-husband shows up again, the luster of Starlite quickly dampens. As the sisterhood rallies around Madeline, tension begins to eat at the club. When an unspeakable tragedy befalls their sorority, one woman must decide whether to hide the truth from the group or jeopardize her own hopes and dreams.

I enjoyed immersing myself in this quick and interesting story. I was transported back to the 1960s and joined an intriguing group of energetic Boeheim women. Martin has the ability to bring you into the world of her characters and allows you to connect and feel for them as all three lead characters found themselves dealing with real problems that are still relevant to this day... which is sad in more ways than one. These struggles did not hold this group of ambitious women back, and they were there for each other when it counted. At one point I even found myself wanting to join their magical Starlite night groups. What really impressed me was Martin’s ability to write and bring together three women in different age groups that were dealing with their own individual hardships (hardships maybe putting it lightly).

If you enjoy books that are about the spirit of friendships, sisterhood and the courage and spirit it takes to live as a woman in this world, than this book is for you!

Thank you NetGalley, Alcove and Danielle Martin for my advance reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

This book gave me all the feelings. I loved the mix of love and drama. The time period is one of my favorite to read about.

This is a lovely historical fiction novel about women in a dress shop in Brooklyn. Set in the early 1960s, the women at the The Starlight dress shop turn to each other for support and guidance through life's mysteries.

The early 1960's is an interesting time in the world - think about Peggy Olsen in Mad Men....women were dying for opportunities to be equals. The afterhours clob at the shop, we find women struggling with these limited opportunities.

This is well written and a break from the World War II plots that have been done over and over again.

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

I really did not love this book. I thought there was a lot of potential with the interesting, diverse characters, but the story felt very shallow and flat to me.

I’m glad I came across this book. It made me happy, sad, disappointed, content, angry, and a hole lot of other feels. The author made you feel for the characters as they swept through the book. I’d love to know what happens next in their patch of life but the book ended well.

GLIMMER AS YOU CAN
BY DANIELLE MARTIN

I just loved this historical fiction novel called, "Glimmer As You Can," by Danielle Martin because it celebrates the deep bonds of friendship between women. It takes place in New York City and the time period I am guessing is the early 1960's while John Fitzgerald Kennedy was still president and it mentions the Cuban Missile Crisis. These beautiful women with warm hearts all support each other and the ages vary from young twenties to middle forties. The men were all chauvinistic mostly and maybe it was like that back then but I don't remember my mother or father or anyone that I grew up with acting the way these men act in this novel.

Lisa is a beautiful young aged in her twenties and she works as a flight attendant for Pan-Am airlines. Her character was pure and it was interesting to learn that at this time period flight attendants could only work until they were 32 years old. Their jobs would be terminated if they got married and they had random weight checks and could be terminated also or would have to resign if their weight was 130 pounds. Lisa is going steady with Billy and she makes transatlantic flights and lives at home with her mother and father in a shabby apartment but a she often helps her loving parents financially. Billy is a no show after Lisa gets off from a long flight and she meets one of the other two main character's named Elaine and Madeline and she shares a cab with one of them since Billy was supposed to pick her up at the airport and he has ghosted Lisa. Lisa insists on paying back the other woman for her half of the cab ride and the other women tells her no it isn't necessary but Lisa insists and that's how she forms a friendship and gets invited to the women's social club at night which takes place in Madeline's Starlight Dress shop in Brooklyn Heights.

Madeline is the owner of the star lite dress shop and she is also a seamstress married to a cheating husband named Fred Abbott who is politically well connected and has his sights set on running for public office. First he was always away at night at men only social political activities so he says. He starts to get bolder by bringing his younger flings into their apartment. Madeline catches him and he expects her to be his fake wife. In other words, Madeline pretends to be married to him but they have their own separate lives which Madeline goes along with until she caught him with his latest lover in their home. Madeline doesn't have enough money to get her own apartment and decides to sleep on a cot in her shop. Fred divorces Madeline and she is a very strong woman who gets no financial assistance from Fred but she seems happier to be rid of him because she has her own circle of friend's that meet at night in her shop as an all women's social circle. The women read poetry, they dance to music on the record player and they eat good food and drink alcohol.

Elaine is a close friend of Madeline's and she is married to an alcoholic with a trust fund who never seems to feel he needs to get a job. He invents gadgets but none that has earned him any money. Elaine is ambitious and applies for a job at the world famous newspaper called the Chronicle. She has been college educated in a journalism degree but there are only three women that work at the Chronicle as investigative reporters. So Elaine's only option to get a dream job at the Chronicle is to be hired as a fact checker. Her husband Tommy as bad as he sounds and her have a loving but dysfunctional relationship. When Elaine goes to work her husband guilt trips her. Her sister Catherine is a jazz singer who stays with them sometimes. When Elaine goes with her sister Catherine to the Star Lite social club at night Tommy will use that as an excuse to go out and drink to get drunk staying out all night.

Billy begs Lisa's forgiveness and they get back together and he showers her with flowers and promises but Lisa has made close friend's with Madeline and Elaine and the other women and she enjoys going to the Star Lite social club every so often. She is still a flight attendant and she hopes that Billy and her will get married. Lisa doesn't like Billy's father who she can smell the same cologne on Billy which turns her stomach. Billy's father was on board a flight with Lisa and she discovered that he cheats on his wife because he is with a young woman romantically involved but Lisa tries to avoid him in the flight by not serving him and she tries to stay hidden. Billy's family comes from money and he buys Lisa a huge diamond ring and proposes to her at Woolworth's over ice cream sodas. I remember how delicious Woolworth's ice cream sodas were and I used to always get one with my friend's and I would also order the french fries. I was just a young girl then and we would walk downtown and go to Woolworth's and shop and would end up getting something to eat and drink at the counter.

These three women Lisa, Madeline and Elaine seem to be the perfect support system and they are all very sympathetic and likable character's. There are many more women who attend the Star Lite social club and all of them have a great time staying up until the early hours. Anybody is woman is welcome and they sing, paint, read poetry dance and it is a haven for domestically abused housewives who also attend as well as some of the upper class women who have husband's that are into politics who know Fred. The men are all unlikable except Elaine's husband Tommy while immature I had great empathy for. At least Elaine and Tommy share a love for poetry and literature and they do love each other. I have set up the basics in this review and have not given away any major spoilers. There are tragedies that will happen making this heartbreaking at times but I loved the women's many festivities and wish there was that sort of social club consisting of women only and all three of these women will tie into each other's lives that make this a five star read. We have come a long way with women's equality since the early 1960's. I found the cheating spouses appalling and Billy's behavior bordered on crossing Lisa's boundaries. Madeline, Elaine and Lisa were realistically portrayed for their time. There are both tragedies and great bonds between women and I really loved this book and highly recommend it for fans of historical fiction and older women who were alive during the 1960's JFK era.

Publication Date: November 10, 2020

Thank you to Net Galley, Danielle Martin and Alcove Press Publishing for providing me with my ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

#GlimmerAsYouCan #DanielleMartin #AlcovePress #NetGalley

An enjoyable enjoyable enough read- nothing special and quickly forgettable. Definitely get this from the library, not worth the price.

Glimmer As You Can is about a time period I love to read about. The early 60s when society was on the cusp of great change. Martin grasped the diminished role of women perfectly in the book. The rigid protocols and subservience to men was highlighted. I liked the story, but the writing was a bit disjointed, it lacked smoothness periodically. Brooklyn women gathered to let their hair down and relax in the company of other women for support and sympathy. The cover art is gorgeous.

Glimmer As You Can is a novel about three different women set in 1960s Brooklyn. Lisa, a young stewardess who is hoping to marry the man of her dreams soon. Elaine, an ex-pat who is in a very difficult relationship. And Madeline, who owns a dress shop and went through a very messy divorce. At night Madeline's dress shops functions as a meeting place for local women to share their joys and sorrows. But when Madeline's ex-husband shows up again, things are bound to go wrong.

What I loved very much about this book were the setting and, of course, the powerful female characters that featured so prominently in this book. The setting was very special to me because I haven't read many historical fiction novels set in the 60s yet. It feels like a long time ago, but it does actually have quite a few points of contact with my current life. Both my parents were born in the sixties, so it's not actually that far removed at all, and very interesting to learn more about.

Additionally, the dose of girl power that is provided in this book was refreshing. In a time when women weren't really supposed to have their own opinions and their own lives, it's good to see that some ladies went against the grain and paved the way for the future that we live in now. I know this is fiction, of course, but it was still a good realisation.

This novel just did not work for me. THe historical aspects of its setting in 1960s NYC and a fictional after-hours women's social club were what intrigued me, but the premise was too thin. With the clubs founder so broke that she couldn't afford rent and ate and slept in the back of her dress shop - how was she throwing these lavish theme nights with booze, the "latest records", food and decorations? None of the characters were deeply developed - especially the supporting ones. I really wanted to like this book, but found too much to roll my eyes over.

Glimmer As You Can by Danielle Martin is the type of book I gravitate to. The Sixties - when women dressed up, wore lipstick, and struggled with oppression. I think all of that comes from growing up watching Donna Reed and then turning the channel and discovering That Girl and Julia on other channels!

Glimmer As You Can follows three women in Brooklyn Heights in the 60's. Lisa, the Pan Am stewardess; Elaine, who works at a newspaper; and Madeline, who runs the Starlite social club for women. Although they have insufferable men in their lives, all of them find their freedom at the social club to balance out the frustrations in their work and homelives.

I had a lot of trouble getting into this book, but once I did, I thoroughly enjoyed the story and the trip back to the 60's.

Thank you to Net Galley and the Publisher for the advance copy of the book.. It was a well done story based the 60s with three different women and their different struggles. I really love how they created this social group for women to go and feel empowered with other women. Each character had a different struggle and I felt empathy for all of them , which is what you want to feel in a good story!

A story of women trying to find themselves in a world of men trying to keep them from being themselves.

I really enjoyed reading Glimmer As You Can, this novel is about women in 1962. It shows the readers how they tried to fight their equality in the men’s world. As much as I like to read about strong women and their fights for the rights, but I did not like how the male characters were all negative. I would like to read about supportive or neutral characters too.
The book’s plot itself was really enjoyable and I liked the social club of these women’s and reading about it.

No one knows what goes on after hours at the Starlite dress shop–no one except the lucky women who get an invitation. Author Danielle Martin conjures an exclusive women's club in 1962 New York City, where women can escape society's restrictions and obligations and let their hair down. At the Starlite, women enjoy dancing, drinking, and exuberant creativity.

The novel has three primary characters who are linked to three bad men:
Madeline is the Starlite owner/fashion designer and hostess who smooths ruffled feathers at the ongoing hen party. Her husband Fred is a bully and jerk with money and political power.
Lisa is a young Pan Am stewardess in an on-again off-again relationship with unstable Billy.
Elaine is a poet who wants a job at the newspaper, but her boyfriend Tommy is an addict and full time burden.

Elaine's sister Catherine is a jazz singer who also frequents the Starlight after hours. The Starlite is described so beguilingly that the reader knows it can never last. Threats to this NYC version of Themyscira surface early in the narrative and provide the tension that drives the plot. Men aren't supposed to know about the Starlite, but word inevitably ekes out, and the Starlite is seen as a threat to the natural order of things. Ugly rumors start to circulate about just what goes on at night behind closed doors.

"Glimmer As You Can" has a good story concept, is mostly well written, and I loved the characters. The simplistic bad men/good women duality made me wish for at least one more complex character to go against type. Not even a woman with a personality like Madeline's can keep peace among women for long, particularly when they are exhausted and pressured on all sides. The sisterhood at the best of times is never this uncontentious.

"Glimmer" points out that controlling women always involves attacks and accusations about "perversion" and "immorality." A room of our own and control over our spaces and bodies is hard fought, and easily undermined. Women need each other; we cannot make it without women friends.

Martin is not too preachy about these themes, however, and "Glimmer" is just the right length for an evening or two of escapist light reading. If you enjoy character-driven historical fiction with a dose of girl-power flair, or are looking for a women's book club pick, this novel would make a very good choice.

The book was provided to me for an honest review by NetGalley.

This is a historical fiction about three friends in Brooklyn in the 1960’ as women are trying to find their equal place in a world dominated by men. Madeline is the owner of dress shop, divorced from her philandering councilman husband and runs a women's social club, the Starlite, at night. Elaine is in her late 20s, lives with her alcoholic fiancee and gets a job as a fact checked for a newspaper. Lisa is a Pan-Am flight attendant that gets engaged to Billy. The plot revolves around the experiences of these three women as they try to navigate a path for themselves and support and uplight the other women in their lives as they are all connected through the social club.

I enjoyed the novel and how each women tried to blaze their own path in a time where women were just trying to break free of the mold set for them by men. The story definitely has some tragic moments that show how sisterhood can prevail.

How exciting to see a historical set in the 1960s instead of World War II. The different time period made the book interesting before I even picked it up.

I enjoyed the story of female friendships and how important they are, especially to the women with unhappy home lives. I will admit the social club concept was a little difficult to believe - not that they wouldn't have a gathering place, but the fact they had big theme nights, etc. However, I was willing to suspend believe because of how well the author integrated the idea of the club with the importance of friendship.

My biggest disappointment - and ultimately the reason I gave this book only three stars - was how the author chose to portray the men. Not only were they all portrayed negatively, but they were painted in a near stereotypical manner.

This one seemed like it would be right up my alley, yet I never really warmed to it... I don't know why - the writing was fine and most of the characters, particularly Elaine, were complex and interesting (Lisa irritated me from the get go, but her interactions with Elaine saved that for me for a while). But I never really felt like I connected with any of them enough to feel invested in their daily struggles. This one just didn't work for me. I kept setting it down and eventually just couldn't bring myself to pick it back up again...