Rhapsody is a historical fiction based during the Jazz Age. It is based on the love story of the great musical genius George Gershwin and song writer Kay Swift. The story is about their 10 year affair. Kay is the wife of a wealthy banker James (Jimmy) Warburg. Broadway was their playground during the years of the Great War and Prohibition. The book is perfect for music lovers.

Thank you @NetGalley, @Simon&Schuster and @MitchellJamesKaplan for the advance readers copy for my honest review.

A historical novel about the romance of George Gershwin and Kay Swift that carries you to 1920s New York. I was not familiar with Kay Swift but after I finished reading this it spurred me on to research about her life and accomplishments. Being a huge Gershwin fan I enjoyed reading about the intimate details of his life and experiencing life in 1920s New York.

This was an interesting story and I enjoyed learning more about George Gershwin. I loved the setting and the era. The characters however did not seem happy and seemed to be grasping for more than they had in life. It was an enjoyable read though.
Many thanks to Gallery Books and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

The remarkable tale of Katharine Swift and George Gershwin, both musical greats, whose lives intertwine both professionally and intimately. A real life love story of two very talented and independent personalities. Wonderful book for fans of historical fiction/biographies.

I have to say honestly this book wasn’t for me. Now that is simply a personal connection to the book. It is no way reflects the writing it the story. I did finish it and did not push it aside. It is extremely well written, good character development. It just wasn’t a historical book that I connected to. So I will still give this book 4 stars because it really was well done and my lack of connection will not play a role in the rating.

I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book provided by NetGalley

This is a super fun read. I really enjoyed this one!

Many thanks to the author, the publisher, and Netgalley for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to netgalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review. I enjoyed this novel focused on Kay Swift, her husband Jimmy and George Gershwin. I enjoyed reading about these three’s love of music and of New York City during the 1920’s. If you enjoy historical fiction pick this one up!

Historical fiction is my favorite genre and the 1920s is one of my favorite periods to read about. Other than the fact that George Gershwin was a composer, I knew nothing of the characters prior to reading. I loved the time period, I loved the settings, but I didn’t really care for the characters.

This book is best for someone who has a musical background and knowledge and/or interest in these specific composers. It was well written and I enjoyed the beginning of it but couldn't stay interested. I think if I had more personal interest in these particular people I would have loved it.

Rhapsody, by Mitchell James Kaplan, is a romance of artists in the age of jazz and the American dream.. A drama that speaks to the struggles of balancing careers, relationships, and life - it's a book for Gershwin fans, lovers and creators.

Set from 1917-1937 in New York City, the story focuses on the life and romances of Kay Swift, a musician and composer who falls for Gershwin after hearing him play the famous Rhapsody in Blue. What follows is a passionate love affair in a time of tremendous social, political and financial change in America, juxtaposed against the rising success of Gershwin and the increasing troubles Swift faces in her marriage and career. All the while we hear the frenetic rhythms of the city underneath, from Harlem to Broadway - so much so that the music becomes, essentially, a central character in the story - moving time from the Roaring Twenties through the Great Depression with little rest.

Readers who are already Gershwin fans and are curious about Swift will no doubt race to the finish of this musical story, and its style with appeal to those who enjoy literary and historical fiction. So if you fancy a trip to the Roaring Twenties, pour yourself a gin while you enjoy this drama of artists in the age of jazz.

An okay read, but fell a little flat for me.

The premise for this novel was intriguing, something different and new. Rarely are there pieces of modern historical fiction that cover musicians in this vein. The story was presented a bit differently than I expected, giving a good insight into the relationship between Katherine "Kay" Swift and George Gershwin, but only truly following Kay in terms of her relationships with her husband, James, and George. There was a lot of focus on James's familial background in the beginning that overshadowed Kay's own past. There wasn't a focus on Kay and her own full life beyond her emotional conflict once she and George meet. Instead, it was merely a story of how she felt about each man and her attempt to determine how to live her life in terms of them. Because of this, the story didn't feel quite full. She became less of a powerful character, despite her obvious talent and musical genius. I needed the tale to be more fully about her, rather than how other men defined her. The fact that the story then ends without following out Kay's life makes this even more blatant and, for me, took something away from the integrity of the tale.

The historical accuracy of the novel feels true to form, and the events and characters were presented in a way that fits to the information available. It is clear through the story and the author's note that there was a lot of care taken to try and make the novel as accurate as possible. Because of this, there are definitely moments where it can take on a bit of a more stiff, educational tone, but the information given is honed to moments that feel important. I found myself intermittently grasped by the plot and did want to finish the book out, but will admit that the pacing wasn't consistent for me and I did have a hard time finding myself truly invested in the story. There are certainly readers out there who will find greater enjoyment in the work than I did, as I do think that there are valuable pieces of story and writing present throughout the book.

The writing is good and flows fairly well, but can come off a bit pretentious. The author is a clear academic and this comes out in word choice and sentence structure. This may make the book slightly more inaccessible for some readers and might have played a part in why I was not able to fully emotionally connect to the story and characters. Something about the tone made the story feel a bit more sterile than I would have liked. There are also a lot of places where names are dropped simply to drop them, not really involving these characters in the scenes in any way other than having been there and potentially adding to the celebrity of Gershwin. I would have rather they were kept only to those characters who truly played a part.

The best part of the novel was the atmosphere of the era. There was good attention to the opulence afforded the upper crust, with a nod to the fact that the Great Depression occurred mid-tale. There was great discussion of the style of New York and the contrasting style developing on the West Coast. There was a lot of inclusion of new inventions and technology of the age and these were sprinkled in to the narrative in a fairly subtle way. The description of clothing and style were also well done and helped to round out the encapsulation. The setting was extremely well established and I enjoyed the inclusion of different facets of society, discussing Tammany Hall, Harlem, the Broadway set, and so much more. The attention to these pieces really brought a lot of color to the narrative and helped to give it a lot of grounding.

All in all, this was an okay read for me. As stated, there are those who would be a better audience. I don't regret my read...I just wish it had pulled me in a little harder.

* Disclaimer: I received a copy of this novel from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. *

I gave this 3 stars because while I enjoyed the Kay and George story, I did not enjoy the way people and parties were just going on and on. I never felt engaged.
However, looking up the people and events made the time come alive.

I have always loved the music of George Gershwin but never really knew anything about the man and honestly had never heard of Kay Swift. I enjoyed this fictional account of their association and collaboration. The author captured the feel of the 'Roarin' 20's' and the 1930's very well and incorporated celebrities of the time who were contemporaries of the couple. A solid historical fiction which will prompt you to download Gershwin and maybe some Kay Swift.

I'm a sucker for books set in the roaring 20s but for me this one fell flat. I don't know if it was the writing style, the plot or the characters but I just didn't like it.

Rhapsody is the story of Kay Swift. Kay is the long time mistress of George Gershwin and composer in her own right. The story starts and ends with the day of George's death. In between we learn Kay's story from meeting her husband, James Warburg, through her divorce and George's time in Hollywood.

I have to say that this is a story of people that definitely needed some therapy (which they did get and there are scenes of it). I know that the theme in historical fiction books now is to tell the stories of the wives of famous men but they need to be more interesting than Kay's story. That is not to say that Kay's career composing was not interesting but the story dragged and at times was name dropping.

It's well written but I had the "Rhapsody in Blu" in my mind and the pace was to slow to match my mental images.
Not my cup of tea.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Rhapsofy is different from anything I've read recently As a heavy fantasy reader, it's really has to take a good cover, synopsis, and setting to have me choose a historical fiction. Here we have it, A book set in the good ol' age of Jazz. *snaps fingers*

But I do have mixed feelings. One one hand, it's a breath of fresh air. This standalone novel's much quieter, devoid of the typical action scenes. It's much slower paced, far more of a character study. It was more compelling in the first half than in the second, which seems exactly opposite of what a reader would hope. I felt the writing became for clinical and, despite romantic triangles and professional challenges, there was no real sense of tension and resolution. The visuals were beautiful but the world lacked any sense of urgency.

This has so many elements that should make this great. The merge of historical fiction and music and while it captured me in some places, it also left me bored in others.

This historical fiction book would be perfect for readers who are well versed with the history of the Jazz Age and New York City. Throughout the book, readers become immersed into the life of Katharine “Kay” Swift who is married to New York banker James Warburg. Early on into their marriage, you find out that Warburg is not the most faithful husband and surprisingly does not seem to mind if Kay has a lover of her own. The talented pianist and composer Katharine “Kay” Swift ends up having a ten-year love affair with the even more talented musician George Gershwin.

I had looked forward to reading this book because I took piano lessons for many years, so I thought I would enjoy getting a closer look at the life of Gershwin and maybe learn more about who Kay Swift was since I was unfamiliar with her name and musical works. Unfortunately, I found that I lacked the schema to enjoy the book to its fullest. There was A LOT of name dropping of musicians, composers, and other New York City socialites that I knew nothing about. So maybe if I did know more about this time period’s music scene, I would have been more excited to see their names in print. Also, I found it difficult to like Kay while she openly had her affair and neglected her children most of the time. She seemed self-centered and I am not surprised her one daughter could not stand to be around her. It was also hard to like her husband Warburg since he too left her and the children for long periods of time. It is no surprise that Kay would try to seek happiness elsewhere with another man. I wish things could have worked out better for Kay and maybe they could have if this book were straight fiction and not based on real historical figures. Despite not being in love with this book, I found that the book did spark an interest in me about learning more about the Broadway plays and songs of the time. I received a complimentary copy of this book via the publisher and NetGalley. All thoughts expressed are my honest opinions of the book.

This historical novel, set in the Jazz Age, explores the relationship between George Gershwin and Kay Swift. Gershwin’s name is familiar as a composer of many songs and Broadway shows. Swift is also a talented songwriter and her association with Gershwin gets her noticed.
For 10 years, the two carried on an affair in spite of the fact that she was married and in her own way, loyal to her husband.
I enjoyed this book immensely because of the story, but also because I learned things I didn’t know.

A beautiful story, but not totally my cup of tea. I love historical fiction but felt like it was missing something