The story switches between the past and the present. In 2015, Sawyer Hayes is a graduate student working on a documentary for his thesis. He is haunted by the past of a tragic accident and overall having a difficult time in life. He needs the help of a woman named Honoree Dalcour for the documentary. She has lived for over 100 years now and hardened by a difficult life too. Sawyer needs to work for those answers and gain her trust but he doesn’t have much time and needs her to reveal some secrets before it’s too late. As the book switches to the past, the reader is transported to the roaring 1920’s Jazz Age in Chicago. Honoree is just getting started, an ambitious chorus girl working at a speakeasy where the hard-lifers go to ease their blues and hear some good music. She dreams of bigger things like Broadway. Along her journey, we are introduced to an array of characters who had just as hard of a life as she has. I love that there are real historical figures mixed in such as the the pioneers of Jazz music itself. A perfect historical fiction to read. There is romance, suspense, and mystery as you go back in time to historical locations. A glamorous party of a famous jazz trumpeter, to the dressing rooms of the young and ambitious chorus girls, to the after hours of speakeasies where trouble is brewing, and many more places. This was a captivating story with such descriptive writing you can practically hear it and I loved it!

this book was wildly captivating and i’m so grateful to have gotten an arc from netgalley!

i had a lot of ideas and theories about where sawyer and honoree’s journeys would go and none of them were right - the sign of good af writing! the glimpses this book gave me into 1920s chicago - a period normally so idolized and romanticized - have changed my perception of that era completely both in terms of politics and society.

i can’t wait to see this book on the shelves!

The first thing that drew me ,e to this book was the cover. After I read the synopsis, I had to read it. Wild Women and the Blues lives up to both the cover and summary. Sawyer needs answers and Honoree has secrets that perhaps it’s time to reveal. The story line traverses from the 1920s to 2015. I loved the setting and I think the author does a good job in taking readers back to the Jazz Age. Hard choices have to be made by Honoree and I like her grit and spunk. It’s a great read, steeped in the realities of the era, a testament to an era and the people who lived,it.

"City of Girls" meets "The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo". Beautiful cover, and even more beautiful story. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, written alternating between flashbacks and present day.

This was a fun, twisty turny, engaging tale of the gin soaked jazz age in Chicago. The story, split between 1925 and 2015, follows Sawyer, a film student, as he seeks answers from Honoree, a one time choirs girl, now 110 year lady. She tells her story, her version of it, in 2015, while we get to see it play out in 1925.

From the very first page I was hooked. The lavish descriptions of the speakeasies made me feel like I was there. I instantly liked Honoree, Sawyer was meh. His search for answers was an interesting one. Though I didn’t like the character I was hooked on his storyline.

I officially give this book 4.5 stars.

.I'm having a hard time with books this year but have to be honest that this didn't work for me. As I'm sure you know POV switches are difficult for me and this one had plenty of that along with time jumps. It took a very long time for the plot to fully flesh out and I never really quite believed how Sawyer got to the point of the interview but I had to let it go to move forward. Overall a lot of Sawyers backstory was just really underdeveloped.

The crime mystery of the Chicago 1920s also just didn't interest me at all and the twist at the end wasn't enough to keep me interested. I think the synopsis should actually be a bit clear about the aspects of the plot.

This book was brimming with rich historical detail of Chicago during the 1920’s. I appreciated Ezekiel’s and Honorees’ stories individually and seeing the development of their characters. I loved the references to other big name musicians of that era and getting a glimpse into what may have been like for a famous entertainer from the 20s.
What I struggled with was the dual POV plot. It was not as engrossing as I was hoping it to be and found myself losing interest.

Thank you for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Wild Women and the Blues is a historical fiction novel set during the Roaring Twenties (1925, for the most part), focusing on a Black chorus girl who unwittingly gets tangled up in some very bad business. While there is a crime element to the book, it's definitely more historical fiction/ women's fiction than it is a crime/ mystery type of book. The setting was particularly rich: featuring a number of Chicago's speakeasies (some Black-only, some mixed), so if you enjoy this sort of detail--the language, the dresses, the music of the era, you would like this book. Also want to give props to the beautifully designed cover!

I absolutely loved this book! It's a dual timeline set in 1920s Chicago and 2015. There is murder, mayhem, gangsters and more. Denny S. Bryce did an amazing job with this book. I got so absorbed by the setting, the characters and their lingo. I loved that there was a bit of a plot twist too. I did not want this book to end. It is that good!

HOLY GUACAMOLE, I DID NOT SEE THAT COMING!! While being an absolute QUEEN at foreshadowing throughout this book, Bryce delivers some devastating twists that squeezed my heart and boggled my mind! Seriously though, the foreshadowing… kept me on the edge of my seat wondering “what is gonna happen THIS time?!”

Honoree Dalcour is a chorus girl, dancing in the jazz scene of 1925 Chicago’s Black Belt. She’s determined to make her own opportunities in life and achieve the fame which the world seems built to keep her from. In the era of Louis Armstrong and Al Capone, Honoree is finally thrust into the life she’s worked so hard for, full of jazz celebrities and opportunity, but also gangsters and gamblers, as dangerous as it is alluring. And then everything changes when her past shows up, tall and handsome, and she really has to decide who she can trust or she might lose everything.

I simply loved getting to unravel Honoree’s mystery partially through her own eyes in 1925 and partially through Sawyer’s in 2015. Without a doubt, the 1925 POV was my favorite, and not just because I love historical fiction. I adore Honoree as a character, and I love that we can see her strong will and her refusal to accept the role she’s been handed by life, right from her first conversation with Bessie. The romance was unrolled exquisitely. The whole story was full of heartache, fury, and suspense, but also touching moments and wonderful redemption. I was in awe when the two storylines finally pieced together. These characters are gonna hang around in my head for awhile, that’s for sure!

Thank you to Kensington Books for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy of this to review because I loved it! Vivid characters and though Honoree had a bit of a prickly exterior, it was well-earned and worn. Simultaneously she wore the armor to help with her fierce loyalty towards those she cared about while also taking care of herself and not only surviving, but thriving. I loved reading her story. Added bonus, the time period! Bryce's language for both time periods was fantastic. I especially loved the lexicon for the 20s. Can we please bring back the word "zozzled" for drunk?

Gripping historical fiction that takes the reader into Chicago's Black Belt and the speakeasies of 1925. "Wild Women and the Blues" weaves two stories—one of a grieving film student in 2015, the other of a 1920s showgirl the student is researching—in a dual timeline format. While I went into the book expecting to see thorough research and a peek into a time and place I was unfamiliar with (my expectations were met, and then some!), I hadn't anticipated that it would be mystery and suspense that kept me turning the pages faster and faster. It's Chicago in the 1920s, after all! On top of spinning a riveting tale of ambition, murder, and love, Bryce does a brilliant job of balancing the inventiveness and optimism of the era with the criminal and racial realities that created barriers and challenges for the people who lived in that time. I would recommend this book to fans of Fiona Davis and anyone who loves historical fiction, especially novels with a dual timeline format.

Thank you NetGalley and Kensington Publishing for providing an advance copy of this book for review purposes.

I loved exploring the Chicago of yesteryear through this book. The pacing was a little slow but I did read this book in one day, so clearly that didn't stop me from enjoying this book. There is quite a bit of explicit, possibly triggering content (not an issue for me but worth mentioning). Overall, I liked this book!

Thank you so much for the digital ARC!

Wild Women and the Blues is a dual perspective story following Ezekiel, a modern day film buff, and his research subject - Honoree, a famous dancer from the 1920s. As Ezekiel seeks to discover the authenticity of an old film real that could possibly feature Honoree, we flashback to Chicago in the 20s, and the life of a famous flapper.

I really loved the character development in the story. Both Ezekiel and Honorees we're multifaceted and likable. I loved the Black history and culture, as well as the inclusion of Louis Armstrong and Lil Hardin.

The only problem I had with the book was the pacing. The story unfolded very slowly which made it easy to forget certain plot lines or to lose interest. I would have appreciated a more fast-paced plot.

This novel was an amazing stroll through Chicago’s history of jazz music and a beautiful blend of past, present, and how they intertwine.

I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Wild Women and the Blues was pretty interesting to dive into. Even if things got a tad bit confusing towards the end for me. In it, you will meet Sawyer (who will be the Present POV) and Honoree (who will be the Past POV). These two were pretty interesting on their own but once they got together and he was interviewing her for a thesis.. things kind of got crazy.

From switching through the years, 2015 back to 1920, Chicago seemed entertaining, soulful, and crazy back then. Now I've always wanted to go to this city and try all the amazing food there but due to Covid, I guess I will be okay with diving into this book instead.

Honoree was a fun character to read about. Doesn't mean she had a nice and easy life back then because she really didn't. I love the winter but I'm not sure how I would feel with no heat in zero degree weather. Might not be happy and might freeze to death (but details). Then the whole buildings on fire? Yeah, no - count me out of that please.

Other than that, she was the bees knees and I really enjoyed how they said certain phrases back then. Then there's Sawyer, who was getting to what happened back in her good ole days and some of the secrets that came out towards the end blew my mind. It was hard for my brain to comprehend one of them.. which I wont dive into.

Great book and easy to devour.

Read if you: Want a promising historical fiction read (mostly) set in a Black nightclub during the Jazz Age.

When I read historical fiction stories in which part of the story is set in the past and the other part is set in the present/near past, I usually wish that the story was only set in the actual historical setting. Unfortunately, I felt the same with this story. Sawyer’s story was not nearly as interesting as Honoree’s story. The surprise twist near the end is still a bit bewildering to me. However—I’m looking forward to more from this author.

Librarians/booksellers: Historical fiction fans that want stories featuring Black characters will want to read this.

Many thanks to Kensington Books and NetGalley for a digital review copy in exchange for an honest review.

I received a copy of this ebook in exchange for an honest review
This is not what I was expecting at all. It was bland and boring and I couldn't get into it. It was not something that I could relate to in any way.

I appreciate this story for shedding light on an important topic such as being a black woman in the 1920s. However, I found the novel to have a slow pace which is something I do not enjoy in books. Overall, this was still a really great book and I would recommend it.

Book Review for Wild Women and the Blues by Denny S. Bryce
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