A Bright Young Thing
by Brianne Moore
Astra a 1930’s independent socialite flouting the rules then her life as she knows it falls apart with the sudden death of her parents and their crippling debts. She must rise to the challenge and by her own rules and take control her own life not anyone else’s bidding as is the norm. There is secrets ,scandal ,mystery and will she find success and romance? A but of a slow starter and dragged in parts but stick with it an overall very enjoyable read.

Enjoyed this story very much….will definitely recommend. I look forward to reading more of this author’s stories!!

I appreciate the publisher allowing me to read this book. I found this book incredibly interesting the author really kept me hooked until the end. very well written I highly recommend.

This book didn't really appeal to me – it felt a little confused on what it wanted to be. Historical mystery? Romance? A drama? It's not a bad read but it really wasn't my thing. I just couldn't connect with the story. 3 stars for the quality of writing.

A Brigt Young Thing tells the story of Adstra who tries to discover her parents death. I found the characters to be hard to like. The story itself was very slow moving and repetitive. Nothing rally happens until the last few pages of the book. Still, this novel is full of drama, family secrets, and ambition!

With the loss of her parents, Astra is forced to move in with her Aunt as she sorts through the financial mess that her parents left in their wake. Shortly after being faced with their death Astra is forced to grow up more when she discovers the many secrets and scandals about her family.

While I enjoyed Astra, who is a fantastic strong female lead character, I found the story to be a bit slow. I felt that there were too many long conversations that lent little to the actual story. In the end, I ended up switching over to the audiobook and due to the excellent narrator was able to enjoy and finish this book.

I enjoyed reading this book it was a lovely bit of escapism. I didn’t however like all the characters but that is the point.

I loved the independent young Astra. This is an entertaining novel that will touch readers hearts. 1930’s England, mystery, family drama, secrets, social class, and romance., this book has it all.
Many thanks to Alcove Press and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Loved the intrigue, suspense, and romance. It was a wonderful depiction of the time period. It was a delight from start to finish.

Astra is a fantastic character and reading about her coming back from her hardship was inspiring, I was rooting for her throughout the story and couldn’t wait to see her win. The characters in this book were really well developed and I felt a great connection to them. In general, I really enjoyed the writing in this book and loved the banter and relationships between characters, it definitely kept me entertained!

This was definitely one of the best books I have read this year... I did managed to finish this book within a few hours. It was captivating and difficult to put down.
HIGHLY RECOMMEND

This book was read thanks to NetGalley.


This book is a really good women fiction, it's a historical novel with a good female lead character, strong, smart and decisive who has to trust her gut to navigate with things life. Highly recommended for those who love women fiction with strong lead.

The main character is Astra Davies and in 1931 she is living her best life. It’s all about fashion and having fun, galavanting around London. Then the unthinkable happens and both of her parents die.

The life of luxury that she was living comes to a screeching halt as she finds herself saddled with a home, debts and secrets that her parents were keeping. She must depend on the kindness of her family while she figures out what to do.

Luckily Astra is clever and determined to make it on her own. When she sees that she needs to get involved in business dealings of her fathers, she does, even though she is not entirely welcome in the 1930’s man’s world of business.

She has the support of some family members (and definitely not the support of others!) friends and a certain very attractive Lord.

This was an easy read, enjoyable and I liked the variety of the characters. It shed a little historical light on London in the 1930’s. It wasn’t particularly fast moving, especially at the beginning, but I enjoyed the pace.

*received for free from netgalley for honest review* Really liked this book more than i thought, at first i wasn't too sure how much i'd like the characters but i ended up liking them and the story!

As a fan of historical fiction I found this an enjoyable read.
The plot follows Astra who looses her parents and finds herself with no money whilst finding herself a life.
She is a strong female character who is trying to uncover secrets in her family and with a group of friends I wished her success in all she did.
A great read and one I would recommend. Thanks the the author, publisher and NetGalley for a copy of this book in return for an honest review.

Thank you to Net Galley, the publisher and author for an audio ARC of this book. This story was set in between WW1 and WW2. I liked learning about the time period of the book. I liked Astra and her friends. I thought she was resourceful and determined. I liked the story but thought it needed a little more excitement. I liked the narrator.

There's a lot of potential in this story, good style of writing and a vivid historical background. Unfortunately I found it quite slow paced and the story didn't keep my attention
Not my cup of tea.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

1930s England must have been a very difficult time for young women who had a yen for independence. They had a
peak at it during WWI, got all their freedom taken back at the end of it and were expected to go back to a
Victorian age. The plight that befell Astra Davies was similar. Her parents dying in a freak accident, her
taken in by an unwilling Aunt, no monies available for survival and no skills at all for her to survive on
her own.

Astra realized soon after the death of her parents that things were really bad. The only way out, as touted
by her Aunt was a rich marriage. Suitors were there in plenty but on Astra's side she had to hide the fact
that she was almost destitute. What she thought was a comfortable living was a lie, her father had invested
badly had lost it all. When Astra realized that she had been living in a coccoon, she took the reins into her
own hands and tried to slowly uncover the secrets her parents had hidden from her, in a foolish bid of protection.

From discovering a simple minded young man, purported to be her brother in an institute, to fraudulent withdrawal
of monies due to her by her lawyer, her own Aunt's hand in witholding information and a virulent, psychopathic
jealous woman amongst her circle who is ready to destroy Astra's reputation in anyway possible to get rid of her
from the social scene.

The last was the vituperative bit and unimaginable to what lengths a jealous woman would go to bring down a rival.
It was fascinating reading and as the story unfolds the importance of "what will society say" seems paramount for
society at the time and anything and everything was done to maintain one's position just so.

Very descriptive of the times, very descriptive of the main characters in this story this was a really interesting
book to read.

A vintage delight to fall into. Kept me on my toes from beginning to end. Vivid writing brings the most glamorous of eras alive on the page. 5 out of 5.

Absolutely loved this book! While her story is tragic, every reader can find a bit of themselves in Astra. Astra is faced with such adversity but remains true to herself throughout the book. There's a perfect mix of love, adventure, and humor woven through this great historical fiction. Perfect for a book club and would definitely recommend it to friends!