This novel reminded me that the inner struggles of women today are not so different than that of women a century ago. This is a worthy addition to any historical fiction collection.

The Manhattan Girls tells the story of four famous women in Manhattan. The story follows them in their careers and their romances. The novel was very well-written and were full of historical details. There was enough glitz and glamour to keep one’s attention. I thought the four women were complex. The author did an excellent job in making these characters come alive. The only thing I did not like about this book was that the ending felt rushed and unresolved. Still, I recommend this for fans of The It Girls, The Blue Butterfly, and Bloomsbury Girls!

What a great book! I love everything by this author and this book was no different! I couldn't put this down and was up all night waiting to see how it ended!

Read this if you like: Multiple POV, rich history, NYC backdrop, close friend groups

Check triggers**

This book is described as a 1920s version of Sex and the City. I totally agree. I went into this book mot realizing that Dorothy Parker was a real woman. She was a witty poet who went through many tragedies. A lot of this book is truthful to her life.Dorothy and her three friends navigate life, love, and careers in New York City. It's set in 1921. The war is over, fashions are daring, and bootleg liquor is abundant.

Dorothy Parker: renowned wit, member of the Algonquin Round Table, and more fragile than she seems. Jane Grant: first female reporter for the New York Times, and determined to launch a new magazine she calls The New Yorker. Winifred Lenihan: beautiful and talented Broadway actress, a casting-couch target. Lastly, Peggy Leech: magazine assistant by day, brilliant novelist by night.

This book was absolutely fascinating. It was slow at times but I still couldn't put it down. The women are so interesting. The characters are well developed and thought out. You're not left wondering about anybody. It's all laid out. Most of them are likable though I did struggle a bit with Dorothy. The 1920's NYC backdrop was amazing. I learned so much about the time that I didn't know. Beautiful writing. I highly recommend this book!

Thank you so much to NetGalley, the author, and William Morrow for the gifted e-book! ❤️

The Manhattan Girls refers to four women during the early 1020's who start a bridge club in response to the men in the group having a Saturday poker party. The main character is Dorothy "Dottie" Parker a famous humorist in her time. Dottie has a complicated life and doesn't make great choices in her love life, she needs her friends to help her. Jane Grant is a New York Times Reporter and she along with her husband start The New Yorker magazine. Winifred Lenihan is an actress on Broadway who is dealing with her own fear of men. And Peggy Leech works for advertising for Condi Nast but in the evenings works on her novel.

It is a very New York centered book which takes us not only to the Algonquin and the many famous people who hang out there but to numerous speakeasys for alcohol that doesn't seen to have slowed down with Prohibition. The concerns of the women could easily be written about today's women. Career insecurities, love life problems and of course, male domination in work and the physical abuse of women are front and center in the book.

I always love a good historical fiction book and this one delivered. It's a lot of fun to realize they were real women just fictionalized in the realm of Fiona Davis and Beatriz Williams.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for this honest review.

I just did not enjoy this as I thought I would.

I thought this book was well written, but I found the pacing to be slow. This book is very character driven, which I tend to like when I connect to the characters, but in this case I just didn’t. If i don’t connect to characters I need some interesting plot lines, which I also felt were lacking in this book.

I felt that the characters lacked depth.

I was pretty confused about the timeline throughout the book. I knew it was during the 1920s, but I couldn’t figure out how much time was passing. At one point it was mentioned that Dottie’s son would have been 4 and I didn’t realize that much time had passed.

There are some very heavy topics in this book that may be triggering to some: rape, abortion, infidelity, homophobia, etc.

I just couldn’t bring myself to care about any of these characters. Maybe Peggy and Jane. Everyone else felt very unlikeable.

This was a fun trip to the past that gives you an inside look at the lives of these four women. Their stories were fascinating and interesting. The details about their trials and troubles were captivating. It was an era that sounded glitzy and glamorous, but what they endured was gritty and relatable in modern times.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher for review.

Was hoping for City of Girls vibes, but the book never got there. Well-researched, but I was looking to be dazzled. It was hard to get into and I didn't fall in love with Dorothy Parker. Not a bad book, just fell for the hype.

I did not finish this egalley., but may read it at a later time. I'm not sure why this book didn't resonate with me but there was no hook to pull me in. In general, I like the works of Gill Paul.

Fun, fresh and light. I loved following along this group of friends and their significant others in a time when women were not as free as we are now. It definitely had hints of Sex and the City! It was an entertaining read.

Thank you to William Morrow Paperbacks and to NetGalley for an ARC of this book.

I loved most of Gill Paul's books and this one was no exception. I love Historical Fiction books and this one was great. This book transports you right back to the Jazz age. This book is about four women that are based on real people. You get invested in this story really fast and I loved it from start to finish.

I would recommend this book to anyone who loves to read Historical fiction.

Gill Paul does it again. I adored The Manhattan Girls and reading about Dorothy Parker and the Vicious Circle in 1920's New York. Gill effortlessly brings this time period to vivid life allowing the reader to step back in time and have a taste of what it would be like to have a drink in the Algonquin Hotel. The exploration of prohibition and the changing climate in terms of women's rights was fascinating and had me wanting to know more. I loved seeing the friendship between our four main characters and seeing how their friendships changed, grew or fizzled throughout this portion of their lives. I also really enjoyed the exploration of marriage at this time through seeing the struggles and triumphs these four women faced in their own marriages. From disregarding the norms and expectations of the time, to embracing the role of being a wife, it was fascinating to get a glimpse into each woman's personal life. The author created characters with real flaws, hopes and dreams making them relatable and evoking a care for the characters that is not always easy to do. I highly recommend this novel.

This was such a wonderful book! I haven't read any book by Gill Paul before this and now I definitely need to. The narrative of this was written so well with the beautiful imagery and strong characters!

Book Review…The Manhattan Girls: A Novel of Dorothy Parker and Her Friends by Gill Paul

NEW YORK CITY 1921: The war is over, fashions are daring, and bootleg liquor is abundant. Here four extraordinary women form a bridge group that grows into a firm friendship.

Their romances flourish and falter while their goals sometimes seem impossible to reach and their friendship deepens against the backdrop of turbulent New York City, where new speakeasies open and close, jazz music flows through the air, and bathtub gin fills their glasses.

They gossip, they comfort each other, and they offer support through the setbacks. But their biggest challenge is keeping their dear friend Dottie safe from herself.

The Manhattan Girls is a great novel about Dorothy and her three friends' lives and their ups and downs. They are amazing women to follow! Their friendship is what stands out the most for me! The way they support each other regardless of what's going on, it's what friendship truly is! It's a little slow paced but it fits perfectly for the story and the genre. If you've read any of Gill Paul's books before then you know the writing is wonderful! I would love to read another book about these women! A fabulous read! Thank you Random Things Tours for sharing this fantastic book with me!

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An interesting fictionalized story of four real-life American women set back in the Roaring 20s in New York City during the height of Prohibition. Satirist Dororthy (Dottie) Parker forms a bridge club when she and three of her friends are not permitted to join the Algonquin Club's all male poker club. The women meet periodically and play bridge, but more, form bonded friendships during a time when women are thought of as the weaker, less important sex. Dorothy, female reporter Jane Grant, novelist Peggy Leech, and actress Winifred Lenihan are part of the famed Alogonquin Round Table. group. Dorothy's marriage is on the rocks, Peggy is too busy being a career woman to find a lasting relationship, let alone marriage. Winifred is treated like chattel by her manager and other men who see her as nothing but a pretty face.

This is a wonderful book showing the power of female friendships during a time when women's rights are coming to light in America. These women live unconventional yet vital lives looking for love, for success, for equality in all things, as well as supporting each other through good times and bad. It is not a difficult book to read, and gives a picture of America in the 1920s, during the Jazz era, Prominent topics are Prohibition, books, magazines and movies., It is a timely read that parallels similar topics we face in our society today regarding women's rights and women's choices.

I was glad to receive a free copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A fizzy and fun take on Dorothy Parker’s early career and her relationship with the Algonquin Club.

As Women’s Historical Fiction goes, this book is far superior to most, focusing on individual characterization, relationship dynamics, and setting rather than romance.

Though the four female protagonists have their share of romantic entanglements, this is a friendship novel first and foremost, and the dynamic between the women is a big part of what makes the story so compelling.

The focus on professionalism and the trials of the working woman in the 1920s also provides excellent material for the story.

The book is a pretty honest portrayal of Parker, which is to say that it’s not the most flattering one, but I appreciate that more than a lionization of a woman whose flaws were as grand and meaningful as her more attractive qualities. It’s Jane, Winifred, and Peggy who bring more likability to the story. They also remain intriguing despite being closer to heroine status than Parker herself.

This was my first Gill Paul book and it certainly won’t be my last. Terrific stuff that is a cut above a lot of what is found the genre.

Gill Paul takes us back to 1920s Manhattan where we meet 4 distinctly different women trying to make it in a male dominated world. The Manhattan Girls is a character study. Its a book that takes it's time and envelopes us in the atmosphere of New York City - back to the time when jazz was hip, bootleg booze was free flowing and womens fashion was a must.

This book has been compared with Sex and the City and I would agree with that statement. The Manhattan Girls are Dorothy, Jane, Winifred and Peggy. Jane is the first female reporter for the New York Times, Winifred is an actress and Peggy is an assistant at a magazine. The ladies have different backgrounds and opinions, but they are steadfast in their friendship for each other. The issues they faced are not unlike the ones for women today. We watch them as they develop their careers, navigate society's expectations and sexism. And they support each other as they search for love.

Paul takes 4 woman, puts their very different lifestyles together, and comes out with a pleasant story of friendship and loyalty. The story left me noting that even 100 years later we have not changed so very much.

Many thanks to NetGalley, William Morrow and Gill Paul introducing me to all aspects of twenties Manhattan - from the flapper culture to Prohibition to speakeasies to gangsters and bootlegging. From Fifth Avenue to the Algonquin hotel to Central Park and Broadway, this one is surely for NYC fans. And I have to admit after reading, I did a little googling to take another look at these fascinating women (a true sign of an engaging historical fiction book).

Solid writing but there wasn't as much substance overall as I've come to expect from Paul's books. I loved the city and colorful characters. It was interesting to see how The New Yorker began. I wish there'd been a bit more at the end, even in an author's note, as to what happened afterward. I liked Dorothy, and I did wonder about Jane and Harold. Characters were realistic and well drawn.

Extremely solid interpretation of an underappreciated scene in litrerary history. What is truly impressive about Gill Paul's writing is the vibrancy of these characters. They come off the page quite well as real, fully-fleshed out people, lending life and color to the literary pillars of yesteryear.

I've always been intrigued by Dorothy Parker, just from reading little snippets of her work (and those famous one liners). So when I saw a book about her and her friends, I was immediately in. I didn't know her life had been as hectic as it was, and in the current political climate with Roe being overturned, it was a culture shock almost to see women fighting for their rights, rights that we no longer have. I bet Ms. Parker would have a few things to say about that! However this was a good read, and I sped through it to find out what happened to Dorothy and her friends.