This is a beautiful novel that showcases the realities of old Hollywood as well as the glamour. The author doesn't shy away from the difficulties women faced in that time while also showing their strength! Lily Adams was your typical aspiring actress who would do anything to have her chance at fame.

The dual timelines in this novel blended seamlessly, really adding to the story. I loved getting to know Lily Adams alongside her granddaughter. Carolyn is also a complex woman who has spent her life pleasing others and is now trying to find herself while sorting through her grandmother's life. It was lovely to see her life come together for the better in the end.

Set in Hollywood during the late 40s, chronicling Lily Adams' rise towards stardom as she works her way up and seeks out her dream role. While alternate chapters are set in present day as Lily's Granddaughter discovers the truth about Lily's past.
Full of complex characters, a compelling mystery and a focus on family and friendships, set to a backdrop of Hollywood's Golden Age; I really enjoyed both the story and the writing in this book, and look forward to reading more by Sara Blaydes in the future.

Thank you to @netgalley and @LakeUnionPublishing for this ARC. Lily has passed away and her granddaughter has come to clean out her house. Lily, one of the great actresses of the 50's, abrubtly left her career when her co-star was found murdered. While sorting through her things, Carolyn is hoping to get to the bottom of the mystery. Did Lily have anything to do with the murder or was it just timing? I really enjoyed this book! The thrill of a 50's actress as well as a mystery thrown into one. #TheLastSecretofLilyAdams #SaraBlaydes #June2024 #LakeUnionPublishing

I enjoyed the was the story was told (Dual- Timeline).
It was a great story about Old Hollywood, Friendship, Motherhood and more.
The story content itself was extremely well woven together, and contained mystery, family drama and much much more!
Highly recommend!

A story of early Hollywood drama, strong female leads, found family and a little mystery on the side.

I would be a big fan of Lily Adams if I was watching her career grow in real life. Stella Lane maybe not so much, but therein is the real story that you never know what struggles and choices someone is truly going through.

A very enjoyable quick read that takes you through Lily Adams young Hollywood journey - fans of Evelyn Hugo will find a lot to enjoy here too. Definitely recommend adding it to your June / summer TBRs

Thanks to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for the Advanced Readers Copy in exchange for an honest review.

This uses the Hollywood setting perfectly and glad I was able to read this. The concept was everything that I was hoping for and enjoyed the overall feel of the Hollywood element. The characters were everything that I was hoping for. I loved the idea of a family member of a legendary actress learning about the past and the mystery of this story. It was everything that I was looking for and glad it was so well written. Sara Blaydes has a great writing style and I was invested in what was going on.

The blurb sounded exciting. And I always love reading about old Hollywood and some unresolved murder mystery. But the pace was too slow to keep me interested.

“The Last Secret of Lily Adams” by Sara Blades was simply a Wonderful book! This story was about everything I adore, old Hollywood, glamour, intrigue, betrayal, and the resilience of families. It tells the story of two rival actresses who become best friends through their real life crises while trying to make it through the dirty business of becoming movie stars during the 40s and early 50s. After the death of Lily Adams (one of the above mentioned actresses) her granddaughter discovers a letter revealing her secret life and her involvement in the murder of her close friend and rival. The quest to uncover the truth begins, and the masterful and exciting storytelling grips you and keeps you turning every page. I highly recommend this book to everyone who loves a gripping tale of Hollywood’s darkest secrets and beloved characters.

Thank you NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Loved every moment of this novel! Stunning novel that I literally could not put down. Historical fiction, mystery, interplay with modern times, love stories and scandals all woven into one well written novel. I highly recommend!

A story told in a dual timeline, the description really interested me, the characters in both timelines were written well, but I found myself enjoying Lily’s story more.

Some issues I had - stars of Hollywood’s Golden Age were absolutely more than capable of purchasing very large / grand homes. Even stars from the Silent Age were able to - so I didn’t understand why in the first chapter Lily’s granddaughter explains that her grandmother, “one of Hollywood’s brightest stars” and “a legendary actress” as described in the synopsis, couldn’t. While the granddaughter is correct that stars didn’t make the same money they do now, they were still compensated far better than most workers.

Another, this regarding the writing for the 1940’s timeline - it wasn’t accurate, time-period wise, and that kept pulling me out of the story.



Thank you to Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley for the DRC

Thrilled to have an advance copy of The Last Secret of Lily Adams, a romp through Old Hollywood with themes of motherhood, friendship and leaving behind your past. Also a fan of multi-POV, especially the former "It Girl" grandma! Wonderfully written!

Hollywood starlets, secrets, lovers and drama. This book has it all! For fans of Evelyn Hugo this book just hits home. I was enamored from beginning to end reading all about Lily and Stella and discovering the secrets as they were uncovered. A definite recommend

This book had a back and forth between present day and the past, but I found myself caring way more about the Lily Adams storyline than the present day mother/daughter relationship. I liked the drama of the golden age of Hollywood, but I think the relationship between Stella and Lily should have been more developed given how the story ended for the two of them. Overall a good read.

I went into this book knowing very little about it with no expectations. I was quite pleasantly surprised. The book is a real page turner and both the historical and modern day plot lines are well done and interesting. The plot twists of Lily's secret are surprising but yet plausible. There is no heavy handedness or forcing of the plot. All the plot reveals feel natural. In all, I found this book very enjoyable and would recommend to anyone who enjoys fiction or old Hollywood.

Any book that gives me a taste of the Golden age of Hollywood will always be instant favorite. I couldn't put this book down and was so invested in what happened next that I stayed up to 5 in the morning to finish it. This book was my favorite March read and may even be in my top reads of the year!

No, this my friends was a fantastic book. The old Hollywood scene, the dual storyline past and present, the mystery, the relationships between people both good and bad-it had everything.
Many books, these days have the dual timeline, sometimes it works, and sometimes it just boggles my mind. This book nailed it when a granddaughter of a former Hollywood star is left to unravel the mystery of her grandmother, all while trying to maintain a sense of normalcy while she goes through a divorce, and has a sullen teenager and more
I will definitely recommend this to any historical fiction fans. Thank you to Nelly and the publisher for an advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

Loved this. Not my typical go-to, but such a good book. I really liked the Hollywood golden age feel and it gave me strong Evelyn Hugo vibes (one of my favourite books). Definitely recommend reading this. The start is a little slow but it quickly picks up. The strong female relationships are amazing and it is a story of true friendship.

4⭐️

"It was her. Stella Lane. She was everything I wanted to be. Magnetic and stunning, with the kind of beauty that could strike you cold as a stone statue."


An enjoyable trip into the darker side of old Hollywood!

A lot of comparisons here to The Seven Husband's of Evelyn Hugo- both are stories of an Old Hollywood start finally sharing her secrets with the world, decades later. However that's really where the comparisons end. Lily Adams and Evelyn Hugo are very different women, with very different stories.

This is a historical with 'then' and 'now' timelines. The 'then' is Lily Adams starting out in Hollywood, and her relationship with fellow star Stella Lane. The 'now' is Carolyn, Lily's granddaughter, packing up her house after her death and slowly realizing she might not have known her grandmother as well as she thought she did.

I wish Carolyn did more to uncover her grandmother's secrets- Lily left her a letter saying she wanted her to know her true story, but most of the letter was illegible and couldn't be read. She then just sort of stumbles on these clues as she goes through the house? It never really felt like she was an active participant, or even cared that much

As usual with this type of dual timelines story, I really just wanted to stay i the past timeline. The modern story with Carolyn didn't interest me nearly as much as Lily living in 1950's Los Angeles

Thank you to Netgalley and publishing team for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this novel with dual timelines between the 1940s-1950s and present day. I found myself more interested in the present day storyline, rather than Lily's storyline, however. I also did not think that the secret twist at the end was completely necessary, and probably should have just been left alone. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for an Old Hollywood historical fiction.

I really enjoyed this book a lot, and I’m grateful I got the opportunity to read it through an ARC via NetGalley! I wanted to read this book because I’m always intrigued by old Hollywood historical fiction, and this book has it in spades. I’m not normally a historical fiction gal but I make exceptions when I know the book has a great premise, and I was not disappointed. When I first read the synopsis, I thought it sounded a lot like the 7 Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, and I enjoyed that book a lot, so of course I wanted to read something similar, but I was pleasantly surprised when the book was only slightly similar, and only in the premise being that of old stories of a famous Hollywood legend coming to light. Everything else about the book and the way the stories were told were their own, and I loved the story of Lily Adams and in turn the story of her granddaughter. The ending made me tear up a little and I’m always a sucker for a good epilogue, and this book certainly delivered. Honestly, there wasn’t much I didn’t like about it, only that while it was different from Evelyn Hugo in some ways, and also just different from other similar books in the genre, it still felt very much like a sibling of that book, and the whole time I was reading it, I had Evelyn Hugo in the back of my mind. I do understand that with the premise of this book, it’s hard to really have it stand out because the topic of 1950s starlets who fell out of the spotlight and are spilling their life stories later on is fairly limited. Otherwise, I really did enjoy it, and loved the characters and the plot twist at the end that I didn’t even predict until the page before the reveal.