A big Thank you to @readmirabooks & @htpbooks_audio @htp_hive & @netgalley for the surprisingly compelling 𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑪𝑶𝑽𝑬𝑹 𝑮𝑰𝑹𝑳 𝒃𝒚 𝑨𝒎𝒚 𝑹𝒐𝒔𝒔𝒊, narrated by Hillary Huber, out August 5th!

I am really impressed by this debut novel. It takes place in the years I grew up and wished to be in that magical world of magazines and supermodels. Meeting Birdie as a 50 something now while going back in memory to her days of being discovered and going into modeling highlighted the vast differences in thinking about the safety and care of young girls and their potential for exploitation. (At least I hope there are differences.)

The pending 50 year party to celebrate Birdie's agent is both the catalyst and catharsis for Birdie to confront how her early years in the business were subsumed by a relationship with an older rock star. To have this all come about in her young voice juxtaposed with the pragmatic older self who was pushing down anything negative was brilliant and feels very familiar to my generation.

I honestly did not expect to get so engrossed in this story. The nostalgia was high, the characters, while not exactly relatable to me personally, felt relatable to the time and it all felt very real, as did the conclusion. I was heartbroken for Birdie throughout, even as she was confidently, if not naively, navigating her reality as best she could.

The audio combination was again, perfect. @hillaryoutloud captured the young ingenue determined to be liked, to proud adult with truths still to discover with apparent ease. At least she made it sound easy. I felt the teen Birdie so deeply. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

For a deeply moving story showing how deeply certain events shape us, do pick this book up. It will be worth the trip!

Thank you so much to Mira books/audio for the physical book along with the audio in exchange for an honest review. Birdie was a 13 year old girl ignored by her parents when school clothes shopping she was discovered my Harriet the legendary modeling agent Her life went from awkward to amazing becoming a quick up and comer when at 15 she was seen by a rockstar twice her age and entered into a tumultuous relationship with her parents signing over her rights to him. You follow Birdie through her rise and very far fall in dual timelines of the 70’s thru the 90’s and present time as she debates on attending a celebration for Harriet’s career. I did this one dual reading when I could mostly listening when i could not. The narrator had a wonderful tone and pace and really kept me engaged in Birdies life. It did a good job touching on the AIDS crisis that struck the nation in the 80’s from the fashion industry which was very hard hit. All in all great read. 4 stars

I cannot believe this is a debut and want to note up front that Helen Laser narrated this story so well, the audio was fantastic. This read like a memoir and at times it was hard to remember it was fiction. It was a heartbreaking read, I felt for Birdie and am sure in real life this was unfortunately not a unique story. Rossi covered abuse so well in here from several facets: parental, work, and domestic. Told in two timelines, 1970s and 2018, I thought it was done well this way. I loved that throughout it all Birdie seemed to have a good perspective on things, while she was trying to find herself, and while she continually found herself in bad situations, some she recognized as such and some she did not.

Thank you to Kaye Publicity and MIRA Books #partner for the gifted copy and to Macmillan Audio for the ALC to review.

This is a fabulous debut. It’s not just an immersive inside look at the modeling world, but an emotional story of the exploitation of many young girls, be it by men or an entire industry.

Being discovered at only thirteen in the ‘70s, she’s the awkward young model with long legs who would become a Rock Star’s plaything at only fifteen. She lived the life of fame, well, almost; there was always the next young, pretty face coming on the scene.

The story is not overtly graphic, but the point comes across with a fierce passion. Birdie may have been blind to some of what was happening to her as a teen, but she also felt she had no voice, no agency.

It is not until she is an adult, reflecting back, that she is shaken awake with the help of others, and she becomes aware of the fact that she had been a mere child, taken advantage of by him, by others, even her own parents. It was heartbreaking yet incredibly gripping, and it covered topics that resonated with me.

I loved the dual timelines of Birdie’s life, but I especially loved all the '70s and '80s references. This almost felt like I was reading Birdie’s memoir; it felt that intimate.

🎧Most of you know I love audiobooks, and I always love to pair my reading with the audiobook. That said, this audiobook did not quite meet my expectations. I think the narrator wasn’t the right match for this book’s content; it felt too prim and proper.


Thank you @htpbooks @harpercollins and @amyrossiwriter for the gifted ebook and blog tour invite. Thank you @harlequinbooks for the gifted audiobook via #NetGalley.

This book surprised me. I honestly did not expect to enjoy it as much as I did. Why? I did not think that a cover girl story would interest me. But, Birdie proved me wrong!

Birdie Rhodes was only thirteen when legendary modeling agent Harriet Goldman discovered her in a department store and transformed her into one of Harriet’s Girls. What followed felt like the start of something incredible, a chance for shy Birdie to express herself in front of the camera.

There are a lot of emotions that run through you as you read this. Birdie is only 13 when her career begins. So, she is terribly naïve. Her parents are very hands off. So, it is all up to Harriet to protect her. And the further you read the more you realize Harriet did not do a great job in her role as protector. Enter the “Rock star”! Let me just say…Birdie was 15 when she met him. Y’all!!!

This book takes you behind the scenes of a world I didn’t think I cared much about. But Birdie is a character that keeps you reading. She is broken but yet she is still tough as nails.

Hillary Huber is the narrator and she helped bring this story to life!

Need a tale which will get your emotions all up in a tizzy…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today!

I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.

In 1975, at the age of 13, Birdie Rhodes was discovered by model agent Harriet Goldman. Her fresh look, long legs, and strong work ethic resulted in early success. She became one of "Harriet's Girls." When she was fifteen, Birdie was hired to pose on the cover of an album by a famous rockstar, who swept her off her feet. Despite being twice her age, none of the adults in her life intervened in this relationship. When the story shifts to 2018, Birdie receives an invitation to a gala celebrating Harriet's 50-year career. A journalist reaches out to Birdie, who has long left the spotlight, to discuss her career, which brings back difficult memories.

The Cover Girl by Amy Rossi is a poignant coming-of-age story that exposes the dark side of the quest for fame and fortune. Birdie's story was heartbreaking as she did not have the ability at such a young age to understand how toxic the predatory relationship with the "rockstar" was. Lacking proper love and support from her parents, Birdie sought connections wherever possible, often leading her down the wrong paths. I was moved by the fifty-six-year-old Birdie, now using the name Elizabeth, as she struggled to come to terms with her past. This raw, realistic portrayal of the fashion industry, club scene in the 1970s and 1980s, and the AIDS crisis made this a tough, emotional read and an impressive debut.

Narrator Hillary Huber did an excellent job.

This book is fictional but feels like it could be based on a real life. A teenage girl spends the '70s as a model and rock star arm candy. The book is narrated from present day and explores how the two eras and those in between treat beautiful women. While parts are sad or cringy, hearing it from her voice reminds readers that people who are exploited still have a full life and perspective. That perspective is very refreshing, rather than the usual view from judgy men or contemporary thinkers who look at the past through current values.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc and alc.

I really wanted to enjoy this book, but I found it to be slow and boring and a little bit triggering. I was hoping it would be more like The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. I did enjoy Hillary Huber's narration (as always).

The Cover Girl follows Birdie over the course of a long career in the fashion industry as a model. Discovered at 13 by a prolific agent, Birdie quickly climbs the ranks as talented and malleable. Then one day, she meets the rockstar and her world is never the same. Spanning over 30 years, The Cover Girl examines femininity and agency through the lens of a young and impressionable girl forced to grow up much too young.

I'm a big fan of all books relating to industries I know nothing about. As someone who modeled one singular time as a pre-teen after my parents forced me into a shoot at a shady hotel, I can confidently say that the fashion industry most definitely fits that bill. Where many books about fashion, modeling and influencers takes a more dramatic approach, The Cover Girl has much more of a lit fic, historical fiction bend to it than many others in the subgenre. This definitely makes it stand out among its peers and I appreciate the unique take on this topic the author tried out.

The Cover Girl is mostly character driven and follows Birdie through many stages of her life. From a young teen to a young woman and all the way through to adulthood, the reader gets a chance to watch Birdie grow up and examine how the world of modeling impacted her. Birdie herself is a perfectly serviceable main character and one that many women will relate to. While I had no issue with her personally, I did find that much of the book was about things happening to her rather than about the things that she made happen. This in itself is not a flaw, per se, but I did find the ending less satisfying because of this.

Character-driven novels, in my mind, follow people throughout their lives and examine how our choices shape us. Birdie had very few choices in her life and was controlled by nearly every adult she came into contact with in one way or another. The scenes where Birdie finally begins to develop some agency are actually quite nice, but the overall tone of the book struck as very hopeless. Much of Birdie's youth is spend being sent or dragged places and she is preyed on by the people that were supposed to be keeping her safe. This definitely makes a comment on the modeling industry's predatory practices (that, thankfully, appear to be somewhat more under control in 2025) but never really seems to commit to that point. By the end of the book, Birdie feels like she is in much the same position as she was when she walks into Saks with her mother - rudderless and without agency. It is only in the 11th hour and final chapter that Birdie starts to feel like a woman in control of her life.

I also want to touch on the mention of the AIDs crisis and how it was represented. I appreciate that Birdie sits in the center of the issue for nearly a whole chapter and makes several comments about doing "the work" in order to build trust with a community she knows she has no place in. These were some of my favorite scenes in the book. Bobby is also a stand-out character who survives this time period and shows that AIDs is not necessarily a death sentence for people, especially today. There's a nice balance struck here between noting the seriousness of loss that queer America went through during this time and the hope that exists now. I haven't really seen this done well before and I think the author deserves kudos for how this is handled here.

The audiobook of this title provides a soft and steady read from narrator Hillary Huber. Huber's read is mostly unemotional and provides a calm narration of events. Those used to more dramatic readings mat find this one a bit less exciting than others they have read, but Huber's tone matches the content of the book and her variety of voicings on the dialogue leaves no question for the reader about who is speaking when.

This book is overall a very interesting story told from a perspective I've never read before. I like the historical aspects of the book (which I will admit I have done no fact-checking on - do not come for me if Elvis didn't really die when the book says he did. I wasn't alive yet). The slower pacing of the book and repetition of actions made it a bit more of a flat read for me. I also wasn't charmed by the lingering taste in my mouth that makes me want to say, "Poor Birdie". After spending a bit over 300 pages with her, I was hoping for better for her. Still, I think that more modern historical fiction fans will find this book interesting and I will be recommending it to those looking for a fresh perspective in their reading habits.