About The Silver Shoes
• Paperback: 336 pages• Publisher: She Writes Press (June 19, 2018)
In her second novel, Jill G. Hall, author of The Black Velvet Coat, brings readers another dual tale of two dynamic women from two very different eras searching for fulfillment. San Francisco artist Anne McFarland has been distracted by a cross-country romance with sexy Sergio and has veered from her creative path. While visiting him in New York, she buys a pair of rhinestone shoes in an antique shop that spark her imagination and lead her on a quest to learn more about the shoes’ original owner. Almost ninety years earlier, Clair Deveraux, a sheltered 1929 New York debutante, tries to reside within the bounds of polite society and please her father. But when she meets Winnie, a carefree Macy’s shop girl, Clair is lured into the steamy side of Manhattan--a place filled with speakeasies, flappers, and the beat of “that devil music”--and her true desires explode wide open. Secrets and lies heap up until her father loses everything in the stock market crash and Clair becomes entangled in the burlesque world in an effort to save her family and herself. Ultimately, both Anne and Clair--two very different women living in very different eras--attain true fulfillment . . . with some help from their silver shoes. Praise “The crash of 1929, speakeasies and musical reviews, artistic challenges, family secrets, secret desires, romantic complications?these are just a few of the ingredients in Jill G. Hall’s wonderful new novel, The Silver Shoes. Clair and Anne are two compelling characters born decades apart into drastically different circumstances. Each must face her own dilemmas and neither has an easy solution.” —Judy Reeves, author of Wild Women, Wild Voices “What a delight! Hall captivates and pulls the reader in; the story is as sparkling and fun as the silver shoes that connect the two women together--pure entertainment!” —Michelle Cox, Author of the Henrietta and Inspector Howard series "You’ll be cheering for both of these heroines as they insist on finding their own way as artists, no matter what the men in their lives want them to be. Hall's descriptions of Anne's visual art, inspired by the silver shoes, are delicious." —Janice Steinberg, art journalist and author of The Tin Horse
My Thoughts - This one pains me a little to write. I wanted to absolutely love it. I wanted to be swept up by the story of these gorgeous silver shoes and fall totally in love. And it didn't quite live up to that. I didn't hate it or even really dislike it but I didn't love it either. The characters came off as a bit flat to me and I was never able to connect with either of them. As well the settings never felt especially developed. I didn't dislike this one and I never had any trouble picking this one up and keeping track of who was who and who was doing what but I kept feeling like I just wanted more out of it. Rating: Somewhere between Good and Okay (aka 2.5 Stars)
Purchase Links
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About the Author
Jill G. Hall is the author of The Black Velvet Coat, an International Book Award Finalist for Best New Fiction. Her poems have appeared in a variety of publications, including A Year in Ink, The Avocet, and Wild Women, Wild Voices. On her blog, Crealivity, she shares personal musings about the art of practicing a creative lifestyle. She is a seasoned presenter at seminars, readings, and community events. In addition to writing, Hall practices yoga, tap dances, and enjoys spending time in nature. Learn more at www.jillghall.com, and connect with her on Facebook and Twitter.
Those in between books can sometimes be the pits, but I totally adore that cover! Hugs...RO
ReplyDeleteWell bummer. I totally see why this spoke to you to read. Middle of the road books are hard.
ReplyDeleteOh no, I'm sorry this one didn't completely work for you. It's never fun when you're really wanting to love a book, but it just doesn't happen. But at least it wasn't a dud, just not quite as good as you were hoping.
ReplyDeleteIt is always a bit disappointing when a book ends up being just okay. I hope your next read is better.
ReplyDeleteYou did a good job with a book like this that wasn't to your taste. Always hard to do.
ReplyDeleteI get what you mean about a book you really wanted to like but it just wasn't to be. I've been there. When one has limited time to read you want to love what you read. I appreciated your review.
ReplyDeleteSometimes it's harder to write a review of a book that falls flat (when you wanted to love it) than of a book you actively disliked. I'm sorry it was a disappointment, especially because the premise sounds so attractive to me, too!
ReplyDeleteThanks for your review for the tour.
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