Glimmer As Your Can by Danielle Martin

Glimmer As You Can by Danielle Martin

Published by Alcove Press ISBN 9781643855233

Hardcover, $26.99, 320 pages

If you read Fiona Davis' Chelsea Girls or Jennifer Weiner's Mrs. Everything, Danielle Martin's debut novel Glimmer As You Can is a book to put on your TBR pile. Set in 1962 Brooklyn, it tells the story of three young woman trying to make their way in world that tells them men should make the decisions for them.

Madeline is trying to a make a living owning a dress shop. She is stuck in a horrible marriage with Fred, an awful man who is a powerful councilman in Brooklyn. Fred is a serial cheater, and has embarrassed Madeline more than once. He lives with other women, and only comes home to Madeline when he needs a respectable wife on his arm to squire to social events.

Madeline has poured her heart and soul into the Starlite, her dress boutique, but one bad word from her now ex-husband Fred and she could lose her clientele. At night, she turns the Starlite into a salon/dance club, where women come to read poetry, discuss literature and current events, and dance the night away.

Elaine is a British young woman who has lived through WWII and dreams of working for the Chronicle newspaper. She is living with her boyfriend Tommy, an alcoholic, and her sister Catherine is crashing with them and hopes to make a living as a singer. Tommy is an unemployed wreck who wants Elaine with him day and night. When Elaine gets an interview with the Chronicle, she has to decide if her dreams are worth upsetting Tommy.

She hangs out at the Starlite, reading the poetry she has written. One day she has a chance encounter with Lisa, a stewardess, whose boyfriend Billy was supposed to pick her up at airport and never showed up. Lisa loves traveling to Italy and Beirut and all the exciting places she gets to go, but when she marries Billy, she will have to leave her job. Is that what she wants for her future?

We learn a lot about how women were forced to rely on men in 1962. They had to choose between being married or having a satisfying career- you couldn't have it both ways. The women in this novel were free to be themselves only at their nightly sojourns to the Starlite, where Madeline created an atmosphere of acceptance, creativity, and joy.

When Madeline's ex-husband threatens the existence of the Starlight, the women band together to keep the one place that brings them joy. As a fan of the Brenda Starr comics growing up, I would have liked to have learned more about Elaine's job as a fact checker, I found that part of the story so interesting. Lisa's job as a stewardess in 1962 was intriguing as well. 

The world was changing, and Glimmer As You Can shows us a time when women decided they wanted more and were willing to defy society's expectations to get it.

Thanks to TLC Tours for putting me on Danielle Martin's tour. The rest of her stops are here:

Tuesday, November 10th: @welovebigbooksandwecannotlie

Wednesday, November 11th: @mynovelmenagerie

Thursday, November 12th: @baytownbookie

Friday, November 13th: Amy’s Book-et List and @amysbooketlist

Monday, November 16th: Nurse Bookie and @nurse_bookie

Tuesday, November 17th: Hallie Reads

Wednesday, November 18th: Leighellen Landskov and @mommaleighellensbooknook

Thursday, November 19th: Run Wright and @karen_runwright

Friday, November 20th: @mrsboomreads

Friday, November 20th: @readwithmason

Friday, November 27th: Bookchickdi

Monday, November 30th: @vicireads

Monday, November 30th: Kritter’s Ramblings

Tuesday, December 1st: 100 Pages a Day… Stephanie’s Book Reviews

Thursday, December 3rd: @irishgirliereads

Friday, December 4th: @lyon.brit.andthebookshelf

Monday, December 7th: Girl Who Reads

Tuesday, December 8th: @katieneedsabiggerbookshelf

Wednesday, December 9th: Books Cooks Looks

Thursday, December 10th: Eliot’s Eats

Thursday, December 10th: @suethebookie

Friday, December 11th: What is That Book About

 

Instagram features:

Friday, November 27th: @booksloveandunderstanding

Saturday, November 28th: @lifeinlit

Sunday, November 29th: @babygotbooks13

Sunday, November 29th: @shobizreads

Monday, November 30th: @sweethoneyandbrei

Tuesday, December 1st: @shesalwayswithabook

Wednesday, December 2nd: @the_unwined

Thursday, December 3rd: @megsbookclub

Friday, December 4th: @suzysbookshelf

Saturday, December 5th: @liferhi_inspired

Sunday, December 6th: @giuliland

Monday, December 7th: @bluntscissorsbookreviews

Monday, December 7th: @books_with_bethany

Wednesday, December 9th: @thephdivabooks

Thursday, December 10th: @thebookend.diner

Thursday, December 10th: @readinggirlreviews

Thursday, December 10th: @the.caffeinated.reader

Friday, December 11th: @somekindofalibrary

Friday 5ive- November 20, 2020

Welcome to the Friday 5ive, a weekly blog post about five things that caught my attention this week, which has mostly been spent prepping for Thanksgiving next week.

1)  Walking by the Stumble Inn, a bar/restaurant that used to always be packed on weekends pre-COVID, I saw this sign that really sums up the feeling. 

2) Restaurants in NYC have really upped their game when it comes to creating outdoor dining areas now that the weather is much colder.  It's been interesting watching them build them.

Le Moulin Cafe

I really liked Luna Rossa's fall decor

3)  Reading with Robin had a Pre-Publication Marathon with 36 Authors last weekend. On Saturday and Sunday, she hosted authors who got to talk about their upcoming books. Robin interviewed each author for 30 minutes on Crowdcast, and there were so many great conversations. I was amazed at her stamina! I popped in and out all weekend, and did it ever add to my To-Be-Read pile. My favorite was Lauren Willig talking about her novel, Band of Sisters, which is coming out in March and it is fantastic. You can check them out on Robin's Crowdcast page here. 

4)  I'm watching the NBC sitcom Superstore on my Echo Show while I'm cooking dinner at night. It is laugh-out-loud funny, with some of the sharpest writing around. Lauren Ash as the take-no-prisoners head of security Dina and Mark McKinney as the caring and clueless store manager Glenn are the standout performers. 

5) I read two books this week. Danielle Martin's Glimmer As You Can takes us to 1962 Brooklyn as three women are each at a crossroads of their lives. You get a real sense of how dependent on men women were back then, and the courage it took to strike out on your own with your friends by your side. My full review publishes next Friday.

I'm continuing my Christmas-themed entertainment earlier this year with Susan Mallery's Happily This Christmas, the seventh book in her Happily, Inc. series. I read the sixth one last year, Meant to Be Yours, and I really enjoyed getting to know everyone in the wedding destination town setting. In the newest chapter, Wynn, graphic designer and single mom of a teen boy, helps her handsome police officer neighbor deal with his pregnant 21 year-old daughter who has moved in with him. I will definitely be going back to read the others in this delightful series. My full review publishes December 8th.

I hope you all have a happy, healthy and safe Thanksgiving this year. Stay safe, socially distant, wash your hands and wear a mask.