Review: Fifth Avenue Glamour Girl

Fifth Avenue Glamour Girl by Renée Rosen
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I've read just about everything that Renée Rosen has written (so far, I haven't gotten the chance to read Windy City Blues, but I will!) and have loved the majority of the books. Some I have gotten as ARC-the remainder I have bought with my hard-earned cash-this is one I purchased and really looked forward to. I think that there is nothing better than fiction mixed with fact. Ms. Rosen is one of the few authors that can blend the two seamlessly, and I love it!

Some readers may be put off by this book being about a beauty tycoon, but it is more a book about living lies and eventually owning up to them. Both the narrator, Gloria Downing, and Estée Lauder are living with significant lies. It isn't easy to live a life when you don't know who to trust.

This is also a bit of a romance on both women's parts. With Estée, the romance deals with her husband. This was a bit of an odd relationship. With Gloria, her romances are a bit more fluid for the times, and you may think she never finds her true love, but she does, and it was a bit of a shock for me.

I think that this is a perfect beach read as well as a book club read. It would be fun to discuss with a group of cosmetic lovers the life and ambitions of a strong woman like Estée Lauder.

I highly recommend this book.

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SYNOPSIS: "It’s 1938, and a young woman selling face cream out of a New York City beauty parlor is determined to prove she can have it all. Her name is Estée Lauder, and she’s about to take the world by storm, in this dazzling new novel from the USA Today bestselling author of The Social Graces and Park Avenue Summer.

In New York City, you can disappear into the crowd. At least that’s what Gloria Downing desperately hopes as she tries to reinvent herself after a devastating family scandal. She’s ready for a total life makeover and a friend she can lean on—and into her path walks a young, idealistic woman named Estée. Their chance encounter will change Gloria’s life forever.

Estée dreams of success and becoming a household name like Elizabeth Arden, Helena Rubinstein, and Revlon. Before Gloria knows it, she is swept up in her new friend’s mission and while Estée rolls up her sleeves, Gloria begins to discover her own talents. After landing a job at Saks Fifth Avenue, New York’s finest luxury department store, Gloria finds her voice, which proves instrumental in opening doors for Estée’s insatiable ambitions.

But in a world unaccustomed to women with power, they’ll each have to pay the price that comes with daring to live life on their own terms and refusing to back down."