Review: The Roaring Days of Zora Lily

The Roaring Days of Zora Lily by Noelle Salazar
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

3.5 Stars
This book is set mostly in the 1920's (the Roaring Twenties) but does venture on a bit into the century.


As the synopsis tells us, we start with a new exhibition at the Smithsonian of movie costumes from the 1920's to the present. A conservator finds, quite by accident, that a costume that was thought to be by one designer has really been created by someone else. And that turns this book into a look at Zora Houghs' (Zora Lily) life.

Zora Hough is born into poverty, but we soon learn she has an exceptional way with a needle and all her siblings. When her best pal gets a job in a speakeasy dancing, Zora is soon dragged into the world of Flapper's, dance, hooch, and glorious costumes.

Most of the book is taken up by Zora's relationships, her sewing, family, designing ambitions, and trying to get ahead. It was a wonderful book; if you love dress design and learning about the darker side of the early Twentieth century (prohibition, racial discrimination, etc.), then this is going to be the perfect book for you.

Frankly, I thought we would be learning a little more about the conservator and her effort to find the original designer mixed in with the life of Zora Lily. Sadly, it was not. You don't hear more about the conservator until the last part of the book.

This was a very wonderfully written novel that had me a little confused when reading the synopsis.

*ARC was supplied by Above the Tree Line (ATTL), the publisher MIRA, and the author. My thanks to all.

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SYNOPSIS "“Noelle Salazar captures the hazy, liquor-soaked days of the Jazz Age in this mesmerizing tale . . . of family, ambition, love, and self-discovery.” — Entertainment Weekly

“Beautifully written and vividly drawn . . . [a] dazzling and sexy, dangerous and inspiring journey through the speakeasies of the jazz age to the glamour and darkness of Hollywood.” —Jillian Cantor, USA Today bestselling author of Beautiful Little Fools

The discovery of a hidden label on a famous gown unearths the story of a talented young seamstress in this glittering novel of family, love, ambition, and self discovery by the USA Today bestselling author of The Flight Girls.

2023, The Smithsonian's National Museum of American A costume conservator is preparing an exhibition featuring movie costumes from the 1920s to present day. As she gingerly places a gown once worn by Greta Garbo on a mannequin, she discovers another name hidden beneath the designer's label, leaving her to wonder—who is Zora Lily?

1924, Poverty-stricken Zora Hough spends her days looking after her younger siblings while sewing up holes and fixing hems for clients to bring in extra money, working her fingers to the bone just to survive. But at night, as she lies in the bed she shares with one of her three sisters, she secretly dreams of becoming a designer like Coco Chanel and Jeanne Lanvin.

When her best friend gets a job dancing in a club downtown, Zora is lured in by her stories of music, glittering dresses and boys. She follows her friend to the underground speakeasies that are at once exciting and frightening—with smoke hanging in the air, alcohol flowing despite Prohibition, couples dancing in a way that makes Zora blush and a handsome businessman named Harley. It’s a world she has only ever imagined, and one with connections that could lead her to the life she's always dreamed of. But as Zora's ambition is challenged by tragedy and duty to her family, she'll learn that dreams come with a cost.