Fifth Avenue Glamour Girl by Renee Rosen

Posted April 29, 2023 by Debbie in Book Reviews / 0 Comments

Fifth Avenue Glamour Girl

by 

Renee Rosen

3.5 Stars

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.

~ My Thoughts ~

You know that saying don’t judge a book by its cover?  Well, I for one have never agreed with that saying and probably never will in my lifetime.

It was the cover art that drew me in.  Realizing that this book was written by an author I had read in the past just sweetened my desire to get my hands on a copy of Fifth Avenue Glamour Girl.  Finding out that Renee Rosen would be at my local Barnes & Noble in May to discuss this fantastic story well as you can see, I received a copy of the book, and I can’t wait to share my thoughts with you

There are so many things that I love about this book.  I adored that this book while fictional centered around Estee Lauder and her life.  Estee’s determination, her self-awareness, her drive and her ambition were detailed with precision.  I found Estee to be an inspiration, her determination was astounding, and her thought process was intriguing.  Reading Estee’s fight to become who she is now to the public was exhausting, but in such a great way.  The author had me reassessing myself, my dreams, goals and the strength of my determination to reach them.

Gloria was a fantastic character in the book as well.  While dealing with a life change that was completely unexpected this character bled emotion. 

There were many times I fought with my inner conflict if at the time I was team Estee or team Gloria.

It would be horrible if I didn’t mention the love of Estee’s life.  He played such a pivotal role in her personal story and the complete storyline.  Honestly, I wish I had a chance to meet with these three main characters in real life.  That’s how well this story is written.

Each character written in this book is so incredibly well defined it is mind blowing.  Each character is going through something that the author details perfectly.  Watching each character evolve is written so beautifully.  I was interested in every character’s storyline and was thrilled when eventually all character’s story endings were woven into the storyline with heartbreak, beauty and grace.

One thing I truly adored is I literally felt transported back in the time in which this story is set.  It’s elegance, its suffering, it’s nostalgia.  This added such an incredible dimension to the entire reading experience.

While some may think this is a story about makeup and the women who created a well-known brand, they would be 100 incorrect.  Fifth Avenue Glamour Girl is about the determination of one woman and her dream, the breakdown of a family, the guilt that goes along with it and realizing what’s important and what not in life and the undying love and loss of one’s soulmate.  It’s also the story of friendship, business and the daily ups and downs of life that every person deals with.

I am so excited to attend the event next week to hear the author’s thoughts on this book.  I thought it was fantastic!

 

 

 

 

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