Reviews

Wild Women and the Blues by Denny S. Bryce

canddaceee's review

dark hopeful inspiring slow-paced

4.25

crystalroses68's review against another edition

emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

emilymazzara's review

3.0

Engaging writing and great imagery/setting. I feel like the connections between the characters could have been stronger and a few more details fleshed all the way out. Not everything needed to be left in a cloak of mystery and unsaid inferred undertones. Still quite good over all.

mochimustreads's review against another edition

emotional reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual assault and Domestic abuse

ewaddell's review

informative reflective medium-paced

3.0

jan1955's review

dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

5.0

danielcrogers's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

laurabearhere's review against another edition

3.0

The history was fascinating, but I didn’t care about any of the characters. 

ameserole's review

4.0

I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Wild Women and the Blues was pretty interesting to dive into. Even if things got a tad bit confusing towards the end for me. In it, you will meet Sawyer (who will be the Present POV) and Honoree (who will be the Past POV). These two were pretty interesting on their own but once they got together and he was interviewing her for a thesis.. things kind of got crazy.

From switching through the years, 2015 back to 1920, Chicago seemed entertaining, soulful, and crazy back then. Now I've always wanted to go to this city and try all the amazing food there but due to Covid, I guess I will be okay with diving into this book instead.

Honoree was a fun character to read about. Doesn't mean she had a nice and easy life back then because she really didn't. I love the winter but I'm not sure how I would feel with no heat in zero degree weather. Might not be happy and might freeze to death (but details). Then the whole buildings on fire? Yeah, no - count me out of that please.

Other than that, she was the bees knees and I really enjoyed how they said certain phrases back then. Then there's Sawyer, who was getting to what happened back in her good ole days and some of the secrets that came out towards the end blew my mind. It was hard for my brain to comprehend one of them.. which I wont dive into.

Great book and easy to devour.

andrea_author's review

5.0

This stunning debut creates a world of romance, intrigue, and family secrets that will keep you guessing to the end. With a dual timeline (1925 and 2015), the story unfolds gradually but with ever-increasing tension as dancer Honoree tries to make a living in the Chicago speakeasies under the dominion of Al Capone. The world is fraught with danger, yet this book is as much character-driven as it is plot-driven. The setting is rich, vibrant, and immersive—it begs to be adapted to film.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.