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laceygage's review against another edition
3.0
This was a 2.5 ⭐️ book for me. Lots of issues and things that didn’t make sense.
lauralovestoread's review against another edition
4.0
I love Historical Fiction, especially reading about a time in history I hadn’t known much about. Set during the Great Depression, Evie Devlin comes to Galveston to escape a dark past, but enters a dance marathon in hopes of winning cash prizes.
I ended up reading the physical copy, and alternating with the audiobook, which was narrated by one of my favorites, Cassandra Campbell. She always does a fabulous job at bringing each story to life, and I was so fascinated by the true story of the dance marathons.
*many thanks to St Martins Press/Macmillan Audio for the gifted copy and audiobook for review
I ended up reading the physical copy, and alternating with the audiobook, which was narrated by one of my favorites, Cassandra Campbell. She always does a fabulous job at bringing each story to life, and I was so fascinated by the true story of the dance marathons.
*many thanks to St Martins Press/Macmillan Audio for the gifted copy and audiobook for review
megs004's review against another edition
4.0
This was an unique and interesting take on the Great Depression era. I have not read a ton of books based around The Great Depression so this was a nice change from the WWll historical fictions I often read. This novel focuses on dance marathons in both Chicago and Galveston and the dedication the dancers go through to keep their roofs over their heads. The dance marathons gives them a shimmer of hope during a dark and depressing time. It mainly follows Evie, who goes back to the dancing circuit after her nursing career failed. I found the story to be very fascinating and it was easy to get caught up in their world. The narration was done well too.
megs004's review against another edition
4.0
This was an unique and interesting take on the Great Depression era. I have not read a ton of books based around The Great
Depression so this was a nice change from the WWll historical fictions I often read. This novel focuses on dance marathons in both Chicago and Galveston and the dedication the dancers go through to keep their roofs over their heads. The dance marathons gives them a shimmer of hope during a dark and depressing time. It mainly follows Evie, who goes back to the dancing circuit after her nursing career failed. I found the story to be very fascinating and it was easy to get caught up in their world. The narration was done well too.
Thank you to NetGallery and to Macmillan Audio for giving me a copy for my honest review.
Depression so this was a nice change from the WWll historical fictions I often read. This novel focuses on dance marathons in both Chicago and Galveston and the dedication the dancers go through to keep their roofs over their heads. The dance marathons gives them a shimmer of hope during a dark and depressing time. It mainly follows Evie, who goes back to the dancing circuit after her nursing career failed. I found the story to be very fascinating and it was easy to get caught up in their world. The narration was done well too.
Thank you to NetGallery and to Macmillan Audio for giving me a copy for my honest review.
jennifer_fatula's review against another edition
4.5
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.
4+ stars
This was filled with a ton of emotion and probably needs some content warnings so I would suggest looking those up. I really got pulled into the stories and loved the growth of (most of) the characters. It was really interesting to read a historical fiction set during the Great Depression as a reminder of how bad things have been in the past - even less than 100 years ago. If you like historical fiction I definitely recommend this!
4+ stars
This was filled with a ton of emotion and probably needs some content warnings so I would suggest looking those up. I really got pulled into the stories and loved the growth of (most of) the characters. It was really interesting to read a historical fiction set during the Great Depression as a reminder of how bad things have been in the past - even less than 100 years ago. If you like historical fiction I definitely recommend this!
srivalli's review against another edition
dark
informative
slow-paced
2.5
2.5 Stars
One Liner: Umm… I don’t know. Kinda scattered
1932, Galveston
Evie wants to become a nurse. She is eager to shut off her dark past and move into a brighter future. However, this is easier dreamt than achieved. She goes through a series of hardships, trains to become a nurse but is denied her PIN, and finally joins a marathon dance group.
Evie’s life changes as she meets different people and gets swept into their worlds. Depression is making everyone desperate, and her struggle to find love can ruin everything for her and others. Can Evie find what she cherishes the most and have a family to call her own?
The story comes from Evie’s first-person POV.
My Thoughts:
The writing is beautiful but slow. I started to speed-read and found it much more to my liking.
The book gives a glimpse into the lives of marathon dancers. This was a new topic for me, so it was informative and enjoyable.
The story comes from Evie’s POV, and there’s some character growth to support it. However, the plot deals with too many issues, making the book a bit scattered. Also, I couldn’t connect with Evie or root for her.
I’m still unclear about the core theme in this one. Is it Evie’s nursing? Is it about the Great Depression? Is it about falling in love with someone unavailable? Is it capitalism vs. communism? It is Catholic vs. Protestant? Is it about an abusive and selfish parent? Is it about homophobia? No idea. There’s a little of everything and nothing to anchor the reader.
We had a solid plotline with Evie and her mafia friends. Then we jump to marathon dancers. We have a potential love track and some homophobia. The mafia family enters again. More drama and Evie is being the opposite of smart. Finally, there’s regret and reveal. Some happy news too. And then we have another sort of HEA that seems out of place in a book set in the early 1930s.
There are quite a few characters to keep track of. I went with the flow as they seemed to pop in and out of the story whenever necessary.
Not a fan of political commentary either, especially when some of it sounded more contemporary than historical. But I could be wrong as I don’t belong to the region.
To summarize, Last Dance on the Starlight Pier is a novel with many themes and has a few good elements. But it is underwhelming as a package. Maybe removing extra elements and limiting the story to 350 pages or less would have made it compact.
Thank you, NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press, for the eARC. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent
parental neglecttobookish's review against another edition
4.0
Evie Devlin is feeling like her life is starting over again and her future is looking very promising. She's had a difficult childhood where she has been forced to financially support her mother, Mamie, by dancing and performing. Evie has been accepted to St. Mary's St. School of Nursing to become a nurse. She has a friend Sofie, and she can clearly see the opportunities that are opening up to her. She works hard and studies hard and is excited to graduate. Unfortunately, the Director of the school refuses to acknowledge or allow her to get her pin so she can work as a nurse. Evie, finds a dance marathon group and works there unofficially as a nurse taking care of the dancers.
The book takes place in the US around 1929-1932 so the reader gets to read a bit about the Great Depression that took place and how some people tried to survive these difficult times.
I really enjoy Historical Fiction so I was looking forward to reading this one. I found it really interesting and I was able to connect with the main character of the book. The book covers some information on Vaudeville and the Dance Marathons that took place during that time.
If you enjoy reading historical fiction, I would recommend picking this one up. I would rate it around 7.5/10.
The trigger warnings: homophobia, child exploitation
The book takes place in the US around 1929-1932 so the reader gets to read a bit about the Great Depression that took place and how some people tried to survive these difficult times.
I really enjoy Historical Fiction so I was looking forward to reading this one. I found it really interesting and I was able to connect with the main character of the book. The book covers some information on Vaudeville and the Dance Marathons that took place during that time.
If you enjoy reading historical fiction, I would recommend picking this one up. I would rate it around 7.5/10.
The trigger warnings: homophobia, child exploitation
mackenzierm's review against another edition
3.0
3.5/5 stars!
This is a first Sarah Bird novel for me. I was waiting to be in the right mindset to enjoy and appreciate this novel, but given that the publishing (and archive) date of this digital ARC were cutting close I had no choice but to jump right in!
The story is told via the perspective of Evie Grace Devlin, an aspiring nurse, during the Depression. Evie has experienced much hardship up to this point in her life, which we learn about in the early stages of this book. Following her nurse training, where she is cruelly rejected from obtaining her RN pin, she is thrust back into the world of dancing and dance marathons. I haven’t had much reading exposure to books set in this time period, but the ones I have read have mostly been focused on farm life and the Dust Bowl during this time period; thus it was refreshing and eye-opening to have this perspective shown.
I did enjoy reading this novel, as it provides another perspective to the hardships experienced by those during the Depression and sheds light on dance marathons as a form of entertainment. I must admit that I found the story a bit monotonous and grim, with multiple characters that seem to come and go. I don’t feel like many of the characters that were introduced had much bearing to the story, and when they would ‘reappear’ or be mentioned at a later point I had trouble recalling who they were and in what context we knew them. There are also some subplots and literary devices that were injected into the story, with seemingly little purpose.
All in all, an eye-opening story about the hardships experienced during the Depression.
I would like to thank Netgalley and the publisher, St. Martin’s Press, of this advanced digital copy for the opportunity to read this novel in exchange for an honest review! All opinions expressed are my own. Upon publishing of this novel, I will also be posting my review to Amazon Canada.
This is a first Sarah Bird novel for me. I was waiting to be in the right mindset to enjoy and appreciate this novel, but given that the publishing (and archive) date of this digital ARC were cutting close I had no choice but to jump right in!
The story is told via the perspective of Evie Grace Devlin, an aspiring nurse, during the Depression. Evie has experienced much hardship up to this point in her life, which we learn about in the early stages of this book. Following her nurse training, where she is cruelly rejected from obtaining her RN pin, she is thrust back into the world of dancing and dance marathons. I haven’t had much reading exposure to books set in this time period, but the ones I have read have mostly been focused on farm life and the Dust Bowl during this time period; thus it was refreshing and eye-opening to have this perspective shown.
I did enjoy reading this novel, as it provides another perspective to the hardships experienced by those during the Depression and sheds light on dance marathons as a form of entertainment. I must admit that I found the story a bit monotonous and grim, with multiple characters that seem to come and go. I don’t feel like many of the characters that were introduced had much bearing to the story, and when they would ‘reappear’ or be mentioned at a later point I had trouble recalling who they were and in what context we knew them. There are also some subplots and literary devices that were injected into the story, with seemingly little purpose.
All in all, an eye-opening story about the hardships experienced during the Depression.
I would like to thank Netgalley and the publisher, St. Martin’s Press, of this advanced digital copy for the opportunity to read this novel in exchange for an honest review! All opinions expressed are my own. Upon publishing of this novel, I will also be posting my review to Amazon Canada.
memull17's review against another edition
3.0
The cover and the location of Last Dance on the Starlight Pier drew me to the story initially. I live about 30 miles from Galveston so I was really interested to read a story set there and to learn more about its history. From reading this book I learned so much about the dance/entertainment culture during the 20s & 30s.
Evie had a difficult childhood growing up a dancer in the vaudeville circuit with an unpleasant mother. Her aspirations to become a nurse and help those in need was really inspiring. By becoming a nurse in the dance marathon world she connected the two parts of her life together and found purpose. The other dancers Evie met were all unique and one particular dancer held a special place in Evie’s heart, Zave.
I was not expecting Zave’s storyline but appreciated its inclusion and the light it shined on the era of the time. I would have liked more of his story and felt it didn’t receive enough attention since it was introduced later on. The connection Evie and Zave share is special and meaningful because of their connections to Evie’s late father.
This is a lengthy read that tells a touching story about one girl’s dreams to become a nurse and make a difference. Her path was not straight; it ebbed and flowed like the dancers she looked after but the end result will leave you in awe.
Thank you @netgalley and @stmartinspress for this eARC in exchange for my honest feedback.
Evie had a difficult childhood growing up a dancer in the vaudeville circuit with an unpleasant mother. Her aspirations to become a nurse and help those in need was really inspiring. By becoming a nurse in the dance marathon world she connected the two parts of her life together and found purpose. The other dancers Evie met were all unique and one particular dancer held a special place in Evie’s heart, Zave.
I was not expecting Zave’s storyline but appreciated its inclusion and the light it shined on the era of the time. I would have liked more of his story and felt it didn’t receive enough attention since it was introduced later on. The connection Evie and Zave share is special and meaningful because of their connections to Evie’s late father.
This is a lengthy read that tells a touching story about one girl’s dreams to become a nurse and make a difference. Her path was not straight; it ebbed and flowed like the dancers she looked after but the end result will leave you in awe.
Thank you @netgalley and @stmartinspress for this eARC in exchange for my honest feedback.
kielbasi23's review against another edition
3.0
Last Dance on the Starlight Pier is a historical fiction novel based in the depression era. I have been gravitating towards books that are written in this era lately and was excited to receive an e-ARC copy of this book. The book is written from the main character, Evie Grace's perspective and the journey she goes on over a period of time. However, I found her journey to be lackluster at times, despite there being so many things jammed into the novel, such as the mobster scene, the depression and the dance marathons, sexuality, and psychological procedures of that time. It was hard for me to connect with any of the characters and get a sense of who they really were. I give this book a rating of 3 stars because the idea is interesting, especially about the dance marathons as entertainment in the depression era and I could finish the book, as the writing itself was not bad.
Thank you to St Martin's Press and NetGalley for the e-ARC edition for an honest review.
Thank you to St Martin's Press and NetGalley for the e-ARC edition for an honest review.