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3.76 AVERAGE
3.76 AVERAGE
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Read a book that fits your reader profile but excludes your most read genre - September 2, 2025 - This historical fiction novel has a really interesting and informative story within the story. I enjoyed the majority of the book, but then the ending felt rushed and fell a little flat for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Rape, Slavery
Moderate: Sexism, Police brutality, Murder
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Eating disorder, Infidelity, Medical trauma, Death of parent
informative
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Spanning multiple generations, the story focuses on white actress and celebrity icon of Hollywood’s Golden Age, Kitty Karr. When she passes away, the world is shocked to find Kitty left her multi-million dollar estate to her next door neighbors, the St. John sisters, three wealthy, young Black women. So, why did Kitty leave her fortune to them?
The book addresses several issues including, racism, colorism within the Black community, and sexism within the Hollywood machine.
I loved this story. I find some historical fiction boring but this one had me turning that page over and over!! I had heard of passing due to my own experiences being a fair skinned half-Cuban but this was on a whole other level!
adventurous
emotional
informative
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book should have been either a series or an epic like East of Eden.
While the premise, history, and story are so interesting, the haste to include all of this detail in one book that's only 400 pages long leaves a rushed, sometimes confusing, but addictive book.
This book had a lot of jumps. I loved the pacing of Act 1 and would have loved to keep that. That's why this book should have been a series. As much as I loved the story and mystery, it felt so out of left field for Kitty to be a part of a secret network. And the setup for Blair House felt so out of left field. The entire relationship with Lucy felt out of left field. If we had more buildup, mystery, something, it could have been a jaw-dropping moment. My jaw should have dropped when I found out Lucy was also passing. But 6 other characters are also passing? After spending the entire time with Emma, reminding us how dangerous it is. What the hell? And also, because of the shortness, very serious moments were just 2 pages, or even paragraphs. When Nathan found out about Sarah and about Kitty, that should have been a big deal! But it couldn't be because of the constraints. And at the end, now Ellise is going to go against all the advice of her loved ones and reveal everything on the Oscar stage? And announce some reparations fund with Kitty's money? Do you know how hard it is to even acknowledge reparations, let alone anything else? It was too rushed. And a shame because the premise is sooo interesting. So I walked away disappointed.
While the premise, history, and story are so interesting, the haste to include all of this detail in one book that's only 400 pages long leaves a rushed, sometimes confusing, but addictive book.
This book had a lot of jumps. I loved the pacing of Act 1 and would have loved to keep that. That's why this book should have been a series. As much as I loved the story and mystery, it felt so out of left field for Kitty to be a part of a secret network. And the setup for Blair House felt so out of left field. The entire relationship with Lucy felt out of left field. If we had more buildup, mystery, something, it could have been a jaw-dropping moment. My jaw should have dropped when I found out Lucy was also passing. But 6 other characters are also passing? After spending the entire time with Emma, reminding us how dangerous it is. What the hell? And also, because of the shortness, very serious moments were just 2 pages, or even paragraphs. When Nathan found out about Sarah and about Kitty, that should have been a big deal! But it couldn't be because of the constraints. And at the end, now Ellise is going to go against all the advice of her loved ones and reveal everything on the Oscar stage? And announce some reparations fund with Kitty's money? Do you know how hard it is to even acknowledge reparations, let alone anything else? It was too rushed. And a shame because the premise is sooo interesting. So I walked away disappointed.
challenging
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I wasn’t sure I’d like this one. The last two books I’d read didn’t really click for me (although they weren’t bad), so part of me was concerned I was in one of those reading slumps. But now I think I’m coming out of it.
I had my theories about where the two storylines merged, and the anticipation to see if I was right was fun. The anticipation in general was what kept me turning the pages and interested in putting all the pieces together. Because even though I had my theories, I was still surprised.
The experience was also eye-opening in a way I way I didn’t expect. The topic of race in the film industry, particularly in the mid twentieth century, wasn’t something I gave much thought to. I also learned about passing, which is defined as someone concealing their racial identity to be accepted as a member of another racial group, or in this case, biracial actors with lighter skin allowing them to pass as white.
While this book started off strong, the middle didn’t really click for me. But then it began to pick up in the third act, including a twist I didn’t see coming.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Rape
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Police brutality
challenging
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I really enjoyed this until the end. The characters motives and connections seemed a bit undeveloped as the author rushed to conclusion. Not every character has to be related
Li para cumprir o challenge de Essential Reader, tinha no kindle unlimited.
Não gostei. É o livro de estreia da autora e isso é bem perceptível.
O livro é dividido em duas linhas narrativas: o passado, na juventude de Kitty, e o presente, com a narradora Elise.
Os capítulos da Elise são chatos demais, todo mundo tem o carisma de um pano de prato amarelado, os conflitos são rasos, o único "mistério" que te instiga um pouco é a questão da Kitty (os outros não têm relevância alguma pro desenrolar da história: a alimentação dela, a personalidade das irmãs mais novas, o trabalho, os paparazzi... zzz...).
Os capítulos da Kitty são um pouco melhores, mas a autora perde a mão completamente na hora de criar os personagens. Tem capítulos em que ela introduz, sem brincadeira, umas 10 pessoas novas. Você lê uma página e tem referência a 7 nomes que não te dizem nada, porque são só nomes jogados pelos parágrafos. As pessoas são tão pano de fundo pro que realmente importa que tem uma morte lá pelas tantas e você não sente absolutamente nada (e não, não acho que esse tenha sido o sentimento que a autora quis provocar).
Acho que há mérito na história, o plot é interessante, mas falta (ou sobra) muita coisa pra se tornar uma história consistente.
Não gostei. É o livro de estreia da autora e isso é bem perceptível.
O livro é dividido em duas linhas narrativas: o passado, na juventude de Kitty, e o presente, com a narradora Elise.
Os capítulos da Elise são chatos demais, todo mundo tem o carisma de um pano de prato amarelado, os conflitos são rasos, o único "mistério" que te instiga um pouco é a questão da Kitty (os outros não têm relevância alguma pro desenrolar da história: a alimentação dela, a personalidade das irmãs mais novas, o trabalho, os paparazzi... zzz...).
Os capítulos da Kitty são um pouco melhores, mas a autora perde a mão completamente na hora de criar os personagens. Tem capítulos em que ela introduz, sem brincadeira, umas 10 pessoas novas. Você lê uma página e tem referência a 7 nomes que não te dizem nada, porque são só nomes jogados pelos parágrafos. As pessoas são tão pano de fundo pro que realmente importa que tem uma morte lá pelas tantas e você não sente absolutamente nada (e não, não acho que esse tenha sido o sentimento que a autora quis provocar).
Acho que há mérito na história, o plot é interessante, mas falta (ou sobra) muita coisa pra se tornar uma história consistente.
Interesting at first, but felt like it dragged and didn’t flow very well.
This was just really bad writing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, Pregnancy
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes