The Flappers: Vixen Review!

Vixen (Flapper #1)

Author: Jillian Larkin

Average Rating: 3.77/5.0

Personal Rating: 4.0/5.0

Page Count: 432

Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers

Release Date: 15 December 2010

According to Goodreads:

Jazz... Booze... Boys... It's a dangerous combination. 
Every girl wants what she can't have. Seventeen-year-old Gloria Carmody wants the flapper lifestyle--and the bobbed hair, cigarettes, and music-filled nights that go with it. Now that she's engaged to Sebastian Grey, scion of one of Chicago's most powerful families, Gloria's party days are over before they've even begun... or are they?

Clara Knowles, Gloria's goody-two-shoes cousin, has arrived to make sure the high-society wedding comes off without a hitch--but Clara isn't as lily-white as she appears. Seems she has some dirty little secrets of her own that she'll do anything to keep hidden...

Lorraine Dyer, Gloria's social-climbing best friend, is tired of living in Gloria's shadow. When Lorraine's envy spills over into desperate spite, no one is safe. And someone's going to be very sorry...

My Opinion:

I don't know about all of you, but it has been a life long dream of mine to be able to travel back in time to the Roaring Twenties. There's something so...okay cheesy alert...enchanting/enthralling about the flappers, the jazz, the speakeasies, the clothes, the mob. That time period seems so exciting compared to 2015. I know 2015 that you are not even halfway over, but I mean nothing has really happen. It's not me, but you. Anyway...and how can we forget about the slang??? You are the cat's meow? Copasetic? Look how fun those are. All we got are...swag, hipster, dough. Eh. 

As you might have picked up on, I love the setting. The characters didn't disappoint either. The book has three narrators that alternate each chapter. First, you have Gloria who wants to rebel against her goody two shoes lifestyle before she is tied down due to wedding vows. She comes from a new money family, and is engaged to Bastian Grey, who is old money. There's even talk that he has a hint of royalty running through his veins. He has the looks and the money ladies and gentlemen, but don't be fooled! That is purely a disguise. Jerome is a popular African American pianist in the most popular speakeasy currently, the Green Mill. Gloria is instantly drawn to him and he vice versa. Lorraine is the second narrator, and Gloria's best friend...if you can call someone that who is always jealous of your popularity and is always looking to be the center of attention. The third narrator is Clara, who is Gloria's cousin from a farm in Pennsylvania but arrives with a secret past. Interlaced throughout all the narratives is Marcus, a handsome boy who is friends with Gloria and Lorraine. 

There are about 2 1/2 romantic relationships occurring throughout the novel. Two are right in your face, in a good way. The other half involves someone chasing and pining over a boy who doesn't look at her much more than as a friend. It takes her well over two-thirds of the book to realize she needs to move on, only for her to run into a man who actually does pay attention. I enjoyed following along as the characters shared their secrets, gained trust, broke away from relationships/friendships, and basically figured out what they really wanted and not what society or their parents wanted.  

There are two things that I wished we would have gotten. They are both mild. One, I wish we could have received more backstory about Clara's relationship with the man from her past (I don't want to say the name, because it will take away some of the suspense). The other thing I wish there would have been more of was more interaction with the mob. However, I feel like my second wish will come true in the second novel Ingenue, because that plot twist had me questioning my existence. Let's just say, I immediately requested Ingenue from my library, and will be picking it up on Tuesday. 

I recommend Vixen to all historical fiction lovers, especially for those who would have wanted to live during the Roaring Twenties like me. The novel is definitely low-key on the action level, but the suspense and the vividness that Jillian Larkin creates with her writing truly makes Vixen worth the read. 

Purchase Links:

Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Book Depository / Audible

Check out the Flappers Website!

The Flappers