Blog tour: A Beautiful Rival

By

Welcome to the blog tour for A Beautiful Rival by Gill Paul!

More about the book…

New York, 1915.

Elizabeth Arden has been New York’s golden girl since her beauty salon opened its famous red door five years prior. Against all odds, she’s built an empire.

Enter Helena Rubinstein: ruthless, revolutionary – and the rival Elizabeth didn’t bargain for.

With both women determined to succeed – no matter the personal cost – a battle of beauty is born. And as the stakes increase, so do the methods: poaching employees, planting spies, copying products, hiring ex-husbands.

But as each woman climbs higher, so too does what she stands to lose. Because the greater the height, the harder the fall...

More about the author…

Gill Paul is an author of historical fiction, specialising in the twentieth century and often writing about the lives of real women.

Her novels have topped bestseller lists in the US and Canada as well as the UK and have been translated into twenty languages.

The Secret Wife has sold over half a million copies and is a book- club favourite worldwide.

She is also the author of several non-fiction books on historical subjects.

My impressions…

I don’t wear make-up, I never have, but I knew I had to read this book the moment I set eyes on its cover. I am finding myself increasingly drawn towards historical fiction and, despite this being my first novel by Gill Paul, the author’s reputation as an excellent storyteller precedes her. The figures of Elizabeth Arden and Helena Rubinstein come alive through her words, and I was transfixed by their strength and determination. They were flawed and not entirely likeable, but you have to admire women who know what they want and do what they need to achieve it in a man that has always been ruled by men, even more so in their time. Wonderfully researched, this novel is permeated by an incredible sense of time and place and you’ll end up forgetting where you are while reading it.

Three words to describe it. Engaging. Evocative. Fascinating.

Do I like the cover? It’s splendid!

Have I read any other books by the same author? Not yet, but I intend to.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

“Italy in books” - reading challenge 2011

By
Image
Why this challenge? This year I’ve decided to host a reading challenge because I think that they are a brilliant idea. They help to make reading a more collective experience and are a great way to find out more about any particular author / genre / topic and get to know about books you might never have come across. I chose this topic because - as an Italian who has been living abroad for many years now - I feel the need to learn more about my home country and I’m curious to see the difference between the way it is portrayed by native Italians and others. The details of the challenge The challenge will run from January, 1st 2011 to December, 31st 2011 . The aim of the challenge is to read at least 12 books that are set in Italy. Whether written by Italian authors or not, it doesn’t matter. They don’t have to be set exclusively in Italy but this country needs to play a significant role in the book. The challenge can include non-fiction books about Italy. You can also review Italian lea
Read more

Book review: She’s Never Coming Back

By
Image
By Hans Koppel Translated by Kari Dickson Published by Sphere It is safe to say that my choice of reading material is not usually truculent. That’s why I surprised myself when I decided to read a novel whose front cover prominently displays a quote describing it as a ‘terrifying crime novel’. I started to read expecting the worse and - it being impossible to put the book down - a few hours later I was trying to understand what had hit me. Let’s be clear: I loved this book and I’m grateful to Sphere for publishing this Swedish novel by author Karl Petter Lidbeck who, being a children’s literature author, decided to have it published under the pen name of Hans Koppel. I can see why he doesn’t want to have the two genres mixing on the bookshelves! The plot is simple enough: one day after work, Ylva does not return home. When she hasn’t returned 24 hours later, her husband Mike starts to worry and calls the police. Ylva seems to have disappeared without a trace and, month after month, Mike
Read more

In conversation with... T.M. Logan

By
Image
Hi Tim ! First of all, I would like to congratulate you on the publication of The Catch ! Can you please briefly tell us what it is about? A: The Catch is a psychological thriller about a father who becomes convinced his daughter is about to marry a man with terrible secrets. Terrified that his cherished only child is about to marry a man who is not what he seems, Ed sets out to uncover the truth - before it's too late. But as he delves deeper, he risks alienating everyone he loves and turning his whole family against him… Did you have the plot entirely figured out when you started writing the book or did it take an unexpected turn as the characters grew on the page? A: I had about two-thirds of the plot worked out in my head before I started, including some of the key turning points along the way. But the characters always bring out new elements to the story as I write it. I get to know the characters better during the writing – including how they relate to each other –
Read more