Publisher: Kensington Publishing
Pages: 304
Format: eARC
Buy the Book: Amazon
Goodreads: The year 1900 ushers in a new century and the promise of social change, and women rise together toward equality. Yet rules and restrictions remain, especially for women like Alice Butterworth, whose husband has abruptly disappeared. Desperate to make a living for herself and the child she carries, Alice leaves the bitter cold of Chicago far behind, offering sewing lessons at a New Orleans orphanage.
Constance Halstead, a young widow reeling with shock under the threat of her late husband’s gambling debts, has thrown herself into charitable work. Meeting Alice at the orphanage, she offers lodging in exchange for Alice’s help creating a gown for the Leap Year ball of Les Mysterieuses, the first all female krewe of Mardi Gras. During Leap Years, women have the rare opportunity to take control in their interactions with men, and upend social convention. Piece by piece, the breathtaking gown takes shape, becoming a symbol of strength for both women, reflecting their progress toward greater independence.
But Constance carries a burden that makes it impossible to feel truly free. Her husband, Benton, whose death remains a dangerous mystery, was deep in debt to the Black Hand, the vicious gangsters who controlled New Orleans’ notorious Storyville district. Benton’s death has not satisfied them. And as the Mardi Gras festivities reach their fruition, a secret emerges that will cement the bond between Alice and Constance even as it threatens the lives they’re building . . .
Kritters Thoughts: Two women - one from Chicago and one from New Orleans and both end up single as husbands end up dead and missing. Constance is a woman who came from money and her husband ends up dead after an incident on a train. Alice, a woman who grew up on a farm made it to Chicago to make her life go in a different direction ends up married and her husband goes missing. She goes on a trip to find him and ends up in New Orleans . . .
As a reader who has been reading fiction for many years, I knew where this one would go early on, but the journey was still enjoyable. These two women are such a pair when they meet and try to change the ways for both each other and others! I loved reading their banter when they created a dress for a Mardi Gras that was a ball that was flipping things on its end as women were going to be running the show. This part of the book was my favorite to read - watching these women form a relationship and a beautiful dress to come of it.
I was able to read this in two formats which was fun since I rarely do this! I read this via ebook and audio. The audio version was narrated by Jessica Marchbank and while I usually listen to the books at the normal speed, I actually was able to speed this one up and still enjoy it - made me feel like a normal audiobook fan who can speed up and read away!
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