While I knew the name Fred Astaire, I had never really heard about his sister Adele and this novel puts a spotlight on her fascinating life. Adele was a talented performer, who started in vaudeville and made her way to the stages of New York and London. She mostly performed alongside her brother, but Adele dreamed of a different kind of life: that of a wife and mother. Struggling to balance between her love of performing and her desire for a family life, Adele makes a compelling figure. Overall, this novel was compelling and informative about a woman who should be as well-known as her brother. ( )

Thanks to William Morrow & NetGalley for a digital advance reader's copy. All comments and opinions are my own.

This was not the book I was expecting. I was disappointed, mainly with the writing. I was looking forward to reading this historical fiction novel because it features one of my favorite time periods, 1920s through the second world war. We follow Adele Astaire from the glitz and glamour of the Roaring Twenties, through the grit and sacrifice of World War II.

I had read Eliza Knight’s “The Mayfair Bookshop” but didn’t realize she was the same author until I got to the part in this novel which includes the Mitford sisters, the Bright Young Things, and the upscale British weekend house parties. “The Mayfair Bookshop” tells the story of Nancy Mitford - a contemporary of Adele’s - so Knight’s research came in handy for Adele’s story, too.

And this is the story of Adele Astaire’s life – both her career and her private life. The novel alternates with the story of a fictional friend of Adele’s, Violet Wood, who is also a dancer. They become very close friends as Adele mentors Violet, but I felt that we are told how close they are as “dearest friends,” without the actual experiences that would bring the characters closer.

In fact, I felt that the novel is often just an expanded description of Adele’s biography which I read afterwards on Wikipedia when I was researching photos. Her experiences and her emotions are described in a “tell instead of show” format. I didn’t feel engaged or connected to the characters, so can’t give this novel more than 3 stars.

I did enjoy the descriptions of her dancing with her brother, the famous Fred Astaire. Their relationship was believable. The inclusion of all the people in Adele’s life was fun – from Noel Coward to the Mitfords to the British royal family. Later in her life she even socialized with “the young senator from Massachusetts and his wife Jackie.”

Adele’s life contained a lot of interesting events and captivating people, so I’m disappointed that the novel itself was not better. ( )

When I was a little girl, I used to sit on Saturday afternoons and watch the musicals with my father – when he was home. He wasn’t often home so it was such a treat to enjoy a day with him. He instilled a love of musical theatre in me that stands to this day – movies and plays.

Many of those movies starred either Fred Astaire or Gene Kelly. I honestly didn’t know that Fred had a sister, especially one as talented as she was. This is my loss.

This book chronicles Adele’s life away and apart from all that we think we know when we think of Fred Astaire. It’s a sad story, really, of a woman who wanted so much more than to be a dancer on stage and was constantly thwarted in that desire.

I found myself quite immersed in the story, but I am very fascinated by theatre and all that surrounds it. Don’t let that deter you if you are at all interested in the life a forward thinking woman of many talents who was not afraid to move forward when many would try and hold her back.

I received a free copy for my honest review. All opinions are my own. ( )