Riley LaShea

Elizabeth is 22 when Ariel (aged 30) comes into her family's life as a nurse for her ailing Nan. The year is 1943 and America has joined the war in Europe. Elizabeth's family live in Richmond, Virginia, a place which at that time is not tolerant of people who are different.

The story is told from Elizabeth's perspective as she struggles with her sexuality, with the effect of the war on her family and with racial segregation and prejudice she is exposed to when she and Ariel travel to New Orleans on an important errand for her Nan. The people they meet and events they experience there make a huge impression on Elizabeth, allowing her to come to terms with who she is and what she wants from life.

Elizabeth's growing affection for and attraction to Ariel is always uppermost in her thoughts, as is her despair at her certainty they can never be together and will eventually be parted. Everything does work out for them eventually though their path to happiness is a rough and thorny one.

I'm not usually a weepy reader but Club Storyville brought me to tears several times. This is a special story, beautifully told and absolutely deserving of your consideration. Very highly recommended.… (lisätietoja)

Oh my goodness. THIS story left me a little speechless. Why did it take me so long to finally read this book!? What an incredible, sweeping roller coaster ride with exciting characters. Absolutely phenomenal! An extraordinary book that I fell in love with.

If you are looking for a mystery, contradictions, seduction, and a love story, you will find it here. So this story really has *everything* to offer.

One of the main characters is Caton, employed by a company whose boss is a disgusting, sexist guy called Jack. Despite being in a long-term marriage, he has numerous affairs with his female employees. In order to keep his wife Amelia happy and busy, he has her plan charity events for him. To this end, he hires Caton as Amelia's assistant.

Caton gets a well-paid contract and is rid of her overbearing boss for the time being. What she didn't know, however, is that his wife Amelia is a demanding, cold woman.

Already in the first half of the book, there is tension between the two main female characters, Amelia and Caton. Because both seem to have a different idea of what they want and need from each other for Caton to fulfil her contract, it is precisely this back and forth between the two that drives the plot forward. More than once, I exclaimed, "Oh, my God!".

This book is highly intense simply because there are a lot of infidelities. Each character cheats on the other with either actions, affairs or secrets, so it's no surprise that there is a lot of sex in every conceivable form, place and position. I mean, good for you. You do you!… (lisätietoja)