Many thanks to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing/Amazon Publishing for gifting me a digital ARC of the new historical fiction book by Emily Bleeker. All opinions expressed in this review are my own - 4.5 stars!
In the present, Christie's Auction House is preparing to sell the belongings of Hollywood star Vivian Snow. Her great-granddaughter is there, wanting a collection of postcards sent to Vivian over 60 years by her best friend, Antonio Trombello, an Italian solder, POW, and Catholic priest. Vivian met Antonio when singing at the local USO club and met her first husband, Tom Highward, there as well. When Tom goes missing, and Vivian is pregnant, she has to support her family by traveling and entertaining the troops. Her life gets complicated through a series of romances and personal issues.
The book before this one, When We Were Enemies, goes in depth to Vivian's backstory of meeting Tom and Antonio, and this book explores all that happens next. While it could be read as a standalone, since enough backstory is provided, it's such an interesting book that I would recommend reading it first. This book explores a lot of themes - abuse, addiction, mental illness, motherhood, guilt, the price of fame - but it's told in a way that never becomes depressing. We see the toll life has taken on Vivian and the results of her decisions passed on to the next generations. I liked the auction notes in between the chapters to see the progression of Vivian and Antonio's friendship through the years, and the epilogue tied everything up perfectly.
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