This was an interesting novel, following a young Hollywood star as she retraces the journey her dead mother took West, after a mysterious inheritance. I enjoyed the way the two stories intertwined, and the historical settings. It was especially interesting to see how hard cross-country travel was in those days!

I loved the author's book "Letters from Skye" and was very happy to receive a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This book fell a little flat for me with regard to character development and the delivery of the story. It was told through multiple viewpoints and multiple mediums. Too much jumping around for me. Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine for a copy of this book.

Loved Woman Enters Left! I enjoyed reading the story from the different viewpoints.

Wow what a book
Couldn’t put down
Highly recommend

10 Things I Loved About Woman Enters Left by Jessica Brockmole

1.It’s built around three strong female characters and presents a wonderful and moving picture of female love and friendship.
2.Its evocation of the glamorous and not so glamorous aspects of the Golden Ages of Hollywood – the studios, the actors, the screenwriters, the casting couch…
3.The brilliantly observed period detail in each timeline. The clothes, the make-up, the cocktails, the food – creamed chipped beef on toast, slumgullion stew, shrimp wiggle, croquettes.
4.The carefully-constructed narrative structure, with the story moving back and forth between the two timelines: the 1926 narrative told through Ethel’s and Florrie’s journals, each in their distinctive style, interspersed with excerpts from Florrie’s unpublished screenplay; the 1952 narrative told from Louise’s point of view, with other documents used to fill in the period between 1926 and 1952.
5.The fascinating road trip along Route 66 with its campsites, dude ranches, motels and, dare I say it, cinematic scenery.
6.The multi-layered narrative that, as well as the central story of the three women, covers issues as diverse as the blacklisting of screenwriters/actors in the 1950s and the activities of The House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), workplace safety and sexual freedom (or lack of it), the Korean war and post-combat stress.
7.Its themes: of unintended consequences and the guilt that can arise from these; missed opportunities in life, career and love; the need to seize second chances.
8.The sparkling dialogue, particularly between Louise and Arnie, that’s straight out of Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn in, say, Woman of the Year
9.The frequent allusions to life as a film script from the title itself, Woman Enters Left to the way the characters see themselves and interpret their experiences: ‘She can picture it now, a shot on the screen in Technicolor. The red car, the brown desert, the dark-haired actress running away from it all with her wicker suitcase.’ ‘But what does the scene call for? What would the script say?’
10.The brilliant ending – pure Hollywood!

Not too difficult to guess that I adored this book. It has it all: romance, glamour, authentic period detail and a compelling narrative. If someone doesn’t snap up the film rights, they’re missing a trick. Highly recommended…and all Jessica’s previous books just got added to my TBR.

Letters From Skye by Jessica Brockmole is one of my favorite reads in recent years and of course At The Edge of Summer was also a stunning read, so I was exceptionally eager to read her latest book Woman Enters Left. Needless to say I had high expectations.

I personally think that Brockmole is at her best when she is writing a romance, but this book sounded intriguing and was told in journal form (which I love) so I was eager to see how it unfolded.

In the 1950s, movie star Louise Wilde is caught between an unfulfilling acting career and a shaky marriage when she receives an out-of-the-blue phone call: She has inherited the estate of Florence “Florrie” Daniels, a Hollywood screenwriter she barely recalls meeting.


Among Florrie’s possessions are several unproduced screenplays, personal journals, and—inexplicably—old photographs of Louise’s mother, Ethel. On an impulse, Louise leaves a film shoot in Las Vegas and sets off for her father’s house on the East Coast, hoping for answers about the curious inheritance and, perhaps, about her own troubled marriage.

Nearly thirty years earlier, Florrie takes off on an adventure of her own, driving her Model T westward from New Jersey in pursuit of broader horizons. She has the promise of a Hollywood job and, in the passenger seat, Ethel, her best friend since childhood. Florrie will do anything for Ethel, who is desperate to reach Nevada in time to reconcile with her husband and reunite with her daughter. Ethel fears the loss of her marriage; Florrie, with long-held secrets confided only in her journal, fears its survival.

In parallel tales, the three women—Louise, Florrie, Ethel—discover that not all journeys follow a map. As they rediscover their carefree selves on the road, they learn that sometimes the paths we follow are shaped more by our traveling companions than by our destinations (summary from Goodreads).

This novel had a different ton than some of her others, not just the time period but also the content. This book focused more on friendship than romance which I was a little disappointed about because I just love how Brockmole writes romance. However, I loved the ‘open road’ concept which helped fill in some of the missing ‘romance’ for me.

Who doesn’t love a road trip? The open road with no maps? Where will life take you next? I love this concept and in this book it really shined. Brockmole makes the open road sound so romantic and intriguing. It almost makes me want to just up and start driving wherever the road will take me! I love how she capitalized on this concept and I thought it worked well within the novel.

I also enjoyed the characters. Because the book is written via letters/journals, it really allows the reader to connect with each character on such an intimate and personal level. This narrative style is Brockmole’s bread and butter. She is at her best in this form. I love how quickly the book read and the stories each moved thanks in no small part to this narrative style. It was hard to not read ‘just one more chapter’ every time an entry finished.

While I still think I like her other two books better, this isn’t a bad novel by any means! The story is timeless and will appeal to readers from many walks of life. It’s fast paced and romantic in it’s own way. If you love epistolary novels, then you can find no better than Brockmole’s books!

Be sure to check out the other stops on the tour hosted by Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours for chanced to win a copy of the book, author interviews, and other reviews!



Book: Woman Enters Left by Jessica Brockmole

Kindle Edition, 352 pages
Published August 8th 2017 by Ballantine Books
ASIN B01N3VKTEP
Review copy provided by: Publisher/Author in exchange for an honest review
This book counts toward: NA

Hosted by: NA
Books for Challenge Completed: NA
Recommendation: 4 out of 5

Genre: historical fiction, women’s fiction

Memorable lines/quotes:

Before I started the blog, I read Jessica Brockmole's Letter from Skye which I absolutely loved. I thought it was so clever as the entire romantic love story was told through letters. I saw her at the Edinburgh Book Festival that year and really enjoyed listening to her talk about the book. So I was really pleased to be offered the opportunity to read her latest novel, Woman Enters Left.

Woman Enters Left tells the connected stories of Ethel and Florrie in the 1920s and Ethel's daughter in the 1950s. Ethel and Florrie are making a long cross-continent road trip to Nevada and ultimately Hollywood. They had been childhood friends though that friendship had drifted when Ethel married. Florrie is heading to Hollywood to start a film career while Ethel is hoping to meet up with her husband in Nevada and convince him not to divorce her. Thirty years or so later, Ethel's daughter Anna Louise, also an actress, is confused to find she has inherited now famous film star Florrie's estate. She was unaware of any connection between herself and the actress and is even more confused when she finds photos of her mother with Ethel. Her own marriage is in difficulty, her career at a bit of a crossroads and her relationship with her father rather distant. She too makes a cross-country road trip unknowingly following a similar route in reverse.

Diary entries, film scripts, letters and straightforward narrative tell the story of these women and their journeys. I found it a really enjoyable read as I became fascinated by the lives of all the women. At first I found the diary entries from the earlier story a little confusing, I wasn't sure which woman was writing which part. This might have been because I was reading a Kindle version, it may have been clearer in a print edition. However, I soon got into the rhythm and actually enjoyed this part most. That's not to say I didn't enjoy the story of Louise in the 1950s section as this was also compelling, particularly when it explored the relationship between her and her injured war veteran husband.

Appropriately, given the title and the acting careers of Florrie and Louise, there was a very glamorous cinematic feel to the book. This was enhanced of course by the inclusion of sections of film script. It is a very visual book with the clothes and setting particularly well depicted. I could easily imagine the opening chapter as the sweeping opening scene from a Hollywood film, one full of glamour. The long road trips undertaken by the women also gave a great sense of setting with descriptions of the open road ahead, the small towns, the cars, the difficulties the women faced all adding to the atmospheric scenes. Themes explored included love and forbidden love, with that forbidden love more openly shown in the film scripts. 

I particularly enjoyed the closing chapters summing up the story through letters which I found reminiscent of Letters to Skye. Jessica Brockmole is skilled at writing in such a way that her readers can glean so much from these letters and work out what has happened yet been left unsaid. I really cared about the characters and felt for their sadnesses and worries, their hopes and dream. Woman Enters Left is an elegantly written novel which I very much enjoyed.

Woman Enters Left is actually three women's stories - a mother, her best friend, and that of her daughter - and two physical journeys. In 1926, Ethel joins her former best friend Florence in a spur of the moment ride from New Jersey to Nevada in an attempt to stop her husband from divorce and regain her child Anna Louisa. At the same time Florence, who has always held deep feelings for Ethel, is secretly hoping to convince her to NOT return to her husband and stay, instead, with her. Then in 1952, Ethel's daughter Louise, a successful movie actress, takes her own journey from Hollywood back to New Jersey as she also tries to determine her own direction in life. Once again it is the road trip as Voyage of Discovery.
This is beautifully written, three women's lives, dreams and fears intersecting in unexpected ways. All have difficulties in their lives and of their times. Characters are well developed and believable, the men in their lives as well. All have their crosses to bear, and your heart will ache at some time for each one. The format is quite interesting as well. Louise narrates her part of the story. Her mother and Florence's journey are in diary format, Ethel's headed by day, and Florence's by date (which is a little confusing at first). And there is finally bits of a screenplay written by Flo sprinkled throughout - a different version of the journey, the way she wished it had been. A very great sense of time and place as well. Highly recommended.

I was torn between 3 and 4 stars but I was generous because this is the only book I've read for awhile that I haven't wanted to put down. The parallel narratives were a bit hard to follow at first, since the timelines are so close together and there are two journals alternating in the 1926 timeline. Once I got the characters sorted, however, I really enjoyed this easy read with big but softly handled themes of being true to oneself and standing one's ground, particularly if one is a woman. Brockmole covers the early/mid-20th century issues of women in the workforce, the Red Scare, LGBT life, industrial effect on workers (via radium poisoning), and more, all with a light touch. A lot happens in this short but fairly satisfying book.

Thanks Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine and netgalley for this ARC.

Forbidden feelings, illness, and childhood experinces and flashbacks; This novel takes a roundabout way to give us the full picture. I was rooting for the all. We live a society now that would make much behavior taboo even 50 years ago. This novel make us remember and aware of all we take for granted.

An excellent book. The story flowed effortlessly, the characters were intriguing and the backdrops were described thoroughly. I had to keep reading to see how things ended.

Woman Enters Left is my kind of book! The glitz of old Hollywood, road trips on Route 66, the mystery of friendships you don't understand as a child, and the thrill of discovery that comes with a travel journal.
Woman Enters Left is the story of two parallel journies, separated by time. The story in the present is Louise's journey of self-discovery and healing. The story in the past is her mother's road trip with her best friend, Florrie. Louise tells her own story. Her mother's story is told through journal entries and Florrie's script, King of the Road.
I enjoyed both stories. Louise was a sympathetic character who I found myself rooting for - I felt invested in her figuring out her parents' secrets and finding her way in her own life. It was very satisfying to learn more about Ethel (Louise's mom), Florrie, and Carl's (Louise's dad) friendship and why the road trip was so important.
Woman Enters Left is an entertaining story that is worth reading.

This book is one that will easily forgotten, and I would not suggest this book to my reading club or another individual.

I have sadly decided to abandon this book. While the premise was very interesting, I gave it about 100 pages and the moving back and forth between the women was o.k with me, it was when the diary entered the picture that I started to get confused. Every time I picked it up I found myself having to go back and reread pages and pages to remind me where I was in the story.

I very seldom DNF a book but I just couldn't with this one. As such I will not rate it on any social media as that isn't fair to the author, there might be a heck of an ending that I'm missing.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this novel and good luck to the author, I'm sure an audience for this book is out there :)

It was an interesting read. I liked the story and the way it bounced between the past and the present.

Louise was a great character but I felt the character jumping was a little jarring. It was hard to follow at some points. I liked the time period and the history in it but just didn't totally love it.

A novel about love and loss, chapters alternate not just in time, but between characters. In 1956, Louise is an actress struggling to reestablish her connection with her husband just back from the Korean War. In 1926, the story alternates between Florence's journal and Louise's mother, Ethel, who wrote notes telling her story of her road trip with Florence. A bit complicated to follow, the stories deal with multiple issues such as the Blacklist for suspected Communists, radium poisoning, homosexuality and more, in an interesting fictional approach. I liked it, and like this author's creative style.