This was a fun read and while I felt sometimes annoyed by the protagonist, the overall story kept me highly engaged. It also involved an era I’ve not seen as much in historical fiction, so I enjoyed that peek into this time period as well. If you’re looking for a fun read without too much drama, this one fits the bill.

“Lady Be Good” by Amber Brock is a book I Highly recommend to my friends. It’s a great historical book. I want to thank NetGalley for the Arc of this book and I will not give any spoilers. Loved the plot and characters. Would love to read more books by the author in the future.

I really liked the setting and time period of this historical novel. It's the fifties, women's roles are both defined and undefined after the war allowed so many to participate in the freedom of work. Havana is open for tourists and places like New York City are glittering with post war affluence. Kitty Tessler first comes off as a naïve rich girl, but soon, after her father's ultimatum about marrying someone like his second in command, Kitty's chops come into play. Her friend Henrietta, "Hen", is well thought out too.

Kitty Tessler wants nothing more than to find a man she can marry who has status and money so she can finally fit in with New York's elite social circle. It's the 1950s and despite Kitty having money due to her father's hotels and nightclubs, she just doesn't have the old money or pedigree that matters more than anything to the old money set. When her father gives her an ultimatum, Kitty comes up with a plan that will spare her from having to settle down with her father's hotel manager and will hopefully save her best friend, Henrietta, from marrying her cheating fiancé, Charles. But Kitty's world is turned upside down when she meets Max, a member of a band who plays at her father's club. As she spends more and more time with Max, she begins to question many of her beliefs. But with her schemes already set forth in motion it might be too late to change course and her plans could backfire big time. Thank you to Netgalley and Crown Publishing for this chance to read this captivating novel

I love the Mid-Century New York, Miami, and Havana settings of Lady Be Good. Wonderful read for anyone who loves historical fiction!

I loved the character of Kitty, so clever, charming, and so woman-about-town. When her hotel owner father demands that she marry his second-in-command, and cool it with the handsome bachelors that she favors, she needs to work out exactly how she can keep the lifestyle she adores...then she meets Max....

I loved the setting of this novel: 1950s NY and Miami. I could clearly feel the music and picture the clubs in which Kitty and her friends frequented. Kitty starts off as a good time gal who is always thinking of ways too get ahead. She’s someone who thinks she’s helping others but always with a benefit to herself. Her outlook on life changes when she meets a musician named Max that opens her eyes to a new world.

I loved how Kitty changed and grew by the end of the novel.

Amber Brock's second novel holds strong in comparison to her debut, A Fine Imitation. Brock's story spins between New York, Miami and Havana during the Magic City era of the 1950's. Kitty Tessler is the freewheeling beautiful daughter of nightclub magnate Nicolas Tessler, which gives her money and entrance to the high society she so strongly craves. But when her father issues an ultimatum of marriage to cinch his financial legacy and to settle Kitty down in some form of domesticity, Kitty comes up with an idea to break free from her father's plans, which also involves freeing her best friend Henrietta from what Kitty considers is a most catastrophic engagement.
Brock's narrative is entertaining and charming, portraying characters that are entertaining and complex. When Kitty's plan goes awry partly due to her own selfishness and spoiled will, we can't help but root for her despite her manipulative ways. This speaks volumes of Brock's brilliance in creating magnetic characters that we can find relatable and endearing while simultaneously being shocked at their unbridled egotism.

I loved this book, my second one by this author, and sped right through it.

Kitty and Henrietta have been friends forever. They were both born into wealthy families. One a family with roots and wealth and one a newly made wealthy family. Their adventures in this book are fun and frequent.

When Kitty is told that she needs to settle down and told who she will marry, she spends her time finding a way out of this deal. What she comes up with is risky and pretty darn crazy.

An excellent read set at a time (1950) when women were just starting to see this new thing called "independence".

Thanks to Crown Publishing and Net Galley for providing me with a free e-galley in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.

Kitty Tessler is the quintessential bored rich girl. It’s 1953 and Daddy owns a chain of hotels and nightclubs in New York City and Miami. Anything she wants, she gets except for what she wants most: acceptance from Manhattan’s social elites. When her father tells her she has to either marry his second-in-command, a nice but not wealthy young man or start working, Kitty realizes she’s got to take action to secure the life she wants.

There is no point in pretending Lady Be Good is anything other than what it is—historical chick-lit. I mean, hello? That cover! The novel is composed mostly of air, much like what fills Kitty’s head. But guess what? It works. This is the epitome of summer beach/pool/vacation reading. There are no surprises, there’s a positive message, and everything wraps up with a feel-good ending. Sometimes, that’s all I need, especially coming off two more serious novels.

I received an electronic copy of this book to review in exchange for an honest and voluntary review.

I was drawn to this book due to the time period being set in the 50’s and of the travel that took place within from NYC to Miami to Havana. I’ve always wanted to visit Havana, so I was intrigued by the storyline because I felt that the character development for the main character, Kitty Tessler would be a bit silly and fun. It was interesting reading from her point of view because she seemed to be, for all intents and purposes, the complete opposite of my own personality. And although she is definitely bossy, spoiled, rich, self-entitled, and even knows that she is, I found some endearing qualities in her as well. I absolutely loved the detail of the fashion she wore and how she attempts to get her best friend, Hen to follow suit with her fashion. There were times that I absolutely loved her sarcastic responses and flair for life, but you can tell she’s always trying to prove something and she also mentions that she wants to “make it to the top”. In her mind, that means becoming someone who is wealthy and in the right circles. As she strives for this, I got bored a little with her pursuits and thought the scheme she envisioned of helping her friend Hen out of her relationship with her fiancé was awful at best. However in the end I really loved how she met Max and Sebastian and how she started to see there was a different life out there then the secluded bubble she mainly found herself. This book is a great illustrator of the racial prejudices that many faced in the 1950’s and showing a different perspective than what most people experienced. Despite the seriousness of the racial divide theme towards the end of the book, this was still an airy and enjoyable story that was quick to read.

Lady Be Good is a whirlwind trip from New York to Miami to Havana in the 1950's. Kitty Tessler reminded me so much of Scarlett O'Hara in that she was so selfish and conceited. Kitty wants to marry into high society and will stop at nothing to get there, even jeopardizing her friendship with Hen. Wonderful historical fiction!

4 “It’s not easy being good” stars to Lady Be Good!

It’s the 1950s, and Kitty Tessler, daughter of a self-made hotel and nightclub owner (i.e., in other words, “new money,”), yearns to fit in with the old money set she rubs elbows with at her father’s clubs. Kitty dates around, but she never measures up due to status. Her father finally tells her she will have to marry his second-in-command, Andre, in order to keep her tied in to his hotel business.

Kitty understandably does not want to marry Andre, she wants to choose her own husband, so she comes up with an elaborate scheme to keep that from happening, along with saving her best friend, Henrietta, from an unhappy engagement. So what does Kitty do? (Included in the synopsis, so not a spoiler.) She plans to steal Henrietta’s old money, but mean fiancé, which will give Kitty the social status she’s after while also protecting her friend.

Her plans fall apart when she meets Max, a musician from her father’s Miami club. Kitty and her friends first travel to Miami and then wind-up in Cuba, where she finds herself falling more and more in love with Max. Her wily scheme begins to fall apart, and Kitty grows up in the process.

Kitty is a main character I had to give a chance. At first, I was put-off by her social climbing and insincere ways. But throughout the book, she comes into her own.

Overall, Lady Be Good is a lighter, easy-to-read, fun historical fiction novel with a vivid and glitzy backdrop. I adore reading about the 1950s, and Amber Brock brought that time period to life with gusto.

The retro Elle Woods was brought to life in this book. I was very lucky to have received an arc via Crown Publishing and enjoyed this book immensely. Kitty is a bold, animated character that had a beautiful evolution in this story. You can see the amount of research that went into crafting the storyline, the characters were fascinating and the over all story was thought-provoking with issues such as race/color and gender. Bravo to Amy Brock for creating a timeless heroine that even my daughter can look up to.

Kitty is selfish and spoiled and in the way of the 1950s, she's living off her father and about to bend to his will to marry who he wants when....she manipulates her best friend Hen and Hen's life. BUT, then, thank goodness, she meets Max, a bandleader. I'll admit to finding Kitty a pain and wholly unsympathetic to start but she grew on me. This is a delightful novel with great color from 1950s New York, Miami, and Cuba. It's sort of a historical romance sort of a good soap opera but above all it's a good read. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. This is nicely written and an excellent pick for a summer read.

I wanted to like this book, but there really wasn't enough character development in it. Plus, Kitty, the main character, is a pretty unlikable young woman. I kept waiting on her to redeem herself - to show some reason why people liked her for more than being beautiful and rich. In the end she changed, but it just wasn't very satisfying for me.

I really enjoyed this book. It's the perfect poolside or beach read for the summer. Even though I disliked Kitty's social-climbing, manipulative ways, I couldn't help but root for her. The ending was perfect.

Kitty Tessler is the daughter of self-made hotel and nightclub tycoon Nicolas Tessler. Her biggest wish is to be accepted into the "in-crowd" that her best friend Hen belongs to. Kitty is constantly snubbed by people in New York because not only is she new money but she is also comes from Russian immigrants. Her pedigree will never be up to the standards of those whose company she keeps. Then her father gives her an ultimatum. He wants her taken care of after he is gone, so he wants her to marry his second-in-command, Andre. She has no interest whatsoever in Andre, and sets her sights on finding "the one" who can help her climb all the way to the top.

This book was really good. I love historical fiction and this author has a knack for making the characters and settings seem so real, you feel like you were actually witnessing it all unfold first hand. Kitty was very self-absorbed and shallow at times, but that was her character and she lived up to those qualities, I was so glad she redeemed herself in the end though. I think you will enjoy this as much as I did!

I had high hopes for this book because I really enjoyed Amber Brock's A Fine Imitation, but it fell flat for me. It had no real plot, especially for the first half, and Kitty was a bit annoying. It also felt really long when it was actually less than 300 pages. The second half redeemed it a little for me, but it was still not a favorite read.

I wanted so much for this book to be another Towle's Rules of Civility. There are definitely threads and tastes that run through both, but Kitty is only mildly more likable than Eve and her self-absorption grates from the very beginning. It felt more like Jackie Collins than Amor Towles.
Nevertheless, I have a few patrons in mind that I think will enjoy it and I will be recommending it to them.
Thanks again for the preview!