Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz indisputably changed the landscape of television with their megahit “I Love Lucy”. The first television show to be recorded before a live audience, this beloved show can still be introduced to new generations today as it continues on TV in syndication nearly 70 years from its original run. The Queen of Tuesday is a fictional read about this time in history with a storyline that combines Lucille’s professional and home life with Desi Arnaz with the author’s Grandfather’s suggested romance with the famous redhead.

There were several aspects of the book that I thoroughly enjoyed. The author has done a great job in his research of Lucille and recounts several episodes of the show which I was able to recall vividly. I also appreciated the romantic story between Lucille and Hold-on (Lucille’s nickname for the author’s Grandfather) although this was very little of the actual book. What I didn’t like about the book is that I felt at times that the writing was awkward. I found the first chapters to be particularly challenging to read. Moreover, I really wasn’t that engaged to all the history of his Grandparent’s lives.

Overall, I found the book to be entertaining in several points but also difficult to read at times. I think this book tried to be too much with combining the author’s Grandparents lives, I Love Lucy history, and a romance between Lucille and Hold-on. The flow of the book was impacted as a result.

Thanks to Netgalley and Random House for the ARC of this book in exchange for the honest review provided here.

The Queen of Tuesday was somewhat difficult to dive into and become absorbed by the story. The book lacks character development. It is presented as more of a shallow narrative that is disjointed. The author may have preferred this type of writing, but I found it lacking substance. Thank you to the publisher.

I Love Lucy and was so excited for The Queen of Tuesday. Although this is a fiction, you still envision the lovely Lucy within the story. Some truths were twisted within the storyline and if you a true Lucy fan, you will be able to pick them out.
Thanks NetGalley!

This story is a fictionalized account of an affair that the author's grandfather may have had with Lucille Ball. The author brilliantly mixes fact with fiction so that the reader is wondering what tidbits are true and which are not. The author captured the struggles that Lucille was going through at the height of success perfectly.

In this novel, Darin Strauss imagines that his grandfather, Isidore Strauss, may have had an affair with Lucille Ball.

The novel opens during the inauspicious occasion of Fred Trump's destruction of a landmark at Coney Island, where Lucille Ball, aggravated with the wandering eye of her husband Desi Arnaz, shares a kiss with another budding real estate investor--Isidore. What might have been an innocent one-off preoccupies Isidore, to the extent that he has another encounter with Lucille in her dressing room after her show in Manhattan, and weekend-long tryst in LA years later.

Isidore's family life is shaped by his fascination with Lucille, which his wife, Harriet, discovers and punishes him for. Meanwhile, Lucille, despite her success in Hollywood, suffers through the betrayals and alcoholism of Desi.

Primarily a slice of mid-century life in Hollywood and on Long Island, the novel also takes the reader to Depression-era Brooklyn and twenty-first century Manhattan. Angsty Isidore is a memorable character, and while Lucille's life is not explored as much as I'd hoped, she also is more three-dimensional than viewers of I Love Lucy may remember. A unique imagining of what-might-have-been between two real-life people--one famous and one known primarily only by his family. #TheQueenofTuesday #NetGalley

Overall, this book was one unlike any other I’ve read. It was a fun, sexy romance novel mixed with areas that were so real I felt like I was on the set of I Love Lucy. Seeing Lucille Ball cast as a character in this book was awesome. I really enjoyed reading her as a character at events, and her dialogue author Darin Strauss created I felt was spot on.

I had a lot of trouble getting thru this book and ended up not finishing after reading about 65%. I didn't like the storyline. I had trouble deciding what was Fiction and what wasn't. I didn't like any of the characters and wasn't rooting for anyone. I found myself doing things so I wouldn't read.

I've long been a fan of Darin Strauss and this book is no different. This is a study in American celebrity and it's impact long after the celebrity has passed.

I think that it will confuse some readers, thinking this is non-fiction, instead this is part truth, part wishful dreaming of an affair with the original Queen of Tuesday nights, Lucille Ball.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this book. I wanted to enjoy it very much because who doesn’t love Lucy? Having said that, I couldn’t get past the first couple of chapters and that was with reading and rereading several times.

Isadore Strauss meets Lucille Ball at an event hosted by Fred Trump. Wow. Do Isadore and Lucy have an affair? Well, as it turns out, Isadore was the author's grandfather and he's used that meeting and their relationship to write a more or less imagined historical novel that hinges on real people but is a little hazy on the truth. Lucy fans might avoid this one if they are hoping to gain more insight into her or her relationship with Desi. Or if they don't want to read sex scenes. It's hard to review because on the one hand it creates some images I didn't want to see but on the other, it's kinda gushy. It's by no means the usual reimagined life of a famous woman novel. It did keep me turning the pages. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

Thank you Netgalley, the publisher and of course the author for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

This is such an sweet love story, I have such a hard time deciding if this is a real story or not. I would've loved to enjoy this book a little more if Lucy's name was not involved, makes me feel bad for Desi, haha. But other than that it was amazingly written, it felt like a true story, it was difficult for me to seperate that.

But other than that I enjoyed it.

What a charming read! Delightful beach reading. I really enjoyed this look at Lucille Ball's life.

Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

The premise of Strauss’s newest literary novel is grandiose and rather wacky: that his grandfather Isidore Strauss, a Long Island real estate developer, had a secret affair with Lucille Ball. This never happened. The author describes his work as “a hybrid: half memoir and half make-believe” sparked by “an innocent dream,” although Isidore and the actress did attend the same party in which Fred Trump demolished the glass Pavilion of Fun on Coney Island. Their imagined meeting there, moved to 1949 from its real 1966 occurrence, opens the story. Lucille, a former B-Movie queen, has ambitious plans for television; Isidore, a handsome Jewish man with a “Cary Grant chin,” is a better listener (and lover) than the actress’s hot-tempered, unfaithful husband.

The novel follows the pair – her overnight superstardom, his struggle to maintain normality amid their romance, their progressively strained marriages – mostly separately. In between, using metafiction techniques, the author describes his grandfather’s life and his own attempts to interest his (real) agent in a screenplay Isidore and Lucille co-wrote (obviously fictional). The tale succeeds in entertaining, and Lucille steals the show, of course. Most moving are the scenes where she finds her comedic niche via the character of Lucy Ricardo: “Maybe she can be the audience, only funnier and a little prettier… She can conquer the world with realness.” Strauss also offers insight into celebrity culture and the difficult interplay between Lucille’s on-screen and off-screen marriages, both involving Desi Arnaz.

So much even beyond the central conceit is made up, however, that it pushes the novel into the alternate history spectrum. Even the weekday when I Love Lucy aired is off-kilter (it was Mondays, not Tuesdays). It’s best for people who value emotional over historical truth, but all the same, it should spur interest in Lucille Ball and her accomplishments.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House for an ARC of ‘The Queen of Tuesday’ in exchange for an honest review.
Coney Island: Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz attend a Coney Island demolition party hosted by Fred Trump. While Desi is off chatting with Nanette Fabray, Lucy meets the authors grandfather Isidore. A (suggested) affair will begin which will eventually dissolve Isidore’s marriage.
Part autobiography, fact, fiction, family history and celebrity, the reader witnesses the Hollywood of the 50’s and 60’s, the authors family and the relationship between Isidore, his wife Harriet and their children and life on and off screen with Lucy and Desi.
Although this was often entertaining, there were moments when I found the story and/or the characters difficult to follow. Perhaps growing up watching Lucy and Desi and reading several books about them including Desi’s autobiography, the fictionalization of dates and times may have contributed to my confusion.
If the reader is looking for historical fiction about Lucy this might not be what you expect. In this novel, Lucy is true to form, a wife, actress, comedian, entrepreneur and a muse that is the inspiration for the author to tell his family’s story. That in itself, makes this an interesting read.

I tried this book on 3 different occasions and just couldn’t get into the writing style or the characters. Stopped 1/4 way in.

I received my hardcover copy of this book before I had time to read the ebook! Thank you again for sending me a copy and I'll be sure to read it as soon as I can! I appreciate you giving me the chance to read it before getting the copy.

Delighted to include this novel in the Fall Fiction spotlight of Zoomer magazine’s September/October 2020 print issue as well as new digital Books hub Club Zed (online as well)

I got a good bit of the way into this one before I gave up. I. wasn't connecting with the writing and it felt a bit disjointed. I think this one had the potential to be amazing but it just wasn't doing it for me.

This book was perplexing. The whole first chapter is set at the Pavillion of Fun on Coney Island in 1959 and the event is Fred Christ Trump’s celebration of tearing the pavilion down. The only thing is that he didn’t purchase it until 1964 and that’s when it was torn down.

The dialogue between Luci and Desi was tortured, but then it was well known that, as brilliant as they were together, they fought like tigers. I kept reading, waiting for that moment when the book clicked and I finally gave up. I couldn’t make me finish it.

1.5 Stars rounded up.

I realize that this book is fiction, and most l likely, I am not of the age group that this book is recommended to. I am 63, so I practically grew up with Lucy and Ricky. The re-runs at least! So I was genuinely thrilled to be allowed to preview this book and voice my opinion.

Unfortunately, my opinion is that if you 'grew up' with Lucy stay away from this book or at least learn about what you are getting into first.

This book is mainly about sex -obsessing about it, talking about it, thinking about it, performing it. It is gritty, and in this book, unpleasant, at least for me.

So much artistic license was taken with this book, the mistakes in Mr. Strauss's research, having the main story about an affair that Mr. Strauss's grandfather had (this was most of the fictional part) and the coarseness of the writing, language, and the stalker/obsessor theme. The fact that Mr. Strauss tried to make this a literary masterpiece and, in my opinion, that he has woefully fallen short of the mark adds to my dissatisfaction with this novel.



I might suggest that you try taking this out from your local library if you choose to read The Queen of Tuesday.

*ARC supplied by the publisher and author.