Great look at 1920s showgirls — good plot that moves fast and perfect for fans of the HEA.

Olive dreams of show business from her Minnesota town. Unfortunately, on a trip to LA she gets impregnated by a man claiming he is a producer who can help her with her career. Her mother sends her to live with her aunt to give birth as the family moves to New York. Olive joins them after she gives birth, but because she starts a career as a show girl, her family disowns her. Can she make it on her own? Does she want to make it on her own?

Thank you, St Martins Press, for the gifted copy of The Show Girl! {partner}

Genre: Historical
Format: 🎧
Pub Date: 8.10.2021
Pages: 400
Star Rating: ☆☆☆☆

I've always had an attachment to the 1920's - there's just something about that specific era that always calls to me. So I was thrilled to have a chance to read The Show Girls and be transported right to that time.

It was obvious from the very beginning that the author put a lot of time into crafting this novel - her attention to detail brought the entire book to life. I felt like I was right there with the MC as she fought her way onto the stage that she had always dreamt of making it to.

Ultimately, the story did fall a bit flat for me as I found the Olive to be one of those characters that I couldn't quite find any redeeming qualities. I wanted to like her but I just couldn't. Which made the story difficult to enjoy as it was a heavily character driven novel. I still followed along as Olive fought to overcome her personal and relationship struggles.

I look forward to reading more from Nicola Harrison!

I tried to read this book multiple times. I was not able to connect with the characters. I know this book will resonate with other readers. I will not be reviewing this on my bookstagram account.

I wanted to like this, but had a difficult time getting through it. I felt the plot moved too slow and did not grab my attention. Did not finish.

While I love historical fiction, I don't tend to read a lot of books about modern historical fiction, so I decided to take a chance on The Show Girl by Nicola Harrison. I'm sad I did because I did not enjoy this one. There was nothing new about Olive's story or journey. It was very typical of a girl to have dreams that her parents don't approve of. The girl follows those dreams and achieves some type of success. A girl attracts the attention of the older man and gets married thus trading all those dreams for marriage, money, and a bit of glamour. Of course, the husband has secrets; so does Olive for that matter. The only interesting part about the entire book was learning more about the Ziegfeld Follies. Other than that I really didn't get anything out of this one.

I love a story that unexpectedly captivates you through its characters. This was absolutely what The Show Girl was for me. The story focuses on Olive. Olive is a talented singer and dancer who aspires to be a member of the Ziegfeld Follies. Finally, she gets her big break, and she becomes a star. Through her work, she meets Archie. He loves Olive for who she is, but he also doesn't know everything, and Olive just knows her secrets will tear them apart. This was such an amazing story that centered Olive - her relationships, her struggles, and her successes. I loved how it encompassed all of the things Olive was navigating and told her story so, so well. She was so compelling as a character, and I couldn't put this one down. Thanks to NetGalley for the look at this August 2021 release!

I love this book! I fell in love with the premise of a small midwestern girl chasing after her dreams in the late 1920s. Nicola Harrison captured the true beauty and desires of the time.

The Show Girl tells the story of Ziegfeld’s Follies. The story was very slow moving and repetitive. The characters were also hard to like, and I could not connect with them. Still, it was interesting to see what it was like to be on Broadway. I recommend this for fans of The Blue Butterfly!

My book club was given advanced copies of Nicola Harrison's The Show Girl and we loved it...the glamour, excitement and life in the Roaring 20s. As a lover of historical fiction, I found the characters and story line to be believable and just wanted to learn more about life for women in New York City trying to make it on their own. During our book club discussion, we found ourselves researching more about Ziegfeld Follies, Mr. Ziegfeld and some of the real dancers, which is how we always know that the book was a success!

I loved Nicola Harrison's first novel and enjoyed this one just as much. She does an amazing job of capturing time and place. I knew very little of the Ziegfield's Follies, but the description of the costumes, sets and numbers was fascinating.

True depth of character and such an enjoyable read!

Historical fiction taking place during the roaring '20's? Yes please, sign me up! This is always a time period I enjoy being immersed in, and not one commonly found in historical fiction, so that in itself made this book a huge win for me.

I absolutely loved this book. It was fresh, full of life, fast-paced, and as dazzling as the glitz and glamour of NYC in the 1920's itself. Hooked right the very beginning, I simply couldn't put it down! I really appreciated Harrisons excellent and immersive writing. Everything about this story was clearly well-researched and I loved how rich in historical detail it was, while yet not feeling bogged down with those elements and allowing the story to flow. While I enjoyed coming alongside our main character here, her drive and boldness, her character sometimes bothered me with her self-centeredness and how she seemed to be at times too naiive to the world around her. I believe this was an intentional character trait from the author, so I won't knock my rating for this, but it did stand out to me and annoy me at times.

If you're looking for a fun, refreshing, and lighter read in the historical fiction genre, definitely pick this book up!

Many thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the gifted e-copy!

As a big fan of Broadway, I was very excited to dive into this book. I had to pace myself because, while I wanted to finish, I didn’t want it to end. The detailed writing made me feel like I was there, right in the 1920s, which I know little about.


I received an advance copy. All thoughts are my own.

The Show Girl is an inside look at the life of a Ziegfeld Follies “girl” in the late 1920s. The author gives us an excellent introduction to their lives and the New York City of those times, from Brooklyn to Greenwich Village to Fifth Avenue. The performers were often wined and dined by men who figured they were “fast” because of how they made their living. The main character is Olive, and she has a past she needs to keep secret. Her family continues to disapprove highly of her choices in life and in career even though she is quite successful. I enjoyed the historical setting but the story was a bit predictable. The descriptions of train travel and the Great Camps of the Adirondacks were probably my favorite parts of the book.

While I received the eARC from NetGalley, I wound up partially listening to the published audiobook by Macmillan Audio. The narrator, Imani Jade Powers, did an excellent job with the many voices.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read an advance readers copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

I love historical fiction, and this book is fantastic because it gives you an inside look at the 1920s. I've always been interested in the roaring 20s. I loved getting to know Olive and her journey as a show girl. Tons of parties and night life right before the Great Depression

Nicola Harrison's sophomore novel The Show Girl is a knockout delight! I couldn't get enough of this story about midwestern singer and dancer Olive McCormick who heads to New York City and secures a role in the glamorous Ziegfeld Follies of the 1920s. Knowing little of the Follies aside from hearing about them in classic movies, I found myself enthralled by Olive's new and glittering world and her alluring life as a show girl.

If you are as new to the Ziegfeld Follies as I was, then know that the Follies were elaborate and glitzy theatrical productions on Broadway in the early 20th century. These shows featured song and dance performed by beautiful women in intricate costumes. In fact, there were some pretty exclusive qualifications that a woman must possess to become a coveted Ziegfeld Girl, and many singers and dancers auditioned for the revue only to have their hopes and dreams dashed with a single sentence uttered from founder Florenz Ziegfeld's lips - "Thank you, but no." Ticket prices for the performances were steep, but considered worth it, as the audience of the Ziegfeld Follies was the place to be in the late 1920s, when this story takes place.

As you can imagine, The Show Girl goes into great detail about what it was like to live and breathe the Ziegfeld Follies as one of its performers. Harrison completely enveloped me in the world of the Follies with her lush and magical writing, and showed just how the Follies were able to captivate all of New York City with their tantalizing, often borderline risqué shows. The determined Olive is the perfect protagonist for this glitz and glamour novel - a woman had to be daring enough to put it all on the line to become a performer, and Olive does not hold back in pursuit of her dream. While she is often selfish, cold, and uncaring, she is also as fascinating a creature to read about as it is purported she was to watch on the stage.

Harrison adds dimension to her novel by also exploring a time period when being a "show girl" was not anything that a respectable lady would be caught doing. Such is the conundrum our headstrong protagonist finds herself in - determined to make it into the Follies, Olive turns her back on her family to pursue her dream - a dream that they consider to be vulgar and disgraceful. Harrison's masterful storytelling shows us what it was like to be a young woman on the verge of greatness, only to find herself butting up against preordained gender roles time and time again. As women living with choice, possibility, and opportunity 100 years after Olive and the other trailblazers of her day, it is sometimes unfathomable to imagine a time when young girls were destined to a life solely as a wife and mother, and that to dream beyond that was unacceptable. Harrison's emotionally-driven storytelling made me feel genuine awe for how far we have come, and made me thankful that we now live in a society where a woman can live the life of her choosing.

This concept is further explored in terms of marriage through the wealthy Archie Carmichael who finds himself enraptured with Olive. As a frequenter of the Follies, Archie loves to watch Olive on stage and begins to pursue her off stage, as well. After the two enter a lively relationship, Olive discovers that Archie, who she thought was a progressive kind of guy, may actually be deeply rooted in tradition. How can she choose between the man of her dreams and the career of her dreams ... and why should she have to? Why can't a girl have it all?

The Show Girl combines multi-dimensional characters with rich storytelling to create a memorable tribute to the Ziegfeld Follies and the women who performed on its stage. This book is highly recommended to lovers of historical fiction featuring women's careers; those who love classic films, theater, and Broadway; and anyone who enjoys getting wrapped up in a little glitz and glamour and being thoroughly entertained.

As a thank you to @netgalley and the publisher @stmartinspress I write this review. Coming into this novel I had previously read @nicolaharrisonauthor debut #montaukbook and enjoyed it. Harrison’s prose is personable and lifts her characters off the page with ease and grace. The novels elements are what intrigued me to it ex. the roaring 20s, independent women, performing arts etc. The novel follows Olive Mc Cormick and her journey to become a performer in New York City. Along the way are we shown choices Olive makes to further her career. It is in her choices does Harrison explore the difficulties that women during this time and now have to follow their dreams. I found the societal introspection to be interesting and overall held my attention throughout. I gave this novel a strong four out of five stars on goodreads. I recommend it for those who enjoy literary fiction, and historical fiction.

From Minneapolis, Olive goes to New York City with a goal of making her mark on the Ziegfeld Follies. In spite of having exceptional vocal and dancing abilities, making it to the stage demands tenacity and dedication like no other. All of the glitz and glamour is even more spectacular when she finally gets there. After that, she meets Archie. There have been few men who have accepted her as she is today but his tone begins to change after she accepts his proposal of marriage.

When Olive was so self-absorbed, self-absorbed, and insensitive to the hardships of those around her, I had a hard time liking her as a person. No matter how bad things get for Olive, she'll always find a way to get back up and go on with her day. The Ziegfeld Follies, in my opinion, are the most fascinating part of this film. To the best of my ability, Olive is still unaware of the fact that she has a person dependent on her.

This is the story of a small-town girl who hits it big as a Ziegfields show girl in 1920s NYC. I think this era is fascinating and Harrison did a great job of bringing it to life, but I had a hard time liking the narrator. She causes most of her own problems but says she earned her success with “hard work.” To me it seemed like all her successes were nothing more than good luck and being in the right place at the right time.

Following her bestselling debut novel, MONTAUK, Nicola Harrison releases THE SHOW GIRL (StMartinsPress). Get ready to be immersed in the roaring 1920s and the glitzy glamour of the Zeigfeld Follies.

Olive McCormick is a midwestern girl who has grown up taking singing and dance lessons, and now feels she's ready to take on New York City. But before leaving Minnesota, Olive gets pregnant and gives her baby up for adoption. Compartmentalizing the guilt and shame that come with that, Olive saves her money and against her family wishes, makes it to the Big Apple.

Once in NYC, she becomes a Zeigfeld Follie, gets her own supper club act strutting around in nearly nothing and becomes a big star. She is showered with gifts, jewelry, furs, a Fifth Avenue apartment by her male followers but she's all work, no play. Until she meets swoon-worthy, Archie Carmichael who is attracted to her independent ways. From there the story gets only more interesting.

I loved reading THE SHOW GIRLS. Not only was it great fun and a wonderful story, but it focused on the challenges women faced in the 1920s to become independent. Underneath all the glamour, there was a darker side. The characters pop off the page and readers will cheer Olive on, even as she makes some huge mistakes.

THE SHOW GIRL will be published tomorrow. Buy it immediately and enjoy!

Oh, I loved this book! This had everything I wanted in a historical fiction novel - girl wants to make it as a show girl, parents in no way want her to do this as a career and try to keep her down, girl rebels and does it anyway, succeeds, finds a guy, still puts career first, oh and this takes place in 1927 which makes all of the above sound darn near impossible. There are many components in between that I left out, but that is the gist and this was oh so good. I literally DEVOURED this in one day, it was so well written and captivating, I did not want to stop. As you can guess, I listened to this via audiobook and it did not disappoint.

Olive McCormick Shine is headstrong and determined to make it as a show girl, no matter what anyone says or puts in her way, and I really adored her character and admired this quality in her. Is she flawed? Yes. Did she do the best she could with what she had? Yes. But through it all this gal knew exactly what she wanted and did not stop at anything in order to get it and I absolutely respected that. She did however have a lot to learn and she acknowledged this, but she did not let it get in her way. There were many qualities in Olive that I admired and wished I had more of, and many that I am glad I do not have at all. This book is a new favorite of mine, and after loving Montauk as much as I did, this author is now a favorite of mine as well. I highly recommend this one, especially if you love historical fiction. So, so good!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the digital galley to review.