Unfortunately, I just couldn't get into this one. I thought it would pull me in because of the comparison to Elizabeth Gilbert's "City of Girls", but I hit a wall with this book after a quarter of the way through. Not even the audiobook saved it and I did like the narrator's pace and the tone.

A fantastic story of Olive, the show girl, and her stardom in the Follies - and her love story with Archie. I adored this book and the characters. The storyline held compassionate space for Olive's complicated history and the independent choices that made her who she was.

Zeigfried Follies anyone? For Olive, it’s all or nothing. This is an interesting read and not my normal genre but thoroughly enjoyable when you need a change of pace.

My favorite movie is Funny Girl so when I read what this is about I jumped at the chance to read it. Unfortunately The Show Girl is really bad. Olive is not likable and the plot was predictable. I suppose I knew it couldn't be as amazing as Funny Girl but I didn't expect to be this disappointed with a Ziegfelds story. I do not recommend.

I absolutely adored Montauk and was very excited to be sent this one. It was a time frame and setting that I did not know much about, but I am a huge fan of NYC and Broadway shows and this story really sucked me right in. I loved the strong character of Olive, in fact all the characters we just so real and well written. Sign of an excellent historical fiction story to me is when I find myself Googling things to read/learn more about them. I did this several times over the weekend that I just flew through the pages. I even found out that one of my clients in my travel job has a home up in the Adirondacks and he's offered to let me stay there. I am looking forward to it. This book brought that region to life.

This book transported me back 100 years right into the thick of the roaring twenties and the glitz and glamour right before the Great Depression hit! The description of every last detail in the book made it such and incredible read that sucked me in from start to finish.
Olive was such a complex character with so many layers of personality. I instantly fell in love with her and found her to be so real, there were so many moments where I wanted to scream at her for her terrible decisions. Archie was an absolute dreamboat, I fell in love with him from the start.
This book encapsulated so many different themes: family, love, hard work and perseverance. There’s something in here for everyone! One of my favourite reads this year, highly highly recommend!

I loved the concept and setting for this book. The language, the clothing, the city really gave a sense to where Olive was and what she was going through. I am from the Adirondacks and never knew the history of the show girls traveling north during the summer.s. I actually would have loved more of the book to take place at the great camps. Although I did want to shake Olive at times. There were definitely a few frustrations in reading about her choices and actions, and the end wraps up just a little too nicely. Overall, it was a quick, entertaining read.

The Show Girl by Nicola Harrison was a devour-able historical fiction about Olive, a show girl in the Ziegfeld Follies. She is determined to make it in the show girl world and gives up family ties and more to make it happen. She even innovates a new show technique that drives the crowd wild. This leads her to meeting Archie Carimichael, a man of wealth and importance, and slowly her dreams start unraveling.

I really enjoyed the pace of this novel. I felt that things moved along and kept the reader engaged, even when Olive was making decisions that were questionable. It would be easy to dislike Olive for her ambition—she can seem cold or selfish if you don’t look too deep into things—but we have to remember the times. Women are finally starting to gain independence and their voice is starting to matter, but they are still living in a generation that is used to controlling women. She’s not going to let ANYONE control her. Archie is deeper than I originally thought, too. I am downright frustrated with his expectations of Olive at some point, but he comes around. He adapts to the changing world and to Olive’s needs, though he blunders through it at first. I think it was refreshing to not cast either of these two as villains for the decisions they make, but multifaceted people that are changing and challenging an era of preconceived notions and misogyny. This novel was messy and that made it real!

Well done, Nicola Harrison!

The life of a naive Midwestern girl who comes to NY to pursue her dream of becoming one of the Ziegfeld follies in 1927.
Not my usual type of read but I really enjoyed this book. Listed as Historical Romantic fiction.
I loved Nicola's debut book "Montauk" and her writing style so I thought I'd give this book a try and to my surprise I really like it.
A small bonus star for a bit of a character named Doreen.
Thank you to Netgalley, St. Martins press and the Author Nicola Harrison for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed the book Montauk, by this author, so I was looking forward to reading this one. This was another interesting book. The story takes place in the late 1920’s and we follow Olive as she becomes a famous showgirl in the Ziegfeld Follies and through her relationship with Archie Carmichael. I really enjoyed reading more about this time period and Olive’s persistence in fighting for her independence as a young single woman and believing her ideas and dreams have merit. This book is well researched and well written and I thoroughly enjoyed this story.

The Show Girl is a pretty good read. I am going to give it four and a half stars. I look forward to reading more by Nicola Harrison in the future.

Thank you to net galley and the publisher for the ARC of this book.

I enjoy reading historical fiction books that take place in New York City and this one which is focused on the 1920's (my favorite time period) was a good read. It was interesting to learn more about the Ziegfield Folly's and the behind the scenes of all of it.

Olive's story was fairly typical but engaging. I didn't quite understand her headstrongness (is that a word? LOL) but I was vested in her and her story to keep turning the pages and get to the end. The author seemed to have researched the language, fashion, and social mores of the time which made for great reading.

this was the perfect book to read at the beach. Good writing, lots of stories in a story! The 20s must have been my past life as I always enjoy this time, and this was just a great book!

The Show Girl, by Nicola Harrison was a wonderful, seductive story of a young Midwestern woman with big talent and even bigger ambition to preform on the big stage, and become a famous starlet. Taking place during the roaring 20's, Olive, with much sacrifice, bravery and ingenuity becomes a Ziegfeld Follies show girl. I really enjoyed following her story, it was thrilling! Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the copy for review. All opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed olive's STORY , A GIRL WITH BIG DREAMS AND THE STAMINA AND DERTERMATION TO FULFIL THEM.

Historical fiction is one of my top genres although I tend to prefer WWII historical fiction to the Roaring Twenties. Lately though I have been broadening my history horizon and I just finished a non-fiction book about the Barbizon Hotel that put me in the frame of mind for another NYC set book about a young "modern" woman making her way in the city. I didn't know a lot about the Ziegfeld Follies and the famous Ziegfeld Girls, other than what I had seen in movies, so The Show Girl was a new experience.

Olive McCormick is a young girl from Minnesota, making her way through the theater world with big dreams to be a star in New York. A chance meeting with Florenz Ziegfeld when she is doing a roadshow has her showing up at his theater and offices when she reaches the city, expecting to be put in the show. It doesn't go that smoothly for Olive (now "Olive Shine" as a stage name) but despite her disapproving parents,soon she has worked her way to the Follies and a gig as the featured performer in the Midnight Frolic (the late-night racier show). She meets Archie Carmichael, a wealthy businessman and falls in love, but secrets and bad choices put her stardom and happiness at risk.

The glimpses into the show girl life and Olive's world where really interesting. For all the modernizing of the 1920s, singers, dancer, show girls, and theater performers were still considered lower class and to have loose morals so life wasn't all glamour, it was a lot of hard work and dedication. I had to keep reminding myself how young Olive was (nineteen when the book starts) because her decisions and actions really frustrated me at times. I wanted her to succeed but also wanted her to care about others and the effects her choices had on them. The end wrapped up a bit quickly and a little too neatly for me, but I enjoyed the settings especially NYC and The Pines (an Adirondacks camp/retreat) that Olive goes to perform at and where she and Archie spend time together. I have always been fascinated by the camps and hotels of this area and that was fun. The retro food, drinks, hairstyles and fashion of the times were engaging too, and I liked the way the fictional characters and events were woven in with the real people and happenings of the times. Overall, The Show Girl was an informative and enjoyable read and I look forward to reading more from the author.

I had high expectations for this one. I loved the cover and I thought the premise of the story sounded promising not to mention I love historical fiction with romance so I thought this one would be one of my favorite reads of the summer. While I liked it, I don’t know that it lived up to me high expectations but I did like it and was glad I read it.

The 1920s are not necessarily my favorite time period in historical fiction but I liked the glamour that the time period brought to the story plus I liked how the author used that in this story. I will get into some more of that in my actual review but as for what attracted me to this one, I think the glamour of the cover and glamour of the description was what drew me in and made me say yes to this on.

I know that the 1920s are a big fan favorite in the historical fiction world so I think if you love the 1920s then no doubt you will love this book and not be able to get enough, but for me I had a hard time with some of the characters which is typically how I feel in general about books set in the 1920s. Now don’t get me wrong I love the fashion and glamour but it’s something about the party life style that I just can’t get behind.

Summary
It’s 1927 when Olive McCormick moves from Minneapolis to New York City determined to become a star in the Ziegfeld Follies. Extremely talented as a singer and dancer, it takes every bit of perseverance to finally make it on stage. And once she does, all the glamour and excitement is everything she imagined and more–even worth all the sacrifices she has had to make along the way.

Then she meets Archie Carmichael. Handsome, wealthy–the only man she’s ever met who seems to accept her modern ways–her independent nature and passion for success. But once she accepts his proposal of marriage he starts to change his tune, and Olive must decide if she is willing to reveal a devastating secret and sacrifice the life she loves for the man she loves. (summary from Goodreads)

Review
So let’s get this out of the way now—I rated this one 3 stars. I would have rated it higher if I liked Olive more. I wanted to love her but I just couldn’t connect with her. She didn’t elicit any sympathy from me. She was selfish and her choices and lifestyle just weren’t my cup of tea. I wanted to like her but I just couldn’t connect to her and I struggled with this book simple for her. I felt like I tried to sympathize with her and justify her choices but I just couldn’t. She simply wasn’t for me. That begs the question, why did I give it a 3 star review if I didn’t like her at all?

Well, I did enjoy the historic detail and I thought the book did wrap up nicely even if it was a tab convenient, it did feel complete and satisfying. I read Harrison’s other book, Montauk (which I thought was a stronger novel), and I think she has a true talent for historical details and capturing the feel of the decade or setting but in this book it was purely that I didn’t like the main character. The romance was good and I enjoyed it I just felt frustrated with Olive. I loved how Olive and Archie’s romance was displayed and explored through the constraints of the time period and for that she did a great job. I just think that Olive could have been less selfish and self indulgent.

Overall this wasn’t a bad book and I think that fans of historical fiction will like it and I thought it was an ok follow up to Montauk, but I think that it could have been stronger and Olive could have been a better main character. The glamour of the period and the historical details were great and I liked it for that reason. Will I still read books by Harrison? Yes of course! Just because one book doesn’t stand up to another doesn’t mean I won’t read more by said author—in this case it has less to do with the writing and more to do with the main character.

Book Info and Rating
Format400 pages, Hardcover

Published August 10, 2021 by St. Martin’s Press

ISBN9781250200150 (ISBN10: 1250200156)

Free review copy provided by publisher, St Martin’s Press, in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own and in no way influenced.

Rating: 3 stars

Genre: historical fiction

Olive McCormick was born to perform, and she would do anything to become a Ziegfeld girl. Already a talented dancer and singer, she fits the mold figuratively and literally. Her drive was so strong that nothing will stop her from achieving her dreams; not the society who was not ready for such a bold and strong woman, or her over protective father, nor anyone that came close to her.

The writing was simply immersive and so fun to read. Harrison was able to balance historical facts without losing the heart of the story, which was about ambition, love, acceptance, and a deep exploration to what it was like to be one of the Ziegfeld girls.

This novel was evocative and simply lucious! I could not stop reading this fast paced novel, and I was enthralled by the gripping story line of this book.

I will continue to recommend this brilliant novel, time and time again.

I just adored Montauk by Nicola Harrison and The Show Girl proved to be just as spectacular, offering a glimpse into the glamorous world of the Ziegfeld Follies - an elaborate theatrical production with bright costumes, songs, skits, and dancing.⁣

Her creativity of crafting stories centered around strong and resourceful women, while perfectly capturing and romanticizing the style and mood of a bygone era with impeccable historical detail - always makes reading her books so very delightful.

While the vivid and realistic descriptions of NYC and the roaring 1920s definitely steal the show, I loved and adored Olive's spirit and tenacity throughout the story - from chasing her dreams now matter what obstacles stand in her way - to standing up for her beliefs and following her heart.

And again, just like Montauk - there is another fun and unexpected twist toward the end of this one which is becoming her signature style - and I am so here for it! I anticipate reading what magical story Nicola brings us next!

Ahhh...this book. Delightful from beginning to end. The author's writing style is beautiful, draws you in, and keeps you turning the pages. Olive's courage and determination to succeed and be the woman she wants to be is admirable even when she's faced with a most difficult choice. The descriptions of life in the twenties and the glamour of the Follies are wonderful, reminiscent, and evoke feelings of nostalgia for a bygone era. A lovely story and a must read for historical fiction lovers.