3.5/5

The Last Debutantes: A Novel begins at the eve of World War II. The English debutantes are in full swing of their season of dances and balls, while the world around them begins to shift. Focused on Valerie, the Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain's niece, the book describes the rise and fall of the British elite. Valerie has been saved from a life of despair and brought to Number 10, but faces backlash from her fellow peers about her previous life. With the help of her Aunt Anne, cousin Dorothy, and her debutante friends, Valerie is guided through her coming-out season.

I actually put this book down after the first few chapters. I found the atmosphere a little too stuffy and the characters without a lot of depth. When I picked it back up, the book progressed much better than I had anticipated. One of the main lessons Valerie learns is that everyone around her facing their own battles. Everyone has a past and everyone has societal pressures on their lives. Title and rank can help, but it does not eliminate problems.

I did, however, want a little more from this book and quite a few things stopped a little short of being fulfilling for me. My favorite character, Marian, was a working woman in the Garden Room of Number 10. I loved Marian's scenes with Valerie, and wish we could have heard more from her side of the approaching war and what society pressures were like for her. I also would have loved to have the section of when Their Excellencies join forces to collect money for the Tientsin effort expanded. This was a very redeeming part to Valerie's character, but was just brushed over slightly. The romantic triangle could have had more development as I saw the sparks, but not the follow through. I really liked the book and enjoyed the story, just felt a little like it glided over some of the important aspects that would have given in more depth.

Thank you to William Morrow Publishing and NetGalley for granting me a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!

In short, this is a historical fiction novel following a group of Debutantes, specifically Valerie de Vera Cole, as they brave the season during the time right before World War II starts.

The title looked intriguing, the cover was amazing and the novel well written! She definitely did her homework as the historical facts which I appreciated!

I loved getting to know the characters but I got a little bored. The last 10% of the book was the most exciting and where everything seemed to happen. We spend most of the book hearing about Valerie’s life in vague terms and a love triangle both of which dragged on far too long. We get mentions of how to world will change once war comes and social organizations by title that the debutantes are joining but no true descriptions of how things have already changed or what these girls do with these organizations. This would have helped the book tremendously as it just lacked a little more depth.!

Overall this book was decent but definitely much slower than I thought it would be.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC in exchanged for a honest review!

I loved every page of The Last Debutantes by Georgie Blalock! And the character of Valerie is one I will remember for a very, very long time. She's tough but sensitive, hurting but an expert at projecting outward confidence. What a fantastic story!

The Last Debutantes by Georgie Blalock, gives a glimpse into the lives of young English girls during the last 'Season' right before the start of World War Two. The story follows Valerie de Vere Cole, the niece of Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain, as she navigates London's elite social season. Blalock does a beautiful job projecting the superficial worries of the ostentatious, glittering world of the English upper classes against the backdrop of the reality of the looming war with Germany.

I enjoyed this book. I loved the historic content and accuracy. One of my favorite tidbits that I was able to find online was the gifted satin heart necklaces Schiaparelliprovided to the debutantes at the Queen Charlotte Ball. I found a picture and everything!

I also enjoyed the story coming from a girl who was holding on a much as she could to her lineage as many time, these stories are told from one of the most anticipated debs of the season.

Initially the main character drove me a bit batty with the complaining. but eventually it got better. quite enjoyable over all

The title was great, the cover was great, the writing was excellent, the characters were great but I was a little bored. The most action happened in the last 8% of the book. I did like the look into No 10 and the society that I've read so much about. I did Google some things (names and places) and found them to be on the spot for the time period.
Overall, it was a good book just slower than what I anticipated

The world is on the brink of World War II but the Season for debutantes continues. in London. Valerie de Vere Cole, Neville Chamberlain's niece, is hoping the secrets of her past aren't revealed. Can she trust her new friends or will they not want anything to do with her if her secrets are revealed?

Set in 1939, this novel explored the journey of one Miss Valerie de Vere Cole as she comes out into society and joins the debutantes of the London ton. Although she has the lineage and the pedigree, she is nevertheless an outsider who constantly has to hide the secrets and of her past and failures of her father.

She must push past and overcome the damaging gossip of the ton in order to discover who she really is and ultimately what she stands for. And she must also do this within the zeitgeist of paranoia and impending war, which makes for an interesting tone for the novel.

Although there are some romantic parts of Valerie’s story, I was actually far more interested the relationships with the female friends she makes and their collective, as we as individual views of society and the world they can feel is about to change. I wished for the novel to go into more depth with them.

And there were parts of the novel that dragged a bit, especially in the beginning. The setting is gorgeous, and the history is fascinating, but the authors relies a little too heavily on on these before really getting into the story and the reason we care so much about our main character. It is definitely a slow burn.

All in all, it was a pleasant read.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book's peek into high society in London just before WWII broke out. As a commoner, I felt as if I was Valerie, transported into the balls, teas, and coming out dances that Americans are likely never to enjoy. That's the mark of a good story. Pulling back the curtains on the families and secrets of high society was realistic and engaging. The dialogue and characters were very realistic. I would highly recommend this book.

This book reminded me a lot of “The Duke and I.” When I read the synopsis, that’s why I wanted to read it.
However, there were parts that were difficult to get through - parts that were very drawn out.
In addition, I was disappointed at the ending, as I wanted Valerie to end up with Elm. I also wanted there to be some closure for Valerie in terms of a proposal from a suitor.
However, the details of the time period shone through and the stints of romance were awesome. Also, I loved how Valerie came into her own and loved herself despite salacious gossip and rumors snd hardship.

Set in London 1939, The Last Debutantes focuses on Valerie de Vere Cole’s debutante season and debut. Trying to avoid her family’s past scandals, she is taken in and introduced to society by her aunt and uncle, who is the current British Prime Minister. With shame, romance, secrets, and friendships, Valerie navigates her season clouded by the changing atmosphere in London. The entire book is haunted by the sense that England is teetering on the edge of WWII. I wanted to savor every moment of this story because of the likability of the characters and the knowledge and feeling that the world and British society will forever change in a few short months. The Last Debutantes accurately depicts the end of an era for generations and traditions of nobility in Britain. Similar to The Other Windsor Girl, Georgie Blalock expertly weaves history and fiction of early 20th century Britain. This was one of my highly anticipated reads for historical fiction in 2021 and Blalock did not disappoint. I enjoyed this novel far more than The Other Windsor Girl and would recommend it to any historical fiction or The Crown fans.

Also, the cover of this book is STUNNING.

The setting is 1939 England, and the country is on the cusp of war. For Valerie de Vere Cole this is her coming out season. She is a daughter from good lineage, but her deceased father was a known prankster and is a joke among high society. She is sponsored during the debutante season by her father’s sister, Anne Chamberlain, the wife of Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain. Having not grown up in London society, Valerie feels like an outcast and tries to break free from the gossip that surrounds her.

During her debutante season, Valerie meets new acquaintances and strives to make a place for herself in society while making her aunt and uncle proud. She begins to feel accepted at the balls and teas she attends but she has secrets about her past that she goes to great lengths to keep hidden from those around her. She is introduced to a few gentlemen suitors and enjoys having some flirtatious fun until a poor choice is made and she sees everything she has worked for begin to crumble. This is a story about believing in oneself and allowing others into your heart.

Being behind the scenes of Number 10 during this turbulent time in history was interesting. It was also fun to glimpse into the lives of historical people such as Neville Chamberlain and Eunice Kennedy. While the writing is descriptive, the story itself is not very deep and I would have liked to learn more about the friends Valerie made during the story. I feel the characters could have been fleshed out a bit better. I did enjoy being swept away into the glittery world of a debutante where everything was opulent and regal. It was a pleasant story to escape into.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The story begins with the debut of Valerie de Vere Cole, the prime minister's niece, and the daughter of an outcast father, she grew up in France, not in the glamorous way as people think.
It's set in 1939, a few months before England enters WWII, it's an interesting period because we have details of the balls and high society lifestyle and the rumors of the imminent war.
On the night of her presentation, Valerie, at first feels insecure, she dont know if she will fit in the society and if she will be accepted, (she doesn't have the best family history). But she has nothing to worry about, and soon will make friends, who will call themselves "Their Excellences,". The friendship of this group was my favorite part, nothing is more beautiful as women support each other. 
The only complaint is that I would have liked to read a little more about the consequences of the war, in the end the balls are canceled and the girls join organizations to support the war and the boys are enlisted to fight for England.
Overall it was a nice story and I enjoy it so much.

Book Review for The Last Debutantes by Georgie Blalock
Full review for this title can be found at: @fyebooks on Instagram!

The pace was plodding and there was never a challenge and then a resolution. The story was muddled by allusions to mysterious events in France and then the threat and tension never materialized and was quickly resolved.

Such a great read!

If you enjoy Bridgerton you will love this book. Such a perfect way to use historical figures as the basis of a novel. Highly encourage everyone to check it out!

I really wanted to love this book! The cover is absolutely stunning. However, I ended up slightly underwhelmed. This feels a lot like a YA novel. I don't have anything at all against YA; it simply wasn't what I wanted to be reading. The stakes are low and the characters are entertaining. If you want light and frothy, this might fit the bill. Might be good for fans of Bridgerton.

This was a good book, but it felt like nothing really happened. It felt like the author tried to stuff everything that makes other novels great into this book without developing any of it. A few examples would be the group of friends: now and then, they would do something plot productive like all sneaking out of the ball. But most of the time, they were gossiping, and it didn’t do anything to further the story other than to say that high society is not perfect. There were two suiters: But we only learn a small bit about either of them, Elm is a rich boy who is mad that his life is planned for him, and Richard is a doctor who is a fourth son. And any romance consisted of, I danced with E than with R. We learn about a big secret that can ruin her, but it only gets mentioned in the last few chapters of the book, and we don’t get to see her work to overcome it. There are more instances than this, but these are the bigger ones. I feel that the book would have been much better if the author would have done more world building during all of the dances or if the author had made the big secret coming out the middle point of the story and having the main character overcome this big obstacle. All thoughts and opinions are my own. #TheLastDebutantes #NetGalley

This was my first Georgie Blalock novel, but it won’t be my last! This is a dazzling novel that focuses on the last Debutante season as WWII inches closer to England. I enjoyed the many cameos of historical figures in this novel and the inside look of 10 Downing Street. Overall, it is a light and enjoyable read that has a strong theme of female friendships. If you love historical fiction novels that focus on society, you’ll love this book and if you enjoyed The Kennedy Debutante, this book is a great complement to it. Looking forward to sharing this with our audience and will keep it in consideration as a book club pick for our book club. Thank you William Morrow and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. 4/5 stars.