I loved the preview of this book, but in the end this book just wasn't for me. I didn't like the writingstyle and couldn't connect with the main characters. I skimmed a lot of this book.

Read from 01-Mar-2021 to 06-Mar-2021

Astra Davies’s parents die, leaving her without money and with some scandalous family secrets. She must find a way to make money in order to save her family home. But she must do this in secret because, according to her aunt, she can be cast out from society if people find out about her situation. In the end she learns that she’s unable to do things all by herself and in secret, so she shares her secrets with her girlfriends and the man she’s in love with, and they all help her out without judging or casting her out from their circle.

At first glance, this reads like a Downton Abbey/Gossip Girl match-up, or a 1930’s version of Sex and the City. But then I looked up information on "bright young things" and came up with a very interesting article that helped me understand about the story’s setting a bit more.

But behind the veil of glamour and scandal, these “rebellious” women are trying to make a difference in the world around them. Astra is working on becoming a businesswoman. Joyce is hiring every servant she can that has been let go from other estates and trying to uncover her politician acquaintances’ secrets. Laura is working hard on becoming a fitness expert. And by doing so, these women are also helping change the mindset of the men in their lives.

To be fully honest, I was a bit on my tip toes when I started reading this book. Another story about a young lady before Wolrd War 2 ... but I was totally surprised and could not put the book down. The characters are realistic, the everyday life is fair to truth, and there is even suspens. No "cliches", no "the good old days" traps.
The story unravels with charming moments in the middle of the transformation of a young lady into a modern woman.
I just hope there will be more books about the main characters.
All opinions are mine, I received a copy from NetGalley.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for providing this opportunity to read an advance copy of Brianne Moore’s novel.

The story of a young and clever woman in the 1930s who finds herself left with substantial debts following the sudden death of her parents. She has two choices: find herself a rich husband or make her own way in life. Needless to say she accomplishes both, but not until after unearthing family secrets, facing scandals and battling against those that wish to destroy her reputation.

Moore has a flair for creating credible characters in this period, ranging from the utterly obnoxious to charming individuals in the world of the 1930s aristocracy. Well written and carefully thought out, with sparks of humour, it’s a pleasant read.

Fans of Downton Abbey & Bringing Down the Duke will enjoy this tale of perseverance set in 1930s Britain full of snobbish Lords & Ladies.

While the writing felt a little lackluster, this was still a nice read! The dialogue was full of British witticisms and super quick - I loved it. Astra's rise to independence was really inspirational, and her friends were truly hilarious. I definitely imagined Joyce as Lady Mary from Downton Abbey. She was my favorite! Toby was also hilarious. Everything was adorably British, I loved it 😂 All in all, while I found Astra a little hard to connect with (as well as her love interest), this was still a very pleasant read. Would make a great tv series on BBC 😉

Thank you to Alcove Press for sending me an ARC copy of this book!

Writing Quality: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
Characterization: ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆ .75
Dialogue: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Plot: ★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆
Enjoyment Level: ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

「 Overall: ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆ 」

I think it just wasn't for me...I couldn't connect with the writing neither with the characters or the story in general

I was given the opportunity to read and review this book through Net Galley and I am so glad! The story sucked you in and you'll find yourself thinking about the characters long after you finish the book. Can't wait to read more by this author!!

A Bright Young Thing by Brianne Moore is a wonderful historical fiction novel that takes place in the 1930s and brings to light what happens to our identity when our world comes crashing down around us. Do we crumble and give up in the face of adversity or do we pull up ourselves by our bootstraps, move on, and find ourselves in the process? This is what this book means to me.

When everything that Astra Davies knows and believes is taken away from her, she has a pivotal moment. Does she succumb or does she take a fresh look at who she is, how she has been raised, questions what she has always seen and been taught, and try to make sense of the world not as she knows it, but as it really is? Yes, she does. There are some bumps along the way, as Astra has a lot to answer for and learn, but she gets there. I really loved Astra’s journey. Yes, what she has lost is disheartening, but I think she finds in this her true inner strength, fire, and intelligence. I found her transformation, mistakes and all, uplifting and enjoyable.

I also loved the threads of mystery, suspense, and romance that were threaded into the novel. It added complexity and really added to the overall narrative. I enjoyed reading about the relationships, the societal changes, and the time period of early 1930s in England is a unique addition to the historical fiction genre.

5/5 stars

Thank you NG and Alcove Press for this ARC and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.

I am posting this review to my GR and Bookbub accounts immediately and will post it to my Amazon, Instagram, and B&N accounts upon publication.

A Bright Young Thing follows 30s socialite Astra as she is left orphaned after her parents die in a crash. When she stays at her aunt, she tries to figure out her life amongst the upper class without losing it all.

This was an okay book! I wish they had detailed more about the Bright Young Things. It was a bit slow at times, and I found Astra to be a bit flat too occasionally. It was an interesting world and concept.

Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Set in 1930s England, A Bright Young Thing follows socialite Astra Davies as she navigates her way through the fallout of her parents’ deaths— and the resulting financial ruin she finds herself in. With a nemesis, societal pressures, freshly unburied family secrets, and quickly dwindling funds, Astra faces many problems but not a lot of time to fix them.

Author Brianne Moore skillfully imbued the story with dialogue and details that speak to the historical context surrounding the characters. She also did a fantastic job illustrating the various characters’ personalities, quirks, and motives, resulting in a richly defined cast and dynamic interactions. The outcome is an energetic historical fiction read with character complexity and just the right amount of nuance to keep the story interesting but not overwhelming.

Heavy in exposition, I found the first half to amble, featuring primarily background rather than movement. Any real action doesn’t occur until halfway into the book. Astra does a great deal of merely reacting through many chapters, and it’s not until the second half that she moves from being frustratingly passive to an active participant in her destiny. But this shift aligns with Astra’s character development. As she uncovers secrets and encounters hardships, she grows and adapts, and the transformation is satisfying to behold.

And there’s romance! Astra’s budding relationship with a dashing earl initially features as a plot device, though the resulting sub-plot does satisfy. And while the romantic element of Astra’s story didn’t quite take center stage in this story, its progression was definitely necessary for understanding and appreciating our heroine’s character development.

While some of the scenarios presented were maddening (come on, Astra, just be honest about your feelings already!), A Bright Young Thing ultimately had a very satisfying ending. Brianne tied up all the loose ends, deftly elucidating the characters’ motivations, and the story feels complete.

Brianne Moore delivers her reader to British country house life circa 1930. She provides a full complement of rogues, boulders and vipers, but the heart of the book is her sentimental but sensible heroine who faces a life of less than genteel poverty if she doesn’t marry well or devise a method to turn the family finances around.

This situation may ring familiar, but the resolution is both unique and satisfying. The other notable aspect of the novel is the appreciation of friendships. Our heroine is sustained by her wonderful friends, and saved by her own intelligence, humanity and grit.

I enjoyed that aspect of the story, but wished the writing had more sparkle and period detail. I never had a sense of what the Bright Young Things looked like. . . Or what they wore and that might have added some vibrancy to the book.

I am grateful to NetGalley for providing me a complimentary copy of this book in return for a candid review.

A Bright Young Thing is the story of Astra, a young woman who is orphaned when her folks are in a car accident. The story follows how she deals with the loss, her finances, and other revelations that occur about her family.

The story does a good job of depicting England in the pre-war 30's, and how challenging it was for a young woman to be independent and unattached. One pet peeve with this type of book is that they are always about some upper-class "poor thing" and never really focused on the everyday average person. However this story did have a nice secondary plot about Astra's maid and her family, giving one a glimpse into the struggles of another class.

The ending was, unfortunately very predictable, but overall it was a good read and I enjoyed it.
Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

At the beginning I thought that Astra was maybe 16 to 18 years old with how her parents treated to her - ruffling hair, not teaching her the basic things... When I learned she was 23 I was more than shocked. How sheltered was she?
She didn’t even get a basic school education which is hard for me to believe, even for the 1920s.
Also she has no idea what she wants in a lady’s maid? Who did her hair before that?

The part about maids talking in code to their mistresses was quite interesting as I have never read about this before.

I was missing the cavalier King Charles spaniel though. 30% into the book and no mention of him.

It was an okay book. I liked that everybody was happy in the end but the constant fighting between Millicent and Astra was more suitable of girls in puberty, not young women as those two.

A Bright Young Thing by Brianne Moore is a first time read by this author. The story takes place in England and the heroine is Astra Davies, a pampered young woman who is very spirited in nature, i.e., one who smokes, drinks and is carefree. After the unexpected death of her parents, she is told that her father also left her with a mountain of debt. As a result of becoming close to being impoverished, she moves in with her aunt and let out her family home to gain a modest income to take care of her neccessities. Living with her aunt, the heroine is determined to find a way care for herself and learn to manage her own business affairs. To add to her concerns are the multiple family secrets and scandals.

I love the fact that heroine is a driven individual during a time when it was uncommon for women to take charge of their lives and making independent and financial decisions, The heroine is a character that you would not mind being in her cheering corner, She grows on you and is a likeable person. My view of the overall book is that the author did a good job of developing the various relationships of the subcharacters and the friendships made by the heroine. What kept my interest was the secrets, blackmail, rumors and the sweet and light-hearted moments in the story. Although I thought the plot of the story was good, however it dragged until half way through the book and I had to push myself to the end.

Thank you to NetGalley and Alcove Press for the ARC for a fair and honest review. All opnions in this review are my own.

Astra Davies lives a life of leisure on her family's grounds - until both her parents die on a trip and she is left to sort what remains. Astra has to deal not only with unexpected financial issues but also with the discovery of a living family mystery. Astra has to figure out a way to get her new life in order or become homeless and unwelcome in her circle of friends.

I found the story to be a little tiresome and vapid. The first half of the story seemed to go painfully slow and I felt I had to push through in order to finish. The author seems to have a decent knowledge of England around the time of the Great Depression. While the main character faces more than her share of hardships, the surrounding characters worry about their partying and high-end lifestyles. While this was not the type of story I normally enjoyed if you like light stories with a happy ending you will enjoy this book.

Not as interesting as expected. Story line was some what flat and predictable. Characters were two dimensional. Easy read but not ver engaging.

I really enjoyed reading this book - it was comforting and empowering. There are few things I like more in a book than strong friendships, a smart protagonist, and well-written dialogue, and this book had all of that! I loved reading Astra's story as she navigates society in the aftermath of the deaths of her parents. She finds support in her friends (who've always had her back, since being in school together - loved that!) and people who see her for who she is. Astra takes absolute no B.S. from people who don't like her, people who are trying to ruin her reputation, and people who underestimate her because she's "just a woman", and I adore her for it.

Thank you to the publisher for providing me a digital ARC of this book via NetGalley!

I think this book did a great job exploring a variety of friendships and relationships without also taking the action and independence away from the protagonist. This book had plenty of sweet and funny moments along with more difficult moments as well. The romance was well balanced but didn't feel like it took over the story. I definitely enjoyed reading this one!

Astra Davies finds herself with next to nothing after the sudden death of both her parents. As she works to lessen her debts, she uncovers family secrets that only add to her troubles. To add to all this, she turns twenty-four at the start of 1931 and she is still unmarried, something almost unheard of at the time, but the only man who is even worth her time, Jeremy Harris, is also out on his luck.

With her best friend’s sister blackmailing her and her business partner drinking himself into failure, she has to find a way to succeed by teaching herself how to be a businesswoman. Over the course of the novel, she proves she’s not just “a bright young thing.” Instead, she is a determined woman who realizes that hard work can make anything possible.

The book ends with her picking up her pen and returning to her work (after selling her family home in order to put the past behind her and make new memories), but not before Jeremy proposes in a way that would leave even Mr. Darcy without words.

This book gives such Pride and Prejudice vibes, but during the Great Depression era. Such an amazing read!!

If you want to read about a young woman rising to the challenge and taking control of her life on her own terms, then this is the book for you! I really loved how the author balanced Astra's quest to take care of herself and her romance with Jeremy. There was laughter, there was heartbreak, there was romance and there were some great twists. I liked the book's dive into how our homes, and the people in them, shape who we become. It was refreshing to read a book set in the early 1930's rather than WWI or WWII. I really enjoyed this one!

Thank you to NetGalley and Alcove Press for access to this arc.