LAST DANCE ON THE STARLIGHT PIER – by Sarah Bird

That Ending—My Heart!

I don’t think I’ve cried this hard while reading a book—to the point my soul aches—in a very long time.

All The Feels—Highly Recommend!

Thank you, NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press, for providing me with an eBook of LAST DANCE ON THE STARLIGHT PIER at the request of an honest review.

This was a great, but hard, read. It is very well written and really drew me in. I love historical fiction, but sometimes stories like this, that reflect such hard times in our countries history, are so tough to read. I learned a lot and am glad I took the time to read this one.

Such a fun read! Loved this one!

Many thanks to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for my ARC.

I loved this book! It's well-written, enjoyable, and a great read. Sarah Bird did a great job of writing in a way that captures the readers attention, and makes you not want to put it down until you're finished! I would highly recommend it!

4.5 stars. I loved this book. Once or twice it made me laugh, it broke my heart, is disgusted me, and taught me something. I enjoyed learning about the dance marathons of the 30’s. I found it very interesting.

This book grabbed me at the beginning and kept me interested throughout. I am so glad I read this book and I highly recommend it.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this digital arc in exchange for my honest review which is not affiliated with any brand.

During the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl era in the 1920-1930’s, there were a lot of people struggling to make ends meet. It was a time when people were concerned about the country and the political changes they prayed would alleviate their suffering. Of course, history reveals that not everyone endured the financial hardships of the failing economy. In this story, the Amadeo’s were such a family who seemed to “own” Galveston with their lucrative illegal business transactions.

Unfortunately, there were families who struggled to survive, sometimes denying their present situation of loss. Evie Grace Devlin was raised in Vinegar Hill which was as acidic as the name suggests. Evie was raised with a father who made money dancing through vaudeville circuits when circumstances made him close his dance school. Evie holds on to memories of her father who died while she was young and helping him teach dance to students. Her mother was a distant, selfish wannabe actress concerned only in her own welling being.

Evie works hard and finally finds her way out of Vinegar Hill when she receives a charity scholarship to attend a nursing school taught by nuns in Galveston. It’s a dream come true for Evie who becomes instant friends with Sophie Amadeo in nursing school who also wishes to extract herself from her family’s high expectations. Although Evie studies hard and is at the top of her graduating class, she is denied her coveted title as nurse due to her upbringing within the vaudeville community. Embarrassed and needing a job, Evie finds herself being hired to work dance marathons where the dancers needed medical care from lack of sleep and being on their feet for hours on end. For some people this was a way for them to support themselves during these times of poverty as well as an inexpensive form of entertainment.

Evie is content attending to the dancers as a nurse until she is eventually brought in dance. She ends up being paired with Zave who coincidently was trained to dance by Evie's father. She becomes part of the dance duo who would attract crowds to the venue. They prepare for a major dance event at the Starlight Palace on the historic Starlight Pier until tragedy strikes. The story of survival, dedication and resilience dominate the theme. Recommended for historical fiction fans for its unique view of the time era.

Thank you NetGalley and St Martin's Press for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

It was interesting learning about dance marathons. The author clearly did a lot of research on them. They seem to have been popular, and very exhausting. I had some trouble getting a real sense of the main character, but a few of the supporting characters were colorful and varied.

It seemed as though present day takes on a specific political party, religion, and segment of law enforcement kept popping up throughout the book. No issue with people writing from where they stand, but the references kept pulling me out of the story and made it tough to forget I was reading a contemporary book.

One last thing. Spoiler alert:
There are two scenes that might cause some pain for certain people. One involves a female child in a bad situation, the other someone planning on...unliving themselves. Both scenes are brief, and I'm not saying how either one goes. Just mentioning it so people who want it have some warning.

I haven't read many books set during the Great Depression, so found Last Dance on the Starlight Pier to be captivating. Evie Grace Devlin, who always dreamed of becoming a nurse, finds herself sucked into the world of dance marathons (something I didn't know anything about!). I had such a soft spot for Evie and her journey, and absolutely loved the memorable secondary characters as well. It was a long book at over 400 pages, but I felt this allowed for the characters backstories to be explored more deeply and helped develop my connection with them as the reader.

Oh, how I wanted to love this book! Dance marathons, prohibition, mobs, etc? However, I quickly lost track of what the story was about by the author's attempts at virtue signaling and political posturing. It seems like she plucked characters from today's political climate and dropped them into the Great Depression, painting an incredibly inaccurate portrait of what people and life were actually like back then. I really wish we could save our political opinions for rallies and the polls and leave good storytelling alone.

Sarah Bird takes readers into the Great Depression with this story. Told through the point of view of Evie, I was immediately captivated and intrigued into her life as a nurse and a dancer. I found the other cast of characters to be interesting and a good addition to Evie's story. The setting and writing made me feel as if I was walking or dancing side by side, especially in Galveston. Thank you to NetGalley for a copy! All thoughts and opinions are my own!

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for giving me a free eARC of this book to read in exchange for my review!

Last Dance on the Starlight Pier takes a look at life during the Great Depression and gives a feel for what it would have been like for many during this time. The book follows Evie as she sets out on a life of discovery, and we follow along as she experiences love, heartbreak, loss and adventure.

While I am not normally a historical fiction fan, Last Dance on the Starlight Pier did a great job of holding my interest and I had a hard time putting the book down. I would highly recommend if you like romance and self discovery novels. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

Sarah Bird takes the reader back to the 1930's and when dance marathons were a source of entertainment and a job. We follow Evie into the world which she escapes and the one she wants to be in. After reading this book, I was drawn into finding more about the dancers of dance marathons and their culture. Highly recommend as I could not put down this book.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy.

One of the reasons that historical fiction is my favorite genre is that I can learn so much about things I never knew about. I had never heard of the depression era dance marathons before reading Last Dance on the Starlight Pier.

Evie Grace Devlin grew up on the Vaudeville circuit but she dreamt of something different. The story follows Evie’s journey and includes the interesting cast of characters she encounters.

I loved the family that Evie finds along the way, especially Zave. I also loved Evie’s character development.

She makes choices that made me cringe as a reader but then she learns from her mistakes.

The ending was a little too perfect and convenient.

But overall, this is a solid story about a relatively unknown piece of America’s history.

Historical fiction is one of my favorite genres, if not my favorite. I loved the title of this book so much and I really enjoyed reading it. Set during the Great Depression intrigued me because while I've read a ton of WWII books, I haven't really read a lot of books set during the Great Depression.

MC Evie Grace Devlin (love the middle name) is a dancer but somehow her dance partner Zane is MIA, so to speak. It's almost a fluke that she has become a dancer and involved in dance marathons. I've seen these only in movies but I can only imagine the strength, will-power, tenacity and passion to compete in a dance marathon.

I love a strong-willed female character and Evie certainly is that, so I liked her a lot. I liked the other characters too, but I think Evie was my favorite.

Evie Grace Devlin came to Galveston in 1929 at age 17 to escape a dark past in vaudeville and to train to become a nurse. When that dream is cruelly thwarted, Evie is swept into the world of dance marathons and the family-run empire of vice in Galveston in the 1930s.

I've seen old newsreel footage of dance marathons which I found fascinating and it was interesting to learn how the marathons were promoted in those days and the effect on the dancers and their fans. It was like a combination of the old-style World Wrestling Federation and the early days of American Bandstand when the dancers had their own fans. I was exhausted just thinking about being on the dance floor all those hours. The book also brings the Great Depression to the forefront as well as the Dust Bowl in the 1930s and touches on the impact these events had on everyday people. Like another reviewer said, it's a love story but not a romance.

I enjoyed the book but I think it was a little longer than it needed to be even though there were some scenes that ended rather abruptly and I was left wondering what happened. Maybe the book was just a bit over-ambitious or should've been a part of a series. I'd read another book from this author without a qualm. 3.5 Stars rounded up!

Thank you to St. Martin's Press via Netgalley for an advance copy of this novel. All opinions expressed are my own.

Last Dance on the Starlight Pier is an intriguing tale that sweeps you away between Chicago and Texas during the early 1930s and into the life of Evie Grace Devlin, a young woman who yearns to become a registered nurse, but who after her past as a Vaudeville performer comes to light and she is denied graduation, ends up in the world of competitive dance competitions until tragedy strikes, and she must rethink what’s truly important and where, what and who she’d truly like to be.

Admittedly, this was a change of pace for me. I haven't read historical fiction much in a few years (maybe I've needed an escape since 2020 ha) but it kept my attention which is key! I found Last Dance on the Starlight Pier to be emotional and also educational (I learned a lot of facts about America/Galveston during this time period). There are patriotic undertones and overall it's quite moving.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for a copy of this ebook to review. All thoughts and opinions are my own and have not been influenced in any way.

I am going to give this book the four stars based on the writing. It is nothing against the book, but the story just wasn’t for me. It didn’t engage my heart and mind. But the writing was good. I would try this author again.

I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book provided by NetGalley

Set in the early days of the Great Depression, Evie escapes her controlling mother to go to nursing school. On the eve of her graduation with top honors, she's kicked out of the program based on her childhood Vaudeville performances. Not much of a victim, she leaves Galveston and heads for Chicago where she gets a job as a nurse for a company that sponsors dance. It's not long until she's working both as a nurse and as a dance contestant partnered with a protégée of her deceased father. As work is drying up in Chicago, she persuades the owner to try his luck in Galveston, prosperous and almost insulated from the effects of most of the country.

This is a very atmospheric novel with well researched and realistic depictions of Chicago, Galveston, Houston, and the drought stricken Texas panhandle. Bird's characters are unforgettable--flawed, but absolutely compelling.

I don't think Bird could write a bad novel even if she tried. This was one of my best reads published in 2022.