Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for my gifted copy of Did You Hear About Kitty Karr. Unfortunately, I messed up with this one and the audiobook achieved before I had the chance to listen to it. I have plans on listening to this one soon but will give it five stars because I feel really bad for not downloading it in a responsible time frame.

I really enjoyed this one. Thank you, NetGalley for sharing this with me. I'll definitely be looking forward to reading more.

This was a very interesting premise about secrets and history told through different timelines. The narration was well done and kept me engaged. Overall, I would recommend this to someone who likes Old Hollywood stories with mystery and multiple points of view.
Thank you Macmillan Audio for the copy through NetGalley.

I really loved this story. I thought Kitty Karr was the perfect mix of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and The Vanishing Half (both of which were 5 star reads for me).

I enjoyed the past and present POV though I definitely connected more with the past POV. The present POV seemed more like the vehicle to tell the story of the past but I still loved this story.

If you like historical fiction that explores race, has a Southern and Hollywood setting, in dual timelines, with a bit of mystery then this is a book for you!

I always look forward to the celebrity BookClub picks and was so excited to see that this was chosen as the Reese’s BookClub pick!

WHAT TO EXPECT
-old Hollywood
-multigenerational story
-secrets
-multiple POVs

*many thanks to Holt, Macmillan Audio and Netgalley for the gifted copy for review

This was a great read. It was like if The Vanishing Half included a history similar to The Underground Railroad but was upgraded with a powerful secret society.

2.5 stars for me

The synopsis sounded excellent and it’s a relevant topic. However the writing was all over the place and I think I’m getting tired of all the duel timeline books out there.

I did enjoy the Kitty Karr chapters but when we get to the Elise St. John chapters I was ya led out of the story and had to try and figure out what was going on. Those present day chapters just felt like an after thought to me.

I do have people I could recommend this book to who might enjoy it, but pretty forgettable for me.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to listen and review this book.

DID YOU HEAR ABOUT KITTY KARR? review

⭐️⭐️⭐️.25/5

🎬Look who fiiiiiinally finished reading a book she started back in July?! 👋🏼 I’ll be honest, this one took me a while to feel invested in the story, buuuuut life has also been crazy busy lately which is a huge part of why it took me so long to finish this one! I felt like the first few chapters had so many different characters being introduced and were constantly shifting between the past and present timelines that I had a hard time keeping up.

🎬Here’s a summary of the plot:👇
Kitty Karr is a ultra-famous, multimillionaire movie star. When the white actress dies, she leaves her fortune to three young black women who have seemingly no ties to Kitty. Why would she leave her fortune to these strangers? Does anyone truly know who Kitty Karr actually was?

🎬Based on the plot synopsis alone, I was expecting major Evelyn Hugo vibes and I was here for it! While this one did give off slightly similar vibes, it wasn’t as similar as I was expecting. I really enjoyed the second half of the book and honestly wasn’t ready for the story to end. While it took me a while to get into this one, I enjoyed it once I was invested in the story! Overall, I’d recommend this one particularly if you enjoy historical fiction about celebrities/the secrets of Hollywood. However, I’d probably recommend the physical book/e-book as I think the story was too complicated to follow on audio!

Waaaaay back in May, I had the opportunity to listen to the audiobook, "Did You Hear About Kitty Karr." It was a Reese Witherspoon pick, and narrated by the talented trio of Ariel Blake, Kineta Kunutu and Lynnette Nicholas.

It's an intriguing premise centered around the mysterious actress, Kitty Karr. She dies and leaves millions to the Black St. John sisters. The thing is is that Kitty is white.So, a whole host of family secrets come pouring out. I appreciate the race relations aspect of this book

I loved the glitz and glamour of old Hollywood, but felt a bit underwhelmed by the plot. While "Kitty Karr" might provide a casual listening experience, it might not satisfy those seeking a more gripping and immersive mystery.

Special thanks to Macmillan Audio for an advanced listener copy of the audiobook.

Oh wow. I knew I was going to like this book, but I didn’t expect to love it this much. The comparison to Evelyn Hugo is perfect. I loved that book and I love this one. I can’t wait to see what’s to come from this author.

Short synopsis: The famous actress Kitty Karr dies, and leaves all her assets to the St John sisters (three young black women). Many questions begin to arise about who Kitty was before stardom.

My thoughts: This book was completely unexpected to me. I assumed it was kitty’s life going through the ranks to her rise to stardom, but it was so much more.

We get a multigenerational story about Blacks in the early 1940s trying to find their way in a segregated world and create a better life for their kids. I learned a lot about the difficulties of trying to pass as whites and some of the risks involved.

I really enjoyed the narration on this, but did get somewhat confused due to many side characters and keeping them straight: but overall this was told very well.

Read if you love:
- Old Hollywood
- Multigenerational stories
- Debut stories
- Hidden secrets
- Creating a better life for yourself

Thank you to the publisher for the ALC. Like Daisy Jones and Evelyn Hugo before it the audio adds so much to this book.

I loved this!! The St. John sisters, who are Black, were given a large sum of money in a will from a famous white actress. This was a multigenerational story with multiple POV and themes including hidden love, passing as white, and Jim Crow. This was giving “Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo” vibes. The writing wasn’t always smooth, but the storyline pulled me in, especially actress Elise’s perspective. Thanks so much to @netgalley for the chance to review this book.

I accessed a digital review copy of this book from the publisher.
I thought that this was an interesting book and topic. The duel timelines added to the story and let the reader have a more expansive view of the history of the family.
I did enjoy the historical sections more, and I'm not sure if this was because the author was trying to put as many lessons as possible in the present-day sections or if it was because the author treated the historical sections as just story.

First of all, I hate the title and the cover art. But I love this Vanishing-Half-meets-Seven-Husbands-of-Evelyn-Hugo premise. I'm not sure if it's supposed to be a twist, but I saw it coming from a mile away and still enjoyed seeing how the whole story played out.

4.75 out of 5 stars

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and Netgalley for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review

Do you like Evelyn Hugo? Of course you do, who doesn't? Well then read this. Now, this is not a ripoff of the Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo but it does have that kind of feel. Old Hollywood, secrets and family.

When Kitty Karr Tate, a White icon of the silver screen, dies and bequeaths her multimillion-dollar estate to the St. John sisters, three young, wealthy Black women, it prompts questions. Lots of questions.

I thought the writing was fantastic and the story was great. The narrators did a wonderful job.

I finished reading this book at the 38% mark. I was simply unmoved to continue reading story with a premise I usually have success with - a mix of historical and present-day fiction depicting a Black celebrity - due to the novel's low levels intrigue and uninteresting examination of passing,

This book! It's easily the best thing I've listened to this year. I'm still thinking about the storyline weeks later and have hand sold this book every chance I get.

From a personal perspective, I'm an ethnic minority married to a caucasian man, so I think what initially drew me into this story was perspective from the child (what might our child experience?).

This story takes place over 3 generations of women, all with unique perspectives to their reality. I think all of the characters struggle with "doing the right thing" in their situations. They also hold joy and sorrow as a result of the decision they make to that question. Hazel is the young black girl on her way to make something of herself when she gets caught up in North Carolina and then never makes it past there. Kitty is the definition of duplicity, missing her roots and home and choosing to make the best decisions in the life she's been so lucky to enter. Elise is lost, not sure what she wants or where she wants to go, but knows she wants to do right by Kitty, who she grew to love and adore and take care of in her last months.

I really don't want to give this story away, but I would say the Crystal Paul Smith does an amazing job at planting ideas into the readers minds about what the story of slavery looks like even in our time. Are there still illegitimate children of the most powerful men in the US still sprinkled throughout, their stories left untold because of the circumstances their mother's endured? How unbiased are people really about wealth and race? Were there influential people in plain sight who were not who they said they were that the whole world would recognize even now? Would the belles of the 50's be any less beautiful if we knew they were actually half black?

This story will leave you asking these questions and more. Thank you Crystal Paul Smith for taking us to a place to ask them.

#indigoemployee

Have You Heard About Kitty Karr? Tells the story of a Black actress who passes as white during the 1950’s. The story is told from multiple points of view. Kitty in the 1950’s and Elise in the present day. I really enjoyed Kitty’s story. It was interesting and full of interesting historical content. I felt that Kitty’s story was strong enough without the present day timeline. Elise’s story just wasn’t as interesting. It might have worked if Elise’s story was told in greater depth but it just felt unnecessary to the story. The ending also felt rushed to me and left with me quite a few questions.

Did You Hear About Kitty Karr? explores racism, colorism within the Black community, lineage, and sexism in Hollywood. When the white Hollywood starlet Kitty Karr suddenly dies and leaves her multi-million dollar estate to the Black St. John sisters it raises some eyebrows. We learn more by spanning multiple generations and timelines, mostly Kitty in the past and Elise, a St. John sister, in the present.

This is an interesting read but it didn't quite hook me. Lot's to discuss for groups though which would make it a perfect book club pick.

Ariel Blake, Kineta Kunutu, and Lynnette Nicholas did a fantastic job with the audio.

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the ARC - Did You Hear About Kitty Karr? is out now!