A really enjoyable and captivating read with a character that you really come to root for - a must for fans of Evelyn Hugo.

Thank you Netgally for the ARC! Fun read overall with vibes similar to the ’Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo’. A quick and easy read with lots of great twists.

After her grandmother passes, Carolyn and her daughter move into her house in Hollywood to clear her estate. Carolyn knows her grandmother, Lily, was a golden screen star and when the local museum wants to do a special display, she starts going through Lily's momentos and finds a mystery. She wonders how her grandmother was connected to big star Stella Lane.

This was a really interesting dual timeline story - Lily's story was intriguing and it was enjoyable watching Carolyn and her daughter learn where they want their lives to go.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for a temporary, digital ARC in return for my review.

This is a new author to me, but I’ll be waiting for more from her, as I couldn’t put this book down! Carolyn has come home to her grandmother’s house to curate items for a showing of her life while she was an actress in Hollywood. Carolyn, recently divorced and still reeling from the fact that he’s now with a much younger dancer than she, brings along with her their teenage daughter Em to help. Carolyn was mostly raised by her grandmother, and being back in her house brings back so many good memories for them both. However, it’s always been a mystery why her grandmother - the much loved Lily Adams - walked away from Hollywood just when she was making it big. The dual timeline flips from present-day with Carolyn and the Golden Age of movies with Lily, and the bigger-than-life star Stella Lane. With both women being controlled by the powerful men in charge of the studios, they still find ways to stand up for themselves. Newspapers reported that Stella was murdered in 1951, but the homicide has never been solved. The more Carolyn uncovers about her grandmother, the more she realizes that Lily had lived a whole other life she was unaware of, and the big question is whether her grandmother was involved in the murder, or was she trying to help by covering it up. I couldn’t read this one fast enough to see how it all played out! Out now, highly recommend this one!

Fans of Taylor Jenkins Reid will LOVE this. Old Hollywood glamour is undershot with noir-ish glimpses of its seedy underbelly as Lily makes her way to the top, before abruptly abandoning her career. The contemporary timeline features a poignant and believable mother-daughter relationship, with both timelines coming to satisfying conclusions as secrets are revealed. A great summer read.

Absolutely loved it. It is a bit similar to The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo but totally different. Sure is a mystery. Fun read. Thanks NetGalkey for the ARC. Will push it to my patrons in the library!

What a phenomenal debut by author Sara Blaydes. The last secret of Lily Adams is THE book to read for fans of The seven husbands of Evelyn Hugo that you didn't know you needed. Why? Because this one ticks the Old Hollywood glamour vibe also ✔️, this one ticks the scandalous box also ✔️, this one provides a deeply human element to an all too realistic fictional actress also ✔️ but... what this one provides which Evelyn Hugo lacked (and this is not a criticism of that book I deeply love TJR's books) is a mystery and an insight into the deeper dark workings of Old Hollywood and how they made movies, how they treated their stars especially their actresses and the disturbing lengths they would go to control the narrative.
This is a dual POV timeline. We have Lily the Hollywood actress from the late 40s/early 50s and her Granddaughter Carolyn 70 yrs later in present day as she tries to uncover who Lily Adams was before she left Hollywood behind and why does "It all starts and ends with Stella Lane" the Marilyn Monroeesque actress who was found brutally murdered all those years ago.
The book is very well researched which will amuse fans of the Golden Age of the silver screen. Although the characters are fictitious they feel all too real, the struggles, anguish, hopes and dreams. The abuse, choices, desperation, loves and hate. This book has it all.
Warnings of: sexual abuse, rape, abortion, eating disorders, drugs and domestic violence.

Thanks to Lake Union Publishing for allowing me to review this book through NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Lily Adams was a silver screen star, but she sudden steps away from her glamorous Hollywood life at the height of her career. No one understood why, but upon her death bed many years later she leaves the cryptic message for her granddaughter Carolyn, “My story begins and ends with Stella Lane. Soon you will understand what that means.”

In this dual timeline novel, Carolyn and her teenage daughter Em try to figure out what Lily’s message really means. Stella Lane is Lily’s archenemy. In their digging they find out some shocking information that turns their world upside down.

Sara Blaydes does an excellent job weaving between two time periods. For those easily triggered, there is drug abuse, eating disorders, bullying, and domestic violence present in this novel. This quick read will suck you right in, and the ending will likely shock many. I loved all the old Hollywood costume descriptions—I had a motion picture running through my head as I read.

Thank you to NetGalley, Lake Union Publishing, and of course the author Sara Blaydes for the advanced copy of the book. The Last Secret of Lily Adams is out now! All opinions are my own.

In 1950's Hollywood, Lily Adams is one of the hottest stars, having worked her way up from seamstress to star. However, just as she reaches the heights of fame, she leaves Hollywood behind, never making a movie again. Seventy years later, Lily's granddaughter Carolyn, reeling from a traumatic divorce and the loss of her grandmother, returns to Lily's house with her teenage daughter, to settle Lily's estate, and figure out her own future. As Carolyn sorts through Lily's belongings, she finds evidence that Lily was once friends with Stella Adams, a major Hollywood actress whose brutal murder was never solved. Through dual timelines, we follow Lily's rise to fame, and her connection to Stella, while also following Carolyn on her journey to understanding her grandmother, and charting a new course for her life.

I'm a sucker for old Hollywood stories, fictional or non fictional, so I knew when I saw this one, I had to pick it up. I really enjoyed Lily's timeline. Watching her work her way up, and seeing how brutal Hollywood was on its stars, was really interesting and compelling. The mystery of how she knew Stella and was involved in her life was really compelling, and I loved the twist and final reveal. Where this book let me down was Carolyn's timeline. Carolyn was not my favorite character; I found her very whiny, and overdramatic. Her daughter would act like a normal teenager who was processing a lot of trauma, and Carolyn would act like she was about to start murdering people. I also got very tired of Carolyn never asking the people in her life for help, and then complaining how she was so tired, had done everything herself, etc. That got really old, really fast. I did really enjoy Lily's sections, and honestly would have been okay if this book had been entirely from her viewpoint. I enjoyed this one, but the character of Carolyn kept me from loving it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a free e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

A beautiful multi-generational tale of ambition, determination, family, and love. Told via dual timeline, we see the glitz and glamour along with the sacrifice and buried secrets of old Hollywood.

Lily Adams’ only ambition in life was to be star, nothing was more important than that, so why did she give it all up without ever looking back?? After her passing, Lily left clear instructions for her granddaughter Carolyn, no funeral only that all her items of any historical value be donated to the Golden Age Museum for an exhibit. Carolyn, who is looking for some stable ground for herself and her daughter following a divorce, plan a couple week stay at her grandmothers house to sort through her things. What they find is that there was more to Lily Adams that anyone ever knew! Lily had a secret, and she finally wanted to world to know it!

I was pulled into this one right away!! Sara Blaydes writes a well paced and engaging tale of allure and mystery! I sympathized with each of the characters, all very believable! I felt the tribulations of the women in Hollywood and all they had to endure. The ending was perfect, I just loved it!

Just like a Hollywood movie, orphaned Lillian Aldenkamp taps her tootsies, changes her name to Lily Adams, and becomes a star. When Lily dies her granddaughter Carolyn is charged with sorting through the remains of Lily's brief career. She uncovers evidence of a friendship between Lily and Stella Lane, a legendary film star who died mysteriously. Carolyn, a former dancer like her movie star grandmother, is parenting a teenage daughter while navigating a divorce. As she sifts through her grandmother's past she learns more truth and she realized existed about her own life. The Lily sections are far more interesting, as they are rooted in old Hollywood, and expose the despicable things women were subjected to in order to achieve stardom. Overall The Last Secret of Lily Adams is a compelling read about stardon and life outside of its glow.

I really enjoyed this one! In the past (1940’s-50’s), Lily Adams was a famous actress until all of a sudden she disappeared out of the spotlight. In the present upon Lily’s death, Lily’s granddaughter, Carolyn, is going through Lily’s things and sorting through what can be included in a museum exhibit on Lily. Carolyn find some things, including a journal, that suggests Lily had a secret. The story goes back and forth between the past POV of Lily and her rise to fame, and the present POV of Carolyn and her trying to uncover Lily’s secret.

There’s some mystery, some romance, and quite the twist at the end. I did find myself liking the past POV a little more. It also has similar old Hollywood vibes to The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by TJR—if you liked that, I think you’d like this one!

There are quite a few trigger warnings in this book—I would look those up beforehand.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Loved this book with its Old Hollywood vibe. Contains quite a few triggers for many readers. Well developed characters with enough intrigue to satisfy. Carolyn's search for the truth of her grandmother Lily makes a great read.

I initially wanted to read this book because I thought it would be like the seven husbands of evelyn hugo, which it was but it also had some differences as well. I thought it was an interesting story with the old Hollywood theme mixed with a little mystery and I liked how it was all revealed at the end. however it was a slow read, especially in carolyn’s chapters, I though they were very dull and didn’t pick up until towards the end. I preferred lily’s chapters as they were more informative, fun, and engaging. unfortunately I didn’t enjoy this as much as I thought I would but overall it was still a decent read.

If I could have read this ARC in one sitting, I would have. So much was I invested in the dual timeline, and the plot.

Through Lily Adam’s diary we are introduced to the Golden Age of Hollywood where women are controlled, owned and thin. Through Lily Adams we see the glamour, the champagne, and dinners; the diet pills, the sexual assaults and the male dominated culture that has to control everything.

Lily Adam’s story begins and ends with Stella Lane, the glamorous Hollywood Superstar who was brutally murdered.

This novel took me there – I was at the parties, I smelled the cigarettes, felt their starvation, and disliked their men intensely. The current timeline was enjoyable – the fractured mother-daughter relationship that was repaired, slowly, with the help of their Grandmother.

I am stopping short of giving this novel 5 stars as I keep them for book that really blow me away; whilst this did blow me away it stops short of being a five star read. There are gaps – its hard to keep it historically accurate – for instance there was very little reference to WW2 (or WW1), and only fleeting references to the Great Depression.

This is an enjoyable Hollywood Blockbuster of a novel which will stay with me for a long time, just like a classic black and white movie.

The Last Secret of Lily Adams by Sara Blaydes is an outstanding historical novel!
I absolutely loved this story! It took about 20% for me to fully get into the book, but once I was, I was swept away into this story. I loved the characters. I loved the writing. And I just loved this unique historical fiction story.

Thank You NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

The Last Secret of Lily Adams is an old Hollywood historical fiction mystery novel. Told from a dual timeline of Lily during the 1940's and Hollywood's golden age and present day with her granddaughter Carolyn. A murder mystery plot is intertwined with serious implications for the family. Carolyn is tasked with clearing out her grandmother's home and finds memorabilia that leads to clues to Lily's larger than life Hollywood Movie Star days and an unsolved murder of her rival Stella Lane.
The story weaves a fantastic mystery and keeps the reader guessing. As family truths are revealed to Carolyn her own bumpy life journey is impacted.
An exciting read with glamour, mystery, and touches on subjects that are politically charged and relevant today.
Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and Sara Blaydes for the opportunity to read the engaging novel. I will recommend on my insta books.before.sleep and rate it on Amazon and Goodreads as well.
Special mention, I absolutely loved the cover art!

I loved this book and couldn't put it down! I have always loved stories of old Hollywood and this one brought me right into the past anxious to discover what Lily's secret was. I will be writing a longer review on my book review blog. and posting it soon.

This book was absolutely beautiful! Such a graceful story and it somehow pulled every heartstring. I adored the characters and the storyline. Wonderfully done

I was sucked into this one right away! I loved both storylines from past and present. Carolyn is going to clean out her grandmother’s home who had recently passed and find pieces to display in a museum to showcase her grandma’s fabulous life as a movie star. Carolyn learns there was more to her grandma, Lily, that she could have ever expected, and in doing so, mends the bond with her daughter Em.

Lily’s plot was my favorite! I absolutely enjoyed learning about her life as a star! The behind the scenes antics of directors and actors are what I imagined but still fascinating and infuriating.

This is the type of historical fiction that I adore. A hint of mystery, nothing to do with war, all the while mixing facts into the fiction to learn a bit of history.

This one is out JUNE 4! Make sure to preorder your copy STAT!