A beautiful read! The main character is witty, with a large personality and even bigger talent. With all the fun, glitz, and glam of showbiz, there is a perspective of a group coming together and working through harsh living, cruel men, and unequal treatment.

There are a lot of books out there about jazz and the 1920s, but what made this book stand out - at least for me - was the focus on the African American Vaudeville Circuit at a time when black culture was big business but black performers were considered second-class citizens. It was a time in history I knew very little about, and Chenault-Kilgore does a magificent job of recreating it.

Central to the tale is Lucille Love, an immensely talented jazz singer determined to make it to the big time. Lucille was such a loveable, vibrant heroine. Readers get to travel with Lucille as she grows from young girl with raw talent to a mature woman ready to embrace her moment. Along the way, she makes plenty of mistakes, sometimes big ones, but her love for the music never waivers. I loved every member of the musician family she collects along the way.

Woven into Lucille's journey is a subplot regarding a 19th century bank robbery. I won't spoil the story, but suffice to say Lucille's father makes an impulsive decision that not only changes the trajectory of the entire family's lives, but comes back big time to haunt Lucille decades later.

My only complaint is that, like many 400 page books, the story drags a bit in the middle. That won't stop me from reading more of this author's work. 4 1/2 stars.

I like the characters in this book and the overall plot and the history aspect but like the other readers I found the pacing slow .
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me review book

I was super excited about this one with the main focus being Lucille singing in the 1920's jazz era out on the road. I really enjoyed the beginning and the conflict with Lucille's dad which led to them becoming the traveling Loves. It did a good job touching on the racism that they faced during that time and the fear they had being in certain areas for just existing. I think that the middle part of the book did start to drag on a bit once Lucille went on the road with her manager Marcus. Lucille's muse was not as big of a storyline that I thought she should have had, It was more so just a mention of her every now and then.

I really enjoyed this story, just think it could have been a little shorter or maybe included more scenes of her muse.

I really wanted to like this book but struggled to even read it. It started out really well and I was hooked. But then it just became a lot of the same thing after Lucille left with Msrcus as her manager. The other characters didn't add to the story and maybe even dragged it down if I'm honest.

After trudging through 58% off this book I gave up and dnf'd it.

The Jewel of the Blues by Monica Chenault-Kilgore did not disappoint!
I just loved the dazzling 1920s jazz era. It was compelling and so enjoyable.
The writing was done so well and I found myself pulled in so quickly I didn’t want it to end.

Thank You Netgalley, Harlequin Publishing/Graydon House, and Monica Chenualt-Kilgore!

This is historical fiction and I usually enjoy historical fiction but this book struggled to keep my attentin. This book captured me with the first chapter however, the pacing was a little slow to me. Also what captured me in the beginning was never referenced again. Unfortunately, I DNF'd this read. The cover is stunning, which is what made me request the book.

🦚 Happy pub day to ‘The Jewel of the Blues’ and thank you to @uplitreads and the author for my sneak peek! This is part historical fiction part thriller with just a sprinkle of magical realism. And this cover! 😍

🦚 I’m going to start with the positives— this book is about a Black vaudeville singer during the Prohibition era. She started singing church music with her parents before trying to make it as a touring performer on the vaudeville circuit. I enjoyed learning more about the trials and tribulations of that time and what that meant for a Black woman in particular— headlining shows but not being able to walk through the theater’s front doors, etc. Those parts were infuriating and invoked a lot of emotion.

🦚 My problem with this book is it almost took on too much? The thrillerish elements didn’t necessarily add to the story— I think her trying to make it was enough conflict and we could have gone deeper there. The romance elements also didn’t really work for me. And the magical realism was so spare and random it also wasn’t involved enough to add much to the story. I needed MORE from all of it, or for it to be taken out completely. Lastly, a lot of the dialogue read as cheesy or hokey. It was distracting.

🦚 I appreciated the good qualities of this book but it won’t go down as one of my favorites.

Thank You Netgalley, Harlequin Publishing/Graydon House, and Monica Chenualt-Kilgore!

This is historical fiction, and I feel it's done well. As an educator, I think we need more books like this one. Right out of the gate, this book shows us some of the uglier truths about what it was like for a family of color. This book is a beautiful story of survival, perseverance, and big-hearted dreams with a beautiful cover.

The cover of this book made me pick it up and read the synopsis. Vivid, full of life, the different hues of blue. I knew I would fall in love with this book. It took me some time to come into it. To find the thread that linked me to the book. I loved the sense of family Hank wanted to have. Yet it all started to crumble around him after he ran into the robber that morning. When he was trying to sell fruit and veg to pay his rent. To make his family proud of him. When in reality, his temptation, and quick thinking made a mess of their lives. Having to pick up and quickly leave their home and Lucille's grandfather behind. Criss crossing from town to town. Living with one family to the next, until they come up with a plan. It all leads to Lucille's beautiful voice.

I loved how singing always brought this family of three together. Calmed the anxiety, made everything clear again. Having to shelter and not stick out in a crowd when you are new in a small town in south during this era was difficult to say the least. You never know who you can trust and who is around the next bend. Thank you to Monica Chenault-Kilgore, Graydon House, and Uplit Reads for my gifted copy.

One moment changes the lives of Hank, Evelyn, and young Lucille forever. This is interesting historical fiction about a young woman blues singer who finds she's still at the mercy of the men who have been hunting her father. It's more focused on her life on the vaudeville circuit as well as her love life. The would have benefited from another edit to reset the momentum- it starts out with a pow and then goes slow-and to pare away a bit of repetition. That said the atmospherics are good and you'll root for Lucille. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC.

One stupid decision caused Hank Love and his family to have to leave town.

The trip out of town was not without drama, but they finally found a place where they could be comfortable and could work.

They were staying in Miss Opal’s rooming house where many people came and went. You will meet many interesting characters that stay there.

Hank, Evelyn, and little Lucille were comfortable there, but Evelyn missed her father and their home.

But they couldn’t go back because of Hank’s mistake and started singing at churches, but Lucille was the star and had a gift - a beautiful voice.

An agent approached Lucille's parents and made her famous, but will this life away from her parents change her?

Would her voice save her family or would her father’s decision from years ago catch up with them and ruin their lives after all this time?

The characters were well developed - I worried for Lillian and liked Evelyn since she was the most sensible. Some of the characters were "characters."

Even though the book got wordy at times, it was an interesting read about Lucille’s family’s worries, the travels and struggles of the singing troop, and this 1920s era.

I do have to say the ending was a bit corny, but still an entertaining, well-researched read. 4/5

Thank you to the publisher for a copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Did not finish book. Stopped at 51%.
Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Publishing for the eARC!

I’ll start by saying, the writing in this book is great. The author has a strong voice and she does well at showing each character’s perspective.
But I did have to DNF because of the pacing. This book starts with a bang (literally) and immediately slows to a crawl. There’s no suspense to the “mystery.” We, the readers, know what happened when Lucille was a child, so it’s not hard to predict the plot in her adulthood. I had no interest in sticking out the book to see if there was any big twist.
It also feels like there was more telling than showing. It reads almost like a biography, where the author tells you everything that the character is thinking without showing the actions that go with their thoughts.

CW: racism; murder; gun violence; injury (leading to permanent scar)

This story is set in the vibrant 1920s jazz era.
The story follows Lucille Arnetta Love, a young performer who has spent her life on the run with her family’s traveling band. Known as “The Little Girl with the Big Voice,” Lucille dreams of making it big on Broadway.
But Her journey takes a dramatic turn when she is discovered by a talent manager, Marcus Williams, who helps her form a band
If you like historical fiction set in the 1920’s during the Jazz age you’ll like this book.
Thanks netgalley

Lucille's family is on the run from some shady people from her father's past. Since nowhere is safe, they travel and perform together as they move from place to place. One day, her big voice was noticed by Marcus, who is an aspiring talent manager. He promises to watch over her and make her a big star. Lucille transitions from a girl singing gospel music to a woman navigating the complexities of the music industry in this coming of age tale.

Thoughts 💭
The idea for the story was creative and exceptionally detailed. I could picture the outfits Lucille was wearing so clearly! I'm also a huge fan of historical fiction, and the setting and details of the story for that time period were excellent. The author does a wonderful job making you understand the challenges Lucille had to face at that time. With that being said, the story moved at a slow pace and felt a bit disjointed. There was an event at the beginning that catapulted the story into action but then was forgotten about after that. It almost seemed like two completely different stories that weren't tied together until really late. I think the idea is strong, but the plot needs to be condensed a bit to really make it shine.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This book is a great book, but I would not purchase it for a high school. Perhaps a college or public library.

Set in the early 1900's and concluding in the 1920's, The Jewel of the Blues follows the story of Lucille Love. She was the little girl with the big voice in her family’s gospel group before catching the eye of a talent manager. Miss Lucille’s Black Troubadours is born. The story covers the racial conflicts of that era, the hardship faced by the jazz group and ultimately love. The story does start to drag around the midpoint and it felt almost like each chapter repeated itself. The writing did remain strong throughout the book.

I had high hopes for this book, but it wasn't for me. It was a bit all over the place and I never connected with the characters or the story.
Thank you, NetGalley, and the publisher, for access to this eARC.

This book wasn't for me. I didn't expect the story to start the way it did based on the premise, and it turned me off immediately. That's not to say that this book is bad; the book could work for other readers.

Life is tough for people of color in 1906—not only in the Southern states, which have put Reconstruction firmly behind them in favor of Jim Crow laws, but also in states like Indiana, which share a border with more restrictive governments. So when Hank Love, who sells fruits and vegetables grown on his farm in Evansville, Indiana, has a run-in with a group of bank robbers that ends with one man dead and Hank with a bag of gold he can’t account for, he’s under no illusions about who will hang for this crime that he witnessed. At the advice of his father-in-law, a local pastor, Hank loads whatever he can fit onto a small wagon and heads south with his wife and five-year-old daughter, Lucille. Most of the stolen cash remains in Evansville, buried in his father-in-law’s church.

The Love family seeks refuge with relatives, then in an out-of-the-way boarding house as Lucille grows into her teens and acquires a basic education. There’s never much doubt that the bank robbers are still on Hank’s trail—they, too, blame him for their gang member’s death—but the Loves have to make a living, and they do by singing at revivals and churches. Evelyn Love has a beautiful soprano, which she displays in operatic arias, but it’s Lucille, the Little Girl with the Big Voice, who becomes the family star. And Lucille dreams of making her name on Broadway and eventually moving to Paris like Josephine Baker, leaving behind the prejudices that restrict black women in the United States. When Marcus Williams appears and offers to manage Lucille’s singing career, she’s sure that reaching her goal is just a matter of time.. She can’t imagine that the men who pursued her father might find her instead …

This richly developed story intertwines a love of music and musicians, an exploration of color prejudice at its most extreme, and a tense drama of criminals with long memories and few scruples. At its heart stands Lucille—a passionate, determined young woman who doesn’t always make the best choices but whose heart is in the right place. I found it an engrossing read, and I look forward to talking with the author on the New Books Network (link below) in November 2024.