I wanted to love this book so much because who doesn’t love some women empowerment mixed with mafia and murders, all set in the 1940’s.

While the story was great, the multiple characters popped around in varying paragraphs, let alone chapters. I had to read and re-read multiple times to know who was talking. Also, in conversations, full details weren’t explained to the other characters that were supposed to be “bombs” or secrets.. but somehow the characters knew the details? It could just be me.

Overall, it is a good book, give it a try - but maybe make a map?

Set in the 1940s, The Florida Girls follows 18-year-old Thelma Miles who, after the death of her mother, falls into a troupe of singing and dancing swimsuit models on a war bond tour across America. The girls find themselves rubbing shoulders with organized crime.

This is the first book in this new series and I am anxiously awaiting the 2nd!

Thank you Netgalley, the author and publisher for the ARC!

Broke and orphaned near the close of WWII, 18-year-old Thelma Miles joins a troupe of touring swimsuit models in an attempt to flee her criminal past, only to find she's stepped into the mafia's lair. When the head of the Florida underworld offers her everything she never knew she wanted, she must decide if she’ll forge a new future or return to the life she knows.

Against the backdrop of war, L.L. Kirchner’s Florida Girls weaves a complex tale of independence and interdependence among women doing what they can to survive and thrive in a society controlled by men. The women of the Florida Girls come together from many different backgrounds, form new friendships and strengthen old bonds in a world of crime and glamour that could get somebody killed at any moment.

Florida Girls in the first book in the series, The Queenpin Chronicles, which follows Thelma's journey as she struggles to forge her future at a time when women were expected to step aside gratefully as men returned from battle. Driven to succeed in a man’s world, the women of The Queenpin Chronicles discover strength and brutality and love they didn’t know they were capable of.

I was hooked on this story from the beginning. Cannot wait to read more from L.L. Kirchner.

This was a story like I have never read before. An interesting story line in an oft forgotten time. Interesting.

Lots going on with this one and I found I had to really tune in to keep up. That said, I love a unique story, strong women, and things based on actual history. Definitely a thinking book. I'll be checking out Vegas Girls.

Florida Girls is a gripping historical fiction novel inspired by true events.
It offers a fascinating glimpse into how women coped when they were told to step aside and let men take over again.
Thelma’s journey unfolds in 1940s Florida, where rapid changes are overtaking the country. Kirchner’s vivid prose and richly drawn characters celebrate the strength of those who dare to break free from patriarchal boundaries.
Which I love reading about.
If you enjoy complex narratives, coming-of-age adventures, and incredible period into a suspenseful ride through the criminal underworld,
Florida Girls also highlights the resilience of women who defy expectations.
Thank you netgalley and L.L. Kirchner for letting me read this story

I loved this book! Thelma was so likable throughout the story, and the book was full of great descriptions and character development. Set during WWII, the Florida Girls plot is woven through the desperation of a young woman who’s hoping this time will be the break she needs, the slippery slope of organized crime, and the underbelly of old Hollywood.

If you want to love historical fiction but need a compelling storyline, this book is for you!

This book was entertaining while maintaining historical integrity. I fell in love with the characters and enjoyed reading about this time period. I would recommend this book to others.

In this fascinatingly complex historical fiction novel, readers follow Thelma, Kathleen, and the rest of the Florida Girls touring swimsuit models as they travel across the United States to win a competition not knowing that the local mafia has a hand in the tour and many other things that the women will come across. With different motivations and backgrounds, all of the women involved with the tour have no idea (or some idea) of what they have really gotten into. Readers, going back and forth between Thelma and Kathleen’s perspectives, have a lot to focus on in this novel, as no one character knows the whole story. With the high stakes of mafia involvement and the secrets that many of these women are running from, readers are in for a high-stakes and exciting historical fiction novel. With so many characters and secrets to unpack, this novel will keep readers on the edges of their seats. With excellent prose and narrative development, readers will definitely enjoy this historical fiction novel and its brush with the thriller genre. Complicated, exciting, and immersive, Kirchner’s latest novel is a great read for all fans of the historical fiction genre who want a little more drama and action in their books.

This was an okay book. It just got to the point where it wasn't my style and I was no longer interested in the plot.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me review this book
This was a good historical fiction book about early Floridia history and the not nice people who helped to shape such as gangsters , corrupt politicians etc . Overall good book

Unfortunately I didn't finish this book. I was turned off in the first chapter at the repeated mention of people and what I'm assuming the name brand their watches.
Then tried to get past that and just wasn't following the Matteo storyline and how he was related and the characters......Best of luck to the author for future books. Just couldn't get into this one, I always felt I was missing some kind of detail that tied everything together.

Florida Girls has everything but an alien invasion. Kirchner gives us bathing beauties, warring mobsters, intricate family connections, a phenomenally successful snake oil salesman, and a plot that keeps you guessing. For added spice, we have a young woman dying from a botched abortion, several murders, an inept OSS agent trying to impress his superiors, and gambling havens in Cuba.
Set in sunny Florida during World War II, the snake oil salesman, who could “…sell sawdust to a sawmill” hits on a plan to promote the city of St. Petersburg. His plan: a nationwide war bonds tour by his Florida Girls, twelve beautiful young women in swimsuits. Of course, he plans to profit from the tour and whatever tourists he draws to St. Pete. He and his wife and partner, Kathleen, also hope to use the tour to get out of debt to the head of the local mafia don. Only to find out that their son is more deeply in debt to the mafioso than his parents.
The Florida Girls are mostly drawn from the powerful families of St. Petersburg, ensuring financial support for the tour, but two, Thelma and Peggy, have far less impressive pedigrees. After a huge send-off, well supported by the first families—and the mobster—the tour rolls out of town in an aging Crosley bus equipped with stacks of gasoline ration cards supplied by an unknown benefactor. Since the impresario is taken ill, Kathleen takes over the road management of the tour.
As complications build during the tour, Thelma emerges as a powerful managing force. As she says, “…I can’t dance or sing well, but I can get things done.” Between stops at Army bases and theaters, Thelma and Kathleen vie for control of the group.
The mob is never far from the tour pressuring both Kathleen for her debts and Thelma to join the gambling program planned for the nascent Las Vegas. Although the mob has declared a truce during the war—no killing, but assault is allowable—mobsters keep getting shot to death.
An incapacitated Don, a deserter, affairs, and a purse with a .38 in it, round out the story. I needed to hustle to keep up, but I loved it.

Loved this book! The characters and story line were enchanting and intriguing, and it kept me hooked throughout. Transported to a world of gangsters, showgirls and the end of war, I was swept up in the story!

This was a sharp novel with characters that were quick thinking, humorous. There was plenty of clever dialogue in this fast paced book to keep you entertained. A good book, I would definitely recommend. My thanks to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.