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Velva Jean #4
American Blonde
From the New York Times bestselling author of Holding Up the Universe and All the Bright Places (soon to be a major motion picture starring Elle Fanning), a fearless and spirited pilot conquers Hollywood. Now can she survive movie stardom?
“A stunning talent.”—Jonathan Eig, New York Times bestselling author of Get Capone
In 1945, Velva Jean Hart is a bona fide war heroine. After a newsreel films her triumphant return to America, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer promises to make her a star. They give her a new life story and a brand new name. As “Kit Rogers,” she navigates the movie sets, recording sessions, parties, staged romances, and occasional backstabbing that accompany her newfound fame. She also navigates real-life romance, finding herself caught between a charismatic young writer and a sexy and enigmatic musician from her past. But when one of her best friends dies mysteriously and the most powerful studio in the world launches a cover-up, Velva Jean goes in search of the truth—risking her own life, as well as her heart, in the process.
Set during Hollywood’s Golden Age and peopled with a cast of unforgettable characters, American Blonde will mesmerize readers of The Chaperone as well as fans of the Velva Jean series.
From the Trade Paperback edition.
“A stunning talent.”—Jonathan Eig, New York Times bestselling author of Get Capone
In 1945, Velva Jean Hart is a bona fide war heroine. After a newsreel films her triumphant return to America, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer promises to make her a star. They give her a new life story and a brand new name. As “Kit Rogers,” she navigates the movie sets, recording sessions, parties, staged romances, and occasional backstabbing that accompany her newfound fame. She also navigates real-life romance, finding herself caught between a charismatic young writer and a sexy and enigmatic musician from her past. But when one of her best friends dies mysteriously and the most powerful studio in the world launches a cover-up, Velva Jean goes in search of the truth—risking her own life, as well as her heart, in the process.
Set during Hollywood’s Golden Age and peopled with a cast of unforgettable characters, American Blonde will mesmerize readers of The Chaperone as well as fans of the Velva Jean series.
From the Trade Paperback edition.
386 pages, ebook
First published July 29, 2014
24 people are currently reading
1893 people want to read
About the author
Jennifer Niven
22 books15.2k followersJENNIFER NIVEN is the #1 New York Times and internationally bestselling author of All the Bright Places, Holding Up the Universe, and Breathless. Her books have been translated in over 75 languages and have won literary awards around the world.
An Emmy-award winning screenwriter, she co-wrote the script for the All the Bright Places movie— currently streaming on Netflix and starring Elle Fanning and Justice Smith. She is also the author of several narrative nonfiction titles and the Velva Jean historical fiction series.
Her latest YA novel, When We Were Monsters, was published September 2, and she has an adult novel-- Meet the Newmans-- releasing January 6, 2026.
Jennifer divides her time between coastal Georgia and Los Angeles with her husband and literary cats.
An Emmy-award winning screenwriter, she co-wrote the script for the All the Bright Places movie— currently streaming on Netflix and starring Elle Fanning and Justice Smith. She is also the author of several narrative nonfiction titles and the Velva Jean historical fiction series.
Her latest YA novel, When We Were Monsters, was published September 2, and she has an adult novel-- Meet the Newmans-- releasing January 6, 2026.
Jennifer divides her time between coastal Georgia and Los Angeles with her husband and literary cats.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 101 reviews
June 28, 2014
This is 4th in a series of Velva Jean books, which wasn't mentioned in the book blurb. There were some vague references to past events and Velva Jean's family members that I probably would have understood better having read the previous books. I don't think it hindered my enjoyment of the book. I had trouble keeping straight MANY of the characters, though, as there seemed to be at least a hundred of them.
This takes place in 1945-1947 Hollywood in the days of the big studios. I would recommend it for a light read, for anyone interested in war heroines, aspiring singers, and/or movie starlets during the Golden Age, as Velva Jean is of course all of the above. There is also a murder mystery, an unexpected added treat, in which Velva Jean tries to find out how her best friend and fellow movie star really died. There is much said about MGM "fixers" covering up this and other real scandals from the 1940s, manipulating facts and people so that murders seem like accidents, gay actors appear in public with young starlets, dysfunctional pasts turn into Cinderella stories, etc. Mustn't have the facade shattered of Hollywood being perfect and moral. But Velva Jean defies all their efforts to stop her, of which there are many. She is one lucky, gutsy lady.
Do I feel inspired now to read the rest of the series? Probably not. I especially liked the true events being woven into the storyline, such as the Black Dahlia and other murders that followed, the Wallace Beery scandal, and the many real stars from the era mentioned throughout.
3.5 stars.
This takes place in 1945-1947 Hollywood in the days of the big studios. I would recommend it for a light read, for anyone interested in war heroines, aspiring singers, and/or movie starlets during the Golden Age, as Velva Jean is of course all of the above. There is also a murder mystery, an unexpected added treat, in which Velva Jean tries to find out how her best friend and fellow movie star really died. There is much said about MGM "fixers" covering up this and other real scandals from the 1940s, manipulating facts and people so that murders seem like accidents, gay actors appear in public with young starlets, dysfunctional pasts turn into Cinderella stories, etc. Mustn't have the facade shattered of Hollywood being perfect and moral. But Velva Jean defies all their efforts to stop her, of which there are many. She is one lucky, gutsy lady.
Do I feel inspired now to read the rest of the series? Probably not. I especially liked the true events being woven into the storyline, such as the Black Dahlia and other murders that followed, the Wallace Beery scandal, and the many real stars from the era mentioned throughout.
3.5 stars.
July 23, 2014
I really enjoyed this book by Jennifer Niven. The amount of research that must've gone in to this novel had to be extraordinary. I am filing this book under historical fiction but there are many guest appearances by real, larger than life people from Hollywood's legendary movie industry. One interesting guest appearance in Niven's tale is Louis B. Mayer, long ago king of Hollywood and the grand emperor of MGM. Mayer is once again at the helm and the reader is transported back to the glitz and glamour of a Hollywood that no longer exists, when stars were notoriously protected by their production company and managing teams used strong arm tactics to keep their stars free from scandal. MGM stars were wholesome, family-friendly, and led magical lives. At least in the public eye. What REALLY happened behind the scenes? American Blonde is about a fictitious WWII hero, who becomes a rising star at MGM. It's also the fourth book in the Velva Jean series by Jennifer Niven. I'm not usually a series book lover but this is one series I will definitely be exploring in the future.
Velva Jean Hart has returned from WWII and is on her way to a new life in Hollywood. Velva Jean, a WASP from the hills of North Carolina, is transformed into the glamorous Kit Rogers. Kit is once again reunited in Hollywood with another former WASP and star named Barbara Fanning. Kit and Barbara share a love of flying and a close friendship but there are secrets that Barbara has not shared with Kit and they will soon be revealed. As Kit struggles to uncover the mysteries surrounding her friend, MGM will do all it can to keep these secrets hidden at all costs.
I don't want to reveal to much because I hope other readers will be as surprised by the plot twists as I was. I enjoyed being taken back to the old days of Hollywood. The book came alive in my hands and I was able to envision the glitzy gowns, dressing rooms, the stage and all the performers. I loved the descriptions of the MGM lot in the late 1940's. I've always been fascinated with this period in film history. Niven describes this glorious, glamorous time so well and it was very easy to actually hear the music and live in the days when movies were magical and stars were big, bold, dramatic and real.
Thanks to Penguin and First to Read for the opportunity to read this ARC/DRC in exchange for an honest review.
Velva Jean Hart has returned from WWII and is on her way to a new life in Hollywood. Velva Jean, a WASP from the hills of North Carolina, is transformed into the glamorous Kit Rogers. Kit is once again reunited in Hollywood with another former WASP and star named Barbara Fanning. Kit and Barbara share a love of flying and a close friendship but there are secrets that Barbara has not shared with Kit and they will soon be revealed. As Kit struggles to uncover the mysteries surrounding her friend, MGM will do all it can to keep these secrets hidden at all costs.
I don't want to reveal to much because I hope other readers will be as surprised by the plot twists as I was. I enjoyed being taken back to the old days of Hollywood. The book came alive in my hands and I was able to envision the glitzy gowns, dressing rooms, the stage and all the performers. I loved the descriptions of the MGM lot in the late 1940's. I've always been fascinated with this period in film history. Niven describes this glorious, glamorous time so well and it was very easy to actually hear the music and live in the days when movies were magical and stars were big, bold, dramatic and real.
Thanks to Penguin and First to Read for the opportunity to read this ARC/DRC in exchange for an honest review.
January 11, 2018
As I find my way back home
Home where all my stars align
Home because it's finally time
Home to you
Home to me
Semi unfortunately, I think this is the last book in the Velva Jean series. I say semi, because while it's bittersweet, I also can't imagine a better ending.
Honestly, I didn't love this story as I was reading it. It felt very un-Velva Jean like to me, like Niven forgot what made Velva Jean so special, so strong, so lively. There wasn't that sense of spark, of the human and emotional intelligence that pervaded the other three books as a whole. Instead, it came in waves, in little bits and pieces. In the clubs Velva Jean would go to occasionally, when the music would pump through her blood. In the fiery looks she would receive from Butch Dawkins. In the arguments she would have with MGM, when she felt another piece of her slipping away.
In that, I was left feeling disappointed. Like this ending didn't suit Velva Jean. Like she deserved better. However, as I got to the end, I realized, that's exactly the point. Velva Jean really isn't Velva Jean in this book, at least not until the end. She just got home from WWII. She doesn't know if her family members are still alive. Her brother, and her best friend, Johnny Clay, almost died. She was a spy, and is still trying to get back her sense of self, and then, in two months, she's whisked away to Hollywood to be a movie star. It's a lot.
Meanwhile, in Hollywood, the only thing it seems that MGM wants to do is totally get rid of Velva Jean as a person. They change her birthday, her hair, try to get rid of her freckles, tell her that her father is dead, rename her Kit Rogers. They tell her who to date, who to be seen with, revamp the way in which she sings, take away her voice (in more ways than one). However, Velva Jean, the strongest character I've ever had the pleasure to read, won't back down, especially when MGM covers up the death of her friend. Through skills she's learned as a pilot and as a spy, she finally realizes who the murderer really is, and who she is as a person as well.
The book is broken up into three sections, "Miss Red, White, and Blue," "Kit Rogers," and "Velva Jean Hart". It's in the final section where the story really comes together. Velva Jean comes back. Her spark comes back. Her voice comes back. Her story comes back. Finally, she comes back into her own. She comes back to realizing what she truly wants. She comes back home.
I won't lie and tell you that this was the perfect way to wrap up the series, if it is indeed done (there hasn't been word yet either way - Nov. 2017). I wanted more of Velva Jean. I didn't really care about detective Kit Rogers, but, in a way, that's what the series has been leading to, since the first book in which she's ten years old. Velva Jean sure has come a long way since then, in the fourteen years this series goes through, and to see her, so full and intelligent in who she is, go through different personalities, only to emerge as the same, more mature Velva Jean we're accustomed to, is a treat to behold.
I said it once, and I'll say it again. This series, and Velva Jean in particular, has a hold over my heart that I don't think I can quite explain. Never have I read a character who is so in control of herself and her feelings, her emotions, her beliefs, so trusting in who she is as a person, so real and so developed. Sadly, I don't know if I will ever be able to get that same reaction in another book or series again. There's something special about Velva Jean, something alive and down home rooted, and I bless the day I decided to buy the series as a whole, not knowing what to expect.
Velva Jean will stay with me, forever.
Home where all my stars align
Home because it's finally time
Home to you
Home to me
Semi unfortunately, I think this is the last book in the Velva Jean series. I say semi, because while it's bittersweet, I also can't imagine a better ending.
Honestly, I didn't love this story as I was reading it. It felt very un-Velva Jean like to me, like Niven forgot what made Velva Jean so special, so strong, so lively. There wasn't that sense of spark, of the human and emotional intelligence that pervaded the other three books as a whole. Instead, it came in waves, in little bits and pieces. In the clubs Velva Jean would go to occasionally, when the music would pump through her blood. In the fiery looks she would receive from Butch Dawkins. In the arguments she would have with MGM, when she felt another piece of her slipping away.
In that, I was left feeling disappointed. Like this ending didn't suit Velva Jean. Like she deserved better. However, as I got to the end, I realized, that's exactly the point. Velva Jean really isn't Velva Jean in this book, at least not until the end. She just got home from WWII. She doesn't know if her family members are still alive. Her brother, and her best friend, Johnny Clay, almost died. She was a spy, and is still trying to get back her sense of self, and then, in two months, she's whisked away to Hollywood to be a movie star. It's a lot.
Meanwhile, in Hollywood, the only thing it seems that MGM wants to do is totally get rid of Velva Jean as a person. They change her birthday, her hair, try to get rid of her freckles, tell her that her father is dead, rename her Kit Rogers. They tell her who to date, who to be seen with, revamp the way in which she sings, take away her voice (in more ways than one). However, Velva Jean, the strongest character I've ever had the pleasure to read, won't back down, especially when MGM covers up the death of her friend. Through skills she's learned as a pilot and as a spy, she finally realizes who the murderer really is, and who she is as a person as well.
The book is broken up into three sections, "Miss Red, White, and Blue," "Kit Rogers," and "Velva Jean Hart". It's in the final section where the story really comes together. Velva Jean comes back. Her spark comes back. Her voice comes back. Her story comes back. Finally, she comes back into her own. She comes back to realizing what she truly wants. She comes back home.
I won't lie and tell you that this was the perfect way to wrap up the series, if it is indeed done (there hasn't been word yet either way - Nov. 2017). I wanted more of Velva Jean. I didn't really care about detective Kit Rogers, but, in a way, that's what the series has been leading to, since the first book in which she's ten years old. Velva Jean sure has come a long way since then, in the fourteen years this series goes through, and to see her, so full and intelligent in who she is, go through different personalities, only to emerge as the same, more mature Velva Jean we're accustomed to, is a treat to behold.
I said it once, and I'll say it again. This series, and Velva Jean in particular, has a hold over my heart that I don't think I can quite explain. Never have I read a character who is so in control of herself and her feelings, her emotions, her beliefs, so trusting in who she is as a person, so real and so developed. Sadly, I don't know if I will ever be able to get that same reaction in another book or series again. There's something special about Velva Jean, something alive and down home rooted, and I bless the day I decided to buy the series as a whole, not knowing what to expect.
Velva Jean will stay with me, forever.
March 13, 2016
This is the fourth Velva Jean book Niven has written, and by far my favorite. Velva Jean Hart has been a pilot and a spy. What's next? Movie star! After returning to her mountain home, a man from MGM comes a knocking, asking if she wants a movie contract. The big draw is singing lessons. Since she's an aspiring singer, Velva Jean jumps at the chance. She goes to Hollywood, then is renamed Kit Rodgers. Soon she finds out that the cliche is true: all that glitters is not gold. And that someone she loves dearly will pay for old mistakes. The book is fast paced, like an old Cary Grant/Rosalind Russell movie. Niven does an excellent job showing the subtle sexism women had to face back then (Velva Jean is often referred to as a "little girl" in newspaper articles/press releases. She's twenty-two years old) The only drawback is that we wonder what's going to happen next to this wonderful heroine!!
October 5, 2016
This is the fourth in the Velva Jean series. My library doesn't carry the third one, but when I found this one at the dollar store, I couldn't resist.
Niven is good about filling in any details from the past books to give you a broader picture of what is happening. So even without reading book #3, I can follow the storyline.
Velva Jean is coming off being a spy in the second world war and is going to Hollywood to be a star. She is re-packaged as Kit Rogers and soon begins to learn the ropes in the old studio days of Hollywood.
There is a little bit of romance, a mystery she is trying to solve about the death of her friend, and plenty of historical references to stars and events happening in 1947.
I like the fierce independence of Velva Jean and I love the suave and ever cool Butch Dawkins.
I found the notes at the end particularly enlightening and I am eager to see if Niven adds another chapter to Velva Jean's story (can't we get the romance going with Butch already?).
Niven is good about filling in any details from the past books to give you a broader picture of what is happening. So even without reading book #3, I can follow the storyline.
Velva Jean is coming off being a spy in the second world war and is going to Hollywood to be a star. She is re-packaged as Kit Rogers and soon begins to learn the ropes in the old studio days of Hollywood.
There is a little bit of romance, a mystery she is trying to solve about the death of her friend, and plenty of historical references to stars and events happening in 1947.
I like the fierce independence of Velva Jean and I love the suave and ever cool Butch Dawkins.
I found the notes at the end particularly enlightening and I am eager to see if Niven adds another chapter to Velva Jean's story (can't we get the romance going with Butch already?).
May 7, 2015
I didn't finish this book. I guess I've grown disenchanted with Velva Jean. I read book two and loved it, probably only because she was in the WASP and there was lots of flying, because book three certainly didn't enamor me as much. To be honest, VJ keeps getting more and more ridiculous with each story. She's almost like a comic book character, with all these incredible skills and abilities, with all the amazing things that happen to her. It's so implausible, like watching Agent Carter in fisticuffs on top of a moving car not lose her balance and kick the butts of two men without hardly a hair disheveled. It's eye-rolling.
So VJ has gone from Grand Ole Opry to WASP pilot to super spy in WWII, to a movie star in Hollywood, where she's instantly in a blockbuster hit with a small amount of training. And her character just felt lacking in this one. I didn't care for the Hollywood setting at all. As usual there's more than one man trying to win her heart, and the characters around her this time are unlikable and fake. And frankly, her courage seems to have escaped her in this story and she seems to be becoming fake too.
There's something different about the writing style as well and I noticed this in the previous novels. And it constantly keeps the reader disconnected from VJ. I don't sit there and as I read, become VJ. I feel like I'm on the outside looking in, at the most unbelievable series of events. I almost kept reading just to get to the bottom of the murder, but in the end didn't care enough about the murdered girl to bother.
So VJ has gone from Grand Ole Opry to WASP pilot to super spy in WWII, to a movie star in Hollywood, where she's instantly in a blockbuster hit with a small amount of training. And her character just felt lacking in this one. I didn't care for the Hollywood setting at all. As usual there's more than one man trying to win her heart, and the characters around her this time are unlikable and fake. And frankly, her courage seems to have escaped her in this story and she seems to be becoming fake too.
There's something different about the writing style as well and I noticed this in the previous novels. And it constantly keeps the reader disconnected from VJ. I don't sit there and as I read, become VJ. I feel like I'm on the outside looking in, at the most unbelievable series of events. I almost kept reading just to get to the bottom of the murder, but in the end didn't care enough about the murdered girl to bother.
July 19, 2024
Although I enjoyed the conclusion of this series, it just didn’t seem to fit with the other 3. It had a murder mystery and Hollywood and I had a hard time reconciling it with the Velva Jean I already knew.
Overall, it was a fun series and I really loved Velva Jean.
Overall, it was a fun series and I really loved Velva Jean.
August 11, 2023
This is the final book in an amazing historical cultural series. Each book was unique and a fresh education on the time period. The character,Velva Jean, doesn't disappoint.
July 23, 2014
First off, I gotta say I adore the period details in this. The glitzy, ritzy life of old Hollywood just comes to life in this 4th Velva Hart novel. Glamorous red carpet affairs, hoity-toity parties, and fan-tabulous mansions make the reader dive headfirst into the old studio era, where the lives of stars were controlled down to the relationship level and the studio moguls were God. The amount of research of the author put into this work is extremely evident, and I give all kudos to her for taking the time to really make this period shine.
The main character took a bit of time for me to like her. Except for one incident where she fought for her music in her contract, it seemed like Velva Jean was just going to be the "yes" girl: go where she was told, date whom she was told to, and learn whatever she was told to. I was having a very hard time picturing the girl that got a divorce, learned to fly, was a spy in Nazi-Occupied France, and rescued her brother and others from transport to the camps. Maybe it was because this was my introduction to Velva Jean, and I wasn't able to see her in those earlier years.
But boy does she prove me wrong once her friend gets murdered!! Out come the claws, in my mind. She's breaking into people's homes to investigate their connection to Mudge's murder, talking to witnesses once the case has been closed by a corrupt DA, and telling the studio to "Stick it!" (which I loved by the way!!!!) when they tried to tell her whom to marry. The girl who survived harsh Nazi prisons and had a mind of her own emerged and boy was I hooked! Here was my courageous, gritty, gutsy girl that I wanted to read about. It just took awhile to get her among all the period details in the first part of the book.
I think I especially enjoyed reading how Velva grew through her music. She went to MGM to mainly, to her mind anyway, be educated more in music. But it actually seemed to box her in more than it taught her more. Through her relationship with Butch and being exposed/re-exposed (not sure which since I haven't read the first 3 Velva Jean books yet) to the emotional side of music, Velva seems to grow as an individual and mature even more. If this is a pattern that comes from the first three books, I'm very impressed. Her characterization seems to go through three distinct phases in this book alone. If the author does that in the other books too, I'm dang impressed with her characterization skills.
With a fantastic story, characterization, and period details, this book won me over. It took a bit; the beginning of the novel seemed to almost drown in the period details with setting the scene and all. Characterization seemed to hide a bit during this. But once the story really got rolling, it was a fast-paced tale that never let up. I've already added the rest of the Velva Jean books to my "to-read" shelf, and I'm looking forward to the experience. Highly recommended author and novel!
Note: Book received for free via GoodReads FirstReads Program in exchange for honest review.
The main character took a bit of time for me to like her. Except for one incident where she fought for her music in her contract, it seemed like Velva Jean was just going to be the "yes" girl: go where she was told, date whom she was told to, and learn whatever she was told to. I was having a very hard time picturing the girl that got a divorce, learned to fly, was a spy in Nazi-Occupied France, and rescued her brother and others from transport to the camps. Maybe it was because this was my introduction to Velva Jean, and I wasn't able to see her in those earlier years.
But boy does she prove me wrong once her friend gets murdered!! Out come the claws, in my mind. She's breaking into people's homes to investigate their connection to Mudge's murder, talking to witnesses once the case has been closed by a corrupt DA, and telling the studio to "Stick it!" (which I loved by the way!!!!) when they tried to tell her whom to marry. The girl who survived harsh Nazi prisons and had a mind of her own emerged and boy was I hooked! Here was my courageous, gritty, gutsy girl that I wanted to read about. It just took awhile to get her among all the period details in the first part of the book.
I think I especially enjoyed reading how Velva grew through her music. She went to MGM to mainly, to her mind anyway, be educated more in music. But it actually seemed to box her in more than it taught her more. Through her relationship with Butch and being exposed/re-exposed (not sure which since I haven't read the first 3 Velva Jean books yet) to the emotional side of music, Velva seems to grow as an individual and mature even more. If this is a pattern that comes from the first three books, I'm very impressed. Her characterization seems to go through three distinct phases in this book alone. If the author does that in the other books too, I'm dang impressed with her characterization skills.
With a fantastic story, characterization, and period details, this book won me over. It took a bit; the beginning of the novel seemed to almost drown in the period details with setting the scene and all. Characterization seemed to hide a bit during this. But once the story really got rolling, it was a fast-paced tale that never let up. I've already added the rest of the Velva Jean books to my "to-read" shelf, and I'm looking forward to the experience. Highly recommended author and novel!
Note: Book received for free via GoodReads FirstReads Program in exchange for honest review.
July 27, 2014
ARC received in exchange for review
At first I thought this was a badly written novel. The author immediately made numerous references to people and events without explaining them, leaving me confused and frustrated. It was not until I was about a third of the way through the novel when I found out that this was the fourth book in a series about Velva Jean, but by that time most of the references to the past and previous relationships were being phased out as she became more entrenched in her new Hollywood life. It would have been helpful to know this was a series, it was never mentioned anywhere in the description.
About halfway through the novel it became a pretty decent mystery, with our heroine tracking down clues and investigating suspects, all the while making a pretty blatant statement about the excesses and abuses of the studio system at the time. However, I felt that the characterizations were shallow and that I never truly understood any of the characters motivations and emotions. Velva Jean, or Kit as she is rechristened by the Hollywood studio, moves from relationship to relationship and I never really got to know any of the people she interacts with on any deep or profound level. I didn’t believe the ease with which she achieves success in Hollywood, nor how easily she leaves it all behind her.
The ending is left open for another Velva Jean story, but since I never felt a connection with her in the first place I probably will not follow up with her if another one does come along.
At first I thought this was a badly written novel. The author immediately made numerous references to people and events without explaining them, leaving me confused and frustrated. It was not until I was about a third of the way through the novel when I found out that this was the fourth book in a series about Velva Jean, but by that time most of the references to the past and previous relationships were being phased out as she became more entrenched in her new Hollywood life. It would have been helpful to know this was a series, it was never mentioned anywhere in the description.
About halfway through the novel it became a pretty decent mystery, with our heroine tracking down clues and investigating suspects, all the while making a pretty blatant statement about the excesses and abuses of the studio system at the time. However, I felt that the characterizations were shallow and that I never truly understood any of the characters motivations and emotions. Velva Jean, or Kit as she is rechristened by the Hollywood studio, moves from relationship to relationship and I never really got to know any of the people she interacts with on any deep or profound level. I didn’t believe the ease with which she achieves success in Hollywood, nor how easily she leaves it all behind her.
The ending is left open for another Velva Jean story, but since I never felt a connection with her in the first place I probably will not follow up with her if another one does come along.
September 24, 2017
Another great book in the Velva Jean series by Jennifer Niven! This series grabbed me right away with Velva Jean Learns to Drive and has kept me interested with each book and new journey Velva Jean takes. This one is set in Hollywood 1945-1947 and Velva Jean (Kit Rogers) is drawn to the big screen after coming back from WWII a war heroine.
She meets up with an old WASP friend who happens to be a big time movie star, Mudge. She gives her a home to stay in and things seem to go great for a while until one night at a dinner party she finds her friend dead. Velva Jean suspects her friend has been murdered but the studio does everything possible to cover it up and play it off as an accident. So then there's this big mystery she needs to solve but the higher ups don't want her looking into it. She knows if the situation was reversed, Mudge would do everything possible to find out who killed her. So she continues.
I just love how all of the books in this series have great little pieces of history in them. The big lights of Hollywood, a little murder mystery, some light romance and even briefly bringing in The Black Dahlia murder, this book had a great mix. The ending has left us with Velva Jean heading off on to a new adventure, aka new book. I really hope that's the case.
"Remember who you are, hold on to that, and whatever you do, don't let them change you"
You can find this review and others at https://mcdawnreviews.wordpress.com/2...
She meets up with an old WASP friend who happens to be a big time movie star, Mudge. She gives her a home to stay in and things seem to go great for a while until one night at a dinner party she finds her friend dead. Velva Jean suspects her friend has been murdered but the studio does everything possible to cover it up and play it off as an accident. So then there's this big mystery she needs to solve but the higher ups don't want her looking into it. She knows if the situation was reversed, Mudge would do everything possible to find out who killed her. So she continues.
I just love how all of the books in this series have great little pieces of history in them. The big lights of Hollywood, a little murder mystery, some light romance and even briefly bringing in The Black Dahlia murder, this book had a great mix. The ending has left us with Velva Jean heading off on to a new adventure, aka new book. I really hope that's the case.
"Remember who you are, hold on to that, and whatever you do, don't let them change you"
You can find this review and others at https://mcdawnreviews.wordpress.com/2...
September 13, 2014
"Remember who you are, hold on to that, and whatever you do, don't let them change you," learns Velva Jean, aka Kit Rogers, Hollywood star under Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's star system of an era past. In the Golden Age of Hollywood, contract players were ruled by the studios, and Hollywood moguls invented the publicity to promote their glamorous Hollywood images. This novel shows fictionalized stories of the struggles of a group of actors to succeed, the glamour and back-stabbing behind the scenes, mystery, the power of the Studio and even the interaction with the police. The author, having grown up in Hollywood speaks from a close connection to the business, and this is a decent enough novel. It felt contrived, even too pat, but for me it was a fun summer read.
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September 7, 2014I totally loved American Blonde! I couldn't put it down! This is definitely my favorite of Jennifer's Velva Jean books! :)
August 11, 2014
THE “OLD HOLLYWOOD” STUDIO SYSTEM AND THE MAKING OF A MOVIE STAR (1945-1947): Jennifer Niven’s American Blonde is like a walk down memory lane. You can almost see and hear Judy Garland singing, Fred Astaire dancing, Clark Gable acting. The author is in love with the Old Hollywood of the ‘30s and ‘40s when a big-league film studio like “Metro” (“sixty stars, the most of any studio. More stars than in heaven”) made stars bigger than life. Niven, whose name has a stardom ring to it, has an emotional attachment to those bygone days, which you’ll learn about in the last enlightening chapter, “Endings.” From what I gather, she’s waited a long time to craft a wistful Hollywood story she was meant to write, steeped into nostalgic details, for this is her fourth novel starring her beautiful, spirited country girl from Appalachia, Velva Jean.
Velva Jean heartens us, the way she keeps re-inventing herself. In this novel, she’s Kit Rogers, Hollywood’s newest sensation. If, like me, you start with American Blonde, you can always go back to what you missed as she comes of age in Velva Jean Learns to Drive, Velva Jean Learns to Fly, Becoming Clementine – the “Velva Jean Series.” This novel can stand alone, as it fills you in on the earlier trio: Married at 16, divorced by 20 (DRIVE); Velva Jean heads to Nashville pursuing her passion, singing. When that doesn’t work out, her brother, Johnny Clay Hart, inspires her to pursue flying, as a WASP or Women’s Airforce Service Pilot (FLY), which leads to her becoming a spy and a WWII heroine (CLEMENTINE).
Returning to America, “Miss Red, White, and Blue,” poses for a newsreel featuring the “second girl in history to fly a bobber across the ocean.” A blonde, green-eyed “natural beauty,” Velva Jean catches the cinematic eyes behind Metro-Goldwyn-Meyer, like its legendary head, Louis B. Mayer, who at 60, “didn’t look at all like the most powerful man in Hollywood.” Now Kit Rogers, her transformation feels as glamorous as the novel’s alluring cover but Velva Jean confides she “had her own scars but I wasn’t wearing them on the outside.”
At 24, Kit Rogers still dreams of Nashville. She reasons that coming to Hollywood she’ll “train with the finest music teachers in the world,” so when she returns to her southern roots she’ll take them by storm. She’s right: she’s seriously trained in singing, and so much more.
Kit’s first film role is a revolutionary war hit, “Home of the Brave,” on Stage 15, “the largest in the world.” She plays Betsy Ross, a “patriotic Cinderella,” a role created just for her. Here we meet a full cast of Hollywood characters – actors, actresses, producer, director, agent, photographer, publicists, gossip columnist, costume designer, drama teacher, voice teacher, general manager – so many as you’d expect for the mighty studio. A couple of characters besides Kit loom large: The screenwriter, Sam Weldon, one of two men who sweeten the novel’s romantic tension; and Barbara Jenning, formerly Eloise Mudge, one of Velva Jean’s closest friends going back to their flying days, now an actress in the picture too, whose having an affair with the film’s hottest star, handsome Nigel Gray, a married man.
Since Velva Jean tells us she’s spent her life fighting, Niven plots another cause for her to fight, turning her charming historical novel into a mystery. Like her honorable character, she’s not afraid to shine a light on an all-powerful studio system that didn’t just make stars, but could break them.
What I especially relished about the novel is the tender prose. The author stays true to the integrity of her Velva Jean character even in Hollywood. Romance and mystery can still be delivered up in the juicy, wholesome spirit of the golden era of Hollywood. So, the mystery feels like you’re watching Perry Mason sleuthing and the romance is sweet and sexy but left to your imagination. Take this witty, suggestive banter between Sam and Kit, whom he affectionately calls “Pipes”:
Sam: “You’re not the kind men mess with.”
Sam: “For you, Pipes, I’d steal the moon.”
Sam: “I like holding hands with you Pipes. I don’t know when holding hands has ever excited me more. Or at all.”
Kit: “I can’t imagine you do a lot of hand holding.”
Sam: “No, but I can imagine doing a lot of it with you.”
Sam, like Kit’s adoring fans, is dazzled by her. So is Butch Dawkins. Not to the new Kit Rogers, but to the old Velva Jean he met five years ago when they trained at Camp Davis. (Here, for instance, I wanted the backdrop.) Butch, part Creole, part Choctaw, plays the guitar in a band with Kit’s brother Johnny Clay. They’ve come to LA to record soulful songs. Velva Jean may be flirtatious around polished Sam, but it’s the virile, non-polished Butch who “didn’t smile a lot but when he did he was the best-looking man I’d ever seen,” that Velva Jean/Kit Rogers can’t seem to forget. Butch remembers too, but he’s a serious, compassionate, patient, no-nonsense guy. Yes, you really can feel the electricity between these two. MGM may have succeeded in training Kit to sing pop, jazz, and vocal without her southern cadence, but it’s Butch who warns her “they’re going to rub the shine right out of you.”
His words are prophetic. When Kit first breathes in California, she tells herself “all the world was right here at Metro-Goldwyn-Meyer.” But then a tragedy unfolds. If you read the back cover, you’ll know that Kit’s best friend Mudge has suddenly died at a party for the cast and crew of “Home on the Brave” at the Santa Monica estate of the film’s producer, Billy Taub, and his brought-out-of-retirement for this film, celebrity wife, Ophelia Lloyd. Now Kit Rogers finds herself in a “world where nothing was what it seemed.”
Yet Kit Rogers is still that brave girl who escaped a concentration camp and rescued her brother, Johnny. (Another instance when I missed the earlier novels.) For American Blonde is filled with suspense, pressures, and threats but our heroine is undaunted, determined to solve what’s really happened to her friend – which she does.
When Kit sings the apt-titled song “Facing the World Alone” in her next “Flyin’ Jenny” film, you can envision sitting in the audience clapping your hands. For you too are won over by this principled, old-fashioned character who sends us a big-hearted, modern-day message about hope and love and friendship and truth.
My hope is that the film rights to American Blonde are bought by MGM, so that fiction and truth merge when I’m really in the audience clapping. Lorraine (EnchantedProse.com)
Velva Jean heartens us, the way she keeps re-inventing herself. In this novel, she’s Kit Rogers, Hollywood’s newest sensation. If, like me, you start with American Blonde, you can always go back to what you missed as she comes of age in Velva Jean Learns to Drive, Velva Jean Learns to Fly, Becoming Clementine – the “Velva Jean Series.” This novel can stand alone, as it fills you in on the earlier trio: Married at 16, divorced by 20 (DRIVE); Velva Jean heads to Nashville pursuing her passion, singing. When that doesn’t work out, her brother, Johnny Clay Hart, inspires her to pursue flying, as a WASP or Women’s Airforce Service Pilot (FLY), which leads to her becoming a spy and a WWII heroine (CLEMENTINE).
Returning to America, “Miss Red, White, and Blue,” poses for a newsreel featuring the “second girl in history to fly a bobber across the ocean.” A blonde, green-eyed “natural beauty,” Velva Jean catches the cinematic eyes behind Metro-Goldwyn-Meyer, like its legendary head, Louis B. Mayer, who at 60, “didn’t look at all like the most powerful man in Hollywood.” Now Kit Rogers, her transformation feels as glamorous as the novel’s alluring cover but Velva Jean confides she “had her own scars but I wasn’t wearing them on the outside.”
At 24, Kit Rogers still dreams of Nashville. She reasons that coming to Hollywood she’ll “train with the finest music teachers in the world,” so when she returns to her southern roots she’ll take them by storm. She’s right: she’s seriously trained in singing, and so much more.
Kit’s first film role is a revolutionary war hit, “Home of the Brave,” on Stage 15, “the largest in the world.” She plays Betsy Ross, a “patriotic Cinderella,” a role created just for her. Here we meet a full cast of Hollywood characters – actors, actresses, producer, director, agent, photographer, publicists, gossip columnist, costume designer, drama teacher, voice teacher, general manager – so many as you’d expect for the mighty studio. A couple of characters besides Kit loom large: The screenwriter, Sam Weldon, one of two men who sweeten the novel’s romantic tension; and Barbara Jenning, formerly Eloise Mudge, one of Velva Jean’s closest friends going back to their flying days, now an actress in the picture too, whose having an affair with the film’s hottest star, handsome Nigel Gray, a married man.
Since Velva Jean tells us she’s spent her life fighting, Niven plots another cause for her to fight, turning her charming historical novel into a mystery. Like her honorable character, she’s not afraid to shine a light on an all-powerful studio system that didn’t just make stars, but could break them.
What I especially relished about the novel is the tender prose. The author stays true to the integrity of her Velva Jean character even in Hollywood. Romance and mystery can still be delivered up in the juicy, wholesome spirit of the golden era of Hollywood. So, the mystery feels like you’re watching Perry Mason sleuthing and the romance is sweet and sexy but left to your imagination. Take this witty, suggestive banter between Sam and Kit, whom he affectionately calls “Pipes”:
Sam: “You’re not the kind men mess with.”
Sam: “For you, Pipes, I’d steal the moon.”
Sam: “I like holding hands with you Pipes. I don’t know when holding hands has ever excited me more. Or at all.”
Kit: “I can’t imagine you do a lot of hand holding.”
Sam: “No, but I can imagine doing a lot of it with you.”
Sam, like Kit’s adoring fans, is dazzled by her. So is Butch Dawkins. Not to the new Kit Rogers, but to the old Velva Jean he met five years ago when they trained at Camp Davis. (Here, for instance, I wanted the backdrop.) Butch, part Creole, part Choctaw, plays the guitar in a band with Kit’s brother Johnny Clay. They’ve come to LA to record soulful songs. Velva Jean may be flirtatious around polished Sam, but it’s the virile, non-polished Butch who “didn’t smile a lot but when he did he was the best-looking man I’d ever seen,” that Velva Jean/Kit Rogers can’t seem to forget. Butch remembers too, but he’s a serious, compassionate, patient, no-nonsense guy. Yes, you really can feel the electricity between these two. MGM may have succeeded in training Kit to sing pop, jazz, and vocal without her southern cadence, but it’s Butch who warns her “they’re going to rub the shine right out of you.”
His words are prophetic. When Kit first breathes in California, she tells herself “all the world was right here at Metro-Goldwyn-Meyer.” But then a tragedy unfolds. If you read the back cover, you’ll know that Kit’s best friend Mudge has suddenly died at a party for the cast and crew of “Home on the Brave” at the Santa Monica estate of the film’s producer, Billy Taub, and his brought-out-of-retirement for this film, celebrity wife, Ophelia Lloyd. Now Kit Rogers finds herself in a “world where nothing was what it seemed.”
Yet Kit Rogers is still that brave girl who escaped a concentration camp and rescued her brother, Johnny. (Another instance when I missed the earlier novels.) For American Blonde is filled with suspense, pressures, and threats but our heroine is undaunted, determined to solve what’s really happened to her friend – which she does.
When Kit sings the apt-titled song “Facing the World Alone” in her next “Flyin’ Jenny” film, you can envision sitting in the audience clapping your hands. For you too are won over by this principled, old-fashioned character who sends us a big-hearted, modern-day message about hope and love and friendship and truth.
My hope is that the film rights to American Blonde are bought by MGM, so that fiction and truth merge when I’m really in the audience clapping. Lorraine (EnchantedProse.com)
October 18, 2017
This is the fourth book in a series, and the only one I’ve read, but I’ve also read enough. Before this, Velva Jean was a singer in North Carolina, a WASP pilot/ spy/ heroine in England and Europe, and here she’s a movie star. ‘American Blonde’ is the color MGM dyes her hair. Did I mention she solves her friend’s, who was also a movie star and was a WASP, too, murder, to MGM’s fixers’ frustration?
“Culver City was a mix of farmland and dime stores, bars and diners, small houses and ugly apartment buildings. Depending on the breeze, one minute the air smelled like cow manure and the next like fresh baked bread, which Mudge said came from Helms Bakery. Metro- Goldwyn- Mayer set grandly in the middle of this, a sprawling, white columned fortress.” (18) (In 1946-7 Culver City was undergoing a building boom and there were many GI Bill small houses going up, probably where the farms were.) Bought at B & N 5.13.17 for $4.48.
“Culver City was a mix of farmland and dime stores, bars and diners, small houses and ugly apartment buildings. Depending on the breeze, one minute the air smelled like cow manure and the next like fresh baked bread, which Mudge said came from Helms Bakery. Metro- Goldwyn- Mayer set grandly in the middle of this, a sprawling, white columned fortress.” (18) (In 1946-7 Culver City was undergoing a building boom and there were many GI Bill small houses going up, probably where the farms were.) Bought at B & N 5.13.17 for $4.48.
October 17, 2020
This could also be called "Velva Jean Goes to Hollywood". This is the 4th in a series starting with "Velva Jean Learns to Drive", followed by "Velva Jean Learns to Fly" and then "Becoming Clementine" which chould have been called "Velva Jean takes on the Nazis". All she ever wanted to do was sing in the Grand Ole Opry, which is why she learned to drive, so she could drive off the NC mountain she grew up on and go to Nashville.
This is an amazing series. VJ takes us on quite a trip while she grows up and becomes a force to be reckoned with. I was amazed that this book had come out in 2014 and I had missed it. I had faithfully read the previous 3 as they came out. Then I realized that was the year I retired from the Library and all the joys of reading book reviews as they came out. The person who followed me neglected to order this one and I got it from ILL when I discovered its existence.
This is an amazing series. VJ takes us on quite a trip while she grows up and becomes a force to be reckoned with. I was amazed that this book had come out in 2014 and I had missed it. I had faithfully read the previous 3 as they came out. Then I realized that was the year I retired from the Library and all the joys of reading book reviews as they came out. The person who followed me neglected to order this one and I got it from ILL when I discovered its existence.
September 2, 2019
This is my third read in the Velva Jean series and I liked it just as much if not more than the others. After Velva Jean returns from the war a war hero she is recruited by MGM to become a movie star flying planes and acting in Hollywood. I'm not a fan of southern Califonia but the historical detail the author included in this story makes me wish I could go back in time and experience Hollywood in its heyday. I love the character of Velva Jean, she is smart, gutsy, honest and courageous. She does not let things get in her way or slow her down. While she is filming and living with her friend Mudge (former WASP buddy). Mudge is murdered and the studio tries to brush it all under the rug ruling it an accident. Velva Jean is not convinced and begins snooping to find the truth. Lots of action and adventure ensue. Highly recommended.
July 9, 2017
This book really bugged me. The first few chapters were a start to a decent story, but as more and more events and characters were introduced, it lost its intrigue and believability. Not to mention the writing itself was subpar. I wondered if I was reading a students work with the unimaginative "he said this, then she said that", and unnecessary, redundant paragraphs. Regardless, I was able to finish the book and still picked it back up after countless times of throwing it aside out of annoyance. Probably wouldn't recommended it to anyone.
December 26, 2017
The cover of this book called out to me and is the sole reason I bought it in a used book store. Little did I know what fun I was in for! Jennifer Niven is new to me but not to many others. She is an accomplished writer of both nonfiction and fiction works. My only regret is that this is the fourth in the series of her protagonist, Velva Jean, and knowing what I know now, I might not be motivated to read about her earlier escapades. Hollywood after World War II is the setting. Love the love interests Niven gives her. Velva Jean makes the right choice in the end.
August 30, 2022
Velva Jean is such an endearing character that I really hate to see this series of four books end. I particularly loved book one where Velva Jean was a young country girl growing up in the hills of Tennessee, and this last book where she becomes a movie star at MGM after WWII. Since so many movie stars of the studio era were mentioned, the book was a hit with me. As always, these books move along quickly with characters you love. I highly recommend this series; it’s one you will enjoy in a relaxing, friendly sort of way. Similar to the wonderful Lee Smith novels.
November 26, 2020
Pros: Lots of tidbits about the Golden Age of Hollywood; facts mixed with fiction; many long-gone locations in L.A.
Cons: A convoluted plot; unbelievable scenes; a heroine who's just too darn spunky.
(And no, the author isn't related to David Niven, but she does include the sad (but true) death of his wife Primula, who accidentally fell down a flight of stairs while playing a hide-and-seek game called Sardines.)
Cons: A convoluted plot; unbelievable scenes; a heroine who's just too darn spunky.
(And no, the author isn't related to David Niven, but she does include the sad (but true) death of his wife Primula, who accidentally fell down a flight of stairs while playing a hide-and-seek game called Sardines.)
May 19, 2017
I love Velva Jean, but felt that this one was not as good as the others. The first book, Velva Jean Learns to Drive was beautifully written and a delight to read. This one was good, just not as good. The main character does stay true to herself and solves a murder, but I felt the beautiful descriptive language was missing.
April 30, 2019
I listened to this while commuting. I wasn't thrilled with the voices that the narrator used for one or two of the characters or so i thought...until i walked in one night and started talking to the dogs in the same accent that the narrator used for the main character - first person.
I did enjoy the story and the details were wonderful.
I did enjoy the story and the details were wonderful.
March 31, 2020
I read this book before realizing that it was the 4th book in the series. With that being said, it was fine as a stand alone book. This book is a little lighter than what I usually read but I liked it. Velva Jean Hart is pretty spunky and I liked experiencing the conflict between her and the new Kit Rogers.
July 5, 2017
Excellebnt historical fiction. Wonderful characterization of post-World War II Hollywood. Velvagene, the heroine from her adventures as a World War II WASP pilot, continues to be fearless, loyal, tough, and rugged. I will share with my daughter.
September 3, 2017
I had a hard time finding a copy of this from the library which is surprising as I found it very enjoyable. I loved reading about the movie studios and the power they held over their employees, etc. A lot of research obviously went into writing this book. Who knew about the woman pilots WASP.
March 20, 2018
I enjoyed this book a lot more then I expected to. I grabbed this book out of a discount bin with no expectations and it turned out to be a really great read! Hollywood drama, murder, cover ups, and a look behind the scenes in what it’s like to be a product of a large production studio.
June 13, 2018
Abandoned a chapter in. I didn't realize this was part of a series, and the few pages I read suggested this is over the top -- a Mary Sue who's good at everything, a perfect war hero turned movie star. An interesting premise but overall disappointing.
June 20, 2021
I have not read the first three books in the series, but now I'm curious about the adventures of Velva Jean... I don't feel the need to rush out and find these, but I'd certainly read them if I come across them.
An entertaining read.
An entertaining read.
August 22, 2023
DNF.I loved the first couple of Velva Jean books. A spunky character with an interesting story. But the third one had too many plot conveniences and I don’t think this one knew what kind of a book it wanted to be — murder mystery, Hollywood story, romance, what? I gave up.
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