Everything Glittered

by Robin Talley

It’s 1927 and the strict laws of prohibition have done little to temper the roaring 20s nightlife, even in the nation’s capitol. Everyone knows the booze has never stopped flowing, especially amongst the rich and powerful, and seventeen-year-old Gertrude and her best friends Clara and Milly are determined to get a taste of freedom and liquor, propriety be damned.

But after sneaking out of the Washington Female Seminary to visit a speakeasy, they return to discover that their controversial young headmistress, Mrs. Rose, has been murdered.

Reeling from the death of her beloved mentor, Gertrude enlists her friends in her quest to clear Mrs. Rose’s reputation, while trying to keep her own intact. But in Prohibition Washington, it’s difficult to sidestep grifters, bootleggers, and shady federal agents when investigating a murder. And with all the secrets being uncovered, Gertrude is finding it harder and harder to keep her attraction to her best friends hidden.

A proper, upscale life is all Gertrude has ever known, but murder sure makes a gal is all that glitters really gold?

Genres: Historical Fiction, Young Adult, Mystery, Historical, LGBT, Queer, Lesbian

384 pages, Hardcover

First published September 24, 2024

About the author

I live in Washington, D.C., with my wife, our baby daughter, an antisocial cat and a goofy hound dog. Whenever the baby's sleeping, I'm probably busy writing young adult fiction about queer characters, reading books, and having in-depth conversations with friends and family about things like whether Jasmine's character motivation was sufficiently established in Aladdin.

My website is at http://www.robintalley.com, and I'm on Twitter and Tumblr.

Reviews

[Brend]

This just in:


Murder! Lesbians! Glittering things! Fear it! Girls!

[laurel [the suspected bibliophile] · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not my favorite Robin Talley, but still enjoyable.

I really appreciated how well Talley showed just what naive, well-bred and very sheltered girls like Gertie would think and feel and do. I also like the friendship triangle of Millie and Clara, and the weird feelings Gertie gets as she realizes her friends have experienced/done something she hasn't. And also the emphasis on class behavior among upper class society women and the extremely narrow bubble of the world they were allowed to enjoy.

The murder aspect was more meh for me than anything.

Sometimes, when listening to an audiobook, certain pet phrases stand out more than if I was reading them, and in this case there was just so much heel clacking every time anyone walked anywhere that it sent me out of the story and gave me flashbacks to Connie Willis' All Clear.

[Bethany J · Rating 2 out of 5]

*Thank you to the publisher via Netgalley for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review*

This is a bit of a tough one for me because, while I appreciated a look at queer culture in the 1920s and police corruption/brutality, I had more than a little trouble connecting to the characters and being fully invested in the mystery aspect. There was a lot more telling, it seemed, than showing, especially in regards to the characters and their relationships. Gertrude, Clara, and Milly are all supposed to be best friends, but I never really felt like they genuinely cared about one another. I recognize that this is, primarily, a mystery novel, so things like character relationships might get pushed to one side. However, I still feel like there could've been a bit more to give in that regard.

As for the mystery, not only did it not really grab my attention, but the big reveal ultimately didn't satisfy me either. I'm not going to spoil anything, but I do feel like the way the reveal was done as well as how the clues ended up stacking together in the end, didn't entirely work.

Overall, I don't believe this was bad, necessarily, it just felt like it fell short in multiple aspects for me.

[Abbrosy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Everything Glittered is a suspenseful YA mystery with a little bit of sapphic polyamorous romance in it. The writing was well done, the MC’s perspective was pleasant to read. It took me a bit to get thru the book but I’m glad I read it and I’d recommend to young adults looking for a historical suspense-romance with some twists and turns.

[Clover · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5/5
Bootleggers, speakeasies, and the daughters of well-to-do families.

Gertie loves her best friends Millie and Clara, she's never far from either seeing as they all attend a finishing school together. She is also very fond of their headmistress Mrs. Rose, who inspires Gertie heavily. Unfortunately, Mrs. Rose is found murdered and it throws the entire school into turmoil. Gertie has to fight her own perceptions, anti-gay laws, prohibition, her family, and her own friends to solve the murder properly.

Set against the roaring '20s, this story is about friendship, love, truth, justice, and acceptance.

----

I really enjoyed this book. The atmosphere was perfect, I loved all the details! I'm not a huge history buff so I found no issues with anything that depicted the world of 1920s Washington.

The characters were really fun. I really enjoyed watching Gertie grow up and question her own perceptions and ideas about the people and society around her. I think Clara might be my favourite though out of the three. I had some issues with Gertie's trust and judgement. She was incredibly hostile to people who didn't deserve it and quickly trusting of people who didn't deserve it. Call it being naive but it bugged me.

The pacing was fine for me until near the end with a sudden plot twist that really starts the ball running towards the end. The ending gets pretty chaotic, but it didn't bother me and I kept up. I was happy with it and satisfied enough with the ending.

Overall, it wasn't bad. Pacing got rushed at the end and there were some weird choices by Gertie, but I would recommend it.

I'm happy to have gotten this from my local library! Check out yours and read it or'request that they buy it!

[Emmaline Savidge · Rating 2 out of 5]

Overall pretty meh. I think my main issue with this book was that the voice and writing style just didn’t fit well with a 1920’s period piece. I just didn’t feel transported. I think part of that is due to the book being told in first person POV. In my opinion third person would have been the better move because we could have had some more atmospheric descriptions to set the scene. The core of this story is the murder of a school headmistress, however not enough was done to build Gertrude’s relationship with her. I needed more work to be done to really establish why Gertrude would continually risk her life to find out who Mrs.Rose’s murderer is. I’ll also be frank and say I did not care about the romance. Frankly Clara and Milly felt interchangeable personality wise so I had trouble telling the two apart. If you want a really fun queer noir mystery I’d just recommend picking up the Evander Mills books.

Thanks to the publisher for providing me with a free e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

[Alexa Blart, Library Cop · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and Little, Brown for providing an ARC of this title in exchange for an honest review.

Robin Talley is an author who's been very hit or miss for me, and in my opinion, her strongest work tends to be her historical fiction (Music from Another World and Pulp for most recent examples). With Everything Glittered, she's trying something completely new to her body of work: a murder mystery, set in the height of Prohibition, and featuring the kind of love story that's still unconventional to the YA genre. And for the most part, I think this is done well: readers who enjoy a mystery will find plenty of twists and turns here, and a well-crafted plot that ends satisfyingly if perhaps a little expectedly. Talley also does well capturing the era in which her novel is set, and what life would've been like for three well-bred girls of the upper crust of Washington, D.C. high society: the naïveté of their sheltered upbringings, the stifling expectations of their families who are clinging to a bygone era, their own longings for the liquor, excitement, and speakeasies of the more socially free Jazz Age that exists around them. While I'd hesitate to call this a queer historical novel in the way that Pulp and Music from Another World, both of which explored specific aspects of queer history, were, queerness is very much present and important in this novel, with our main character, Gertie, going on a journey of self-discovery that makes sense to the period of time in which it's set (while not once conceding the fact that queer people have always existed, through all of history).

The reason that this isn't rated higher for me is because I felt the plot could've been a lot tighter--it dragged, and I found myself struggling to maintain my interest. There were also one or two bombshell plot moments that didn't feel tied up satisfactorily (or were tied up so quickly and neatly, I wondered why they even mattered in the first place). I'm not a mystery reader, but I'm also not someone for whom the genre is boring, so this just felt like there was a lot of fluff that could have been condensed down.

[Laura Bone · Rating 3 out of 5]

Goodreads Giveaway

Everything Glittered was a decent YA read. I didn't hate it or love it, it just was a solid average story. It was interesting to read about all the fiddly etiquette people (especially upper-class individuals) had to perform back then. I do think the book was a little over long, some scenes could have been edited for brevity. Lastly, I could see teens (which I assume is the intended audience) that are into historical fiction, particularly that which is set in the 1920's, really enjoying the story and setting.

The copy I received was an ARC.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed this but didn’t love it nearly as much as I thought I would.

The murder investigation feels confusing and a bit directionless. “We keep running into this creepy dude” is just not a very interesting lead to follow. The (poly 💖) romance I like but it is unfortunately very much the B plot. This is a personal issue, but the description is sometimes detailed in a way that my eyes gloss over and doesn’t register in my brain. Combine that with the odd pacing—the murder doesn’t even happen until about the 30% mark—and an unsatisfyingly short and open ending to the romance, and we’re left with this rating.

[Alicia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to the publisher for providing me an eARC via NetGalley to read. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I enjoyed this one. I’m a sucker for a good historical mystery, and I loved the setting and the time period of the 1920s. I liked seeing the characters discuss Prohibition and speakeasies, and I thought it was an interesting layer added to the mystery.

I did find the beginning a little bit slow, but I found the writing style easy to follow. The pacing was alright, but there were lots of times where I felt like nothing was really happening. I did really like the way the pacing picked up towards the end because it matched the frantic energy of the characters during the climax of the story.

I liked our characters, but I thought Gertie was a bit too naive. Her friends were clearly keeping secrets and she never really questioned it. I did like her beginning to question and explore her sexuality. I thought this was a relatable and interesting element particularly given the fact that the book takes place in 1927.

Gertie was a good narrator, and I liked how she kept fighting to find the truth for Mrs. Rose. Her friendships with Milly and Clara were well written, and I liked seeing her struggle to be the perfect society girl her mother wanted her to be.

The mystery wrapped up really well, and I enjoyed watching the characters search for answers. There were lots of different possibilities and suspects, and in the end I thought it was a good reveal.

[Bbecca_marie]

Unfortunately this was a DNF for me. I couldn’t get into it and I simply didn’t care for the characters or story… I was 20% in before I decided to DNF it.

[Lou Hughes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Robin Talley’s Everything Glittered is a richly layered historical queer murder mystery set amid the opulent yet precarious world of 1920s Washington, D.C. The novel follows 17-year-old Gertrude and her two close friends—young women confined by social expectations and the gilded cages of finishing school—as they untangle a dark secret: the murder of their headmaster. Talley skillfully juxtaposes the era’s glamorous façade; lavish parties, jazz-filled nights, and genteel propriety, with its chaotic underbelly of power, crime, and hypocrisy. Through her characters, she explores themes of secrecy and scandal, loyalty and betrayal, and the hidden lives people lead when society tells them what they should be.

What makes Everything Glittered especially compelling is Talley’s deft handling of queer experience in a time when same-sex attraction was both taboo and dangerous. Rather than sideline her protagonists’ sexuality, she weaves it into the core of the mystery: the characters’ longing, their fragile alliances, and their willingness to risk everything for truth and belonging. There’s an urgency in Talley’s prose that pulses beneath the surface, a reminder that for many queer women of that era, identity came with a high cost.

The pacing is propulsive. As Gertrude’s world is upended, Talley shifts between moments of intimacy and suspicion, tension and release. The mystery never feels tacked on; instead, it’s deeply entwined with the emotional journeys of the three friends. Their friendships are depicted with care, fear, and fierce loyalty, and the novel’s resolution, while satisfying, respects the complexity of their lives, refusing to flatten it into a simplistic fairy tale.

Everything Glittered succeeds not only as a historical mystery, but also as a celebration of queer resilience and sisterhood. It reminds readers that even in times of strict social rules, young women found ways to connect, to challenge, and to claim their own stories.

Robin Talley is more than a talented storyteller, her work carries important social weight. As a queer author writing young adult fiction, she has dedicated her career to centering LGBTQ+ characters in genres and historical settings where their stories have often been erased or ignored. Talley’s background in nonprofit communications on issues of gay rights, women’s rights, and educational equity gives her writing a grounded moral urgency. Her decision to write queer historical fiction is particularly powerful: she resurrects hidden corners of the past and imagines the lives of people who rarely feature in traditional history books.

By placing queer girls at the heart of varied narratives; from desegregation crises to finishing schools, Talley challenges mainstream notions of whose stories deserve to be told. She offers representation not just to queer teens looking for mirrors, but also to readers unfamiliar with queer history. In doing so, she builds bridges of empathy, normalises queer identities across time, and expands young adult literature beyond the present-day “coming-out” trope.

In Everything Glittered, Talley demonstrates that queer history is not monolithic or solely tragic; instead, it’s full of ambition, friendship, danger, and the same messy, hopeful complexity as any other story. This is social significance in action: writing that entertains, educates, and affirms, while rewriting the narrative of what queer lives have been and can be.

[Nicole Austin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you NetGalley and Little, Brown Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Robin Talley’s “Everything Glittered” is a lushly atmospheric combination of historical fiction and queer coming-of-age, all centered around a murder mystery set against the backdrop of 1920s Washington, D.C. It begins with seventeen-year-old Gertrude (Gertie) and her best friends, Clara and Milly, sneaking off to a speakeasy only to return to their finishing school and discover that their beloved headmistress, Mrs. Rose, has been murdered. Determined to defend her mentor’s reputation, Gertie throws herself into uncovering the truth, navigating a city pulsing with jazz, corruption, bootleggers, and restrictive social codes.

What shines most in this story is the setting. Talley vividly captures the Roaring Twenties, from the hidden thrill of speakeasies to the suffocating expectations placed on young women of society. The atmosphere is thick with details, like with the fashion, etiquette, and politics, that ground the mystery in its time while highlighting the dangers of being queer in an unforgiving era.

At its heart, though, this is more than a whodunit. The murder mystery provides a structure, but the deeper story lies in Gertie’s personal journey. As she wrestles with her family’s expectations and her attraction to her friends, Talley delicately portrays the tentative steps of queer self-discovery. Her struggles with trust, perception, and naivety are a bit frustrating at times; she often misjudges people or fails to question obvious secrets. But this flaw also makes her a more authentic teenage narrator, so younger YA readers may enjoy this aspect as they can relate to her.

The pacing is a bit uneven: the opening is slow, the middle drifts in places with more atmosphere than action, and the ending accelerates into a chaotic but engaging climax. I really liked the way the resolution ties together the threads of friendship, identity, and justice and even if the mystery aspect of the climax is a tad underwhelming.

The dynamic between Gertie, Clara, and Milly has mixed results for me. While their bond is meant to anchor the story, I found the friendship emotionally thin, though I also enjoyed watching the trio grow through shared challenges.

Ultimately, “Everything Glittered” is less about solving a crime than about a young woman coming of age in a glittering, dangerous decade. This is a stylish, atmospheric story that prioritizes identity and atmosphere over mystery. Recommended for fans of queer coming-of-age stories wrapped in the shimmer and shadows of the 1920s.

[Annie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Originally posted on my blog Nonstop Reader.

Everything Glittered is a YA historical mystery by Robin Talley set in a female academy in prohibition era Washington. Released 24th Sept 2024 by Hachette on their Little, Brown, and company Young Readers imprint, it's 384 pages and is available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout.

This is a YA sapphic polyamorous romance wrapped around a murder mystery. The author does a good job writing believably about the constraints and prejudices of the day, including homophobia, racism, anti-semitism, "morality" policing, fraud, abuse, organized crime (especially in the prohibition context), and the limited choices open to women, even/especially upper class women, at the time.

Although recommended for an audience of 14+, there are some graphic depictions of violence and high-stakes thriller elements (murder and targeted homophobic violence) which might be traumatizing for more sensitive readers in the younger end of the target audience. There is very light queer romance (kissing) and a polyamory aspect, but nothing too scandalous, especially given the background (an all-girls boarding school).

Three stars. It would be a good choice for public library, possibly for secondary school library acquisition (with the understanding that there's a significant amount of the plot and character development concern same sex romance).

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

[Courtney · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.
I used to be so excited for Robin Talley books, but after the second in a row not hitting for me, I think it might be time to face the fact that I’ve outgrown her books. And it sucks, because Everything Glittered had a lot of potential, especially in the amazing premise.
While this setting is new for Talley (she’s previously written historical fiction in the 1950s), she did her research to convey the era for the most part, especially the queer culture of the speakeasies. It’s not as atmospheric as I would have liked, but it’s still one of the pluses of the book overall. Talley’s writing is also fairly engaging, so even if I wasn’t enjoying the characters, or sometimes the plot, I coasted by enjoying her prose.
The characters were a mixed bag. The protagonist was forgettable…I forgot her name the second I started the book. Her friends are also interchangeable. But Mrs. Rose as the murder victim grew more interesting as the story went on, especially with the secrets that came to light about her.
But as I was only half-invested, my interest flagged in places. The mystery elements were juicy and twisty, but the bits in between, especially towards the end, resulted in a lot of lull, and the book felt longer than it should be.
While I didn’t like this one as much as I hoped I would, there are strong points here, which I think will land even better for the intended reader, and I respect that Talley hasn’t tried to “age up” her writing too much to appease adult readers to align with the current trends. With that in mind, if the book sounds interesting to you, I’d recommend checking it out to form an opinion for yourself.

[Alex · Rating 2 out of 5]

This feels like a book that had a great outline and faltered in the actual writing.

The actual nuts and bolts of the mystery—the clues, the overlapping plot threads, the resolution—fit together perfectly. The research that went into the setting was great, and you can tell the author really knows the physical place, the clothing, and the etiquette rules.

But the execution feels very sloppy and inconsistent. The personalities of the three main characters are not especially distinctive, and the implementation of the etiquette lessons got particularly irritating to me. Gertie’s narration is constantly informing us that specific things “are not appropriate” in a way that feels unnatural, and the sense of scale is way off. Learning that a friend is not a virgin and seeing a man shrug his shoulders in a restaurant evoke roughly equivalent emotions and get the same amount of time on the page.

Same with the implementation of the mystery. On multiple occasions the girls work up the nerve to launch an investigation… and then completely fail to ask anything worthwhile. Most clues are acquired entirely by accident, and most of the investigation involves them visiting the library offscreen or just following various men around town haphazardly. There’s an identity reveal that happens in the denouement that absolutely 100% should have happened several chapters earlier, but it was delayed for no other reason than to prolong the drama, and in doing so it made the characters’ detective work look quite shoddy.

It’s a shame, because there’s a lot to like in this book. Some of the characters’ backstories, the social structure, and the setting are very good, but on the whole I would say it felt like reading a first draft.

[Maureen Lubitz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Originally posted on You Have Your Hands Full


I saw this book in the New Books section in the YA room at my town library. I didn’t get a chance to read it before the due date (even with renewal), but I was able to borrow the audiobook from Libby.

This was an interesting historical YA mystery: not only is Gertie trying to solve the murder of her beloved headmistress, but she is also dealing with their sexuality in an era where there was no acceptance or tolerance for homosexuality.

In order to explore all possible avenues, Gertie and her friends must venture out to all sorts of establishments completely alien to proper young ladies, but the girls remain steadfast in their pursuit of justice. The mystery element was satisfying, with very few red herrings or false leads. It was more like a pass-the-parcel game wherein unwrapping each layer revealed something different until we finally reached the truth at the bottom.

My one complaint is that Gertie said “ever so” constantly. Not “ever so much” but just “ever so.” Regardless of whether this linguistic quirk reflects the genuine teen slang of the era, it was overused.

I would recommend Everything Glittered. This is a clever YA historical mystery. I loved the 1920s setting and everything that entailed. Gertie and her friends were likeable and resourceful. There isn’t really much of a romance element per se; the plot element is more about awakening and awareness rather than romance.

[Leslie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to NetGalley and Little, Brown Books for Young Readers for the digital galley of this book.

In Everything Glittered, Seventeen-year-old Gertrude and her best friends Clara and Milly are students at Washington Female Seminary. After their first clandestine visit to a Speakeasy, the girls return to school to find that their headmistress, Mrs. Rose has been murdered, amidst scandal, it’s presumed.

Gertrude is determined to clear the reputation of her mentor and find out what really happened. She enlists the help of her friends, she’ll try to avoid grifters, bootleggers, and shady federal agents to get to the bottom of the mystery, all while trying to hide her growing attraction to her friends.

I’m not into murder mysteries, but I am into queer, historical fiction, and that’s why I picked this one up. It managed to hold my interest almost the whole way through, and I liked the characters. I was bummed that Mrs. Rose was murdered so early, as I find that, in these situations, the mentor or older women tend to be the most interesting characters. Though we do get to find out more about Mrs. Rose posthumously, so I’ll take that. Overall, this one was fine. There were twists and turns, a young woman discovering her sexuality and coming to terms with it, maybe even finding a little taste of queer love. I do enjoy Robin Talley’s writing, so even when the main plotline isn’t a big draw for me, I still tend to enjoy the books.

[Kenseth Bugg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kenseth.Bugg
English 9
Mrs. Schemenaur
28, Jan, 2025
Everything Glittered by Robin Talley
Everything Glittered is a story about two girls Kelly and Laney, who become best friends in high school. The story is set in the 1980 that shows how the two girls deal with their personal struggles like relationships, being accepted, and dealing with secrets. Kelly is trying to figure out her sexuality and Laney is dealing with family problems. They help each other through their tough times, and though they face many challenges.
I thought that Everything Glittered was good because the characters felt real and relatable. The author did a great job showing how difficult it can be to find out who you really are and how to deal with social pressure. Kelly’s journey of self appreciation was really touching to me and I think a lot of people can relate.
One thing I didn’t like though was how some parts of the story felt slow and sloppy. Sometimes the author spent too much time on small details that didn’t really add to the plot. For example some of the description of places and objects felt unnecessary.
Overall Everything Glittered is a good book. The message about friendship being true to yourself, and accepting others is really important. Even though there were a few slow parts. I still think the book is worth reading especially if you like stories about overcoming challenges.

[Cindy Stein · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

Gertie, Clara and Millie are high school age three young women in a girls finishing school in 1927 Washington DC. Their beloved headmistress, Mrs. Rose, holds somewhat unconventional views on women that are controversial among the parents and faculty. One night when the three girls steal away to visit a speakeasy and are almost swept up in a police raid, they return to find that their headmistress has been murdered. The girls decide to find out what really caused Mrs. Rose's death after the newspapers say she was part of a bootlegging gang and died from alcohol poisoning.

This lengthy book is part mystery and part coming-of-age at a difficult time for young women bred to become society matrons. It is also an early look at what can only be called an emerging throuple.

I appreciated the historical detail and am not experienced enough of a mystery reader to comment on the plotting, but I can say that, although I really liked the book, I felt that there may have been some scenes that could have either been cut or edited down. That being said, this is an experienced queer YA author who took some chances with this book, so I recommend it.

[Joy]

I thought this was a mystery set in Prohibition era DuPont Circle, so I had to read it. It turns out it’s YA fiction that is part-mystery and part coming of age lesbian/polyamory. So possibly not as obvious of a match for me as I’d thought, going in.

I guess it’s ok. It’s very “YA” and seems laden with trite stereotypes.

I especially had wanted to read it because it’s set about 2 blocks from my house. The school is apparently fictitious, but all the DuPont streets are named very clearly, so I kept trying to imagine the precise locations as the author described them. However…. I spent a lot of energy trying to figure out where this fictional school building was. My best guess now is that it’s around 1801 P St, since the book says the south windows look at P and the west windows look at DuPont Circle. Somehow, I thought I’d heard reference to 20th St, which would turn my hypothesis on its head and make it be the wrong side of the circle, but when I went back to some sections, I couldn’t find the 20th St mention. So my best guess is that it’s on P St just across the circle from me. I suspect that since I live about 2 blocks away, I was way more focused on the precise location than the average reader will be!

[Robbi C · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m a sucker for a YA 1920s mystery and this was no exception! 😊

It did feel a bit slow in the beginning but once it picked up, I was hooked and always excited to get back to my audiobook.

The characters are interesting and I love that there are so many strong female characters in this story. That said, I think readers are left to read a bit between the lines to get the full context since so much of the storyline has them around other society people and requires propriety to dictate the way they speak. But the moments when it is just them and they can be more authentic are lovely and I think a smidge more of that would have pushed my rating up even more.

However, the plot is the real driver of this book. A teensy bit twisty in a good way that ultimately delivers as satisfying a conclusion as we can expect when murder is involved. 😊

The ending did leave me wanting more. The girls are so changed at that point that I’d love to see another adventure with them and have the opportunity to see them more fully developed. Walking away wanting more is always better so I would recommend this to anyone interested in LGBTQIA+ stories, teen murder mysteries or even those who like historical fiction.

[PhantasticReads · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book but if you’re looking for a mystery-forward plot this might not be the book for you. The murder mystery is certainly there and fills the plot. Gertie takes the matter seriously, and we do discover the identity of the killer.

But Everything Glittered is primarily the story of three teenage girls stepping outside of their narrow lives and getting a look at what else is out there. The majority of the book focuses on the schism between Gertie’s upbringing and her journey of self-discovery – the gradual realization of her queerness, and the future she can barely imagine is at odds with the future her mother has always pushed her toward. This is executed beautifully, with information about fashion and etiquette being leveraged against less-vaunted society. There’s a lot of minutiae specific to the daily lives of the politicians’ daughters in the 1920s, with lots of etiquette and fashion detail and while this certainly furthers the story, it also tips the balance toward atmosphere over action.

[Jordan Henry · Rating 4 out of 5]

*this books should have started with trigger warnings*

There are scenes and conversations concerning gay people being targets of physical abuse and deragatory names. In addition to homophobia and gay bashing, a Jewish character has to endure blatant antisemitism (with no mention of how the character feels) Yes, I understand it’s a historical fiction, but Trigger warnings would have been nice.

That being said, the magic of speakeasys, prohibition era mentality, and the thrill of a murder mystery. Washington DC female seminary girls launch themselves into a cross city journey to solve the murder of their beloved headmistress. The author does a great job portraying the role woman were expected to play in society, as well as, the queer coded history of how LGBT folks met and lives in the 1920s. The ending is a little questionable for me, but appreciate the representation and feminist angle!

[Jasmine Shouse · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25 stars

A YA mystery set during Prohibition and starring a Sapphic MC sounds absolutely amazing, and it was a fine read, but I was disappointed by a lot.

The way the mystery unfolded was kind of all over the place, and the reveal felt out of the blue and not in the fun way. The Sapphic polyamory that was hinted at was the main reason I kept going, and I was disappointed in that too. Props to the author for trying something different genre-wise because that's really brave to do. The historical landscape was pretty interesting, and I liked that the story tackled some harder topics like the rampant homophobia, bribery, and corruption in Washington.

Thank you to NetGalley and publisher for the opportunity to read and review.

[-ˋˏ ༻ Persie ༺ ˎˊ- (TheSapphicStorybook) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Everything Glittered was alright, not my favorite read, but I did still enjoy it.

I enjoyed a peek into the experiences of a queer girl in the 1920's. Gertie was likeable, albeit a bit naive. She's a good narrator and I love getting to experience her journey and a queer young woman.

The writing was well done, but the pacing was a bit off and felt slow in some places. This wasn't a major issue though.

I was really excited for the mystery, but the bits and pieces in between the mystery kind of threw the pacing off for me, which was a let down honestly.

I'm giving this ⭐⭐⭐.5 of 5 stars, because while it wasn't bad by any means, I just expected more than I got.

I received an arc and I am voluntarily leaving an honest review

[Marsha Raasch · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is one of the ARC books I was given at the Punk Rock Flea Market.
Ok. YA novel.Set in the Prohibition era in Washington DC. A bit of a murder mystery when a headmistress of a girls' school winds up dead. Guess who solves it? Three of the girls. And they end up discovering or disclosing they are lesbians . They are already best friends, and this new knowledge brings them together as a throuple.
Now, I like YA, history, mysteries and books about gay people. And this wasn't bad. I gave it three stars because it also wasn't that good. Middle of the road YA mystery with some history and sapphic undertones.

[Kiana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Generally, I've favored Robin Talley's period novels, but this one fell flat for me. There's nothing wrong with it, exactly—it's just not very engaging or memorable. The characters' personalities and relationships didn't feel very developed, and I often had to remind myself which girl was which. The most striking aspect—the polyamorous relationship—was very surprising to see in a mainstream novel, let alone one targeted towards teenagers; I just wish the characters in question were more distinct and I had any investment in their relationships.

[Radish · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent book. Nothing really captivated me, but I still liked it overall. The murder mystery plot was okay. I liked that it focused on corruption and police brutality in the 1920s. The pacing could have been better, but it did get good towards the end with the plot twists. I liked Gertrude as the narrator. Clara and Milly unfortunately felt interchangeable because their personalities/defining characteristics weren't strong enough. The poly relationship was a treat, though I wish the development was better.

[Séance · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 rounded down

Very cute. I don't typically read YA, but I am a sucker for anything 1920s. I liked how Gertie was very real as a closeted, sheltered girl. Millie and Klara were interesting enough for side characters. What really held me back from this was the fact that it wasn't gritty enough for the mystery it was trying to sell me. I know it's a YA, but I've read grittier YA. Anyway, it's cute enough and the writing was rather decent for a YA. It's really going to be that book for someone else.