The Beautiful People

by Michelle Gable, Eleanor Caudill (Narrator)

9 hours, 3 minutes

Set against the glamorous 1960s Jet Set, a novel about a failed debutante whose new job as assistant to society photographer Slim Aarons takes her into Palm Beach’s inner circle, and into a beguiling friendship with the star at its center, fashion designer Lilly Pulitzer

It’s 1961, and for Margo Hightower, everything is about to change. True, her engagement is off, her family has fallen in scandal, and she's completely broke. But she’s just been hired as assistant to photographer Slim Aarons—famous for his vibrant pictures of high society, royalty, and Hollywood stars—and she knows this opportunity is her ticket to something better.

From the bright beaches of Acapulco to glitzy parties in New York, Margo is thrown headfirst into the glamorous jet-set world she so covets, observing its ways from behind the camera as Slim’s sidekick. There’s Jackie Kennedy, Truman Capote and his Swans, a host of Vanderbilts. Beautiful people in beautiful places.

But when they land in Palm Beach, a scene with few rules and many riches, the lines between work and play begin to blur. As Margo becomes swept up in the city’s social circle—and into a friendship with heiress and rising fashion designer Lilly Pulitzer—the golden life seems increasingly in reach. Until she finds herself entangled in a complicated web of loyalties and secrets that could bring it all crashing down…

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Audiobook, Chick Lit, Historical, Womens Fiction, Summer

Audiobook

First published April 16, 2024

About the author

Michelle Gable is the New York Times Bestselling author of A PARIS APARTMENT, I'LL SEE YOU IN PARIS, THE BOOK OF SUMMER, and THE SUMMER I MET JACK.

Michelle grew up in San Diego and attended The College of William & Mary, where she majored in accounting, as most aspiring writers do. After a twenty-year career in finance, Michelle now writes full-time. She lives in Cardiff-by-the-Sea, California, with her husband, two daughters, and what is quickly becoming a menagerie: one cat, one bunny, and a lab/jindo mix recently rescued from the dog meat trade in Thailand.

Michelle can be reached at www.michellegable.com or on Instagram, Twitter, or Pinterest at @MGableWriter.

Reviews

[Kim ~ It’s All About the Thrill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow!!! I don’t read HF very often… but let me tell you… I absolutely LOVED this book!!! 😍 I can’t recommend it enough!! Thank you so much to @htp_hive @htpbooks @graydonhousebooks for this gorgeous gifted copy! 🥰🥰🥰 I was absolutely captivated and couldn’t put it down!!! ❤️

Pub date is April 26th!! 🥳🥳🥳

It’s 1961…and Margo just wants to marry a rich 💰 man and live happily ever after. 💍😉💰When her happily ever after dumped her at a wedding.. 👰‍♀️… Well her plan fell apart. 😬 … She couldn’t be expected to work… 🤷‍♀️…or so she thought… 😂… Surprise Margo… it’s time to put on your big girl pants 👖 and make YOU happen… and she did!! 😉

Margo lands a job as an assistant to no other than Slim Aarons… haven’t heard of him?? Well that’s just because it’s not the 60’s. He was a household name. Mega famous photographer to the rich and famous… Jackie Kennedy… the Vanderbilts… and Lilly Pulitzer… just to name a few. 🤫

OMG I was starstruck!! The stories… the drama… the LIFE!! I couldn’t get enough.. and neither could Margo. Was she in over her head?? Maybe?? 🤫

This book was so wonderful that I didn’t want it to end!! Do yourself a favor and Google Slim Aarons… I did… It now is so clear to me why he was so sought after. His photographs are simply stunning!! 🤩I also loved the details of Lilly Pultizer’s rise to fame. What an amazing book!! I felt like I was just hanging out with my girl Margo… taking it all in. 😍 This would make an incredible movie! Hands down 5 stars!

[Karren Sandercock · Rating 5 out of 5]

Margo Hightower is sure hers will be the next wedding she attends, due to her step-father Sandy being investigated by the FBI and instead her fiancée dumps her. Margo gets a job as an assistant to photographer Slim Aarons, he started taking photos during the Second World War and now he takes pictures of celebrities and high society people and most live in the exclusive suburb of Palm Beach, Florida.

Slim is a busy man, Margo travels with him to Acapulco, Austria, Kashmir, New York , they also attend glamorous parties where Margo scouts for people and arranges sittings so Slim can take the perfect photograph. Here Margo meets Lilly and Peter Pulitzer, Wendy Vanderbilt, Jackie Kennedy, Julia and Enrique Rosseaux. Margo is mixing with the rich, shiny and pretty people and she has no idea how much of a risk and a gamble she's taking.

Margo becomes friends with Lilly Pulitzer, her husband Peter is happy growing oranges and sugar cane and she opens a juice bar called Via Mizer. Lilly gets juice all over her, she gets a friend to design a bright and colourful dress to hide the stains, other women want to buy her dresses and she calls the style “Lilly” made to fit all shapes and sizes of ladies, they can be worn during the day and add a bit of bling for an evening out.

Slim and his wife Rita told Margo to be careful, friendships and loyalties change in Palm Beach, when she discovers someone she knows is cheating on their spouse, Margo has no idea by sharing this information, she’s opening up a can of worms and her world will come crashing down.

I received a digital copy of The Beautiful People by Michelle Gable from Graydon House and Edelweiss Plus in exchange for an honest review. Using real people and facts from the 1960’s Ms. Gable has written a really interesting narrative and I had never heard of Slim Aarons and socialite, entrepreneur and fashion designer Lilly Pulitzer prior to reading this book.

Five stars from me, Slim built his career on helping The Beautiful People maintain their charade and some of them were extremely fake and could get nasty, I highly recommend Michelle Gable's latest fascinating book and her previous one I'll See You in Paris.

[Jennifer *Nottoomanybooks* · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really had fun with this one! What a great palate cleanser! This historical fiction takes place in the 1960’s while Slim Aarons photography was all the rage! He loved photographing the beautiful people! We follow Daisy and her friends Margo Hightower who was recently dumped by the man she thought she would marry. Daisy recommends her for an assistant job with Slim, and the story takes off from there! She gets to hang with all the prominent people of Palm Beach, including her new friend Lily Pulitzer.

I loved googling the people in this book after and the impromptu book discussion with @electricbookaloo! I was rooting for Margo the whole time even though she didn’t always make the most wise choices, girl power all the way!

[Literary Redhead · Rating 4 out of 5]

The 1960s Jet Set bursts to life in this colorful novel that shifts from Acapulco to New York to Palm Beach, with famed high society photog Slim Aarons, Jackie Kennedy, a bevy of Vanderbilts, Capote’s “swans,” and beloved designer Lilly Pulitzer. Captivating!

[Faye Hollands · Rating 2 out of 5]

EDIT: I felt guilty about DNFing this book so went back and finished reading it. The characters remained insufferable but I guess that's the point of the story. It did pick up I'm the second half and I actually really enjoyed going through some of the photos referenced throughout the story on Getty Images lol (photos listed in the back of the book).

--------

DNF at 108 pages.

I hated this. Every single character is insufferable (especially Margo, the main character) and the plot is pretty much non-existent.

[MicheleReader · Rating 4 out of 5]

In 1961, Palm Beach was the playground for high society. And photographer Slim Aarons captured it all with his unique access to the rich and famous. Margo Hightower, a former debutante from California, is shocked when her wealthy boyfriend breaks up with her and she learns that her family's fortune is gone. Luckily, she secures a job as Aaron's assistant. While she is supposed to blend into the background, Margo finds herself a part of the social scene which includes Lilly Pulitzer, whose colorful dresses are starting to become a sensation.

Author Michelle Gable does a good job bringing this era to life in The Beautiful People. With the exception of the character of Margo, all the main characters are actual people - some still alive. Stories of Slim Aarons, Lilly Pulitzer, Peter Pulitzer have already been told in non-fiction books, articles and sensational news headlines. The character of Margo, while likeable, wasn't as interesting or dynamic enough to compete with the real-life characters. If you are interested in this time period and are fascinated by Palm Beach in the 1960s, by all means, check this book out. If you've never heard of Slim Aarons, his work speaks volumes - thankfully you can view his elegant work online.

Rated 3.75 stars.

[Debbie Robson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is my first Michelle Gable book and it was a good holiday read. I’ve marked two more of Gable’s to read and she obviously enjoys research because she has certainly done it here. And I enjoy seeing how other writers do their research.
1961 is almost at the very end of the period I write about (1900-1960, 1963 at a pinch) and she really did evoke this era. It is of course a coming of age novel. Gogo (Margo) Hightower is definitely your innocent abroad when she lands a job as a photographer’s assistant in the holiday resort of Palm Beach, Florida. With the famous Slim Aarons no less. Soon after she starts mixing with Lilly and Peter Pulitzer and Wendy Vanderbilt, who is acerbic to say the least.
Here is Margo assisting Slim:
“Are you looking for anyone in particular?” Margo asked Slim, raising one foot and another as two hedgehogs trooped by. Standing around for hours seemed to be the crux of this job, and while Margo wasn’t looking to break her back or anything, she didn’t want to be bored out of her skull.”
As the story unfolds, I was wondering how Gable was able to portray real people (not that long dead) doing and saying what she depicts in this book. I mean, how did she get away with it? To find out what I mean you will have to read the book but there is a detailed list of Character Postscripts and a list of photographs of all the main people which can be referred to and obviously inspired a lot of the scenes. There is also a selected list of sources.
Although I enjoyed it and was a good retreat from the madness of Christmas, I just wanted more from Margo. There was not enough backstory to start with and definitely not enough speculation or inner thoughts on her part so we really didn’t experience it through her eyes as much as we might of, under another writer’s hands. Three and a half stars for Wendy, Slim, Peter and Lilly.

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Set in 1960s Palm Beach, Florida, this book follows wannabe socialite turned photographer's assistant as she learns the craft from the famous Slim Aarons and works her way into the elite circles of fashion designer slash entrepreneur, Lily Pulitzer.

I was fascinated learning more about this time period and slice of life following the richest of the rich of the Florida elite, including Jackie Kennedy who was a big fan of the "Lily" dresses. Great on audio and highly recommended for fans of books like Follow the sun by Liz Locke.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review. I think this is my new favorite from Michelle Gable!! I didn't know anything about Slim Aarons or Lily Pulitzer and it was so fun learning about a whole new part of American history!

[Melanie Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 rounded up. Fun story that takes place in the early 60’s, one of my favorite eras to read about. It was an enjoyable read, but had hoped for a little more substance.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This historical novel is set in the early 1960s, mostly in Palm Beach, Florida. Main character Margo is a down on her luck former debutante, dumped while at a wedding in Palm Beach - but finds a job as an assistant to photographer Slim Aarons, a renowned photographer who takes pictures there and around the world of the high society set. Margo finds herself simultaneously drawn to but still on the outside of the world, especially getting to know budding fashion mogul Lilly Pulitzer and her husband Peter.

I really enjoyed this one - so nice to read a historical novel that is not only not about war, but that’s more on the fun side, with a setting and characters that just exude glamour and cool. Margo is fictional, but most of the characters around her are real people, and I enjoyed the author’s note both before and after talking about them, plus my own Google deep dive afterwards. I had vaguely heard of Slim Aaron’s but never had seen his pictures, and now I’m kind of obsessed with them!

I am a big fan of Michelle Gable, and have read all 6 of her previous books, and this was another good one. If you’ve never read her, I’d say if you enjoy Beatriz Williams’ books you would enjoy hers too.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for my e-ARC (out 4/16/24); all opinions are my own.

[Jenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely LOVED The Beautiful People!! It may have a tiny bit to do with the fact that I have a closet full of Lilly Pulitzer, but I never knew anything about her personally. But this book proved that her life was the perfect material for a historical fiction novel that can't be put down! I was drawn in from the very first sentance and absolutely breezed through the whole story (one of those books that you want to read but also don't want it to end!). I loved the character of Margo and was rooting for her the whole time. And of course I had to look up Slim Aaron's photographs as soon as I finished, and I think Gable did an amazing job creating such vivid descriptions that when I actually saw the photographs, they were so close to how I imagined them!

[Diane Vallere · Rating 5 out of 5]

1961! Palm Beach! Lilly Pulitzer! The jet set! This book was a perfect mental getaway. It reminded me of books like The Luckiest Girl and Fifteen by Beverly Cleary but for the twenty- and thirty-something Palm Beach crowd.

[Literary Redhead · Rating 4 out of 5]

The 1960s Jet Set bursts to life in this colorful novel that shifts from Acapulco to New York to Palm Beach, with famed high society photog Slim Aarons, Jackie Kennedy, a bevy of Vanderbilts, Capote’s “swans,” and beloved designer Lily Pulitzer. Captivating!

[Brooke 𝜗𝜚 · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25 ꜱᴛᴀʀꜱ ✰

❝ “…𝒾𝓉 𝒾𝓈𝓃’𝓉 𝑒𝒶𝓈𝓎 𝓉𝑜 𝒷𝑒 𝒶 𝓂𝒶𝓃 𝒾𝓃 𝒫𝒶𝓁𝓂 𝐵𝑒𝒶𝒸𝒽. 𝒯𝒽𝑒𝓎 𝑔𝑒𝓉 𝓈𝑜 𝓁𝑜𝓈𝓉 𝒹𝑜𝓌𝓃 𝒽𝑒𝓇𝑒. 𝐼𝓉 𝒾𝓈 𝒶 𝓌𝑜𝓂𝒶𝓃’𝓈 𝓌𝑜𝓇𝓁𝒹, 𝒶𝒻𝓉𝑒𝓇 𝒶𝓁𝓁.” ❞

✎… As someone who has lived in South Florida for most of their life, likes Lilly Pulitzer, interested in/familiar with the history of Palm Beach & have been there countless times, I loved this book. It was surreal to see my town mentioned (I live 30 minutes from Palm Beach) & that one of the characters had grown up there!

❝ 𝒯𝒽𝑒𝓇𝑒 𝓌𝒶𝓈 𝓃𝑜 𝒹𝑒𝓃𝓎𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒾𝓈𝓁𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝒷𝑒𝓁𝑜𝓃𝑔𝑒𝒹 𝓉𝑜 𝐿𝒾𝓁𝓁𝓎 𝒫𝓊𝓁𝒾𝓉𝓏𝑒𝓇. 𝐿𝒾𝓁𝓁𝓎 𝒽𝒶𝒹𝓃’𝓉 𝓂𝑒𝓇𝑒𝓁𝓎 𝒸𝓇𝑒𝒶𝓉𝑒𝒹 𝒶 𝒻𝓊𝓃 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝑒𝒶𝓈𝓎 𝓌𝒶𝓎 𝓉𝑜 𝒹𝓇𝑒𝓈𝓈, 𝓈𝒽𝑒’𝒹 𝓁𝒶𝓊𝓃𝒸𝒽𝑒𝒹 𝒶 𝓂𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓂𝑒𝓃𝓉. ❞

✎… The Beautiful People gives us a glimpse into the lives of Palm Beachs’ elites in the 1960’s, including the Pulitzers, Vanderbilts, & Kennedys. I loved all the “players” in this book. The FMC, Gogo, was likeable & I was rooting for her to succeed since the beginning. She was a ~social castaway~ with morals. I always believed she could do better than some of these ding dongs she was introduced to in the book & was happy to see I was right. She may not have gotten the happy ending she wanted in the beginning of the story, but she did get a happy ending that was more fulfilling, in my opinion.

❝ 𝐹𝓇𝑜𝓂 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓂𝑜𝓂𝑒𝓃𝓉 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝒸𝓇𝑜𝓈𝓈 𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓇 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒹𝓇𝒶𝓌𝒷𝓇𝒾𝒹𝑔𝑒𝓈 𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓇 𝐿𝒶𝓀𝑒 𝒲𝑜𝓇𝓉𝒽 𝒻𝓇𝑜𝓂 𝒲𝑒𝓈𝓉 𝒫𝒶𝓁𝓂 𝐵𝑒𝒶𝒸𝒽...𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝑒𝓃𝓉𝑒𝓇 𝓌𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝒶𝓂𝑜𝓊𝓃𝓉𝓈 𝓉𝑜 𝒶𝓃 𝒾𝓈𝓁𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝑜𝒻 𝓅𝓇𝒾𝓋𝒾𝓁𝑒𝑔𝑒, 𝒾𝓃 𝓂𝒶𝓃𝓎 𝓌𝒶𝓎𝓈 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓂𝑜𝓈𝓉 𝓇𝑒𝓂𝒶𝓇𝓀𝒶𝒷𝓁𝑒 𝑜𝓃𝑒 𝓁𝑒𝒻𝓉 𝒾𝓃 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒸𝑜𝓊𝓃𝓉𝓇𝓎. ❞

[Lacey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had low expectations for this honestly, but I ended up really liking Margo’s innocent and sincere personality, and how unexpectedly capable she was (and became) with photography. I’m fascinated by Lilly and Peter Pulitzer, Slim and Rita Aarons, Wendy Vanderbilt, and the many others whose real lives were captured in a vibrant (though fictional) story. The history makes it that much more enjoyable and intriguing!

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Historical fiction meets coming of age meets beach read. Pretty slow… though I enjoyed the time I spent googling information about the real people in this work of fiction. 20 year old me would have enjoyed this more.

[HTP Books]

Biographical Fiction, Women's Fiction

[Tiffany · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fun read. I Googled a lot of info about the Pulitzers and Slim as I read. I liked the story and the writing was good. 5/5 ⭐️

[Emma Grace Burns · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maybe a 2.5….interesting to read about Lilly Pulitzer though

[Bookish · Rating 5 out of 5]

All I can say is wow!! I was sucked into this historical fiction novel based on the true story of influential jet-setter figures from 1960s Palm Beach and devoured it in one weekend. The book is a coming-of-age story full of drama, romance, and betrayal.

Margo is a former affluent debutante from San Francisco, who finds herself broke and alone after she is dumped by her intended fiance and cut off financially from her parents. While visiting Palm Beach, a friend helps her obtain an assistant job for Slim Aarons, a famed photographer to the one percenters. He becomes a cantankerous mentor to her, which adds a dash of humor to the plot.

Margot initially hopes the job will help her find a wealthy replacement fiancé, as she has no career goals other than to get her Mrs. She becomes increasingly entangled in the world of Palm Beach high society, led by Peter and Lilly Pulitzer (of the prize and the clothing brand, respectively), but over the course of a few years, Margo begins to realize that not all is peachy in the world of pastel print dresses.

While Margot was fictional, all of the other characters in the book were real, including members of the Kennedys (Lilly was friends with Jack and Jackie!) and the "Old Guard" Vanderbilts, amongst others. I appreciated how the end of the book included a list of all of the iconic work of Slim, which I promptly Googled. It was fun comparing my mental images of the characters to photos of their real-life counterparts.

Overall, I can't recommend this one enough, especially if you enjoy:
*Stories about outsiders
*Strong female protagonists
*The lives of the rich and famous
*The fashion industry
*The glamor of the 1960s
*Fiction based on true stories

Now I can't wait to go and read the author's other book, The Summer I Met Jack, on a New England beach this summer! Thank you to the author, NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing/Graydon House for this arc to review.

[Florence · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely enjoyed this book. The main character, Margot was believable in how she starts so naive and evolves during the two years she spent working for photographer Slim Aarons (real person). She is one of the few fictional characters in this well researched book on Palm Beach circa early 60's. I spent a lot of time looking up the actual pictures mentioned in the book to see what these people looked like in real life. Well told story!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

[Liz Dzwonczyk · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick read set in 1960s palm beach. Many of the characters were unlikable and all were flawed, but it was an interesting premise. Most of the larger than life characters were based on true people.

I didn’t like that the ebook didn’t include pictures just the picture credits.

[Erin Nielsen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stepped into 1960s society through Slim Aaron's photography and Lily Pulitzers designs in this novel. The setting was intriguing, but I found the storyline to be disjointed and surface level.

[Molly Vaughn · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 - my first audio book and I’ve learned I am a visual learner more than auditory learner. That said, it was a fun read, but I missed certain parts while listening.

[Kerris · Rating 2 out of 5]

Was some good information, but missed an actual story line.

[tre be · Rating 3 out of 5]

“𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐢𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐲𝐞𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐣𝐨𝐲𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐲. 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐬 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐟 𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐢𝐟 𝐢𝐭 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐩𝐮𝐫𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐬.”

“The richer the family, the worse the food, and it’s really an all or nothing situation.”

The Beautiful People was our book club selection for May and it was a good historical fiction read. Kind of a “lifestyles of the rich and famous” 1960s contemporary spiel.

The story was centered around the acclaimed American environmental photographer, Slim Aarons, his assistant Margo and their insight into the lives of the 1960s elite - Peter and Lilly Pulitzer and the Vanderbilts.

What I most enjoyed, along with most of us, was seeing Margo find her path and discover a new passion that wasn’t centered around getting a MRS degree. It was intriguing to see her go from being an assistant on the sets moving leaves out of water, to capturing her own beautiful pictures. Her newfound love of photography reminded me of my own. When I started booksta, I wanted to learn more about taking pretty, creative and interesting pictures of my books.

Being privy to the wealthy inner circle you’d think there would be some real juicy secrets and jaw dropping events. Yeah, there was a little infidelity, but mostly it was pretty blah. For such a wealthy crowd, I didn’t find their parties and daily lives all that interesting. Maybe if we had gotten their POVs, instead of just an outside looking in preview it would’ve been better.

The story was pretty good and it brought forth lots of discussion topics. The author included some of Slim’s photos and we saw some of the Lily Pulitzer dresses from back in that time too.

[Tracie Cohee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! What a book!!! “The Beautiful People” by Michelle Gable is a historical fiction story based on many real-life Palm Beach society figures of the 1960’s. The story is centered around photographer Slim Aarons and how he interweaves himself into the Palm Beach society and captures their personas through his work. He hires on an assistant who is down on her luck, Margo Hightower. Margo is desperate to be apart of this world but learns in time what is laying below the surface of these perfect people. As well, the story parallels Lilly Pulitzer’s clothing empire rise. There are interactions with Jackie & Jack Kennedy & the Vanderbilts throughout the story that leave you wondering about true interactions in this fictional story. Truly enjoyable read. Thank you to Net Galley and Graydon House for this ARC. This book debuted Tuesday, April 16th. Get your copy now.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

My sister highly recommended this book, and I was so excited when I was given an ARC. As a big fan of Lilly Pulitzer, the brand, today, I loved learning the backstory beyond the usual story about how she designed dresses to hide juice from her juice stand. I also loved how immersed I felt within the world of Palm Beach during the 1960s and learning about Slim Aarons, whom I had not heard of before reading the book. All that said, there was just something off for me with the pacing of the book. There were times when I would read through many chapters quickly, and othersl times when it felt more like a slog and hard to keep track of all the characters and names. Nevertheless, I would recommend it!
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

[Lisa Goodmurphy · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars
A historical fiction novel about the Palm Beach jet set in the early '60s.

In 1961 debutante Margo Hightower is expecting a proposal but is dumped instead. Due to family issues, she needs to find a way to support herself and takes a job as a photographer's assistant to Slim Aarons who is known for his photos of the rich and famous particularly during the 'season' in Palm Beach each winter. As Margo works by Slim's side, she is thrown into the glamorous jet set world of the rich and famous and gets to know some of the beautiful people particularly socialite Lilly Pulitzer who is just launching her iconic dresses.

Expected this to be more interesting but it nevery really captured my attention.

[J.M. Spade · Rating 5 out of 5]

Books usually start off with the main character having lost everything, and this one is no exception. However, most of those books detail the process of the main character getting back on their feet and I love that this one opened with the main character already having an exciting opportunity.

I think it would be exciting for a bit to travel to far off places and mingle with famous people, but I know that life comes with it's drawbacks as well. I think Michelle Gable does a great job of this give and take and painting a picture of 60's glamour for the reader. I genuinely enjoyed this book and its setting.