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Firebrands: A Sizzling Gilded Age–Style Tale of Morals Versus Money
Not yet published
Expected 13 Oct 26300 pages, Paperback
Expected publication October 13, 2026
About the author
Vicky Oliver
12 books7 followersVicky Oliver isn’t just a Career Coach, she’s a Career Artist, helping people to find and hone their professional brand and using it to reach their career goals. Her extensive experience and research make her a top job-hunting consultant. Her background in marketing and as an award-winning copywriter at brand name, top-tier advertising agencies in Manhattan, has made her an expert not only in advertising but also in branding oneself online through emerging internet technologies. She channels that artistic energy now in helping others begin or enhance their careers.
Vicky’s quick wit, high energy, and sexy charm have made her a popular mainstay on dozens of nationally syndicated radio shows, including Chicago’s Job Talk USA, San Francisco’s Business Shrink and Air America. Radio hosts often comment she’s one of the most fun interviews and / or listener call-in sessions they’ve ever had! Her television appearances include Bloomberg Television, MSNBC, CBS, and local network affiliates throughout New York. Check her out on New York’s WB Channel 11 interview on You Tube at www.youtube.com/watch?v=lksaxfrzouI.
Vicky speaks publicly in career seminars and job fairs. She was designated in-house job hunting expert at the Shomex Diversity Fair in Madison Square Garden. Her first book, 301 Smart Answers to Tough Interview Questions is a best seller in its category. It's available in eight countries and has been translated into Chinese and Turkish.
Vicky’s quick wit, high energy, and sexy charm have made her a popular mainstay on dozens of nationally syndicated radio shows, including Chicago’s Job Talk USA, San Francisco’s Business Shrink and Air America. Radio hosts often comment she’s one of the most fun interviews and / or listener call-in sessions they’ve ever had! Her television appearances include Bloomberg Television, MSNBC, CBS, and local network affiliates throughout New York. Check her out on New York’s WB Channel 11 interview on You Tube at www.youtube.com/watch?v=lksaxfrzouI.
Vicky speaks publicly in career seminars and job fairs. She was designated in-house job hunting expert at the Shomex Diversity Fair in Madison Square Garden. Her first book, 301 Smart Answers to Tough Interview Questions is a best seller in its category. It's available in eight countries and has been translated into Chinese and Turkish.
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Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Thank you to NetGalley, Histria Fiction, and Vicky Oliver for providing me with an ARC copy of Firebrands in exchange for an honest review.
Firebrands is the kind of historical fiction I love most: smart, sharp, a little messy in the best way, and full of women who have absolutely no interest in sitting quietly while men make terrible decisions in nicer hats.
Set against the unrest, ambition, wealth, and social tension of the Gilded Age, this book blends feminist history, labor rights, sisterhood, romance, suspense, and just enough scandal to make me lean forward like I was personally invited to overhear something inappropriate in a drawing room.
Helena James is exactly the kind of heroine I want in historical fiction. She is bold, principled, complicated, and willing to make trouble for the right reasons. Her activism never feels like a convenient personality trait slapped onto a character so we know she is “not like other girls.” It feels like the actual pulse of the story.
What I loved most is how Vicky Oliver balances the larger social issues with the deeply personal stakes. The fight for justice, equality, and labor rights is there, but so are the family loyalties, romantic complications, class tensions, and moral gray areas that make the story feel alive. Helena’s relationship with her sister Summer adds real emotional weight, especially as Summer’s connection to Derrick Dupré pulls Helena’s public convictions straight into her private life. Rude of everyone to make things emotionally complicated, but excellent for me as a reader.
The setting is rich without feeling like the author opened a history textbook and started flinging facts at my face. There is glamour, but there is also rot. There is wealth, but there is also exploitation. There are beautiful rooms full of people who desperately need to be challenged, humbled, or at the very least interrupted.
What worked for me:
- Helena. I love a woman with principles, a backbone, and the ability to make powerful men deeply uncomfortable.
- The feminist themes had teeth. This was not a soft little “girl power” wallpaper situation. The book actually explores what it costs to push against systems built to keep women, workers, and anyone inconvenient in their assigned place.
- The Gilded Age setting really worked. The contrast between all that money, beauty, etiquette, and corruption made the whole thing feel layered and tense.
- The sister dynamic gave the story heart. Helena and Summer’s relationship added emotional stakes beyond the activism and romance, which made everything feel more personal.
- The pacing kept me engaged. It had enough romance, suspense, scandal, and social conflict to keep me turning pages without feeling like the book was trying to do seventeen different things and hoping I would not notice.
What didn’t work for me:
- I wanted a little more room for some of the emotional beats to breathe. A few relationships and conflicts were interesting enough that I would have happily stayed with them longer.
- Some moments moved quickly, and because I was invested, I occasionally wanted the book to linger in the tension a bit more. Basically, I am complaining that I wanted more of the thing I liked. Very reasonable of me.
- That is honestly about it. This was a five-star read for me, so my complaints are less “this did not work” and more “excuse me, I was enjoying myself and would like additional servings.”
Overall, Firebrands is smart, entertaining, and surprisingly timely. I loved the mix of historical detail, humor, romance, and feminist fire. It has all the polish of a period drama with the momentum of a page-turner, and I was completely invested.
Five stars. Historical fiction with teeth, heart, and a heroine who knows exactly when to be a problem.
Firebrands is the kind of historical fiction I love most: smart, sharp, a little messy in the best way, and full of women who have absolutely no interest in sitting quietly while men make terrible decisions in nicer hats.
Set against the unrest, ambition, wealth, and social tension of the Gilded Age, this book blends feminist history, labor rights, sisterhood, romance, suspense, and just enough scandal to make me lean forward like I was personally invited to overhear something inappropriate in a drawing room.
Helena James is exactly the kind of heroine I want in historical fiction. She is bold, principled, complicated, and willing to make trouble for the right reasons. Her activism never feels like a convenient personality trait slapped onto a character so we know she is “not like other girls.” It feels like the actual pulse of the story.
What I loved most is how Vicky Oliver balances the larger social issues with the deeply personal stakes. The fight for justice, equality, and labor rights is there, but so are the family loyalties, romantic complications, class tensions, and moral gray areas that make the story feel alive. Helena’s relationship with her sister Summer adds real emotional weight, especially as Summer’s connection to Derrick Dupré pulls Helena’s public convictions straight into her private life. Rude of everyone to make things emotionally complicated, but excellent for me as a reader.
The setting is rich without feeling like the author opened a history textbook and started flinging facts at my face. There is glamour, but there is also rot. There is wealth, but there is also exploitation. There are beautiful rooms full of people who desperately need to be challenged, humbled, or at the very least interrupted.
What worked for me:
- Helena. I love a woman with principles, a backbone, and the ability to make powerful men deeply uncomfortable.
- The feminist themes had teeth. This was not a soft little “girl power” wallpaper situation. The book actually explores what it costs to push against systems built to keep women, workers, and anyone inconvenient in their assigned place.
- The Gilded Age setting really worked. The contrast between all that money, beauty, etiquette, and corruption made the whole thing feel layered and tense.
- The sister dynamic gave the story heart. Helena and Summer’s relationship added emotional stakes beyond the activism and romance, which made everything feel more personal.
- The pacing kept me engaged. It had enough romance, suspense, scandal, and social conflict to keep me turning pages without feeling like the book was trying to do seventeen different things and hoping I would not notice.
What didn’t work for me:
- I wanted a little more room for some of the emotional beats to breathe. A few relationships and conflicts were interesting enough that I would have happily stayed with them longer.
- Some moments moved quickly, and because I was invested, I occasionally wanted the book to linger in the tension a bit more. Basically, I am complaining that I wanted more of the thing I liked. Very reasonable of me.
- That is honestly about it. This was a five-star read for me, so my complaints are less “this did not work” and more “excuse me, I was enjoying myself and would like additional servings.”
Overall, Firebrands is smart, entertaining, and surprisingly timely. I loved the mix of historical detail, humor, romance, and feminist fire. It has all the polish of a period drama with the momentum of a page-turner, and I was completely invested.
Five stars. Historical fiction with teeth, heart, and a heroine who knows exactly when to be a problem.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
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A blazing, unapologetic portrait of women fighting on every front in early twentieth-century New York, Firebrands is historical fiction that refuses to let its heroines sit still or stay quiet.
Vicky Oliver has built a story that operates on multiple tracks at once: the political fight for the vote, the brutal world of labor espionage, the dangerous conditions inside garment factories, and one woman's increasingly desperate attempt to save her sister from a man who is almost certainly a monster.
Helena James is the FMC I found myself rooting for even when she was clearly in over her head. She's sharp, stubborn, occasionally reckless, and emotional at times. There's a dry wit running through Helena's narration that keeps the tone from ever becoming preachy, even when the subject matter is heavy. She disguises herself as a man to infiltrate a men's club. She goes undercover inside the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory. She picks locks. She argues with one of the most powerful women in New York and holds her ground. She is, in every sense of the word, a firebrand. The supporting cast is equally well drawn. Alva Belmont is a force of nature on the page, imperious and calculating but never reduced to a caricature. Summer, Helena's younger sister, is heartbreakingly naive in a way that feels true to the era's limited options for women. And Derrick, the charming labor spy she's engaged to, radiates menace. Oliver doesn't rush the reveal of who he really is, but lets the reader sit with the dread.
Where the book truly distinguishes itself is in its feminism. This is not a story that simply places women in historical settings and lets the time setting do the work. Oliver is interested in how women across class lines were fighting overlapping but very different battles. Helena's suffrage work and the factory girls' fight for basic safety are shown as two fronts of the same war, and the tension between wealthy movement leaders and the working women they claim to represent is handled with real honesty. The scenes inside the Triangle Factory are harrowing and specific, and knowing the real history that follows makes them almost unbearable to read.
The pacing does occasionally sag in the middle sections, particularly when the novel lingers on the domestic negotiations around Summer's wedding. Some of these scenes, while important for character development, could have been tightened without losing their emotional weight. The book is long, and there are stretches where the plot stalls in favor of atmosphere. That said, when the tension ramps up, particularly in the factory sequences and Helena's confrontations with Derrick, the pages practically turn themselves.
The storytelling is vivid and sensory. Vicky Oliver has a real gift for grounding scenes in physical detail: the smell of machine oil and cotton dust, the taste of chocolate ice cream moments before an explosion, the feel of a man's town coat worn as a disguise. These details make the world feel lived in rather than researched, which is the highest compliment I can pay a historical novelist.
If you're drawn to stories about women who refused to accept the world as it was handed to them, who fought with whatever tools they had available, and who paid real costs for their courage, Firebrands will stay with you. It is fierce, it is angry in all the right places, and it honors the women whose battles we are still, in many ways, fighting.
Tropes & Vibes:
Found family
Undercover FMC
Feminist
Protective older sibling
Enemies to allies
Resistance
"He's hiding something" romantic suspense
Gilded Age class divide
Review copy provided by Histria Books @ Net Galley
A blazing, unapologetic portrait of women fighting on every front in early twentieth-century New York, Firebrands is historical fiction that refuses to let its heroines sit still or stay quiet.
Vicky Oliver has built a story that operates on multiple tracks at once: the political fight for the vote, the brutal world of labor espionage, the dangerous conditions inside garment factories, and one woman's increasingly desperate attempt to save her sister from a man who is almost certainly a monster.
Helena James is the FMC I found myself rooting for even when she was clearly in over her head. She's sharp, stubborn, occasionally reckless, and emotional at times. There's a dry wit running through Helena's narration that keeps the tone from ever becoming preachy, even when the subject matter is heavy. She disguises herself as a man to infiltrate a men's club. She goes undercover inside the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory. She picks locks. She argues with one of the most powerful women in New York and holds her ground. She is, in every sense of the word, a firebrand. The supporting cast is equally well drawn. Alva Belmont is a force of nature on the page, imperious and calculating but never reduced to a caricature. Summer, Helena's younger sister, is heartbreakingly naive in a way that feels true to the era's limited options for women. And Derrick, the charming labor spy she's engaged to, radiates menace. Oliver doesn't rush the reveal of who he really is, but lets the reader sit with the dread.
Where the book truly distinguishes itself is in its feminism. This is not a story that simply places women in historical settings and lets the time setting do the work. Oliver is interested in how women across class lines were fighting overlapping but very different battles. Helena's suffrage work and the factory girls' fight for basic safety are shown as two fronts of the same war, and the tension between wealthy movement leaders and the working women they claim to represent is handled with real honesty. The scenes inside the Triangle Factory are harrowing and specific, and knowing the real history that follows makes them almost unbearable to read.
The pacing does occasionally sag in the middle sections, particularly when the novel lingers on the domestic negotiations around Summer's wedding. Some of these scenes, while important for character development, could have been tightened without losing their emotional weight. The book is long, and there are stretches where the plot stalls in favor of atmosphere. That said, when the tension ramps up, particularly in the factory sequences and Helena's confrontations with Derrick, the pages practically turn themselves.
The storytelling is vivid and sensory. Vicky Oliver has a real gift for grounding scenes in physical detail: the smell of machine oil and cotton dust, the taste of chocolate ice cream moments before an explosion, the feel of a man's town coat worn as a disguise. These details make the world feel lived in rather than researched, which is the highest compliment I can pay a historical novelist.
If you're drawn to stories about women who refused to accept the world as it was handed to them, who fought with whatever tools they had available, and who paid real costs for their courage, Firebrands will stay with you. It is fierce, it is angry in all the right places, and it honors the women whose battles we are still, in many ways, fighting.
Tropes & Vibes:
Found family
Undercover FMC
Feminist
Protective older sibling
Enemies to allies
Resistance
"He's hiding something" romantic suspense
Gilded Age class divide
Review copy provided by Histria Books @ Net Galley
September 12, 2026
I got a copy of this book through NetGalley, thank you so much!
My feelings regarding this book are very muddled, because I think this book itself was muddled. It felt as though it was at least three different books squished into one, which ultimately created a story that, though I enjoyed at times (hence the three stars), generally felt quite cumbersome and confused.
At first it appears to centre on Helena and her opposition to her sister Summer's soon-to-be husband Derrick, who comes across as a rather shady character. Then a bomb goes off after Helena attends suffrage meeting, and after infiltrating a gentleman's club, it appears as though Derrick has something to do with it. We ultimately find out that he's a union buster, and I thought that the novel was going to centre around exposing him and getting Summer out of this terrible relationship.
Then it pivots. Helena goes to visit her parents and we find out there's a woman living in their attic?? This was introduced in such a random way that I was rather taken aback by it. I think Helena's mother just comes out and says there a woman in their attic and they never see her. It was just so bizarre??
We find out, after Helena does a little bit of prodding, that her name is Grace and that she was badly burned in a factory fire and has been unable to get a job since. Her brother also lost his job in a factory and thus they are both struggling for money. After spending quite a few chapters with Grace, she disappears for a good chunk of the novel and doesn't appear again until around the final third. In the intervening time, Helena tries to organise a women's march, much to the chagrin of her sponsor Alva and much to the protests of the police.
We then seem to pivot again, and Helena appears to become a journalist? She begins to investigate a factory and its subpar working conditions. Namely, that the doors are locked during the working day, meaning no one can escape in the case of a fire. With the help of Max, who is an opponent of Derrick's (but is still in charge of a retinue of union spies), she infiltrates the factory and writes an article on the working conditions for a newspaper.
(All the while she has this sort-of fling with Max - they meet and become close following a party at Summer and Derrick's house, and they kiss maybe once. She gets into the factory thanks to Max and is known there as 'Max's Girl'. Her husband is obviously not a fan, and I wasn't really either? Max was an interesting character, but I don't fully understand what this added other than needless conflict.)
Now, I really enjoyed that final pivot actually, and I kind of wish the whole novel had focused on that, or had at least introduced it as a plot point earlier, because it was introduced way too late to me for it to feel properly fleshed out. It was really interesting! And it, and this novel as a whole, explores something that a lot of novels centring on the suffrage don't really explore: class.
Class plays a huge role in this novel. Helena spends much of the novel grating against her patron Alva, who is an upper class woman and is unaware of the plight of working class women. She wants to keep the movement nice and polite, whereas Helena wants to make a bit more of an impact. Grace's situation (odd introduction aside) also highlights the class disparity, as she struggles to get a job because of the scarring on her face and is often jeered at. The positions of Max and Derrick as union busters also work to highlight class, and whilst it sometimes feels as though this novel is hitting me over the head a little bit with its message, this was an aspect that I did really like. I only wish the novel had been better balanced.
My feelings regarding this book are very muddled, because I think this book itself was muddled. It felt as though it was at least three different books squished into one, which ultimately created a story that, though I enjoyed at times (hence the three stars), generally felt quite cumbersome and confused.
At first it appears to centre on Helena and her opposition to her sister Summer's soon-to-be husband Derrick, who comes across as a rather shady character. Then a bomb goes off after Helena attends suffrage meeting, and after infiltrating a gentleman's club, it appears as though Derrick has something to do with it. We ultimately find out that he's a union buster, and I thought that the novel was going to centre around exposing him and getting Summer out of this terrible relationship.
Then it pivots. Helena goes to visit her parents and we find out there's a woman living in their attic?? This was introduced in such a random way that I was rather taken aback by it. I think Helena's mother just comes out and says there a woman in their attic and they never see her. It was just so bizarre??
We find out, after Helena does a little bit of prodding, that her name is Grace and that she was badly burned in a factory fire and has been unable to get a job since. Her brother also lost his job in a factory and thus they are both struggling for money. After spending quite a few chapters with Grace, she disappears for a good chunk of the novel and doesn't appear again until around the final third. In the intervening time, Helena tries to organise a women's march, much to the chagrin of her sponsor Alva and much to the protests of the police.
We then seem to pivot again, and Helena appears to become a journalist? She begins to investigate a factory and its subpar working conditions. Namely, that the doors are locked during the working day, meaning no one can escape in the case of a fire. With the help of Max, who is an opponent of Derrick's (but is still in charge of a retinue of union spies), she infiltrates the factory and writes an article on the working conditions for a newspaper.
(All the while she has this sort-of fling with Max - they meet and become close following a party at Summer and Derrick's house, and they kiss maybe once. She gets into the factory thanks to Max and is known there as 'Max's Girl'. Her husband is obviously not a fan, and I wasn't really either? Max was an interesting character, but I don't fully understand what this added other than needless conflict.)
Now, I really enjoyed that final pivot actually, and I kind of wish the whole novel had focused on that, or had at least introduced it as a plot point earlier, because it was introduced way too late to me for it to feel properly fleshed out. It was really interesting! And it, and this novel as a whole, explores something that a lot of novels centring on the suffrage don't really explore: class.
Class plays a huge role in this novel. Helena spends much of the novel grating against her patron Alva, who is an upper class woman and is unaware of the plight of working class women. She wants to keep the movement nice and polite, whereas Helena wants to make a bit more of an impact. Grace's situation (odd introduction aside) also highlights the class disparity, as she struggles to get a job because of the scarring on her face and is often jeered at. The positions of Max and Derrick as union busters also work to highlight class, and whilst it sometimes feels as though this novel is hitting me over the head a little bit with its message, this was an aspect that I did really like. I only wish the novel had been better balanced.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Review of advance copy
Firebrands completely pulled me into its world. From the very beginning, I felt transported to early 20th-century New York, where ambition, unrest, activism and old-fashioned social expectations collide.
Helena James was easily my favorite part of the story. She’s outspoken, determined and absolutely unwilling to sit quietly while the world tells women what they can and cannot do. I loved the way her passion for the suffrage movement and social justice was written. She isn’t portrayed as perfect, though and that made her feel much more real. Beneath all that strength is a woman trying to balance her ideals with the people she loves!
The relationship between Helena and her sister Summer added another layer that I really enjoyed. Their bond can be loving, frustrating, complicated and protective all at once. Once Summer becomes involved with Derrick Dupré, everything becomes much more personal for Helena. Derrick was such an intriguing character too. There was always this feeling that there was more to him than he was willing to reveal, and I genuinely enjoyed watching those pieces slowly come together.
The book doesn't feel like a history lesson; the political and social struggles are woven naturally into the characters' lives. The contrast between the wealth and glamour of the era and the people fighting for basic rights was especially compelling.
I also appreciated that the story doesn't lose sight of the personal cost of activism. Helena is fighting for something much bigger than herself, but she still has relationships, fears, loyalties and difficult choices to navigate. That gave the story an emotional depth that stayed with me after I finished reading!
There are plenty of twists and tension along the way, but for me, the heart of Firebrands was always Helena, her convictions and the complicated relationship between the two sisters.
A fiery, entertaining historical read with strong women, secrets, romance, social change and just enough humor to balance the heavier themes.
If you enjoy historical fiction with feminist themes and a touch of The Gilded Age energy, this is definitely one to keep on your radar!
Helena James was easily my favorite part of the story. She’s outspoken, determined and absolutely unwilling to sit quietly while the world tells women what they can and cannot do. I loved the way her passion for the suffrage movement and social justice was written. She isn’t portrayed as perfect, though and that made her feel much more real. Beneath all that strength is a woman trying to balance her ideals with the people she loves!
The relationship between Helena and her sister Summer added another layer that I really enjoyed. Their bond can be loving, frustrating, complicated and protective all at once. Once Summer becomes involved with Derrick Dupré, everything becomes much more personal for Helena. Derrick was such an intriguing character too. There was always this feeling that there was more to him than he was willing to reveal, and I genuinely enjoyed watching those pieces slowly come together.
The book doesn't feel like a history lesson; the political and social struggles are woven naturally into the characters' lives. The contrast between the wealth and glamour of the era and the people fighting for basic rights was especially compelling.
I also appreciated that the story doesn't lose sight of the personal cost of activism. Helena is fighting for something much bigger than herself, but she still has relationships, fears, loyalties and difficult choices to navigate. That gave the story an emotional depth that stayed with me after I finished reading!
There are plenty of twists and tension along the way, but for me, the heart of Firebrands was always Helena, her convictions and the complicated relationship between the two sisters.
A fiery, entertaining historical read with strong women, secrets, romance, social change and just enough humor to balance the heavier themes.
If you enjoy historical fiction with feminist themes and a touch of The Gilded Age energy, this is definitely one to keep on your radar!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I went into Firebrands expecting a story about suffrage and social change, but what surprised me was how much of the book is really about the price of having convictions.
Helena James is impossible to overlook. She has the kind of presence that makes every room feel smaller, especially when she starts speaking her mind. I admired her courage, but I also appreciated that her determination doesn't magically make every decision she makes the right one. Watching her navigate activism, family loyalty, and her growing suspicion of Derrick gave her character much more dimension.
The sisterly relationship between Helena and Summer was one of my favorite threads. They don't simply agree with each other or conveniently understand one another. There is affection, protectiveness, frustration, and genuine emotional conflict between them. Summer's relationship with Derrick becomes more than a romance—it forces Helena to confront how difficult it is to protect someone without controlling their choices.
And Derrick? I never quite knew whether to trust him. His charm made him interesting; his secrets made him dangerous.
What really worked for me was the atmosphere. Beneath the elegance and wealth of New York, there is this constant sense of pressure building—women demanding a voice, workers demanding fairness, and powerful people trying to preserve the world that benefits them.
The result is a story that feels both entertaining and surprisingly relevant. Firebrands has romance and suspense, but underneath all that is a question that kept following me: How much are we willing to risk when we finally decide that enough is enough?
Vicky Oliver gives that question plenty of heat. 🔥
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I thought this book was brilliant. The plot was interesting and made me want to keep turning the pages and the character were deep and varied.
I found all of the characters to be well thought out. The most impressive thing I found was how the author managed to balance how bad the characters were, but you still somehow sympathise with some of them. (not Derick though) I really loved Helena and really most of the female characters in the cast like Grace and Svetlana. They are all really varied and the author empowers them all in their own way.
I also really liked how the novel explored different themes from life in New York at that time. Like the labor movement, poverty and the women's movement. It really gave a broad view of the time. In a way that most novels don't, because they sometimes focus more on one of the themes. From this novel I also learned quite bit about the labour spies in factories. Which before hand I had never heard of. Another thing I learned more about is the women's movement in America. That I as someone from Europe never really hear about in history books.
I thought the plot was incredibly good and it was definitely a page turner. I did think that it was a bit all over the place. Luckily all the different plot point were really good so you could look over that fact. I thought every bit of it was really interesting, especially when you get to the part about the strikes and the factories. It also gives you a really good idea how it was to live as a woman of a higher class in that time.
I highly recommend this book. Especially if you are a women's history lover or are interested in the working class in the early 19th century New York. I received this book from Netgalley and all my opinions are my own.
I found all of the characters to be well thought out. The most impressive thing I found was how the author managed to balance how bad the characters were, but you still somehow sympathise with some of them. (not Derick though) I really loved Helena and really most of the female characters in the cast like Grace and Svetlana. They are all really varied and the author empowers them all in their own way.
I also really liked how the novel explored different themes from life in New York at that time. Like the labor movement, poverty and the women's movement. It really gave a broad view of the time. In a way that most novels don't, because they sometimes focus more on one of the themes. From this novel I also learned quite bit about the labour spies in factories. Which before hand I had never heard of. Another thing I learned more about is the women's movement in America. That I as someone from Europe never really hear about in history books.
I thought the plot was incredibly good and it was definitely a page turner. I did think that it was a bit all over the place. Luckily all the different plot point were really good so you could look over that fact. I thought every bit of it was really interesting, especially when you get to the part about the strikes and the factories. It also gives you a really good idea how it was to live as a woman of a higher class in that time.
I highly recommend this book. Especially if you are a women's history lover or are interested in the working class in the early 19th century New York. I received this book from Netgalley and all my opinions are my own.
Review of advance copy received from Author
What stayed with me most after reading Firebrands is how vividly it captures the timeless conflict between principle and ambition. Although set against the glamour and excess of a Gilded Age–inspired world, the novel speaks directly to modern questions about integrity, power, and the price people are willing to pay for success.
What makes the book especially compelling is its richly imagined setting. Vicky Oliver recreates an era defined by extraordinary wealth, fierce competition, and rapid social change, where every opportunity carries both promise and moral consequence. The world feels immersive, giving the story an energy that keeps the pages turning.
I also appreciated how the novel refuses to reduce its characters to heroes or villains. Their choices are shaped by competing loyalties, personal aspirations, and ethical dilemmas that feel believable and emotionally engaging. As the story unfolds, readers are invited to consider whether success achieved at any cost is truly success at all.
Firebrands is an engaging and thought-provoking historical novel that will resonate with readers of historical fiction, Gilded Age stories, literary fiction, women's fiction, book clubs, readers interested in social history, business and power dynamics, and anyone drawn to character-driven stories exploring ambition, morality, and resilience.
What makes the book especially compelling is its richly imagined setting. Vicky Oliver recreates an era defined by extraordinary wealth, fierce competition, and rapid social change, where every opportunity carries both promise and moral consequence. The world feels immersive, giving the story an energy that keeps the pages turning.
I also appreciated how the novel refuses to reduce its characters to heroes or villains. Their choices are shaped by competing loyalties, personal aspirations, and ethical dilemmas that feel believable and emotionally engaging. As the story unfolds, readers are invited to consider whether success achieved at any cost is truly success at all.
Firebrands is an engaging and thought-provoking historical novel that will resonate with readers of historical fiction, Gilded Age stories, literary fiction, women's fiction, book clubs, readers interested in social history, business and power dynamics, and anyone drawn to character-driven stories exploring ambition, morality, and resilience.
July 30, 2026
arc from netgalley.
at the beginning, i was quite enjoying this book. i liked helena a lot and her dynamic with summer was intriguing. i’ve never liked men like derrick, so he was a good antagonistic force.
the romance introduced about 60% of the way through, however, lost me. i ended up losing a lot of the momentum. i had reading the book. there was no indication in the description that there was going to be a romance otherwise i probably wouldn’t have picked it up because i’m not a romance reader. i don’t feel like it added anything and it mostly just got on my nerves.
max does not seem that different from the antagonist, so i don’t understand how he appeals to helena while derrick is the villain. in fact, helena THINKS THIS TO HERSELF. at this point in the novel, i start to believe that none of her morals have mattered because they will bend so easily.
the rest of the story was fine. i appreciated the resolution. as far as recommending the book, i might. i would definitely worn of the romance and how i feel that cheapens helena as a character. i likely would never reread this.
at the beginning, i was quite enjoying this book. i liked helena a lot and her dynamic with summer was intriguing. i’ve never liked men like derrick, so he was a good antagonistic force.
the romance introduced about 60% of the way through, however, lost me. i ended up losing a lot of the momentum. i had reading the book. there was no indication in the description that there was going to be a romance otherwise i probably wouldn’t have picked it up because i’m not a romance reader. i don’t feel like it added anything and it mostly just got on my nerves.
max does not seem that different from the antagonist, so i don’t understand how he appeals to helena while derrick is the villain. in fact, helena THINKS THIS TO HERSELF. at this point in the novel, i start to believe that none of her morals have mattered because they will bend so easily.
the rest of the story was fine. i appreciated the resolution. as far as recommending the book, i might. i would definitely worn of the romance and how i feel that cheapens helena as a character. i likely would never reread this.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
received an e-ARC through netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
honestly, i don't really know how i feel about the book. i was really enjoying it and then suddenly there this strange romance between helena, the main character, and a man similar to her sister's fiancé, a man she hates. mind you, she's been married this entire time.
that said, i really did like the premise and the execution of it if i disregard the romance aspect. the setting was a really interesting aspect of the story. i loved how the novel discussed women's right to vote, labour rights, class inequality, and other aspects of social (in)justice present during the gilded age. i rather liked the pacing, but there were moments that could have lingered as i really think we should have spent a little more time with the characters and their relationships with each other.
all in all, i had a decent time with this! i would definitely recommend it to those who like historical fiction that is based in reality whilst bringing in suspense and plots.
honestly, i don't really know how i feel about the book. i was really enjoying it and then suddenly there this strange romance between helena, the main character, and a man similar to her sister's fiancé, a man she hates. mind you, she's been married this entire time.
that said, i really did like the premise and the execution of it if i disregard the romance aspect. the setting was a really interesting aspect of the story. i loved how the novel discussed women's right to vote, labour rights, class inequality, and other aspects of social (in)justice present during the gilded age. i rather liked the pacing, but there were moments that could have lingered as i really think we should have spent a little more time with the characters and their relationships with each other.
all in all, i had a decent time with this! i would definitely recommend it to those who like historical fiction that is based in reality whilst bringing in suspense and plots.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Deftly drawn characters dazzle in Gilded Age Manhattan
Vicky Oliver’s Firebrands explores the loving and sometimes confounding side of sisterhood against the backdrop of Gilded Age New York at the turn of the century. Helena James has devoted her life to saving women from lives of powerlessness, especially the women workers laboring in the garment industry. The only woman she can’t seem to save is her younger sister, Summer, who closes her eyes to labor atrocities in pursuit of the gilded lifestyle offered by a mysterious stranger. Over the course of Helena’s daring investigations and adventures, her close bond with Summer is tested to the breaking point. Against the lush textures and contrasts of the Gilded Age—the vast wealth and the glaring poverty—Firebrands tells a personal narrative about the power and pain of family bonds, of sisterhood, of deep friendship and enduring love, and will leave readers with a feeling of triumph.
Vicky Oliver’s Firebrands explores the loving and sometimes confounding side of sisterhood against the backdrop of Gilded Age New York at the turn of the century. Helena James has devoted her life to saving women from lives of powerlessness, especially the women workers laboring in the garment industry. The only woman she can’t seem to save is her younger sister, Summer, who closes her eyes to labor atrocities in pursuit of the gilded lifestyle offered by a mysterious stranger. Over the course of Helena’s daring investigations and adventures, her close bond with Summer is tested to the breaking point. Against the lush textures and contrasts of the Gilded Age—the vast wealth and the glaring poverty—Firebrands tells a personal narrative about the power and pain of family bonds, of sisterhood, of deep friendship and enduring love, and will leave readers with a feeling of triumph.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Gripping, fast-paced, entertaining, and captivating!
Readers of Vicky Oliver’s new novel, Firebrands, will be riveted by her plucky protagonist — the courageous and spirited Helena. Set in the early days of the 20th century, Oliver provides us a window to this rip-roaring era in history where women’s and workers’ rights are coming to a tipping point. Firebrand’s well-drawn characters and portrait of New York City as the Gilded Age yields unwillingly to the Progressive Era make for a delightful read. As Helena faces the challenges and corruption preying on society as well as her own family, her indefatigable and steadfast courage serve as instructive for our modern times.
Readers of Vicky Oliver’s new novel, Firebrands, will be riveted by her plucky protagonist — the courageous and spirited Helena. Set in the early days of the 20th century, Oliver provides us a window to this rip-roaring era in history where women’s and workers’ rights are coming to a tipping point. Firebrand’s well-drawn characters and portrait of New York City as the Gilded Age yields unwillingly to the Progressive Era make for a delightful read. As Helena faces the challenges and corruption preying on society as well as her own family, her indefatigable and steadfast courage serve as instructive for our modern times.
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June 23, 2026A Heroine's Tale from the Gilded Age
What a great escape historical fiction can be. Or, for that matter, historical television: "The Gilded Age" series is roaring into its fourth season. Now there's "Firebrands," author Vicky Oliver's well-written period tale, set in the New York of Astors, Belmonts, and Vassar co-eds. Narrated by a smart, determined, and daring woman who's clearly ahead of her time, "Firebrands" takes readers into a world of labor espionage and explosions, corruption, love, and bravery. If the milieu of the book is the fight for fairer working conditions and the rise of feminism, the beating heart of the novel is the love between sisters. Oliver beautifully explores the nature of sisterhood in all its forms.
Oliver has a knack for combining the real with the imagined. She has a novelist's sense of character, place, and detail, and a historian's need to get the story right. The well-paced plot is filled with milestones from history, particularly when it comes to the early days of the labor movement and the intersection of money, power, chicanery, and tragedy that marked New York in the early twentieth century. Her characters move through recognizable spaces and events with skill, making sly (and period-correct) observations on everything from dress to architecture to food to each other. It's a great way to experience the world through early twentieth-century eyes.
While it's a delight to escape to this very different time, this book has a backbone, too. Oliver is unflinching in her depictions of the demonstrations, explosions, and fires happening on the street; of the way women were treated (poorly) and the status they lacked (which trapped them, all too often). If there's a sense of the grim here, it's meant. The era's contrasts — between gilding and ash, between fine china and women's sweat and blood, between the scents of lavender and gunpowder — has much to teach us today as we fight for our rights once again. Firebrands is a great, enlightening, and magnetic read, and a reminder of what it takes to gain traction in the world.
What a great escape historical fiction can be. Or, for that matter, historical television: "The Gilded Age" series is roaring into its fourth season. Now there's "Firebrands," author Vicky Oliver's well-written period tale, set in the New York of Astors, Belmonts, and Vassar co-eds. Narrated by a smart, determined, and daring woman who's clearly ahead of her time, "Firebrands" takes readers into a world of labor espionage and explosions, corruption, love, and bravery. If the milieu of the book is the fight for fairer working conditions and the rise of feminism, the beating heart of the novel is the love between sisters. Oliver beautifully explores the nature of sisterhood in all its forms.
Oliver has a knack for combining the real with the imagined. She has a novelist's sense of character, place, and detail, and a historian's need to get the story right. The well-paced plot is filled with milestones from history, particularly when it comes to the early days of the labor movement and the intersection of money, power, chicanery, and tragedy that marked New York in the early twentieth century. Her characters move through recognizable spaces and events with skill, making sly (and period-correct) observations on everything from dress to architecture to food to each other. It's a great way to experience the world through early twentieth-century eyes.
While it's a delight to escape to this very different time, this book has a backbone, too. Oliver is unflinching in her depictions of the demonstrations, explosions, and fires happening on the street; of the way women were treated (poorly) and the status they lacked (which trapped them, all too often). If there's a sense of the grim here, it's meant. The era's contrasts — between gilding and ash, between fine china and women's sweat and blood, between the scents of lavender and gunpowder — has much to teach us today as we fight for our rights once again. Firebrands is a great, enlightening, and magnetic read, and a reminder of what it takes to gain traction in the world.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Had the pleasure of reading the ARC copy of Firebrands.
It's smart, engaging, heartfelt, and wonderfully immersive. If you enjoy historical fiction with memorable characters, a touch of romance, family dynamics, social intrigue, and a heroine who isn't afraid to make a little noise, Firebrands is definitely worth adding to your TBR.
It's smart, engaging, heartfelt, and wonderfully immersive. If you enjoy historical fiction with memorable characters, a touch of romance, family dynamics, social intrigue, and a heroine who isn't afraid to make a little noise, Firebrands is definitely worth adding to your TBR.
July 9, 2026
Truly loved it. Only wish is there was more connections amongst characters. Otherwise beautiful writing.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
I want to thank NetGalley and Histria Books | Histria Fiction for providing me with an ARC.
Firebrands is about suffragettes in USA at the beginning of the 20th century.
It had all the premise for an exemplary story but it never clicked with me 'cause I kept on feeling that something was missing.
Also Helena's double standards for herself and others were quite something especially since she knew she was being a hypocrite.
I want to thank NetGalley and Histria Books | Histria Fiction for providing me with an ARC.
Firebrands is about suffragettes in USA at the beginning of the 20th century.
It had all the premise for an exemplary story but it never clicked with me 'cause I kept on feeling that something was missing.
Also Helena's double standards for herself and others were quite something especially since she knew she was being a hypocrite.
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