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Fragile Wings
Evelyn Hopkins leaves everything she knows and heads to London at the height of the Roaring Twenties, intent upon living her life to the fullest. But will the dark cloud of the Great War keep her from happiness and love?
Edward Hopkins returned from the war, but he is a shadow of his former self, broken by his experiences. His sister makes him a promise: to live her life well enough for both of them. London is a colorful world of jazz, fashion, and opportunities for lust and romance at every turn. When Evelyn meets handsome, eccentric Jos—with her butch style and gentle manner—she knows true attraction for the first time. But can love sustain them through tragedy and carry Evelyn into a new life she can be proud of?
Edward Hopkins returned from the war, but he is a shadow of his former self, broken by his experiences. His sister makes him a promise: to live her life well enough for both of them. London is a colorful world of jazz, fashion, and opportunities for lust and romance at every turn. When Evelyn meets handsome, eccentric Jos—with her butch style and gentle manner—she knows true attraction for the first time. But can love sustain them through tragedy and carry Evelyn into a new life she can be proud of?
240 pages, Paperback
First published January 19, 2016
1 person is currently reading
190 people want to read
About the author
Rebecca S. Buck
7 books15 followersBorn in Nottingham, England, Rebecca’s life has taken a few twists and turns, including a spell working as a private tutor in eastern Slovenia, but now she is back in her homeland again and working in the education sector of the museum and heritage industry. She returned to England in 2010, around the time her first novel was published. Her second novel, Ghosts of Winter, was shortlisted for a Lambda Literary Award. History is her passion and she has several historical works currently in progress.
Rebecca lives just outside of Nottingham, with her partner.
Rebecca lives just outside of Nottingham, with her partner.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
January 28, 2016
Fragile Wings by Rebecca S. Buck takes us back to the roaring 1920’s via London. This is the story of a country girl who moves to big city to find herself and experience new opportunities. The book is descriptive, picturesque and overall a nicely written novel.
The Great War has come to an end and the young people of that time are bound and determined to live life to the fullest. Dancing, drinking, and carousing with other rebel rousers is the name of the game.
Evelyn Hopkins is a small town girl from West Coombe. Evelyn has always wanted more from life. She wanted to be educated, but her parents pulled her from school at the age of 14. Her closet friend is her older brother Edward, but he returned from the war shell shocked, badly wounded, and no longer able to communicate. Evie has lost her beloved Eddie even though he was one of the soldiers that made it home. She has an almost desperate need to fly from West Coombe and experience life's pleasures, but like many women of her time she is held back by her station in life. Until one day, Edward breaks his silence and asks Evie for a favor. He needs her to deliver a letter from a fallen comrade, Frank Grainger, and take his parting note to his twin sister Lilian in London. This gives Evelyn her shot at the adventure she's been dreaming of.
Upon leaving her family home Evelyn runs into a cast of characters all very different from any of the people she knew in West Coombe. These new friends and acquaintances will forever change the the way she views the world. She will experience true friendship, acceptance, betrayal, but best of all, true love.
This book is a very nice read. There were a few times it bogged down with an abundance of details and comparisons of cities. I thought the characters were a lively, spirited bunch. I loved their desire to push the limits and live their lives to the fullest. If you like romance with a lot of history built in this may be the book for you.
My personal rating 3.75.
I was given this ARC by Netgalley and Bold Strokes Books in return for an honest review.
The Great War has come to an end and the young people of that time are bound and determined to live life to the fullest. Dancing, drinking, and carousing with other rebel rousers is the name of the game.
Evelyn Hopkins is a small town girl from West Coombe. Evelyn has always wanted more from life. She wanted to be educated, but her parents pulled her from school at the age of 14. Her closet friend is her older brother Edward, but he returned from the war shell shocked, badly wounded, and no longer able to communicate. Evie has lost her beloved Eddie even though he was one of the soldiers that made it home. She has an almost desperate need to fly from West Coombe and experience life's pleasures, but like many women of her time she is held back by her station in life. Until one day, Edward breaks his silence and asks Evie for a favor. He needs her to deliver a letter from a fallen comrade, Frank Grainger, and take his parting note to his twin sister Lilian in London. This gives Evelyn her shot at the adventure she's been dreaming of.
Upon leaving her family home Evelyn runs into a cast of characters all very different from any of the people she knew in West Coombe. These new friends and acquaintances will forever change the the way she views the world. She will experience true friendship, acceptance, betrayal, but best of all, true love.
This book is a very nice read. There were a few times it bogged down with an abundance of details and comparisons of cities. I thought the characters were a lively, spirited bunch. I loved their desire to push the limits and live their lives to the fullest. If you like romance with a lot of history built in this may be the book for you.
My personal rating 3.75.
I was given this ARC by Netgalley and Bold Strokes Books in return for an honest review.
June 20, 2018
*I received this book from NetGalley in return for a fair review.*
I think Evelyn, the main character in this book, would be about 115 if she was still alive today (17 in 1918, 26 in 1927). Just a random passing thought I had while the book was winding down.
This is the first book that I’ve read by this author. And the second book that involved lesbians living and doing stuff in the 1920s (this one specifically 1927). Though the other book I had read with that setting and theme was set in the USA. Both involved however distantly one or the other might be from the action, both have some vague connection to celebrities and theater people.
Shakespeare wrote three types of plays, Tragedies, Comedies, and Histories. The tragedies had moments of comic relief, and the comedies had bits of tragedy mixed in as well. While the histories, well, I don’t know what to say about them – they were the plays based on real life people – kings and Julius Caesar and the like.
I note this so that I can then say: the first lesbian book I read involving lesbians in the 1920s was a Comedy. This book here is Drama. Hmms. Oops. I mean, Romeo and Juliet was a Tragedy. Macbeth was a Tragedy. You know what happened at the end of them? Lots of death. Well, death really didn’t play a part in that other 1920s book, and while it played a part in this book, it occurred prior to this books beginning. This is the aftermath of a tragedy. What happens after lots and lots of people die. Hence my calling this a drama instead of a tragedy. Because the tragedy already happened, and now people are trying to live after that fact.
Hmms. Now that I look, this book is set in 1927, later than I had thought, while that other book? Set in 1931. Right so . . . not the 1920s. mmphs. That other book being The Seduction of Moxie
Characters
The book contains two points of views, though Evelyn’s POV appears to be much larger than Jos’s. Might even be something like 80/20. 80% Evelyn, I mean.
Evelyn Hopkins is a young woman from the countryside of England, the southwest peninsula, specifically Devon. Well, more specifically I believe the name given was something like West Combe in Devon, though, looking at a map, I don’t see said place. Though I do see a Woolacombe, and an Llfracombe, and a Salcombe in Devon. Oh look, there’s a Widecombe as well. And a Sutcombe, which is, oddly, in the north of Devon. And a Combe Martin. Whatever Combe is, there sure are a hell of a lot of them.
Right, sorry, I should probably just look it up (West Coombe; so I was both right and wrong. Odd how all the Combe’s on the map are listed as Combe not Coombe; well it’s West Coombe, at least, at the 89% mark). I’m doing something that I sometimes do – putting thoughts down when I’m about 90, 95% of the way to being completed. Not sure why. Ooh, there’s a Wiveliscombe also. Dang it, I need to close this map. Hehe.
Okay – Evelyn is a young woman from the southeast part of England. I think, and I could very well be wrong with this, but I think that she’s about 26. She’s not ‘modern day’ 26, though. No, she’s a product of her generation and place. Pulled from school at 14 to help her parents in their shop, while her brother gets to remain at school. Whimpering as her brother heads off to war, making a promise to ‘fly’, to, if her brother dies, to go to London. And if he doesn’t, they’ll go together. So that they can fly high. To a certain extent, the worst case scenario occurs – something of a holding pattern. Worse case in being freed to ‘fly’ or make true on the promise, at least. Brother Edward is pronounced MIA by the gov't (assumed dead because so many who are MIA end up being DIA). Months (is it only months?) later news arrivals that a fella who is badly damaged, didn’t have any identification, and couldn’t talk finally was able to convey who he was. He was Edward. So, shell-shocked badly damaged Edward returns home. Limping. Battered, bruised, barely able to occasionally utter a few whispers that might be words.
Years pass. Eventually Eddie thrusts a letter into Evie’s hands. And, through his limited means, and her ability to interpret him, learns that Edward wants Evelyn to head to London to deliver the letter. It’s a letter from Edward’s friend from the war – who had entrusted it to Edward’s hands. It’s been something like 5 years later, so it’s vaguely awkward. With certain coaxing, Evelyn is off to London, by herself, on a train.
I’d normally leave all that for a plot section, but I included it here to try to convey something of where Evelyn is coming from. Her innocence, determination, something of a ‘women’s place is this’ (in the home, not in school, etc), combined with something of a strong backbone.
Evelyn arrives in London and finds . . . two people who are important to the story, but not romantically.
Lillian Grainger and James Grainger are the brother and sister of Frank, the fella whose letter Evelyn carries to London. Once the letter is delivered, they invite her to stay in London with them. Lillian and James live in an expensive house in an expensive part of London, Mayfair. And Evelyn knows that, in any other circumstances, her place would be more with Grace – the servant in the house. Lillian is very vain, and in another era I’d call her an attention whore. In the 1920s I’ll just call her . . . vain. She cares more about clothing, fashion, being modern, being free, while at the same time ‘looking right’. She’s also a singer in a jazz club – to add to her comfortable place in society (and her vast wealth). James is less enamored with the social side of ‘modern’ times, but deeply enamored with the business side – he’s an architect and just loves building ‘modern’ stuff. He’s mostly off at work, though, so his part in the story is less than it might be. Though he seems to have developed quite a crush on Evelyn, though. Both Lillian and James look down on those abnormal ‘inverts’ (James word for lesbians). James seeming to be slightly more aggressive in his disdain about ‘them’.
Friends & or lovers : Dorothy is friends with Lillian, and to a certain extent with James. Vernon, Jos’s brother, is friends and lovers with Lillian, and disliked by James.
Enemies : Neither like Jos. James doesn’t like Jos’ brother Vernon.
Joselyn ‘Jos’ Singleton is the other person in this book who has their point of view expressed. Though only about 20% of the book is from Jos’s point of view. If I was doing this as some movies list credits, as in ‘in order of appearance’, technically I should have started with Jos. Because the book opens with a 1916 prologue involving Jos hiding under a table while bombs drop during WWI. Book occurs years later in the ‘20s, though. Jos works in the theatre, mostly as a ‘background’ type – building sets, moving things around, and the like. Oh, and she’s openly (as openly as she can be) a lesbian. Jos is something of a player, someone who doesn’t want nor need commitment. Mostly because of her back story and how she fears to trust and love someone because she expects failure and heartbreak.
Friends & or Lovers : several lesbians are friends of Jos, including Clara and Courtney (a couple), and others. Also friends with Jos is, strangely enough, Dorothy.
Something like Enemies : Lillian.
Plot
The book follows a young woman from somewhat rural and relatively poor and backwards England to London in the 1920s, after the first world war. The war that killed many of their generation. They live to forget, to remember, to live as if every moment counts, as if no moment counts and it can all be taken away in a blast. Not all fought in the war, but almost all are somewhat ‘shell-shocked’ from the traumatic experience. At least in London.
The young woman, Evelyn, arrives in London and presents a letter from a dead brother to that brother’s siblings – Lillian and James. They offer to allow Evelyn to stay and see the sights in London. Lillian shows Evelyn around to several locations, like Buckingham Palace, and to a jazz club wherein Lillian sings (and wherein Evelyn sees Jos for the first time, and, for that matter, lesbians).
The story unfolds with Evelyn, as much as she can what with her feeling somewhat trapped and under obligations in James & Lillian’s house, exploring the city of London. And, eventually, her feelings for another woman, specifically Jos.
Romance
By the very nature of this book – the times people live in, the openness/closedness of society, and other considerations, and specifically the nature of the lead character – a poor-ish young woman who basically ran away from home (at 26) to see London – the romance is at a slow pace. On one level. And at an accelerated pace in another. Also because of the nature of the time and people involved.
At a slow pace because Evelyn can’t see Jos as often as she might wish to do so. Especially after she sees Jos for the first time, and they have a brief conversation. She’s obligated, apparently, to wait on Lillian and her inviting Evie to the jazz club. So, days, weeks, time passes while feelings are examined, as needs develop.
The accelerated pace involves the action that occurs once people can actually be near each other – though, I suppose, Jos and Evelyn could have ‘done’ each other in the bathroom at the nightclub. No, by accelerated pace, I mean . . . well, I’ve been attempting to say what I mean, but I guess I can’t. Potentially. Hell, I don’t know. What is and what isn’t a spoiler mystifies me.
Overall
The opening of the book, the stuff after the prologue, was written in a way that I probably wouldn’t have continued if not for the fact I had kind of already committed to reading this book. It was overly wordy, overly melodramatic. It was . . . well, what I just said.
I don’t know if things changed, or if I had just fallen into a trance and dove in. Because somewhere along the line, I just moved past all that wordiness, that melodramatic way of talking, and just lived the book.
And this book surprised me. It was a lot deeper than I expected. Emotions were touched. Thoughts were had. Though I first noticed this not in the romance part, but in world part. In the people, times, the ‘generation that had to live after so many died’ part. Though I rather liked both Jos and Evelyn. And I wasn’t sure I would like Evelyn in the beginning, but I did, I really did.
Overall I’d give this book 5.0 out of 5 stars.
January 29 2016
I think Evelyn, the main character in this book, would be about 115 if she was still alive today (17 in 1918, 26 in 1927). Just a random passing thought I had while the book was winding down.
This is the first book that I’ve read by this author. And the second book that involved lesbians living and doing stuff in the 1920s (this one specifically 1927). Though the other book I had read with that setting and theme was set in the USA. Both involved however distantly one or the other might be from the action, both have some vague connection to celebrities and theater people.
Shakespeare wrote three types of plays, Tragedies, Comedies, and Histories. The tragedies had moments of comic relief, and the comedies had bits of tragedy mixed in as well. While the histories, well, I don’t know what to say about them – they were the plays based on real life people – kings and Julius Caesar and the like.
I note this so that I can then say: the first lesbian book I read involving lesbians in the 1920s was a Comedy. This book here is Drama. Hmms. Oops. I mean, Romeo and Juliet was a Tragedy. Macbeth was a Tragedy. You know what happened at the end of them? Lots of death. Well, death really didn’t play a part in that other 1920s book, and while it played a part in this book, it occurred prior to this books beginning. This is the aftermath of a tragedy. What happens after lots and lots of people die. Hence my calling this a drama instead of a tragedy. Because the tragedy already happened, and now people are trying to live after that fact.
Hmms. Now that I look, this book is set in 1927, later than I had thought, while that other book? Set in 1931. Right so . . . not the 1920s. mmphs. That other book being The Seduction of Moxie
Characters
The book contains two points of views, though Evelyn’s POV appears to be much larger than Jos’s. Might even be something like 80/20. 80% Evelyn, I mean.
Evelyn Hopkins is a young woman from the countryside of England, the southwest peninsula, specifically Devon. Well, more specifically I believe the name given was something like West Combe in Devon, though, looking at a map, I don’t see said place. Though I do see a Woolacombe, and an Llfracombe, and a Salcombe in Devon. Oh look, there’s a Widecombe as well. And a Sutcombe, which is, oddly, in the north of Devon. And a Combe Martin. Whatever Combe is, there sure are a hell of a lot of them.
Right, sorry, I should probably just look it up (West Coombe; so I was both right and wrong. Odd how all the Combe’s on the map are listed as Combe not Coombe; well it’s West Coombe, at least, at the 89% mark). I’m doing something that I sometimes do – putting thoughts down when I’m about 90, 95% of the way to being completed. Not sure why. Ooh, there’s a Wiveliscombe also. Dang it, I need to close this map. Hehe.
Okay – Evelyn is a young woman from the southeast part of England. I think, and I could very well be wrong with this, but I think that she’s about 26. She’s not ‘modern day’ 26, though. No, she’s a product of her generation and place. Pulled from school at 14 to help her parents in their shop, while her brother gets to remain at school. Whimpering as her brother heads off to war, making a promise to ‘fly’, to, if her brother dies, to go to London. And if he doesn’t, they’ll go together. So that they can fly high. To a certain extent, the worst case scenario occurs – something of a holding pattern. Worse case in being freed to ‘fly’ or make true on the promise, at least. Brother Edward is pronounced MIA by the gov't (assumed dead because so many who are MIA end up being DIA). Months (is it only months?) later news arrivals that a fella who is badly damaged, didn’t have any identification, and couldn’t talk finally was able to convey who he was. He was Edward. So, shell-shocked badly damaged Edward returns home. Limping. Battered, bruised, barely able to occasionally utter a few whispers that might be words.
Years pass. Eventually Eddie thrusts a letter into Evie’s hands. And, through his limited means, and her ability to interpret him, learns that Edward wants Evelyn to head to London to deliver the letter. It’s a letter from Edward’s friend from the war – who had entrusted it to Edward’s hands. It’s been something like 5 years later, so it’s vaguely awkward. With certain coaxing, Evelyn is off to London, by herself, on a train.
I’d normally leave all that for a plot section, but I included it here to try to convey something of where Evelyn is coming from. Her innocence, determination, something of a ‘women’s place is this’ (in the home, not in school, etc), combined with something of a strong backbone.
Evelyn arrives in London and finds . . . two people who are important to the story, but not romantically.
Lillian Grainger and James Grainger are the brother and sister of Frank, the fella whose letter Evelyn carries to London. Once the letter is delivered, they invite her to stay in London with them. Lillian and James live in an expensive house in an expensive part of London, Mayfair. And Evelyn knows that, in any other circumstances, her place would be more with Grace – the servant in the house. Lillian is very vain, and in another era I’d call her an attention whore. In the 1920s I’ll just call her . . . vain. She cares more about clothing, fashion, being modern, being free, while at the same time ‘looking right’. She’s also a singer in a jazz club – to add to her comfortable place in society (and her vast wealth). James is less enamored with the social side of ‘modern’ times, but deeply enamored with the business side – he’s an architect and just loves building ‘modern’ stuff. He’s mostly off at work, though, so his part in the story is less than it might be. Though he seems to have developed quite a crush on Evelyn, though. Both Lillian and James look down on those abnormal ‘inverts’ (James word for lesbians). James seeming to be slightly more aggressive in his disdain about ‘them’.
Friends & or lovers : Dorothy is friends with Lillian, and to a certain extent with James. Vernon, Jos’s brother, is friends and lovers with Lillian, and disliked by James.
Enemies : Neither like Jos. James doesn’t like Jos’ brother Vernon.
Joselyn ‘Jos’ Singleton is the other person in this book who has their point of view expressed. Though only about 20% of the book is from Jos’s point of view. If I was doing this as some movies list credits, as in ‘in order of appearance’, technically I should have started with Jos. Because the book opens with a 1916 prologue involving Jos hiding under a table while bombs drop during WWI. Book occurs years later in the ‘20s, though. Jos works in the theatre, mostly as a ‘background’ type – building sets, moving things around, and the like. Oh, and she’s openly (as openly as she can be) a lesbian. Jos is something of a player, someone who doesn’t want nor need commitment. Mostly because of her back story and how she fears to trust and love someone because she expects failure and heartbreak.
Friends & or Lovers : several lesbians are friends of Jos, including Clara and Courtney (a couple), and others. Also friends with Jos is, strangely enough, Dorothy.
Something like Enemies : Lillian.
Plot
The book follows a young woman from somewhat rural and relatively poor and backwards England to London in the 1920s, after the first world war. The war that killed many of their generation. They live to forget, to remember, to live as if every moment counts, as if no moment counts and it can all be taken away in a blast. Not all fought in the war, but almost all are somewhat ‘shell-shocked’ from the traumatic experience. At least in London.
The young woman, Evelyn, arrives in London and presents a letter from a dead brother to that brother’s siblings – Lillian and James. They offer to allow Evelyn to stay and see the sights in London. Lillian shows Evelyn around to several locations, like Buckingham Palace, and to a jazz club wherein Lillian sings (and wherein Evelyn sees Jos for the first time, and, for that matter, lesbians).
The story unfolds with Evelyn, as much as she can what with her feeling somewhat trapped and under obligations in James & Lillian’s house, exploring the city of London. And, eventually, her feelings for another woman, specifically Jos.
Romance
By the very nature of this book – the times people live in, the openness/closedness of society, and other considerations, and specifically the nature of the lead character – a poor-ish young woman who basically ran away from home (at 26) to see London – the romance is at a slow pace. On one level. And at an accelerated pace in another. Also because of the nature of the time and people involved.
At a slow pace because Evelyn can’t see Jos as often as she might wish to do so. Especially after she sees Jos for the first time, and they have a brief conversation. She’s obligated, apparently, to wait on Lillian and her inviting Evie to the jazz club. So, days, weeks, time passes while feelings are examined, as needs develop.
The accelerated pace involves the action that occurs once people can actually be near each other – though, I suppose, Jos and Evelyn could have ‘done’ each other in the bathroom at the nightclub. No, by accelerated pace, I mean . . . well, I’ve been attempting to say what I mean, but I guess I can’t. Potentially. Hell, I don’t know. What is and what isn’t a spoiler mystifies me.
Overall
The opening of the book, the stuff after the prologue, was written in a way that I probably wouldn’t have continued if not for the fact I had kind of already committed to reading this book. It was overly wordy, overly melodramatic. It was . . . well, what I just said.
I don’t know if things changed, or if I had just fallen into a trance and dove in. Because somewhere along the line, I just moved past all that wordiness, that melodramatic way of talking, and just lived the book.
And this book surprised me. It was a lot deeper than I expected. Emotions were touched. Thoughts were had. Though I first noticed this not in the romance part, but in world part. In the people, times, the ‘generation that had to live after so many died’ part. Though I rather liked both Jos and Evelyn. And I wasn’t sure I would like Evelyn in the beginning, but I did, I really did.
Overall I’d give this book 5.0 out of 5 stars.
January 29 2016
January 16, 2016
Definitely 5 stars as a Historical Fiction Lesbian Romance.
It really holds its own as a book outside of the romance category - although that is definitely what it is. But it is solid in its portrayals of family and all the different connections, a wide variety of friends and characters, and I felt a very real love story between two fragile women struggling to rebuild their lives after the devastations of the war.
The story is set against the backdrop of post-WWI London, with this time period not only well described in appearance and mood, but the themes of the story are also woven well through the issues and changes of this time period.
As a lesbian romance I loved it because the romance was very real, the thoughts and feelings were familiar, and there were no extraordinary or idiotic problems that separated the two women - only very real issues most people have dealt with.
As a book it stands firm, as we are lead all through late 1920s London and introduced to so many well developed characters. Lilian and James, while shallow, are very real shallow people. Everyone from the Yellow Orchid was full of individual charisma, and I wanted to find and patronize the establishment. The male characters were outstanding - no one was a real villain, the brother and sister bonds were strong, and everyone needs a Vernon and an Edward in their life. And I loved the characters of Evelyn as the strong country mouse and Jos, the more fragile city mouse.
I'm really sad to leave the characters behind, honestly. I don't want to lose Dorothy, or Clara and Courtney. I have my own crush on Jos, and I want Vernon as a friend.
Yes, it's a romance, and it's a really, really good romance.
Thanks so much to NetGalley for providing an advanced copy in return for an honest review. I thoroughly enjoyed this book.
It really holds its own as a book outside of the romance category - although that is definitely what it is. But it is solid in its portrayals of family and all the different connections, a wide variety of friends and characters, and I felt a very real love story between two fragile women struggling to rebuild their lives after the devastations of the war.
The story is set against the backdrop of post-WWI London, with this time period not only well described in appearance and mood, but the themes of the story are also woven well through the issues and changes of this time period.
As a lesbian romance I loved it because the romance was very real, the thoughts and feelings were familiar, and there were no extraordinary or idiotic problems that separated the two women - only very real issues most people have dealt with.
As a book it stands firm, as we are lead all through late 1920s London and introduced to so many well developed characters. Lilian and James, while shallow, are very real shallow people. Everyone from the Yellow Orchid was full of individual charisma, and I wanted to find and patronize the establishment. The male characters were outstanding - no one was a real villain, the brother and sister bonds were strong, and everyone needs a Vernon and an Edward in their life. And I loved the characters of Evelyn as the strong country mouse and Jos, the more fragile city mouse.
I'm really sad to leave the characters behind, honestly. I don't want to lose Dorothy, or Clara and Courtney. I have my own crush on Jos, and I want Vernon as a friend.
Yes, it's a romance, and it's a really, really good romance.
Thanks so much to NetGalley for providing an advanced copy in return for an honest review. I thoroughly enjoyed this book.
January 9, 2016
I absolutely love the way Buck brings that historical element to her books. The history nerd in me jumps around with happiness.
In "Fragile Wings" we follow the story of Evelyn who thanks to the help of her brother flies the nest and finds herself in London in the 1920's. Here she meets a range of interesting characters who open her eyes to a more modern world than she is used to. Enter Jos, butch, sweet and somewhat damaged the two women are drawn to each other. The author goes into great detail to describe what London was like during this time and I must say having moved to London recently I found it very interesting.
I love reading about women who go against the grain of what is expected of them and that's what we see in this book. I also love reading about women who like other women at a time when it was definitely not something most people spoke about.
This book is on the verge of a 5 star I just would have liked a little bit more of the two women together and maybe even an epilogue. I am kind of obsessed with epilogues, when a book doesn't have one I'm always a little disappointed.
This one is definitely worth a read if you like a good romance mixed with a bit of history.
ARC reviewed received via NetGalley in return for an honest review.
In "Fragile Wings" we follow the story of Evelyn who thanks to the help of her brother flies the nest and finds herself in London in the 1920's. Here she meets a range of interesting characters who open her eyes to a more modern world than she is used to. Enter Jos, butch, sweet and somewhat damaged the two women are drawn to each other. The author goes into great detail to describe what London was like during this time and I must say having moved to London recently I found it very interesting.
I love reading about women who go against the grain of what is expected of them and that's what we see in this book. I also love reading about women who like other women at a time when it was definitely not something most people spoke about.
This book is on the verge of a 5 star I just would have liked a little bit more of the two women together and maybe even an epilogue. I am kind of obsessed with epilogues, when a book doesn't have one I'm always a little disappointed.
This one is definitely worth a read if you like a good romance mixed with a bit of history.
ARC reviewed received via NetGalley in return for an honest review.
June 5, 2016
Reviewed for ***Prism Book Alliance***
This historical romance was also something of a coming-of-age story, though the protagonist was in her mid-20’s. It felt historically authentic, and the author did a fantastic job not only illustrating the look and aesthetic of the inter-war period in London (though what is up with all the pale yellow walls?), but of capturing the feeling and mood. Fueled by jazz, a strictly not-Victorian approach to sex, and a fierce desire to truly live in a way so many of the war’s dead and wounded could not, the crowd of 20-somethings Evelyn encounters when she leaps headlong into London in 1927 are a palette of modernism. Evelyn herself, traditionally and conservatively dressed and coiffed, is the main character coming of age. She literally does not know what the sex act is, as at 25 she has only heard it referred to as “wifely duty” and something “only the worst sort of woman” does outside wedlock. She finds herself the houseguest of Lillian and James Grainger, a brother and sister of extreme differences. Lillian is furiously burning the candle at both ends, singing jazz in a nightclub, embracing every trend and modernism and keeping it shallow. She tries to take Evelyn under her wing. James is an architect with a love for modern technology, but not so much modern society. He finds himself attracted to Evelyn’s unique combination of open-mindedness and backwater aesthetics, which he takes as representative of traditional moral values. The central plot conflict revolves around Evelyn’s discovery that she is an “invert” as James (the historically accurate voice of social conservatism in the book) calls it. Dorothy is cynical, intellectual, and loyal; she provides the even keel that balances some of the craziness from the rest of the pack. Clara and Courtney are more or less caricatures, but they also model stability and show what is possible; seeing their happy pairing is a vital part of Evelyn’s awareness and identity development. Vernon and Jos Singleton are the other major players in this story, Vernon as a sparring partner for the straight women and moral support for his sister, and Jos as Evelyn’s afraid-to-commit love interest fighting off her grief, fear, and well-earned cynicism about women.
Ties to family are a key theme in this novel, because everyone is mourning someone lost or damaged in the war, whether soldier or civilian victim of bomb raids, and their responses to their grief drive their approaches to modern life in London. Although Evelyn leaves her perpetually disapproving family behind almost as soon as the book begins, she finds in the Graingers a surrogate family and all that comes with it. She is dependent on them for social outlets as well as her room and board, so although she’s experienced at running a business and is 25, she is in the perpetual pickle of gay youth everywhere – what will happen to her living situation if her “preference” is discovered? Brother/sister relationships, specifically, play heavily into the plot–likely because families don’t scatter the way we do today–so most of the characters see their adult siblings daily. That said, parents and cousins and extended family are all but absent, which seems weird considering how much everyone interacts with immediate family.
Evelyn is a character that’s hard for me to like at first, but as she works out her identity and starts getting her act together, I came to enjoy her; so the book was a fun read for me. As a spontaneous free spirit with a traveling jones the size of, well, London, I cannot for the life of me imagine what possesses someone to live as a houseguest for weeks on end without so much as picking up a newspaper and looking for a job or buying a map. Part of that is her angst over whether she’s staying in London or not, and angst wears thin for me quickly. Evelyn finally does start giving some attention to her need to build a real life of her own, and holds off Lillian’s attempts to transform her into a London flapper. But she also struggles with how to rebuff the interest of James. It really speaks to the sexism of the time, not so unfamiliar today, that she worries whether she’ll be thrown out because she doesn’t feel fond of James, and she does feel fond of Jos.
Jos and her demons feel incredibly familiar to me, and I definitely liked her character the best. Her tender butchness is beautiful, her work is her identity, and her emotional conflicts are thoroughly understandable. She and Evelyn stumble and fumble, but through the grace of their loyal friends and sometimes their own noble deeds, they manage to work it out.
And, finally, a technical note. This book really needed one more going-over by a proofreader. It wasn’t enough to harm readability or even to be a major annoyance, but it certainly was a minor annoyance – lots of places where the right word with the wrong ending appeared, or a stray article or preposition was left in during rewriting. I would rank it about as annoying as a paper cut on the ring finger of your non-dominant hand–doesn’t interfere with full function, but you notice it every couple of pages.
This historical romance was also something of a coming-of-age story, though the protagonist was in her mid-20’s. It felt historically authentic, and the author did a fantastic job not only illustrating the look and aesthetic of the inter-war period in London (though what is up with all the pale yellow walls?), but of capturing the feeling and mood. Fueled by jazz, a strictly not-Victorian approach to sex, and a fierce desire to truly live in a way so many of the war’s dead and wounded could not, the crowd of 20-somethings Evelyn encounters when she leaps headlong into London in 1927 are a palette of modernism. Evelyn herself, traditionally and conservatively dressed and coiffed, is the main character coming of age. She literally does not know what the sex act is, as at 25 she has only heard it referred to as “wifely duty” and something “only the worst sort of woman” does outside wedlock. She finds herself the houseguest of Lillian and James Grainger, a brother and sister of extreme differences. Lillian is furiously burning the candle at both ends, singing jazz in a nightclub, embracing every trend and modernism and keeping it shallow. She tries to take Evelyn under her wing. James is an architect with a love for modern technology, but not so much modern society. He finds himself attracted to Evelyn’s unique combination of open-mindedness and backwater aesthetics, which he takes as representative of traditional moral values. The central plot conflict revolves around Evelyn’s discovery that she is an “invert” as James (the historically accurate voice of social conservatism in the book) calls it. Dorothy is cynical, intellectual, and loyal; she provides the even keel that balances some of the craziness from the rest of the pack. Clara and Courtney are more or less caricatures, but they also model stability and show what is possible; seeing their happy pairing is a vital part of Evelyn’s awareness and identity development. Vernon and Jos Singleton are the other major players in this story, Vernon as a sparring partner for the straight women and moral support for his sister, and Jos as Evelyn’s afraid-to-commit love interest fighting off her grief, fear, and well-earned cynicism about women.
Ties to family are a key theme in this novel, because everyone is mourning someone lost or damaged in the war, whether soldier or civilian victim of bomb raids, and their responses to their grief drive their approaches to modern life in London. Although Evelyn leaves her perpetually disapproving family behind almost as soon as the book begins, she finds in the Graingers a surrogate family and all that comes with it. She is dependent on them for social outlets as well as her room and board, so although she’s experienced at running a business and is 25, she is in the perpetual pickle of gay youth everywhere – what will happen to her living situation if her “preference” is discovered? Brother/sister relationships, specifically, play heavily into the plot–likely because families don’t scatter the way we do today–so most of the characters see their adult siblings daily. That said, parents and cousins and extended family are all but absent, which seems weird considering how much everyone interacts with immediate family.
Evelyn is a character that’s hard for me to like at first, but as she works out her identity and starts getting her act together, I came to enjoy her; so the book was a fun read for me. As a spontaneous free spirit with a traveling jones the size of, well, London, I cannot for the life of me imagine what possesses someone to live as a houseguest for weeks on end without so much as picking up a newspaper and looking for a job or buying a map. Part of that is her angst over whether she’s staying in London or not, and angst wears thin for me quickly. Evelyn finally does start giving some attention to her need to build a real life of her own, and holds off Lillian’s attempts to transform her into a London flapper. But she also struggles with how to rebuff the interest of James. It really speaks to the sexism of the time, not so unfamiliar today, that she worries whether she’ll be thrown out because she doesn’t feel fond of James, and she does feel fond of Jos.
Jos and her demons feel incredibly familiar to me, and I definitely liked her character the best. Her tender butchness is beautiful, her work is her identity, and her emotional conflicts are thoroughly understandable. She and Evelyn stumble and fumble, but through the grace of their loyal friends and sometimes their own noble deeds, they manage to work it out.
And, finally, a technical note. This book really needed one more going-over by a proofreader. It wasn’t enough to harm readability or even to be a major annoyance, but it certainly was a minor annoyance – lots of places where the right word with the wrong ending appeared, or a stray article or preposition was left in during rewriting. I would rank it about as annoying as a paper cut on the ring finger of your non-dominant hand–doesn’t interfere with full function, but you notice it every couple of pages.
February 28, 2022
Rep: lesbian mcs, lesbian side characters
CWs: homophobia, drug use, implied suicide
CWs: homophobia, drug use, implied suicide
May 8, 2017
Note: I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review of the work. What follows is said honest review. Thanks for reading!
Evie and her brother Edward have always been best friends who shared everything, but when Edward returns from the Great War wounded and shell shocked, all of their childhood dreams go up in smoke. Edward sends his sister to London with a note from his captain, who died in the war, with the instruction to deliver it to the man’s family. He also tells her that she must now live for the both of them. In this new world where anything goes, Evie is welcomed by the captain’s sister, Lillian and her brother James. Lillian introduces Evie to a world full of fashion, jazz, booze, and, quite unintentionally, women who love women. When she meets Jos, who is more than a little intriguing, Evie wants to know her better, but will her inexperience and doubts as well as Jos’ own demons keep them apart?
I’ve read so many novels written in first person the last few years that going through a story told in third person was quite refreshing. As someone who spends a lot of time inside her on head, it’s nice to jump into the minds of multiple people in a given situation. For me, it provides a more accurate portrayal of the world the author has created and serves to keep me more engaged in the story. It’s clear that Buck spent a great deal of time choosing her words carefully, and as a dedicated reader, I appreciate this. I love a good love story, but when it’s also well-written and edited, it means more. While I feel there were a few instances where there is a bit more telling than showing, it isn’t overdone.The writing’s polished and flows well, and the dialogue is smooth. I also appreciated the detailed descriptions of Evie and Jos worlds, especially the historical landmarks.
Evie was an excellent character to both lead the story as well as serve as the audiences’ eyes into post-war London. The supporting characters were well-developed, and even the ones I disliked seemed to be dynamic and have purpose beyond just being an antagonist to Evie. They seemed like real people, some I would be happy to know even better, see how their lives turned out. Since the heart of any good story is its characters, kudos to Buck for creating engaging ones.
Buck poses important questions and themes about growing up, moving on, what home really means that we can all relate to. At some point, we’ve all made the decision whether to stay in our hometown or spend life somewhere else. Who is to say whether we make the right decision. I related to Evie’s struggle to make something of herself in a new city or to return home to where thing aren’t exciting, but they’re certainly safe. I hope other readers will find a bit of themselves in her as well, and I for one, recommend that you give this one a try to see for yourself.
Evie and her brother Edward have always been best friends who shared everything, but when Edward returns from the Great War wounded and shell shocked, all of their childhood dreams go up in smoke. Edward sends his sister to London with a note from his captain, who died in the war, with the instruction to deliver it to the man’s family. He also tells her that she must now live for the both of them. In this new world where anything goes, Evie is welcomed by the captain’s sister, Lillian and her brother James. Lillian introduces Evie to a world full of fashion, jazz, booze, and, quite unintentionally, women who love women. When she meets Jos, who is more than a little intriguing, Evie wants to know her better, but will her inexperience and doubts as well as Jos’ own demons keep them apart?
I’ve read so many novels written in first person the last few years that going through a story told in third person was quite refreshing. As someone who spends a lot of time inside her on head, it’s nice to jump into the minds of multiple people in a given situation. For me, it provides a more accurate portrayal of the world the author has created and serves to keep me more engaged in the story. It’s clear that Buck spent a great deal of time choosing her words carefully, and as a dedicated reader, I appreciate this. I love a good love story, but when it’s also well-written and edited, it means more. While I feel there were a few instances where there is a bit more telling than showing, it isn’t overdone.The writing’s polished and flows well, and the dialogue is smooth. I also appreciated the detailed descriptions of Evie and Jos worlds, especially the historical landmarks.
Evie was an excellent character to both lead the story as well as serve as the audiences’ eyes into post-war London. The supporting characters were well-developed, and even the ones I disliked seemed to be dynamic and have purpose beyond just being an antagonist to Evie. They seemed like real people, some I would be happy to know even better, see how their lives turned out. Since the heart of any good story is its characters, kudos to Buck for creating engaging ones.
Buck poses important questions and themes about growing up, moving on, what home really means that we can all relate to. At some point, we’ve all made the decision whether to stay in our hometown or spend life somewhere else. Who is to say whether we make the right decision. I related to Evie’s struggle to make something of herself in a new city or to return home to where thing aren’t exciting, but they’re certainly safe. I hope other readers will find a bit of themselves in her as well, and I for one, recommend that you give this one a try to see for yourself.
January 14, 2016
Evelyn promises her war injured brother that she'll escape to London and a new life for both
of them. After returning shell-shocked from the First World War Edward Hopkins barely speaks and lives a quiet reclusive life. He persuades Evie to go and live her dreams away from the boring routine and stifling environment of her home town in rural Devon. She takes a letter with her that Edward brought back from the War to the family of the dying man who wrote it and is welcomed into their home. Life in posh Mayfair is so different and brings her into contact with people she could never imagine mixing with. At a modern jazz club she meets butch and beguiling Jos, a theatre set designer. Feelings are awakened in her that she never even knew existed and she willingly enters a new world where passion and love seem so right.
I loved this book and found the story fascinating. The descriptions of London in the 1920s from the point of view of a innocent, naive young woman seeing it for the first time were spot on. Evie's experiences were well told and I felt totally immersed in that world. The group of people she met were well rounded characters and helped the reader understand how life was changing for so many groups in society after the Great War. Some characters started out very sympathetic and fun but were ultimately shown to be damaged too. Soldiers weren't the only ones scarred by their experiences.
The growing love story between Evie and Jos was tender but full of pitfalls. Jos had issues to deal with that made her hold back and Evie was entering a world that would make her an outcast in some people's eyes. Would their love be able to withstand all of this? I enjoyed finding out and really liked both lead characters. A great read.
I was given this ARC by Inked Rainbow Reads in return for an honest review.
of them. After returning shell-shocked from the First World War Edward Hopkins barely speaks and lives a quiet reclusive life. He persuades Evie to go and live her dreams away from the boring routine and stifling environment of her home town in rural Devon. She takes a letter with her that Edward brought back from the War to the family of the dying man who wrote it and is welcomed into their home. Life in posh Mayfair is so different and brings her into contact with people she could never imagine mixing with. At a modern jazz club she meets butch and beguiling Jos, a theatre set designer. Feelings are awakened in her that she never even knew existed and she willingly enters a new world where passion and love seem so right.
I loved this book and found the story fascinating. The descriptions of London in the 1920s from the point of view of a innocent, naive young woman seeing it for the first time were spot on. Evie's experiences were well told and I felt totally immersed in that world. The group of people she met were well rounded characters and helped the reader understand how life was changing for so many groups in society after the Great War. Some characters started out very sympathetic and fun but were ultimately shown to be damaged too. Soldiers weren't the only ones scarred by their experiences.
The growing love story between Evie and Jos was tender but full of pitfalls. Jos had issues to deal with that made her hold back and Evie was entering a world that would make her an outcast in some people's eyes. Would their love be able to withstand all of this? I enjoyed finding out and really liked both lead characters. A great read.
I was given this ARC by Inked Rainbow Reads in return for an honest review.
December 17, 2015
I loved this book; the atmosphere, the characters everything was just perfect.
The author did a splendid job not only representing the London in the Roaring Twenties but also its society, deeply wounded by the Great War.
Despite all the suffering, a new energy shook the country. Subtle at first yet very potent.
The energy to pursuit happiness, decadent and confused but for the very first time in generations, absolutely genuine.
Written with delightful grace. A book you definitely want to read
*This book was kindly sent to me via NetGalley by Bold Strokes Books, Inc.*
The author did a splendid job not only representing the London in the Roaring Twenties but also its society, deeply wounded by the Great War.
Despite all the suffering, a new energy shook the country. Subtle at first yet very potent.
The energy to pursuit happiness, decadent and confused but for the very first time in generations, absolutely genuine.
Written with delightful grace. A book you definitely want to read
*This book was kindly sent to me via NetGalley by Bold Strokes Books, Inc.*
April 8, 2016
I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. Rebecca S. Buck really takes care of her writing style, and that is so very pleasing to me.
A young woman flees the countryside and finds a life in London. She meets many interesting people and even falls in love.
I loved this main character, Evelyn. I really enjoyed walking around London and seeing so many famous places for the first time.
I recommend this to anyone who loves London and historical lesbian romance!!
A young woman flees the countryside and finds a life in London. She meets many interesting people and even falls in love.
I loved this main character, Evelyn. I really enjoyed walking around London and seeing so many famous places for the first time.
I recommend this to anyone who loves London and historical lesbian romance!!
April 22, 2017
I loved this book! Even during the end of the semester I took time to read a little bit nearly every day. Before finishing I have already recommended it to someone else which is pretty rare for me.
The only issue I had was how slowly the book begins and the end seems a little rushed. If I could I would've given it 4.5 stars because of that. Other than that the plot, message, setting, everything was great.
The only issue I had was how slowly the book begins and the end seems a little rushed. If I could I would've given it 4.5 stars because of that. Other than that the plot, message, setting, everything was great.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews