Jazz, Gin, and Jealousy

Absolutely gorgeous cover.

Vixen by Jillian Larkin

Vixen follows three society girls in 1920's Chicago - the height of Prohibition, flappers, and speakeasies.  Gloria appears to be the perfect debutante daughter: well mannered, pretty, and engaged to the most eligible bachelor in the city.  When she and her best friends Lorraine and Marcus go to one of the cities most notorious speakeasies Gloria realises that the life she wants might have less to do with debutantes and more with the handsome black piano player she meets there. Her cousin Clara arrives on the scene to complicate matters and soon everyone is keeping secrets and wanting what they can't have.

This book is very similar in tone and theme with the Luxe series by Anna Godbersen.  The clothes and parties are described with a luscious attention to detail and their is no shortage of scandal and betrayal. 

I wasn't enthralled by this book.  The prologue was gripping and I loved the setting, but the characters didn't really interest me.  The three main characters all seemed very similar, and sometimes I would get a few pages into a new chapter before realising I was in a new perspective.*  Until the end, when one of the characters (not naming names) seems to begin a dark descent into desperation and dirty deeds, I hadn't had any interest in pursuing the rest of the series.  Now I need to read the next one to know if this character will become as deliciously devious as I dare dream. Well played Ms. Larkin.  Well played.

Overall it was an entertaining read.  It didn't have me wildly turning the pages to see what happened next but I do now have a strong desire for a martini, a bobbed hair cut, and an evening watching Chicago.**

Recommended for: fans of Gossip Girl, The Luxe series, and any other of those books about scandalous young people doing scandalous things

Sequels:
Ingenue
Diva

*Partially due, I will admit, to my habit of never ever reading chapter titles and headings. Particularly troublesome when reading epistolary novels.
**Which is, sadly, not on Netflix.