Vixen by Jillian Larkin

Vixen by Jillian Larkin
432 pages, Random House
Borrowed

"Jazz... Booze... Boys... It's a dangerious combination. Every girl wants what she can't have. Seventeen-year-old Gloria Carmody wants the flapper lifestyle - and the bobbed hair, cigarettes, and music-filled nights that go with it. Now that she's engaged to Sebastian Grey, scion of one of Chicago's most powerful families, Gloria's party days are over before they've even begun... or are they? Clara Knowles, Gloria's goody-two-shoes cousin, has arrived to make sure the high-society wedding comes off without a hitch-- but Clara isn't as lily-white as she appears. Seems she has some dirty little secrets of her own that she'll do anything to keep hidden... Lorraine Dyer, Gloria's social-climbing best friend, is tired of living in Gloria's shadow. When Lorraine's envy spills over into desperate spite, no one is safe. And someones going to be very sorry... From debut author Jillian Larkin, Vixen is the first novel in a sexy, dangerous, and ridiculously romantic new series set in the Roaring Twenties... when anything goes. Follow the very dimensional characters through the riveting pages of this story, feel with them their struggles, and their elation."

Oh my gosh!!!!! It has been such a long time since I have picked up a historical fiction book that I couldn't even bare to put down!!! This is it!!! True story, I was sitting at my kitchen counter and I had the book sitting next to my AP English homework that I knew I had to do. But the reading worm got the better of me and I couldn't help but open the book and just read a chapter (that's what I told myself anyway). The next thing I knew, it was about an hour and a half later, and I was squirming in my chair, saying to my sister, "Do you ever have it when you want to read faster than you can so that you can find out what happens in a book?" She said to me, "Yeah. You just need to take the time and finish it." I finally finished (near tears at some of the parts) and closed the beautiful taupe cover with a feeling of supreme fulfillment!! Does that kind of give away how I felt about this book?

I loved Vixen beyond what I can honestly describe. Its amazing when you come across a book that you simply can't put down or that you are reading in class when you are supposed to be listening to your teacher. I loved the fashionistas that Jillian Larkin creates within her characters. My fellow blogger, Hannah, and I are always taking about how we love the clothing from the flapper age and the 1920's. The sequins and ferocious colors were so revolutionary, and if you look at fashion today, a lot of the same clothing that Larkin puts her characters in is very similar to what Hollywood celebrities are wearing today.

Secondly, the way that the author writes her intimate love scenes is pure perfection. Believe me, I have read my fair share of romance novels and historical fiction where the romance is supposed to be vibrant, but it ends up falling flat (authors who write for young adults have an especially difficult job of not being to risque but still delivering the romance). Her coordination with the musical aspects of the Jazz Age and the love between the characters is simply breathtaking.

Finally, this book left me on the edge of my seat (or sofa) quite frequently. Action mixed with romance mixed with fashion is a great combination in creating a fast-paced world of a flapper. I can't wait to read the sequel to this series, Ingenue. This book is for anyone who loves a great historical romance book. There is action, love, and amazingly descriptive men that will make the reader swoon just as the girls in the book do.

Rating: 5 stars - Loved it! Buy a copy!