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Happy Monday and welcome to my spot on the blog tour for The Kennedy Debutante, a new publication from Berkley releasing on October 2, 2018!

My Thoughts:

I recently listened to an audiobook about Rosemary Kennedy, and ever since, my interest has been piqued about Kick Kennedy’s short life. Why didn’t I know more about her? 

The Kennedy Debutante is Kick’s story. In 1930s London, Kick’s father is an ambassador in England, and she is a big time society girl. She has a yearning for a life of adventure, and with all her might, she works her way out of her strict mother’s grasp and into the arms of Billy Hartington, the soon-to-be Duke of Devonshire. 

The lovers are star-crossed, though, because Kick’s family is devout Catholic, and Billy’s family is Protestant. Their parents would never approve. 

World War II begins, which sends Billy to war and the Kennedys back home to the States. Nothing stops determined Kick from making her way back overseas where she becomes a journalist and works for the Red Cross. Will Kick choose her family or her love?

The Kennedys are like royalty in the US. Their contributions have been complex- from scandal to civil rights advocacy, to everything in between, including devastating tragedies of their own, but there is always a lurid fascination. Kerri Maher’s slower pacing of this story is deliciously detailed and offers insights into each of the Kennedy family members. 

The Kennedy Debutante is a wonderfully engaging story of the search for forbidden love while questioning family and faith. With World War II as its backdrop, The Kennedy Debutante is rife with a secured time and place and charming, robust characters. Highly recommended for fans of historical fiction, especially set against WWII. 

Thank you to Berkley for the invitation to participate in the blog tour and for the finished copy. All opinions are my own. 

About the Book:

THE KENNEDY DEBUTANTE by Kerri Maher

Berkley Hardcover; October 2, 2018; $26.00

Historical Fiction

 About the novel:

London, 1938. The effervescent “It girl” of London society since her father was named the ambassador, Kathleen “Kick” Kennedy moves in rarified circles, rubbing satin-covered elbows with some of the 20th century’s most powerful figures. Eager to escape the watchful eye of her strict mother, Rose, the antics of her older brothers, Jack and Joe, and the erratic behavior of her sister Rosemary, Kick is ready to strike out on her own and is soon swept off her feet by Billy Hartington, the future Duke of Devonshire.

But their love is forbidden, as Kick’s devout Catholic family and Billy’s staunchly Protestant one would never approve their match. When war breaks like a tidal wave across her world, Billy is ripped from her arms as the Kennedys are forced to return to the States. Kick gets work as a journalist and joins the Red Cross to get back to England, where she will have to decide where her true loyalties lie—with family or with love.

About the Author:

Kerri Maher is also the author of This Is Not A Writing Manual: Notes for the Young Writer in the Real World under the name Kerri Majors. She holds an MFA from Columbia University and founded YARN, an award-winning literary journal of short-form YA writing. For many years a professor of writing, she now writes full time and lives with her daughter in Massachusetts where apple picking and long walks in the woods are especially fine.

Advanced Praise for The Kennedy Debutante:

“American royalty takes British aristocracy by storm in The Kennedy Debutante, starring JFK’s vivacious sister Kathleen ‘Kick’ Kennedy who arrives in London on the brink of war…Kerri Maher’s debut stars a debutante to root for in this moving coming-of-age tale.”—Kate Quinn, New York Times bestselling author of The Alice Network

“An outstanding deep dive into a fascinating person and time. For fans of The Crown, the riveting story of a headstrong American girl captivated by a dashing British aristocrat. I’m blown away.”—Fiona Davis, national bestselling author ofThe Masterpiece

 “Maher beautifully mixes the red-blooded American iconography of the Kennedys with the delicious and Downton Abbey­-esque grandeur of Britain’s upper crusts…her story will make your heart lurch in the best possible ways.”—Allison Pataki,New York Times bestselling author of The Accidental Empress

Have you read The Kennedy Debutante, or is it on your TBR? Do you also follow the Kennedy family?  Happy Reading! ~ Jennifer THR