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Welcome to my stop on the blog tour celebrating the release of Park Avenue Summer by Renee Rosen! Thank you to Berkley Publishing for the invitation! Stay tuned for information on how to win a copy at the bottom of this post!

About the Book:

Mad Men meets The Devil Wears Prada as Renée Rosen draws readers into the glamour of 1965 New York City and Cosmopolitan Magazine, where a brazen new Editor-in-Chief–Helen Gurley Brown–shocks America by daring to talk to women about all things off limits…

New York City is filled with opportunities for single girls like Alice Weiss who leaves her small Midwestern town to chase her big city dreams and unexpectedly lands the job of a lifetime working for Helen Gurley Brown, the first female Editor-in-Chief of a then failing Cosmopolitan Magazine.

Nothing could have prepared Alice for the world she enters as editors and writers resign on the spot, refusing to work for the woman who wrote the scandalous bestseller, Sex and the Single Girl. While confidential memos, article ideas, and cover designs keep finding their way into the wrong hands, someone tries to pull Alice into this scheme to sabotage her boss. But Alice remains loyal and becomes all the more determined to help Helen succeed. As pressure mounts at the magazine and Alice struggles to make her way in New York, she quickly learns that in Helen Gurley Brown’s world, a woman can demand to have it all.

My Thoughts:

I’m a big fan of Renee Rosen. She writes wonderful historicals with strong female characters, and I completely fall into the stories. I have been waiting for Park Avenue Summer to be on my shelf since I first heard about it, and I think it’s Rosen’s best book yet! 

Alice Weiss leaves small town life in the Midwest to make her dreams happen in New York City. She winds up working for none other than Helen Gurley Brown, the first female editor-in-chief at Cosmopolitan Magazine. 

When Alice begins work at Cosmo, she witnesses editors and writers leaving the magazine, all because they refuse to work for the woman who penned a lurid bestseller, Sex and the Single Girl. 

At the same time, things are happening behind the scenes to further scandalize Gurley Brown, and Alice gets roped into it. Instead, Alice turns the tables and chooses to help her boss advance. Will Alice and Helen Gurley Brown put Cosmo back on the map?

Wow, talk about powerful female main characters! Helen Gurley Brown was a changemaker for her time, and this book highlights a turning point in history for women, especially as it pertained to women’s magazines at the time. I was completely enthralled with learning about Helen AND Alice. I truly had no idea how influential, determined, and free-thinking Helen Gurley Brown was. 

There’s some build-up leading up to a special issue of the magazine. I was so deeply invested in this story, I had to find out how it would all come together and whether Cosmopolitan would make its mark. What a fascinating time in history to illuminate and what a remarkable woman to take us there. 

Carve out some time for this one, friends, because it’s extremely hard to put down! 

I received a complimentary copy. All opinions are my own. 

About the Author:

Renee is the bestselling author of historical fiction including: WINDY CITY BLUES, WHITE COLLAR GIRL, WHAT THE LADY WANTS and DOLLFACE, as well as the YA novel, EVERY CROOKED POT.

PARK AVENUE SUMMER: a Novel of Helen Gurley Brown and Cosmopolitan Magazine will be published in April 30, 2019 from Penguin Random House / Berkley.

Most people discover their love of reading first and then decide to try writing. For Renee Rosen, it was just the opposite. From the time she was a little girl she knew she wanted to be a writer and by age seventeen had completed her first novel, with what she admits was the worst opening line of all time. Her hopes of being the youngest published author on record were soon dashed when her “masterpiece” was repeatedly rejected. Several years and many attempts later, Renee finally became a reader first.

Since then she has been fortunate enough to study the craft of writing from such esteemed novelists as Michael Cunningham, Susan Minot and Carol Anshaw.

Renee now lives in Chicago where she is working on a new novel. You can find her online at https://www.facebook.com/ReneeRosenAu…, https://twitter.com/ReneeRosen1 or visit her website at www.reneerosen.com

***Book Giveaway***

For a chance to win a paperback copy of Park Avenue Summer, please visit my instagram page!  Giveaway generously sponsored by the publisher.  

Have you read Park Avenue Summer, or is it on your TBR? Happy Reading! ~ Jennifer THR