Juliana is a historical fiction romance that takes Al (Alice) Huffman on a journey to a whole new life.As World War II consumes Europe, the New York City of 1941 is still preoccupied with sex and entertainment. “Al” arrives in the city from her humble beginnings in the potato fields of Long Island to make it on Broadway stage only to be told she has no talent.When she meets Maxwell P. Hartwell … she meets Maxwell P. Hartwell III, a failed nightclub owner, Broadway producer, and possible con man, he is all too ready to soothe her mind from its broken dreams. He introduces her to Juliana, a singer who is on the brink of stardom. Al quickly becomes enthralled with the glamorous Juliana, believing her voice to be like “warm milk slipping down the whole of my body.”
Through Max and Juliana Al is increasingly pulled into a secret gay underworld of men who wear dresses and women who smoke cigars, while her childhood friends continue in their “normal” lives. Al glides easily between the two worlds until these worlds begin to collide.
Juliana is a sexy, funny and deadly serious look into a world that has rarely been discussed in “polite society.”
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I am a sucker for captivating book covers, and the Juliana cover influenced my decision to read the book. Then I didn’t stop until I finished the first three books. I probably don’t appreciate the show business angle of the story as much as others whose hearts are closer to it. What appealed to me was the direction of the relationship between Alice “Al” and Juliana. Al is this strong character with an unquenchable longing for the narcissistic, superficial Juliana. It’s difficult to watch Al, who suffered an emotionally abusive and neglected childhood, remain in a self-destructive pattern of unrequited love, now that she’s an adult with choices. However, the business arrangement seems to be Al’s calling, but again, that is by choice as well. The poor girl just seems to be a magnet for the wrong relationships. This is a fascinating, at times disturbing historical fiction set in the early ’40s, and the effects that homophobia and prejudice had on the gay characters in this story. Excellent research! Paris Adrift is my favorite in the series, where the relationship is apparently more frustrating to me than to Alice.
It’s a coming of age story as four friend’s finish High School, then leave a potato farming community on Long Island and head to New York City.
Three dream of being Broadway Stars, the other wants to be writer and dreams of being the next Ernest Hemingway.
While it’s titled Juliana, really it’s about Al, Aggie, Dickie and Danny coming of age in NYC, fulfilling their dreams, four likable characters and great support cast and Al just takes over the story.
Felt like Vanda without realizing it, or maybe she knows it, wants the reader to become Alice or Al, as her friends call her.
I liked Vanda’s writing style, she writes an engaging story, she puts the reader right in the pages, has unforgettable characters, your at the Stage Door Canteen with your few soldiers enjoying singing entertainment, making sacrifices for the war cause and reads like a play or a movie even.
Even if your not into the reading LBGT books, but like reading post World War 2 books, the author keeps it relatively clean, scenes change before they get to graphic and think you like this one.
With Juliana, Vanda gives the reader a look at what life was like in the States during WW2, the sacrifices everyone made, dimming lights, finding alternative items for things they can’t get due to the war and like that it’s fiction verse non-fiction.
I also like how Vanda took actually history regarding the celebrities from that time period, added real places, and expertly blended it with her fictional characters.
Will be adding more to this one.
If you’re a fan of historical fiction that you can actually google for reference, you’ve found your book! The author really transports you to the 1940s which sounds simple but it really isn’t. It isn’t just about the clothes or the stores but the laws and the way information was disseminated and how people interacted with each other during the 40s. It is such an immersive experience that it’s hard to walk away from the book. And then the characters! They all have their own motivations, wants, needs, and dreams, which gives the book an extra element that feels real and authentic. The main character is relatable and yet from such a different time that you’re constantly wondering how you would have fared during that time. And her relationships with her friends and family all ground the character so you find you really just want to see her succeed in all she does. Needless to say, I love the book and the entire series.
You won’t read a more beautiful story about the power of first love. The setting, 1942 NY, gritty, realistic, exciting. Vanda set the tone-film noir in a novel setting. Take a chance, you won’t be disappointed.
This is a very interesting, and at times disturbing, study of homosexuality and prejudice in the early U.S. 20th century. The book itself begins in 1941 tracking the lives of four “country” high school kids that move to New York City to start their careers in show business. It deals with the sexuality of both male and female characters. It is at times chauvinistic, racist, bigoted, overly-dramatic, corny, sexy, funny and delightful. I would absolutely recommend this book to anyone. I look forward to book 2 which takes place in the 1950s.
Julianna and the two sequels by Vanda take the reader into a time and place mostly hidden from history but it is still amazingly accurate. The characters live in New York City in the 40s prewar time when religion and religious morality and bigotry were the standards of law and attitudes – brutal and cruel to anyone “different” from the demanded norm. The 2nd book goes through the war years and the 3rd takes place in post war Paris. Vanda is a suburb story teller and brings all of her characters to life. The central character is a young woman just discovering that she is a lesbian in a time when that is the vilest thing a woman can be. It is hard to imagine such homophobia, scapegoating and self hatred today but it was reality right up until the 80s.
Amazing historical romance. Just loved it
I’m so intrigued and cannot wait to read the complete series!!