A ”vivid tale of organized crime, coming-of-age escape and romance…” ~USA Today HEA
“If I had to pick only one book to read this fall it would be The Canary Club.” ~Minimac Reviews“The best flapper era book since The Great Gatsby.” ~Entrada Book ReviewsTwo worlds collide in this compelling story of star-crossed lovers in gritty prohibition-era New York.“Bad Luck” Benny is a boy from the wrong … story of star-crossed lovers in gritty prohibition-era New York.
“Bad Luck” Benny is a boy from the wrong side of the tracks. Recently released from jail, he has vowed to keep his head down and stay out of trouble. But he also needs to care for his ailing sister and the rest of his struggling family, and he’ll do anything to make that happen–even if it means taking a position with a notorious crime boss. He soon finds himself in over his head–and worse still–falling for the one dame on earth he should be staying away from.
Masie is the daughter of a wealthy gangster with the voice of an angel and gun smoke in her veins. Strong-willed but trapped in a life she never wanted, she dreams of flying free from the politics and manipulation of her father. A pawn in her family’s fight for control of the city, and with a killer hot on her heels, she turns to the one person who just might be able to spring her from her gilded cage. But Masie is no angel, and her own dark secrets may come back to burn them both.
Perfect for fans of Beatriz Williams’ A Certain Age or Libba Bray’s The Diviners, The Canary Club by Sherry D. Ficklin will entice Historical Romance fans of all ages. This Gatsby-era tale filled with dazzling speakeasies, vicious shoot-outs, gritty gangsters, and iridescent ingenues has also been compared to the television series Z: THE BEGINNING OF EVERYTHING and BOARDWALK EMPIRE.
Novels inThe Canary Club Series by Sherry D. Ficklin:
- The Canary Club (Stand Alone)
- Glitter and Gold: A Canary Club Anthology
- Additional books following secondary characters coming soon.
more
Ficklin’s Canary Club doesn’t ruffle enough feathers
Slipping into the 1920s in this period piece was a nice change of setting from everything I’ve read lately. I immediately enjoyed the descriptions of Manhattan as Benny walked its streets after getting out of prison. The scenery came alive with author Sherry Ficklin’s descriptions of the sights and sounds, the people and places, and the lingo of those prohibition days. I liked Benny too. A guy who wouldn’t have any luck if he didn’t have bad luck is the type of underdog many readers like to root for.
On the other hand, I did not care for Masie at all. It really annoys me when a character talks about how bad she is or how dark she is, but there is no evidence to support this. So she calls her a former friend to beat up the guy who beat up her best friend? So, what? That does not make her a dark, twisted individual. Her need to be with Benny so he can make her a good person was not believable to me.
Unfortunately, my overall feeling about the story was that it was just so-so. Once Benny and Masie’s relationship started to heat up, my enthusiasm for the story cooled down. Plot wise, everything became a little too cookie-cutter for me. Nothing surprising happened. This felt like a story I have read a dozen times before. New background, new character names, same old story. I kept hoping something refreshing and unexpected would happen. Like, maybe Masie would kill her father and take the family business for her own (now, that would be dark and twisted) or maybe Daddy’s hired killer would carry out his plan and leave Benny with nothing but emptiness and vengeance. That also did not happen. No, the whole story dissolved into an underdeveloped plot to help the canary escape her cage. The ending was wrapped up in way too neat packaging and tied off with a tiny little bow that left me wanting a lot more.
The epilogue left things open for a sequel, but there simply wasn’t enough to The Canary Club to interest me in reading more. If you want a cut and dry love story, I think you’ll enjoy this book. If you want more, this is not the story for you.
The Canary Club, Sherry D. Ficklin, Crimson Tree Publishing, October 19, 2017
“When life makes you a criminal, only love can set you free.” -Benny
What can I say….. I’m a bit speechless as I sit here collecting my thoughts and writing this review…..
First off, everything that I have read by this author makes me fan-girl every time she comes out with a new release. Ficklin has once again proven that she can make her magic show through any story or genre that she writes and this one is no different. She is a phenomenal storyteller.
Now on to the book….
This story was incredible. The characters who I loved throughout this story are just as awesome as when they were first introduced in the series. I loved how the author showed how each life was affected and how their paths kept crossing. I a real connection with the characters; like I was actually a part of their lives and living each and every moment with them.
The story-line was amazing. The rawrin twenties. What an awesome era in the mind of this author. I so wanted to be from this era. Shimmering dresses, speakeasies, mobs, and bootlegging just made me wish I was from that era. Sure things went wrong, but I still dreamed about being from the twenties and living within the pages of the book with these phenomenal characters. As each scene unfolded, I could see that scene in my mind as plain as day. It was as if a movie played inside of my head. I was completely surprised, yet happy at how the story ended.
I am extremely excited to have had the opportunity to fall in love with this story and the characters in it. There has been a piece of my heart left within the beautiful pages of this book and I know that I will find myself wanting to hangout with these characters again and re-read this story again and again. I highly recommend this read.