Jill G. Hall, bestselling author of The Black Velvet Coat and The Silver Shoes brings readers another dual tale of two vibrant women from different eras trying to discover their true identities.
Anne McFarland, a modern-day, thirty-something San Francisco artist in search of spiritual guidance, buys a corset in a Flagstaff resale boutique—a purchase that results in her having to make a decision … to make a decision that will change her life forever. One hundred and thirty-five years earlier, in 1885, naïve Sally Sue Sullivan, a young woman from the Midwest, is kidnapped on a train by a handsome but dangerous bank robber. Held prisoner on a homestead in Northern Arizona’s Wild West, Sally Sue discovers her own spunk and grit as she plots her escape.
Ultimately, both Anne and Sally Sue face their fears and find the strength to journey down their designated paths and learn the true meaning of love and family . . . with a little push from the same green lace corset.
more
Review of “The Green Lace Corset” by Jill G. Hall, She Writes Press, 2020 by Linda’s Book Obsession
Jill G. Hall, the author of “The Green Lace Corset” has written an intriguing and captivating novel. The genres for this novel are Historical Fiction, Romance, Women’s Fiction, and Fiction. The author vividly describes two different timelines and two different characters, who must make serious decisions in their lives. This is the third in a series of books and can be read alone. The author describes her colorful and dramatic characters as complex, complicated, courageous, and brave.
In 1885, Sally Sue is riding a train to visit her aunt and is aware there is a handsome familiar man sitting in her car. She offers him half her sandwich and then realizes that this is the very same man that had robbed the bank she was in, that someone was killed. Suddenly Sally Sue finds herself kidnapped and headed to the Wild West.
Back to the present, 135 years later, Anne McFarland is an artist who lives in San Francisco, who loves to browse in off-beat stores to look for objects that can be used in her art. She is applying for an art position and special program at the museum. One of the things that catch Anne’s eye is a sexy green and black lace corset. Anne immediately wonders about the history of this corset.
Both Sally Sue and Anne have to address their current problems and make decisions that are very difficult. There are twists and turns, adventure, and suspense that are in this story. I appreciate that Jill G. Hall discusses the importance of self-worth, family, sisterhood, friendship, love, and hope. I would highly recommend this thought-provoking novel.
Jill Hall returns with a triumphant conclusion to her dual-timeline trilogy featuring San Francisco artist Anne McFarland. In the old west, Sally Sue Sullivan encounters a green lace corset that ultimately binds the fates of both women. Don’t miss this book.
Hall delights again in this charming tale of two parallel lives that intertwine and fascinate! Follow the adventures of today’s Anna McFarland and yesteryear’s Sally Sue Sullivan as they navigate their true destinies. Anna’s narrative is humorous and poignant both at the same time, and Sally Sue’s narrative takes you right back to the beauty and adventures of the old West! You will love this entertaining and unputdownable novel!
Charming story! 4 stars
This is the first time that I read a book by this author. I really enjoyed ‘The Green Lace Corset’! It’s filled with emotions and ups and downs. She didn’t disappoint me!
Jill G. Hall has successfully created two parallel worlds that separated two women by more than 135 years. Anne is an artist of the modern world of today living in San Francisco and Sally Sue a pioneer of Arizona’s Wild West. One day, while Anne is walking through a resale shop, she discovers a beautiful corset with green lace. She buys it, mends it a little and quickly becomes entangled, wondering ‘Who wore this corset? Is it really vintage? What secrets is it hiding?’ Although two generations separate them, Anne and Sally Sue share a bond that unites them, the corset. In this novel, we alternate from the present to the past, to follow the course of these two brave souls. The story of these two endearing heroines was well written at a nice pace!
I received a complimentary copy of this book from She Writes Press and NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Different type of book. Keeps Jim from the present to the past. I enjoyed it but was a little disappointed with the ending
I enjoyed this book but was slightly disappointed that the two scenarios were not more related.
Jill G. Hall’s previous books in this trilogy won my heart. While I really wanted to like this one as much as the others, I just couldn’t. Sally Sue, one of the main characters, was likeable, but the main crux of the story was based on a couple major poor choices. The author portrayed the man in her life as having a gentle side, but the bottom line is that she was being held captive. I kept hoping for a redeeming explanation or plot twist. A minor note, too, about grammar flaws that were not caught during editing.
Hopefully, there will be future books, and they will be better than this one.
I love reading about women of the West, and this novel did not disappoint. The Green Lace Corset is a romp. 2 women, 2 timelines. Anne in modern day & Sally Sue in 1885 Arizona. It’s the third book in a series…I didn’t read the first two (The Black Velvet Coat and The Silver Shoes) but didn’t need to. I enjoyed the Wild West Flagstaff sections the most. Rich descriptions of the Old West. The rough and tumble towns. The train robbery. Dusty stagecoach ride. Lonely ranch house. Saloon fights. And Sally navigating her way to find the good around her and make her way safely. It’s just the sort of familiar, comforting, rainy-day read we all need as this crazy year of Covid comes to a close.
A unique story told in dual timelines of two women in two different eras, both connected to a green lace corset. Both are on a journey to discover their true selves. Modern-day Anne, a San Francisco artist, picks up a vintage corset at a thrift shop that connects her to the past. Sallie Sue from the past must come to grips with being kidnapped by a bank robber she is coming to care about. While I enjoyed the story, I found the plot a bit thin. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book. I gave the book three stars.
Sally Sue and Anne, the two main characters, are separated by 135 years but connected via clothes, in the same way that the first two books in this series connected their characters. The three books stand well alone, but after reading the third installment I will definitely read the first two. A fun, well-written escape from today’s realities!
Jill G. Hall does a wonderful job of taking us on a journey with two women, Sally Sue and Anne, separated by 135 years. I got caught up in the story, and when I was away from the book I found myself wondering what would come next for them. Although they each face difficult decisions, and we sometimes want to push them one way or another, we always understand why they make the choices they do, and ultimately we are happy with how their stories end.
Although this is the third book in a trilogy, it is not necessary to have read the first two. However, if you have read the first book, The Black Velvet Coat, you will feel the poignancy of Anne’s remarks about her close relationship with Silvia, the original owner of the black velvet coat.
I had read Silver Slippers by this author and loved it, and that’s why I was excited to receive this ARC. I didn’t know it was a trilogy, but works well as a stand alone.
This is written in two time frames, the story of Sally Sue, a young girl in 1895 Missouri, who is kidnapped by the bandit that held her hostage during a bank robbery. He takes out west and they settle on a rural farm in Flagstaff Arizona. Her goal is to get away from him, learning everything she can to ensure that.
Then we have Anne’s story, a 30 something single artist in San
Francisco and working at the Museum of Art. She creates mosaics and struggles to determine where her journey is leading her.
These are two women, independent, adventurous and striving to improve their lives. It’s about the chances we sometimes have to take, to go where we want to go, the friends that are needed when life becomes too difficult to go it alone.
Jill C Hall is a great storyteller. Her characters are interestingly different and whimsical! I loved both of these ladies, their creativity and endurance. They really had nothing in common, other than that #GreenLaceCorset.
My thanks to #JenCoburnCommunications and #SheWritesPress for the ARC. All opinions are my own. Now I have one thing remaining, to read the first novel, The Black Velvet Coat, where it all started!
This book is the third in a series. I did not read the first two, but the book held up as a stand-alone. The dual timeline held together by an article of clothing was a unique format. It was an interesting mix of women’s fiction, historical fiction, and romance novel. The two stories held my interest equally which is sometimes hard to pull off, but Hall did so seamlessly. The heroines were likeable women who I enjoyed rooting for and watching them come into their own. This book makes for a lovely afternoon escape. Something we could all use these days.
The third of a series, Hall provides the reader with a wonderful get-away to another time and place through the magic of clothing worn by protagonists 150 years apart. Part historical fiction (this time Hall visits the Wild West) and part steamy love novel, The Green Lace Corset provides the reader with a chance to see how clothes DO make the woman. I loved the female characters of then and now and their struggle to find their own identity. Hall’s descriptions of clothing and setting are vivid. She writes as a visual artist as well as writer.
The Green Lace Corset, third in Jill Hall’s trilogy, did not disappoint. It was lovely to see Anne again from The Black Velvet Coat and The Silver Shoes negotiating her life in the San Francisco art community. Always searching for found art, Anne visits an antique store while vacationing in Flagstaff, Arizona. She finds a green lace corset that fits her perfectly and awakens the story of Sally Sue set in 1885 Flagstaff. The two stories weave in and out of each other, leaving Anne or Sally Sue in precarious moments. I turned the pages with fervor to get back to the sister story. Sally Sue’s story contains the elements of the classic western with bandits, saloons, and difficult life on a barren farm several miles from the newly-formed town of Flagstaff. Both women, over a century apart search for independence, inner strength, relationship, and contentment. This was an enjoyable two-day read.
The Green Lace Corset A Historical Novel by Jill G. Hall is the third book in a series with split time periods. The Black Velvet Coat & The Silver Shoes are the other books in the series. Anne McFarland is a bohemian artist type in San Francisco. Anne buys eclectic vintage clothing that somehow links her to people in the past. Sally Sue is a very naive woman in 1885 who has a completely different personality than Anne but both have unusual adventures. Light reading for relaxation.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. I appreciate the opportunity and thank the author and publisher for allowing me to read, enjoy and review this book. 4 Stars
I have read all three of Jill Hall’s novels and have thoroughly enjoyed each one. I was so enthralled with the storyline in “The Green Lace Corset” that I had a hard time putting it down and completed it in just a few days! I was drawn in by the characters and could hardly wait to read what was coming next in their lives! I highly recommend this book if you’re looking for a little escape from the reality of our current world issues. 5 stars it is!!!
This is the perfect book to take you away from the news of the day. The adventures of Anne and Sally Sue are the ideal medicine we all need right now. I would mark this a self-care read! It is so much fun!
A story of resilience, strength, love and especially heart!
Told in duel timelines, two women one hundred and thirty- five years apart have a special item in common that provides comfort and the strength in their lives when questioning and contemplating life goals.
This is a well told journey of both Sally Sue and Anne that you will certainly get caught up in as did I!
I have read all three of the Anne McFarland books, and they are so good! If you love historical fiction and have an imagination that runs away with objects or buildings of the secrets they hold, then this series is for you! You do not have to read them in order, but I would highly suggest you do, so you can get the background on Anne’s life.
Somewhat starving artist, Anne McFarland needs a break. She needs to clear her mind, and find some inspiration. She decides to head east to Arizona, and re-connect once again with nature as well. Of course, she must hit thrift shops along the way, but she had tried to make a promise to herself, to be better with her money and purchases, that is until she see’s a beautiful green lace corset in a Flagstaff resale shop. No, she can’t! But it is beautiful! And of course, a perfect fit! In the bag it goes!
Anne wonders when she would wear something like this? It needs a few minor stitches but it looks good for how old the piece appears. She wonders what kind of woman wore this? Who was she? What did she do? What as the occasion this woman wore this for? and in the Wild West! There were tons of saloons and bar halls back then. Anne gets invited out for a night of drinks and decides she is going to wear the corset. What better chance, than out on the town?! This decisions alters Anne’s life unlike she thought would ever happen!
Sally Sue, has been sent off by her mother to care for her sick aunt. Her mother despises her as it is, and this is her chance to get ride of Sally Sue. She feels she should have been married by now, and her mother reminds her of this daily. She is still reeling after having been part of a bank robber, where she was held hostage and so leaving on a train ride on her own has her a little on edge. She still remembers those cool steely eyes of that man.
She gets on board and settles in, when a handsome man sits by her. As she slowly makes eye contact, she knows something is familiar. Something is nagging at her, and her mind is flipping through memories, and it clicks in place! How dare she have been so bold to have introduced herself, and given this man her name. Now he knows her name! Maybe he won’t realize it is her, it was just that one time.
Sally Sue has to get away from him. She cannot stand to look at him for a minute longer, as she attempts to leave her seat he stops her and makes it known she is not going anywhere! He know! What is she going to do now… scream? Run? Make a scene? That just won’t do. She will just have to get off and hurry away at her stop. Cliff makes it clear to her, that she is not going anywhere without his say. She has just told the ticket collector she is his wife! What in the heck is going on?
As Sally Sue’s decisions are made for her, and Anne is also struggling with making decisions, and the right one. She is not the only one who will be affected by the outcome. Just as Sally Sue is unsure of the outcome of what will happen to her. The two women’s lives, although a century apart are on a similar path in finding the thing they may just have needed in life, but was not looking for. One piece of fabric changed both women’s lives.
Thank you to the author, Jill G. Hall and She Writes Press for sending me an arc of this novel! I could not wait to crack it open when I received it, and it did not disappoint in continuing Anne’s story. I am really excited to see where things take Anne in life, and what the next mysterious piece will connect her to next.