In her second novel, Jill G. Hall, author of The Black Velvet Coat, brings readers another dual tale of two dynamic women from two very different eras searching for fulfillment.
San Francisco artist Anne McFarland has been distracted by a cross-country romance with sexy Sergio and has veered from her creative path. While visiting him in New York, she buys a pair of rhinestone shoes in an antique … antique shop that spark her imagination and lead her on a quest to learn more about the shoes¿ original owner.
Almost ninety years earlier, Clair Deveraux, a sheltered 1929 New York debutante, tries to reside within the bounds of polite society and please her father. But when she meets Winnie, a carefree Macy¿s shop girl, Clair is lured into the steamy side of Manhattan¿a place filled with speakeasies, flappers, and the beat of ¿that devil music¿¿and her true desires explode wide open. Secrets and lies heap up until her father loses everything in the stock market crash and Clair becomes entangled in the burlesque world in an effort to save her family and herself.
Ultimately, both Anne and Clair¿two very different women living in very different eras¿attain true fulfillment . . . with some help from their silver shoes.
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Jill G. Hall was a new author to me and I really enjoyed The Silver Shoes which is her second novel. The dual timeline focuses on two women- Anne McFarland and Clair Deveraux. Anne is a San Francisco artist in a long distance relationship with Sergio in New York. One day she purchases a beautiful pair of silver shoes in an antique shop. Clair Deveraux is a debutante in 1929 in New York, who meets Winnie who shows her the wilder side of New York. The women are connected by the silver shoes and both must seek to find what will fulfill them!
The Ann McFarland, struggling San Francisco artist saga continues in another novel that I did not want to put down! Ann’s career has taken off after her rabbit hole adventure of Syliva Van Dam and the story of who she was and what happened to her. Her name is out there, her pieces are selling and she is finally becoming a “true” paid artist. Her new beau Sergio lives in New York and her next adventure is from an item she finds in a thrift shop mean while visiting him.
Ann stumbles across a pair of glittering silver shoes, but she really shouldn’t buy them. Yes, she can maybe afford them but does she really need them? What is drawing her to them? They are perfect though, and her size. With her large feet, hardly does she ever find beautiful shoes made in her size. The shop owner works down the price of the shoes, and Ann once again walks out of a thrift shop with her next inspiration.
As she is digging the shoes out of the box, she realizes the owner must have made a mistake, there is a string of pearls within the box as well. Those pearls were laid next to the shoes in the shop, so this isn’t an accident. But there is no way she can keep them, she only paid for the shoes, and these are the real thing. She leaves them behind for Sergio to return and heads back home.
Once home, she also finds a photo in the bottom of the box. Two women, and one of them appears to maybe be the owner of said shoes. There are two names on the back and a place listed. Winnie and Claire, Rudy’s 1929. What a find! After some internet sleuthing she finds out that Rudy’s was a speakeasy back in the 20’s.
Just as before, Ann must find out more. Who wore these? What was life like back then? What would it have been like to be part of a speakeasy? How did these shoes end up at a thrift shop? As Ann comes up with creativity and inspiration, she also is struggling with the next stop in her life with Sergio. Does she want the same as him? What does he think? What is his long term goals for life? Could she just pick up and move to New York to be with him, is that what he wants?
As Ann is struggling within her own relationship, Claire from decades earlier may have been struggling with a similar life of feeling trapped and making the right decisions. This story is once again told from Ann, current day and then Claire – owner of the silver shoes. Again, very well written story and I loved the dual storylines!
I like this book and I would read another book from this author. I think she did a good job developing the main characters Clair and Anne. Clair was more realistic and has more depth than Anne. The story occurs in two different time periods and I enjoyed being introduced to burlesque theater in NYC during the Golden Era. At times it was funny and the ending was unusual and original especially for Clair . Ann is depicted as a free spirit lady who also made choices guided by her heart. Her character was not developed with the same depth and originality than Clair. I think the author wanted to leave options open so she could continue a series. I recommend it .
I couldn’t put this book down; it was so utterly fascinating, & connected 2 women in different times, through a pair of silver shoes. I loved it 🙂
I loved the connection between the two time periods. Great read
Really enjoyed this story.
“What a delight! Hall captivates and pulls the reader in; the story is as sparkling and fun as the silver shoes that connect the two women together―pure entertainment!”
I loved the storyline, and loved the characters. It was interesting to ponder the restrictions that women had in the early 1900s. This was a “can’t out it down until unfinished book. I’m Looking forward to reading more by this author.
The Silver Shoes is as entertaining as it is pleasing to read.
The cover alone was distinct in that it took me immediately to the sights and sounds of the Flapper and/or Vaudeville Age before I even started to read.
A dual timeline meshes well between 1929 and the present in a way that the reader doesn’t feel lost.
Clair and Anne are well rounded characters who share a commonality and a yearning for purpose that only time stands between, 90 years to be exact.
This is a lively, fast paced read that will keep you wanting more from its storyline and characters, and Jill G. Hall does not disappoint.
Thank you Jill Hall and NetGalley for this wonderful story that thoroughly entertained and charmed me.
I became a fan of Jill G. Hall when i read The Black Velvet Coat. This story is a continuation of Anne McFarland’s story as life moves on and Anne must keep up, faced with reality and not-always-easy decisions. Anne’s story is intertwined with that of Clair Deveraux and Winnie, young women growing up during the ’20s and Great Depression.
Anne is a most endearing character because she is realistically imperfect, conflicted about what she wants in life, yet strong and proud and willing to make mistakes. Anne could be any woman, your sister, a BFF or the girl who lives in the apartment next door.
The beauty of life is gracefully and tenderly revealed through Anne’s fumbling, bumbling attempts to find love and meaning, all with the help of vintage clothing such as a black velvet coat or silver rhinestone shoes.
Be sure to read the author’s first book for another exquisite story.
Jill G. Hall has done it again with The Silver Shoes. Take two independent minded women, Clair and Anne, in two different time periods who share many of the same traits, not to mention a pair of shoes. A great, easy and fun read. The Silver Shoes
The Silver Shoes is an entertaining story with a dual timeline. I thoroughly enjoyed the stories of Clair in the late 1920’s and Anne in present day!
I love books that alternate between two eras and this book was no exception! Part of the story focuses on Anne McFarland, an aspiring artist (during the present time period) who is yearning to take the next step with her boyfriend, Sergio, who lives on the other side of the country. The other part of the story takes place in the late 1920s and follows Clair Deveraux – a young debutante with a controlling father. Clair longs to be more than just a society wife (which is what her father envisions for her)– she dreams of independence and desperately wants to attend Julliard. And of course, the silver shoes are the thread that tie the two eras (and Anne and Clair) together. I thought this book was very well written and would definitely read more books by this author. I received an ARC of this book through NetGalley – my opinions are my own.
“To thine own self be true.” This wise and well known saying is the underlying them for this book.
Entertaining and fun to read, this novel tells the story of a loving but overprotective father in the 1920’s. He controls his young daughter’s life.
This is half of the story which alternates with one of a fully liberated woman in the 2000’s who has problems of her own to deal with.
The connection between them is The Silver Shoes. The two characters in the story have a terrible secret to which they want to keep the secret hidden for fear of being found out. Each one finds a way of reconciling and adjusting to their situations.
It is no wonder that they all eventually learn the importance of “…to thine own self be true.”
Definitely a terrific read!
An undemanding dual timeline novel. With a predictable plot having little to no surprise, the story wavered between okay and bland. Easy to read and simplistic, I think the writing in this book is geared more toward the young adult genre.
Enjoyed this book! A bit unexpected, but fun.
Loved the two intertwined tails. Liked that the heroine isn’t perfect and not at all sure of how things will work out.
I certainly enjoyed Silver Shoes, but I can’t say I was riveted. Riveted is that I completely blow off my calendar for the next day and read deep into the night until my pup complains. (He needs his beauty sleep, you know.) I am so over the “come hither here” years that I get by.
But back to Silver Shoes. I felt that the ms could have benefited from an additional editing. There were unnecessary passages clogging the flow of the story, and if those had been eliminated, the concept and the characters could have carried this to 5 stars.
Enjoy it read in one day I wish I have known that there was a book before this one because I would have read it first
Loved the tie in between the 2 main characters