HFVBT Review: Tiffany Blues by M.J. Rose

Title: Tiffany Blues
Author: M.J. Rose
Format: Ebook
Publisher: Atria Books
Publish Date: August 7, 2018 (Yesterday!)
Source: HFVBT

What's the Story?:

From Goodreads.com: "New York, 1924. Twenty‑four‑year‑old Jenny Bell is one of a dozen burgeoning artists invited to Louis Comfort Tiffany’s prestigious artists’ colony. Gifted and determined, Jenny vows to avoid distractions and romantic entanglements and take full advantage of the many wonders to be found at Laurelton Hall.

But Jenny’s past has followed her to Long Island. Images of her beloved mother, her hard-hearted stepfather, waterfalls, and murder, and the dank hallways of Canada’s notorious Andrew Mercer Reformatory for Women overwhelm Jenny’s thoughts, even as she is inextricably drawn to Oliver, Tiffany’s charismatic grandson.

As the summer shimmers on, and the competition between the artists grows fierce as they vie for a spot at Tiffany’s New York gallery, a series of suspicious and disturbing occurrences suggest someone knows enough about Jenny’s childhood trauma to expose her.

Supported by her closest friend Minx Deering, a seemingly carefree socialite yet dedicated sculptor, and Oliver, Jenny pushes her demons aside. Between stolen kisses and stolen jewels, the champagne flows and the jazz plays on until one moonless night when Jenny’s past and present are thrown together in a desperate moment, that will threaten her promising future, her love, her friendships, and her very life."

My Two Cents:

I was drawn to this book initially because I wanted to learn more about Louis Comfort Tiffany. I love his glass work. It's gorgeous and I have always been impressed with how he was able to capture the light in every scene. Capturing light, both metaphorically and actually, is a huge message in this book. Historical fiction with a side of art is incredibly attractive to me and this book pulled me in and made for a beautiful escape!

Our main character is Jenny, a young woman with a dark past. She has escaped to New York City but still feels like she is constantly being chased by her childhood memories, which are terrible and scary (I don't want to give anything away). I thought it was really effective how the author didn't give everything about Jenny's past all at once. We get little details as the story unfolds and I really liked how it made me feel for Jenny more and appreciate all of the terrible things that happened to her a little more. I was pulling for her throughout the book.

I was fascinated by the details about Louis Comfort Tiffany's compound, Laurelton. After years of neglect, the buildings burnt down in the late 1950s. The reason for the fire is still a mystery. Laurelton sounds like the kind of place that I would like to visit so I was so happy to see all of the detail Rose packs into this book. We see why Jenny is so affected by her past and how she channels something truly terrible into her beautiful paintings.

This is a story about resilience and finding the light in even the darkest of situations. I really enjoyed it!