As far as I know, have I never read a Cosmopolitan Magazine. It has never been my type of magazine to read. So why did I pick PARK AVENUE SUMMER to read? Well, I've wanted to read something by Renee Rosen for a while, I love reading historical fiction, and this book intrigued me. In this book, we get to know Cosmo's new editor-in-chief Helen Gurley Brown through young Alice Weiss who gets a job working as Helen's secretary. Alice dreams of becoming a photographer and this current position is just temporary. However, she quickly becomes very protective of Helen as lots of people work against her and her ideas. The question is, will Alice be able to fulfill her dreams one day?

One reason I enjoyed reading PARK AVENUE SUMMER was the fact that this was a bit of history that I didn't know anything about. We are so used to ideas that Helen Gurley Brown has for articles that it's fascinating to read about how she had to fight to make her first edition of Cosmo the way she wanted it. I can also say that this part of the book was the best, in my opinion. Alice Weiss' personal problem alas just couldn't reach that level of interest for me. To be perfectly honest, I wish we could have had some of the book from Helen's perspective. Alice Weiss may be the central character in this story, but Helen Gurley Brown steals the show every time she appears.

PARK AVENUE SUMMER it's a good novel. I liked the history lesson I got and perhaps one day I will even decide to read a Cosmo magazine.