May 19th, 2025
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The books of May are here—fresh, fierce, and full of feels.

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Wedding season includes searching for a missing bride�and a killer . . .


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Sometimes the path forward begins with a step back.


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One island. Three generations. A summer that changes everything.


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A snapshot made them legends. What it didn�t show could tear them apart.


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This life coach will give you a lift!


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A twisty, "addictive," mystery about jealousy and bad intentions


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Trapped by magic, haunted by muses�she must master the cards before they�re lost to darkness.


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Masquerades, secrets, and a forbidden romance stitched into every seam.


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A vanished manuscript. A murdered expert. A castle full of secrets�and one sharp-witted sleuth.


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Two warrior angels. First friends, now lovers. Their future? A WILD UNKNOWN.


Fifth Avenue Glamour Girl

Fifth Avenue Glamour Girl, May 2023
by Renee Rosen

Berkley
Featuring: Estee Lauder; Gloria Downing
432 pages
ISBN: 059333566X
EAN: 9780593335666
Kindle: B0B7KNGYTT
Trade Paperback / e-Book / audiobook
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"The Beginning of a Legend"

Fresh Fiction Review

Fifth Avenue Glamour Girl
Renee Rosen

Reviewed by Jennifer Rummel
Posted April 17, 2023

Women's Fiction Historical

An author tracks down Gloria Downing, hoping to interview her for a book about her friend Estée Lauder. It throws Gloria into reminiscing about the past where she and Estée were young women learning about life together.

Gloria’s family scandal catapulted her from society and forced her to make her own way in the world. She took a job at a beauty parlor where she met Estée who was selling face creams. Their friendship will change each other’s lives in ways they could never imagine.

Estée’s desperate to make herself a household name and she’ll do anything to reach the top of her field. Gloria changes her name and her life style, but she still understands trends and fashion. She ends up working at Saks Fifth Avenue. Estée can’t believe her good luck and begs for an introduction.

Forty years later, the secrets threaten to come out – divorces, affairs, fights, and how the war changed everyone.  Gloria might not be talking to Estée at the moment, but that doesn’t mean she’s ready to spill all the secrets of their friendship.

While FIFTH AVENUE GLAMOUR GIRL by Renee Rose has a dual timeline, most of the book takes place in the past as the two women use their friendship to get ahead in the world. They’re both ambitious, determined, and tight-lipped. Don’t miss this fascinating read about how Estée Lauder worked hard and became a household name.

Learn more about Fifth Avenue Glamour Girl

SUMMARY

It’s 1938, and a young woman selling face cream out of a New York City beauty parlor is determined to prove she can have it all. Her name is Estée Lauder, and she’s about to take the world by storm, in this dazzling new novel from the USA Today bestselling author of The Social Graces and Park Avenue Summer.

In New York City, you can disappear into the crowd. At least that’s what Gloria Downing desperately hopes as she tries to reinvent herself after a devastating family scandal. She’s ready for a total life makeover and a friend she can lean on—and into her path walks a young, idealistic woman named Estée. Their chance encounter will change Gloria’s life forever.

Estée dreams of success and becoming a household name like Elizabeth Arden, Helena Rubinstein, and Revlon. Before Gloria knows it, she is swept up in her new friend’s mission and while Estée rolls up her sleeves, Gloria begins to discover her own talents. After landing a job at Saks Fifth Avenue, New York’s finest luxury department store, Gloria finds her voice, which proves instrumental in opening doors for Estée’s insatiable ambitions.

But in world unaccustomed to women with power, they’ll each have to reckon with the price that comes from daring to live life on their own terms and refusing to back down.


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