Book Review:
A Very Good Life, by Author Lynn Steward
“We know what a determined woman can accomplish, don’t we? -She would need to be focused. It was almost 1975, International Woman’s Year. If she wanted to live up to the expectations of women like Nina Bramen, she would have to rise to the occasion.”–A Very Good Life Dana McGarry hungers to have it all; a successful NYC fashion career, a devoted husband, children someday, and a vacation house in the country. Her handsome husband Brett, rising star at his firm, has his mind on one thing and one thing only; making partnership. After 8 years of marriage, Dana feels alone and distant from her husband. To make things worse, at the NYC dept store she works for, someone has fixed a teen contest, and she is expected to turn her head the other way and play along! Set in 1974, a year before International Women’s Year, Dana is at a crossroads… having a successful marriage and career shouldn’t be this difficult! A chance encounter with a virtual stranger is about to shake things up in Dana and Brett’s life, starting a whirlwind of events that will lead to Dana making the biggest decision of her life…
My Thoughts:
I wasn’t sure what to make of this story at first, but I am really glad I stuck with it. At about chapter 5 or 6, A Very Good Life REALLY picks up the pace and throws you into a whirlwind of scheming opportunists, blackmail, unethical demands, and a marriage on the rocks. Dana McGarry was a woman before her time. She is a heroine to be proud of! If I’ve ever wanted to give a protagonist a big ole’ high five, it was her!
I enjoyed the setting of this story; 1974, Christmas in NYC. It was a magical time filled with cocktail parties with celebrities, and fashion designers. The Author herself is well versed to create this setting, because she herself was a successful business woman in NYC’s fashion industry. Lynn Steward really made the time period come alive.
A Very Good Life is the first in a five part series about New York in the seventies, featuring the lovable Dana McGarry. An absolutely heart warming women’s fiction novel, I am giving A Very Good Life 4 very well deserved stars!
***I received a paperback copy of A Very Good Life in exchange for a fair & honest review.
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Lynn Steward is a successful business woman who spent many years in New York City’s fashion industry in marketing and merchandising, including the development of the first women’s department at a famous men’s clothing store. Through extensive research, and an intimate knowledge of the period, Steward created the characters and stories for a series of five authentic and heartwarming novels about New York in the seventies. A Very Good Life is the first in the series featuring Dana McGarry. –Amazon Author Bio
A Well Read Woman 