📚 Book Tour + Review 📚
Thank you @bibliolifestyle + @williammorrowbooks #gifted
When a book is co-written you never really know what you’re going to get style wise, but Can’t We Be Friends by Denny S. Bryce & Eliza Knight is flawlessly written and I was captivated from page one. It flowed easily like the Jazz music Ms. Ella Fitzgerald was famously known for. It's dual POV and alternating timelines.
“When I met Marilyn, I was somewhere between the past and present. I was the Queen of Jazz, and she was the Queen of the Silver Screen, but like any successful entertainer, the girl we show outside vastly differs from the girl behind closed doors.”
I’m an old soul and love music well before my time, so I loved reading about Ella, her family, dating life, career, but ultimately the real story, for me, was the segregation she went through and, of course, her friendship with Marilyn Monroe. Both women were underestimated by many people in their lives, but especially men.
I think we’ve all heard about the blonde haired, red lipstick, famous actress, Marilyn Monroe. I didn’t realize she had such a horrible childhood and grew up in orphanages. Then she struggled to have a child. She had a lot of demons. And bad boyfriends and husbands. People just treated her bad and took advantage of her.
“You have a big heart, Marilyn,” {...} “Don’t let that be a crutch for you. Embrace it.”
The women first made contact in 1952 through letters. Marilyn wanted singing lessons, but Ella was self taught. A natural talent! They became pen-pals anyway, then progressed to phone calls, and eventually met. They were a natural fit and became each other’s go-to when life was hard, or to celebrate the big moments too! They loved having food dates! Reading this is going to make you miss and want to connect to a friend!!
“But you can’t stop feeling. Life keeps coming at us.”
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 I highly recommend this one. It’s history, friendship, a look at successes and the choices we make to get there, women empowerment, but heartbreak too. Out now 3/5!
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