Ingenue is very different from the first book, Vixen, in that we’re already familiar with the world of the flappers. Gloria has very truly rebelled this time and is bold enough to live alone (and unmarried) with a black man in 1920s America. I don’t know about you, but it takes a lot of courage to defy those heavily ingrained societal prejudices surrounding both living together without being married and having an interracial relationship. That’s why Gloria is still my favourite character in this second novel. She’s far from perfect and her relationship with Jerome is rocky at times but by the end you’re even more sure that they truly love each other.I hated Lorraine in the first book but she seems to have developed quite a bit by Ingenue. She was rather naive despite her rebellions in the first book but she’s a little more worldly by this second book. At the same time, she retains a lot of that naivete and it gets her into trouble quite a bit. Clara’s storyline was also fascinating in that I loved her struggle between Marcus and her old, daring flapper life in New York. The addition of Vera was probably my favourite part (character-wise) of the whole novel. Black women don’t often get a voice in historical fiction set around this time, so seeing Vera and how she is treated throughout Ingenue was fascinating.As for the plot I’d have to say it’s a little slower than the pace in Vixen but it certainly doesn’t drag on and on. It’s fast-paced considering that four different characters are telling the story but Jillian Larkin never compromises on character development. If you like action/thriller novels you’ll probably find the pace a bit slow, but for such a character-driven novel Ingenue speeds right along.I learned so much more about the 1920s from Ingenue as the world of the flappers expanded. Gangsters, racial relations, fashion, journalism and so much more were all discussed in great detail all through the novel. I can’t comment on the accuracy of Ingenue or the rest of The Flappers books but I have a feeling Jillian Larkin has done her research fairly well. You certainly feel immersed in the world of the Roaring Twenties from page one.Overall, Ingenue was a pretty good second book. If you liked Vixen and are invested in the characters of The Flappers you’ll definitely want to stick with the series until the end.I give this book 4.5/5 stars, rounded up to 5 stars for Goodreads rating purposes. To be honest the first book in this series held my attention a lot better than this one. Don't get me wrong it had its high points, but sometimes I felt like that story was a bit of a stretch. I mean, all of the main characters just happen to be in the same city, i.e., New York, and concerned about the same thing, i.e., Gloria? That's a little unconvincing. I know it's fiction, but even in fiction the story has to be believable. The fact that these 17-18 year old kids had enough money to pay rent for apartments in New York City, hang out in mob-owned speakeasies, and work for established newspapers made the plot more fantasy than reality. But I went along for the ride anyway.Basically, the story picks up in 1920s summer, right after Gloria shot and killed a man in Chicago and fled with her piano-playing boyfriend, Jerome. Very Bonnie and Clyde. But life is so not a fairytale for these two. They end up living in some tacky apartment barely able to make ends meet. Things get so bad that Gloria has to resort to stealing food, but she doesn't mind because she's with the one she loves. I'm sorry, but when it comes to survival love has very little to do with keeping your stomach full and a roof over your head. Love doesn't pay the bills. Sadly, Jerome comes to this realization long before Gloria and leaves her. Sad, but not tragic.Tragic is Lorraine's story, Gloria's ex-best friend. Lorraine ends up working for a big-time mob boss named Carlito in an attempt to get back at Gloria for hurting her feelings. She falls for a guy who always seemed a little too-good-to-be-true for my taste and later finds out that he actually works for the FBI and was totally playing her the whole time to get closer to Carlito. Once again, Lorraine proves to be unlucky in love.As for her former crush, Marcus, things end up kind of crappy for him too. Clara (Gloria's cousin and former Flapper extraordinaire) and he seem really happy and gushy at the beginning of the book, but then Clara starts lying to him and (of course) loses his trust. In the meantime Jerome's sister, Vera, and one of his old band mates from Chicago, Evan, go to New York to look for Jerome because he's wanted for murder - the same murder Gloria actually committed. The story spirals from there and before you know it we're on a wild goose chase following the other characters as they try to - ultimately - find Gloria and Jerome before the mobsters do. So, if you like a good chase story this is it. It really doesn't pick up much until the end when *spoiler alert* the cops catch up to Gloria and she gets arrested. Then she's given an ultimatum by the cops: help them catch mobsters or stay in the slammer. She picks the mobsters because it'll get out of jail and there's a third book. So can't wait for that.All in all, this book was ok. It didn't have me quite as interested as the first one, but I'll give the last one a try.
What do You think about Ingenue. Jillian Larkin (2012)?
This review and many others can be found on my blog: literatureobsessed.blogspot.com.
—krishna
Song: Rolling in the deep by AdeleLoved this book!!
—Jackie
Fun reading, effective writing, fast pace...
—rani
it was pretty slow with some faster moments
—Pengo9
