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Dollface A Novel of the Roaring Twenties Renée Rosen Books

Download As PDF : Dollface A Novel of the Roaring Twenties Renée Rosen Books

Dollface A Novel of the Roaring Twenties Renée Rosen Books

“Dollface” was the name frequently given to girlfriends of mobsters during the “Flapper” years of the Roaring Twenties. To be so labeled was an honor, indicating the woman was highly protected and fawned on, but at a very great cost. Vera Abramowitz appears initially as a girl who thought she was escaping a world of drudgery by fleeing to Chicago. Her father had been killed by the Black Hand Gang and she wanted nothing of that life or of the meat packing plant her mother was now running, an amazing feat in itself in this era when women were only just starting to work in offices and factories but certainly not in management. Vera doesn’t quite see it that way and is barely making her meager bills with her typist’s salary. But two men are about to change Vera’s entire world and introduce her to the world of flashy living, guns, mobster hits, illegal booze running, and more toughness than any sane woman would ever want!
Tony, an Al Capone hood, first dazzles Vera with his fancy lifestyle to which he introduces her. Their world is filled with unbelievable passion but without commitment and the latter is the only part that leaves Vera feeling somewhat unsure of the future. Still she hangs on as her life has become somewhat easier since Tony treats her well with occasional gifts and even money. All of this changes when she meets a man named Shep Green, who owns a nightclub and is deeply involved with Capone’s rival gang, the North Side Gang. Tony knows Vera is attracted to Shep, but Shep knows nothing of his serious rival. It is Shep to whom Vera pivots because he actually shows that he really cares about her, a novelty for this love-starved gal who is so dazzled with the luxurious lifestyle around her new friends. Questions arise, though, that are extremely disquieting at times but which Vera shoves away in denial, literally questions of life and death!
Hints are dropped by Shep’s friends that seem to indicate shady business deals and rivalries that wind up in “hits.” These increase in frequency throughout the novel as vengeance and fury rule the day with the grief of losing each member. Vera is lost in her new home and eventually a gorgeous baby girl after a very quick wedding to Shep, but her denial phase is about to end with a bang when more murders occur and Shep seems slated to go to jail. Her fortunes, it seems, are as fickle as fate since they rely on something that is totally falling apart at the seams.
There is enough partying, gaiety, intimate sharings with guys and gals, dancing, drinking, shopping for the latest flapper styles and hairdos, tension, unexplained dangers, and so much more that keep the reader riveted to every page and flipping them rapidly to find out more. It’s an attractive and glamorous lifestyle these characters lived, a post-WWI revel that couldn’t possibly last but which was relished by participants and observers (readers as well) while it reigned supreme in the streets of major cities around America in the 1920’s. The end is stunning and can be visualized as a fierce and heart-rending mobster movie scene! Renee Rosen has captured not only the essence of it all but the fierce passion in which mobsters and their gals moved with elegance and gusto! This is a terrific read about a volatile and exciting time and is highly recommended to all!


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Dollface A Novel of the Roaring Twenties Renée Rosen Books Reviews

Dollface was a fun journey through Chicago in the height of the roaring Twenties! Gangsters, turf wars, and speakeasy's were the backdrop for Vera's love affairs with two men entrenched in organized crime. I've tried reading so many novels set in the twenties, but none of them portrayed the dangerous times of prohibition quite like Dollface!

Again, author Rosen set her novel in Chicago, the epicenter of crime, corruption, and bathtub gin! Vera was a working girl in the city when she met Tony. It was only after she fell in love with him that Vera learned he was a gangster. Their relationship was tested when Vera met Shep, a gangster from the rival gang and also fell in love with Shep. She Vera juggled the two men, she slowly became a moll, donning her short, flashy dresses, and wearing her hair short. Vera's decision to marry into a crime family set her on a trajectory toward disaster. The illegal lifestyle Vera lived was obviously unsustainable and I waited to see how far she could go before her perfect world crumbled around her. The height of the story came when Vera succumbed to crime!

Parts of this were fun and silly, while others described the sinister part of organized crime Chicago was known for. This was a straightforward story without surprises or an in-depth plot. Although Vera had many moments where she reflected on the choices of her life and the impacts of her decision to marry a gangster, her growth as a character was somewhat limited.

My favorite book by Rosen is still White Collar Girl, but this was an exciting journey into prohibition Chicago that was entertaining!

Please read more of my reviews on my blog (...)
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I found this nvel during my "what should I read next?" browsings, and thought it sounded interesting and entertaining. Well, it wasn't.
On the plus side, it's well written and the pages do flow. But that's about it.

It felt like a first draft it has a lot of potential, nut neither characters nor plot scratch the surface. It's not the cliches and stereotypes that bothered me, you'd expect them in a novel about gangsters and bootleggers, but even cliches can be made interesting when given some personality traits.

I felt like at least the main characters should have more depth to make them more relatable.
Take the hereoine she has a tragic past, a complicated relationship with her mother, gets caught up in a love triangle between two sworn enemies, finds herself having to provide for her daughter with no more means than her wits and I still felt no excitmente, compassion, pity or anything towards her. she just didn't convey any feeling.

And I also think that the historical background could have been better described. It must be hard to find the ideal balance between painting a detailed enough picture and drag into boring descriptions; and maye less is more, but here a little more wouldn't have hurt.
“Dollface” was the name frequently given to girlfriends of mobsters during the “Flapper” years of the Roaring Twenties. To be so labeled was an honor, indicating the woman was highly protected and fawned on, but at a very great cost. Vera Abramowitz appears initially as a girl who thought she was escaping a world of drudgery by fleeing to Chicago. Her father had been killed by the Black Hand Gang and she wanted nothing of that life or of the meat packing plant her mother was now running, an amazing feat in itself in this era when women were only just starting to work in offices and factories but certainly not in management. Vera doesn’t quite see it that way and is barely making her meager bills with her typist’s salary. But two men are about to change Vera’s entire world and introduce her to the world of flashy living, guns, mobster hits, illegal booze running, and more toughness than any sane woman would ever want!
Tony, an Al Capone hood, first dazzles Vera with his fancy lifestyle to which he introduces her. Their world is filled with unbelievable passion but without commitment and the latter is the only part that leaves Vera feeling somewhat unsure of the future. Still she hangs on as her life has become somewhat easier since Tony treats her well with occasional gifts and even money. All of this changes when she meets a man named Shep Green, who owns a nightclub and is deeply involved with Capone’s rival gang, the North Side Gang. Tony knows Vera is attracted to Shep, but Shep knows nothing of his serious rival. It is Shep to whom Vera pivots because he actually shows that he really cares about her, a novelty for this love-starved gal who is so dazzled with the luxurious lifestyle around her new friends. Questions arise, though, that are extremely disquieting at times but which Vera shoves away in denial, literally questions of life and death!
Hints are dropped by Shep’s friends that seem to indicate shady business deals and rivalries that wind up in “hits.” These increase in frequency throughout the novel as vengeance and fury rule the day with the grief of losing each member. Vera is lost in her new home and eventually a gorgeous baby girl after a very quick wedding to Shep, but her denial phase is about to end with a bang when more murders occur and Shep seems slated to go to jail. Her fortunes, it seems, are as fickle as fate since they rely on something that is totally falling apart at the seams.
There is enough partying, gaiety, intimate sharings with guys and gals, dancing, drinking, shopping for the latest flapper styles and hairdos, tension, unexplained dangers, and so much more that keep the reader riveted to every page and flipping them rapidly to find out more. It’s an attractive and glamorous lifestyle these characters lived, a post-WWI revel that couldn’t possibly last but which was relished by participants and observers (readers as well) while it reigned supreme in the streets of major cities around America in the 1920’s. The end is stunning and can be visualized as a fierce and heart-rending mobster movie scene! Renee Rosen has captured not only the essence of it all but the fierce passion in which mobsters and their gals moved with elegance and gusto! This is a terrific read about a volatile and exciting time and is highly recommended to all!