Strangers in the Night by Heather Webb – 432 pages
ARC from Harper Books and Netgalley for an honest review
Book Blurb:
She was the small-town southern beauty transformed into a Hollywood love goddess. He was the legendary crooner whose voice transfixed the world. They were Ava Gardner and Frank Sinatra. Separately they were irresistible; together they were an explosive combination.
Ava’s star is rising just as Frank’s career–and public image as a family man–is taking a hit. Gone are the days of the screaming bobbysoxers and chart-topping hits. Ava, however, finds herself gracing the front page of every tabloid in America. Jealousy and cheating abound, and when the two succumb to their temperaments and their vices, their happiness is threatened at every turn.
As the pair ride the rollercoaster of success and failure, passion and anger, they both wonder if the next turn will be the end of their careers, and most devastating of all–the end of all they’ve shared.
My Review: 4 stars
Strangers in the Night by Heather Webb was an intimate introduction to Frank Sinatra and his lifelong love, Ava Gardner. Admittedly, I knew next to nothing about the man or the woman behind their star status. I for sure have heard Frank’s music as my parents were, and still are, fans of his songs.
The good news is that by writing in the first person from Frank’s POV and Ava’s POV, the reader is introduced to them in an accessible way. It didn’t matter if you’ve been a lifelong fan or not familiar with either of them, we all start the book as equals.
I was shocked at the at how fast their relationship could go from cold to hot. The way they could both love and fight with such passion and acrimony was crazy. Yet they always, well almost always, came back to one another.
Learning about how they were raised, the struggles they went through, and the allowances given to men (not women) were all addressed throughout the book. Depression, alcoholism, addiction, and infidelity were commonplace in star-studded Hollywood.
Fans of movies and old Hollywood will adore this book and folks like me, who knew little to none about Frank and Ava will enjoy it too!
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