The Girls at the Kingfisher Club

March 3, 2014
Set in Jazz Age Manhattan, Valentine pays homage in her second novel (after Mechanique) to “The Twelve Dancing Princesses,” a Brothers Grimm story. The book’s imagery has a cinematic sweep, but the narrative itself is less dazzling. Jo Hamilton, called the General by her 11 younger sisters, does her best to shield them from their wealthy, distant father. Disappointed that his wife did not give him any sons, he houses the girls on the top floors of their mansion, away from their mother, to be raised by nannies and each other. Jo begins to sneak her sisters out to speakeasies around town where “the Princesses,” as they are eventually dubbed, anonymously dance the night away. Jo is hardened by the responsibility of keeping the girls safe during their outings and protecting them from their father, who would marry them off to cold and uncaring men like himself, and she stops dancing after meeting a man she thinks she could love. The narrative unfolds from her perspective, and though Jo’s matter-of-fact attitude doesn’t get in the way of Valentine’s lush period detail, it unfortunately keeps the reader at an emotional distance for too much of the novel. Agent: Joe Monti, Barry Goldblatt Literary Agency.

May 15, 2014

For the 12 Hamilton sisters, life is a dreary prospect. Locked in their posh Upper East Side town house by their overprotective widowed father, the girls are little more than prisoners in the proverbial gilded cage. By day, they struggle to thrive in pale, dusty rooms, but at night--at night, they dance. Marshalled by the eldest sister, Jo "The General," the girls sneak down the back stairs and out into New York City's legendary speakeasy scene. Earning themselves the nickname "The Princesses," they haunt the famous nightclubs of the era, dancing and flirting with bootleggers, bartenders, and dashing bachelors of all kinds. But their father suspects what they've been up to, and worse, has plans to marry off or institutionalize the girls as punishment. Forced to flee into the cold, dark streets of Manhattan, they must learn to dance a new dance--of survival. VERDICT Dressed up in the thrill and sparkle of the Roaring Twenties, the classic fairy tale of "The Twelve Dancing Princesses" has never been more engrossing or delightful. Valentine's (Mechanique: A Tale of the Circus Tresaulti) fresh, original style and choice of setting make this a fairy tale reimagining not to be missed. [See Prepub Alert, 1/6/14.]--Leigh Wright, Bridgewater, NJ

Copyright 2014 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 15, 2014
The Hamilton sisters live a double lifecaged in their house by day, they break free at night to hit the dance floors of New York. Following her debut novel, Mechanique (2011), Valentine offers this fanciful reimagining, set in the Roaring Twenties, of the fairy tale of the 12 dancing princesses. The princes have been replaced by bartenders and bootleggers, and the girls wear out catalog-ordered shoes. Their dominating father has kept them shut up at home, virtual prisoners, for their entire lives. When he gets wind of what they've been doing, he works to find them more permanent positions as wiveswhether or not they like it. The narrative is simple, as befits a modern fairy tale, and the characters are drawn in broad strokes, each dominated by one identifiable personality trait. When the novel shines, it does so by juxtaposing the tension of the imprisoned daughters' plight against the gimlets and glitter of the underground dance halls they frequent. The Girls at the Kingfisher Club is like a jittery Charlestonloose, fast, and fun.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)