It was unimaginable. When she was eight years old, Lily Decker somehow survived the auto accident that killed her parents and sister, but neither her emotionally distant aunt nor her all-too-attentive uncle could ease her grief. Dancing proves to be Lily's only solace, and eventually she receives a "scholarship" to a local dance academy-courtesy of a mysterious benefactor.
Grown and ready to leavehome for good, Lily changes her name to Ruby Wilde and heads to Las Vegas to bea troupe dancer, but her sensual beauty and voluptuous figure land her workinstead as a showgirl performing everywhere from Les Folies Bergere at theTropicana to the Stardust's Lido de Paris. Wearing costumes dripping withfeathers and rhinestones, five-inch heels, and sky-high headdresses, Ruby mayhave all the looks of a Sin City success story, but she still must learn tonavigate the world of men-and figure out what real love looks like.
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[The line of Aunt Tate's jaw was fierce andunyielding, like a hammered steel length of railroad track, but her eyes weresoft and puffy from furtive crying](FourthEstate, 5 April 2018, first published 6 March 2018, 368 pages, copy frompublisher via NetGalley and voluntarily reviewed)
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This is my first timereading the author. I'm not sure I would read any more of her work. This bookcontains a lot of scenes that could be a trigger for child abuse and sexualassault. I've never experienced either of these things myself but the book containsgraphic accounts of both that I wasn't expecting. I have no issues with anauthor using abuse as a theme in a novel. I've read more than my fair share.It's the way it's sometimes presented in the book that shocked me. It was toomuch at times and put me off. At times, the scenes between Lily and her uncleadded nothing more than shock value. The book comes into its own when Lily,grown up and using the name Ruby Wilde becomes a showgirl. I loved this part ofthe book. I've never read books about Las Vegas in the time the book is set sothis was really interesting at times. Unfortunately, Ruby meets a sinister manand things go awry and abuse rears its ugly head again. It was too much for me.The book is well written and I liked the characters but the storyline did notgel for me.
