I really enjoyed this book and I adored the character of Lily, who had such courage and determination to live her best life, even though her childhood is marred by tragedy and abuse. She moves to Vegas to become a dancer, and even though she soon realises her ambitions may exceed her talent, she crafts herself a glamorous existence as a dancer, mingling with the stars of the time and living a life full of luxury.
The descriptions of the dancers and their costumes are fabulous, and the superficial, glitzy and decadent lifestyle is brought vividly to life. This book is much more than froth and frippery though. The seedy side of Vegas is revealed as the dancers are expected to give the patrons a night to remember, drugs are introduced and Lily has to come to terms with the impact the abuse in her childhood holds over her and influences her adulthood decisions.
Whilst there are some hard lessons to learn, the book has a thread of hope running through it and Lily has the protection of her benefactor throughout.
Huge thanks to the author, the publishers and netgalley who provided the arc in return for an honest review.

From the book description, I was expecting to be immersed in the atmosphere of 1960s Las Vegas and I definitely got that. Elizabeth Church shows the reader both the surface glamour – the famous names, the glitzy costumes, the fantastic parties, the extravagant gifts - and the seedy underbelly – the drugs, the physical toll, the expectation to charm men attracted to the casinos by the beauty of the showgirls, to ‘give them memories’ to take home to their dull, everyday lives. Lily mingles with Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr. (‘a hepcat seducer who lured with junkie, fast-talking patter’), Paul Anka, Joe DiMaggio, Tom Jones. She is a witness to key events of the 1960s – the assassinations of Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy, the moon landings – while Vegas carries on regardless.

Eventually the glitter fades revealing a life that is shallow and empty. ‘Ruby was well aware that no one wanted her for who she was, for what she read or thought...To them, she was just like Vegas – all glitz and glamour. An anonymous blur, like a passing freight train.’

However All the Beautiful Girls is more than just the story of a Las Vegas showgirl. It’s a bildungsroman that charts Lily’s emotional journey as she struggles to overcome family tragedy, a traumatic childhood, thwarted ambition, the lure of the darker side of the showgirl lifestyle and find a sense of self-worth, acceptance and love.

When she leaves her hometown of Kansas, she effectively reinvents herself, adopting a new name, Ruby Wilde. ‘If Kansas could go from sea to prairie, if a frog egg could radically transform itself from an almost-fish with gills to an amphibian that left water for land, then Lily could transform, too.’ She dreams of becoming a dancer; dance being the one thing in her life that brings her joy. Arriving in Las Vegas she sees only possibility, star struck by the glamour of her new surroundings. ‘This, Ruby realized, is what happiness feels like. Freedom. Bubbling champagne, yellow birds, music and dance and neon and possibility.’

You somehow know it’s not going to be that easy. The scars Lily bears are not just psychological and hers will be an emotional journey of success, love, loss and betrayal. Aside from a few valued friends, the one positive and constant presence in Lily’s life is her faithful benefactor - the equivalent of a ‘fairy godmother’ – driven by motivations of their own. In the end, it transpires that Lily is not the only one with secrets and I’ll readily admit the author took me completely by surprise at one point. I do love an “I wasn’t expecting that!” moment in a novel.

I really enjoyed All the Beautiful Girls. It turned out to be a much more intense read than I’d been expecting - in a good way – but it has to be said there are some scenes that are hard to read. I loved Lily for her determination to follow her dream and to believe in herself, despite everything that happens to her along the way. The way Lily overcomes the tragedies that befall her made me think a little bit of the film ‘A Star Is Born’, starring the wonderful Judy Garland.

An elaborate and utterly elucidating description of life as a Las Vegas showgirl. Absolutely full of vibrating neon to colour the imagination. Lily knows disasters and has her demons but always hopes her dreams can come true.

All The Beautiful Girls is a fabulous story set in the 60's mostly in Las Vegas.What a great time to be a young show girl with all the glitz and the glamour .The main character Lily has a tragic childhood when her parents and sister are killed in a car accident ,she goes to live with her Aunt and Uncle .As soon as she is 16 she runs away from Kansas to Las Vegas as Lily dreams of being a dancer and reinvents herself as Ruby .The story tells of the fight she has to finally find herself .The writing is beautiful I really felt empathy with Lily I also loved the other friends she met in Vegas Rose and Vivid especially and of course the Aviator who turns out to be a real friend .I really enjoyed the lovely ending .I would give this book 10 stars if I could !

The setting of 1960s Las Vegas is what drew me to the book, and it didn’t disapoint. The book starts off with the story of Lily aged 8 years old, who has to go live with her aunt and uncle after her parents are killed in a crash. There are some descriptions of abuse but these are handled well.

My favourite part of the story is when she moves to Vegas to become a dancer. The descriptions of the casinos, and the glitz and glamour of it all mean you can imagine exactly what it would be like. The characters are well developed and thought out. Lily’s relationship with the man she dubs The Aviator is by far the most interesting and I loved their interactions.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for a copy of this book.

This is the story of Lily Decker who after being brought up by her Aunt and Uncle, after her parents and sister die in a car crash, becomes Ruby Wilde a showgirl in Vegas. This was a good read and I liked the way famous people are mentioned in the story. It made it seem more real.

Gripped by this book from beginning to end, I could not put it down. Ruby Wilde is a glitzy showgirl in 1960s Las Vegas with seemingly everything she could wish for. But her childhood experiences refuse to let her free and so we stream with her through lows and highs, urging her on to happiness - yet like Ruby wondering if we dare believe this will be possible.

This is not a book I'd normally have read but so pleased I decided to give it a go. It tells the story of Lily/Ruby from when she was orphaned as young child to early adulthood. Lily dreams of being a dancer and goes to Las Vegas to find fame and fortune. She becomes Ruby, the showgirl, and the story unfolds about friendship, love, betrayal and trust. The author tackles the issue of Lily's sexual abuse at the hands of her uncle in a very understanding way and shows how Lily/Ruby comes to terms with it as she matures. A very thought provoking book.

We follow the plight of Lily who becomes Ruby when she grows to the age when she can escape her abusive home to be a dancer in Vegas. The man who killed her family is her secret supporter, and he has a secret of his own that emerges as this splendidly melodramatic novel unwinds. A poor orphan, beset by unloving grim carers/relatives dreams of escaping and resorts to personal self-harm and chooses a rogue boyfriend herself - but her loving fellow-dancers - her angels, one of whom was introduced to her by another paternal figure who she leans to trust .. all the elements of a weepy are here. I was only not sure of the title? And sometimes the twists and turns made me groan - 'what, one more bad thing laid on her' - the ending is perhaps a fantasy and begins to feel like one but it ends quickly enough so we don't find it too wearing. Good entertainment.

In lots of ways this follows a formula: victimised young girl achieves her dream through grit and determination, but then realises that material wealth can't cover the scars of her past.

What gives it interest is the Las Vegas setting where Ruby is a showgirl - I loved this section: the absurd OTT glitz, the implicit sexism, the fakery that is Vegas that pretends the civil rights movement, Vietnam, are not happening.

In some ways this reminded me of a tamer, less scandalous Valley of the Dolls, and once the plot moves away from Vegas, while it's necessary for Ruby's life journey, the book falls flat. Beware, there are graphic scenes of abuse at the start, and Ruby isn't always the brightest of heroines. All the same, this has *something* about it that kept me enjoyable gripped through the central sections. Good for when you need a girly read with more substance than chick-lit.

I selected this book as I am fascinated by showgirls. I was one, briefly, and I have been writing about them also. And in this book, which the promotional text sets out, we follow the trials and tribulations of a fictional showgirl working in Las Vegas in the Sixties, at the height of its glitz and glamour.

Only that is not what this book is about AT ALL. And so my review is a little torn - this is a beautifully written book about a young woman who, after deep trauma in her childhood, including periods of sexual abuse, flees for a life as a showgirl in Vegas, but where the effects of her past still haunt and affect her life. It is a tale of overcoming enormous damage, to understand and forgive. Only, this isn't really the book I signed up for.

Sure, there are brief passages - about a chapter or so - which charts this woman's life in Vegas: the shows, the men, the routine of auditions and rehearsals, the difficulty in reconciling yourself to a role where only passive beauty is required... But I really wanted to ensure we manage expectations here as, if like me, you are lured in by the showgirl aspect, this is quite minimal in this book.

However, Elizabeth Church's writing is gorgeous. We really get under the skin of Ruby, through her hard life, and as she grows up and comes to reconcile herself to what happened in her life, and how she found the strength from within to overcome. This is a beautiful book.