I’m pleased to welcome you today to my stop on the blog tour for the unique and irresistible Strangers in the Night: A Novel of Frank Sinatra and Ava Gardner by Heather Webb. Thank you to Anne Cater and Harper 360 UK for giving me the opportunity to read and review this fascinating book.
About the book:
It was the tumultuous romance that scandalized the world: Frank Sinatra and Ava Gardner fought, loved, and lived life to the hilt. Now their unbridled story is brought vividly to life by Heather Webb, the bestselling author of Meet Me in Monaco and The Next Ship Home.
In the golden age of Hollywood, two of the brightest stars would define—and defy—an era…
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.
A captivating novel with a star-studded cast spanning continents and decades, Strangers in the Night brings to life the most riveting love story of the twentieth century.
About the author:
Heather Webb is the award-winning and USA Today bestselling author of The Last Ship Home, The Phantom’s Apprentice, Rodin’s Lover, and Becoming Josephine. Heather is also a freelance editor, and teaches craft courses at a local college. Her novels have been translated into more than a dozen languages, worldwide. She lives in Connecticut with her family and one feisty rabbit.
My Review:
Strangers in the Night by Heather Webb is a reimagining of the real life love story between Hollywood icons Frank Sinatra and Ava Gardner. In a tumultuous love affair that scandalised the world, the legendary crooner and sultry beauty lived a life of glitz and glammer as they fought, loved and set the world alight, their irresistible charm as a power couple making for an explosive combination.
Heather Webb has brought the pair vividly to life in a fictionalised account of their lives that draws you into the world of Hollywood just as Frank’s star begins to wane and Ava’s is set to soar. With his image as a family man in tatters, Frank’s career is far from the dizzying heights of fame it once was, whilst Ava, on the other hand, finds herself gracing the front page of every newspaper in America. With their fiery temperaments and volatile relationship, Frank and Ava ride the wave of fame, both achieving immeasurable success but also their fair share of failure as their passion for each other sets them on a path that is as destructive as it is exciting…
Strangers in the Night is bold and irresistible, with Frank and Ava taking centre stage amongst a star studded cast that bring the golden age of Hollywood vividly to life. Although this is very much a fictionalised account, you can’t help but feel that Heather Webb has captured the true essence of these larger than life icons of a bygone era. At a time when being famous really did mean something, with no instant access via social media like there is today, Frank and Ava’s story is intense and passionate, in a book that goes behind the scenes of a relationship that captured the imagination of a twentieth century global audience.
As someone who grew up watching old Frank SInatra movies, thanks to my Dad, now 84, who has been a lifelong fan, I found this book fascinating. I got a real sense of what it must have been like to be such a huge star in a cinematic era unlike any that had ever been seen before. How it must have felt to have your every move scrutinised and your infidelities laid bare for the whole world to see, never knowing if the next revelation is the one that will see it all come crashing down around your ears.
A unique and irresistible book unlike any I have ever read before, Strangers in the Night is a fascinating read that will stay with me. Heather Webb has done an outstanding job of bringing Frank and Ava back to life and I loved every minute spent within the pages of this highly entertaining novel.
A timeless tale of love and passion that brings the golden age of Hollywood gloriously to life, Strangers in the Night is a book I would highly recommend.
Strangers in the Night by Heather Webb is available to buy now:
Cal Turner Reviews 
Thanks for the blog tour support x
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Agreed. She did a great job with this story!
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