Empire Girls
The critically acclaimed authors of I'll Be Seeing You return with a riveting tale of two sisters, set in the intoxicating world of New York City during the Roaring Twenties.Ivy and Rose Adams may be sisters, but they're nothing alike. Rose, the eldest, is the responsible one, while Ivy is spirited and brazen. After the unexpected death of their father, the women are left to reconcile the estate, when they make a shocking discovery: not only has their father left them in financial ruin, but he has also bequeathed their beloved family house to a brother they never knew existed. With only a photograph to guide the way, Ivy and Rose embark to New York City, determined to find this mysterious man and reclaim what is rightfully theirs.Once in New York, temptations abound at every turn, and soon the sisters are drawn into the glitzy underbelly of Manhattan, where they must overcome their differences and learn to trust each other if they're going to survive in the big city and find their brother. Filled with unforgettable characters and charm, Empire Girls is a love letter to 1920s New York, and a captivating story of the unspoken bond between sisters.
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The critically acclaimed authors of I’ll Be Seeing You return with a riveting tale of two sisters, set in the intoxicating world of New York City during the Roaring Twenties.
Ivy and Rose Adams may be sisters, but they’re nothing alike. Rose, the eldest, is the responsible one, while Ivy is spirited and brazen. After the unexpected death of their father, the women are left to reconcile the estate, when they make a shocking discovery: not only has their father left them in financial ruin, but he has also bequeathed their beloved family house to a brother they never knew existed. With only a photograph to guide the way, Ivy and Rose embark to New York City, determined to find this mysterious man and reclaim what is rightfully theirs.
Once in New York, temptations abound at every turn, and soon the sisters are drawn into the glitzy underbelly of Manhattan, where they must overcome their differences and learn to trust each other if they’re going to survive in the big city and find their brother. Filled with unforgettable characters and charm, Empire Girls is a love letter to 1920s New York, and a captivating story of the unspoken bond between sisters.
Praise for Suzanne Hayes & Loretta Nyhan and I’ll Be Seeing You
“I devoured this story in one greedy, glorious gulp. Oh, the women! I love them. I love their families and their voices and their stories. I bet you’ll love them, too.”
—Marisa de los Santos, bestselling author of Love Walked In
“Timeless and universal…a deeply satisfying tale.”
—Booklist
“A delight! I’ll Be Seeing You made me want to get out a pen and paper and write a friend a good old-fashioned letter.”
—Sarah Jio, bestselling author of The Violets of March
“As beautifully written as it is captivating. An absolutely terrific debut.”
—Sarah Pekkanen, author of The Opposite of Me
“A moving portrayal of women waiting and enduring and re-inventing their lives in wartime, and a wonderful affirmation of the life-enhancing potential of female friendship.”
—Margaret Leroy, author of The Soldier’s Wife
“Vivid and well-crafted…. Readers will laugh, cry and be inspired.”
—Pam Jenoff, bestselling author of The Kommandant’s Girl
“I read this sweet, compassionate novel with my heart in my throat.”
—Kelly O’Connor McNees, author of The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott
“An all-around beautiful tale of the power of love and friendship.”
—RT Book Reviews
To my daughters, Rosy, Tess and Grace. Sisters who save secret smiles for one another. I adore you.
—Suzanne
To New York, city of my dreams.
—Loretta
Contents
CHAPTER 1
Rose
THE EVENING MY father died, I was stirring the stew in our big comfortable kitchen as I read another chapter of Bleak House. The pages, already wrinkled from breakfast and lunch, now had a big smear where I’d laid the spoon down. Most of my books wore the same battle wounds. But I didn’t really mind because I thought that the smudges and stains added character to their pages. A story within a story. It was careless, and I meant it to be so. Most nights, when all the work was done for the day, I could sit and look at those messy pages, remembering the young girl I was before becoming the only responsible person in our little family of three.
As the grandfather clock in the foyer struck six, I’d already placed our dinner on the table. Six had always been our dinner hour. Our mother was the one who’d chosen that time, and I worked hard to maintain the tradition. We lost her in 1918, when the flu swept through the world, cleaning out the dusty corners and finding everyone...even those of us who lived quiet lives in small towns like Forest Grove, New York.
I turned fifteen that year, and Ivy, fourteen. Our parents always babied and favored her, so she seemed younger then. Even though our mother was far too ill to pull me aside and give me a dramatic talk about passing the torch, I still believed she’d want me to be the one to look after our household. I was her best helper, and I took that role seriously. It was my job to watch over Ivy, my father and our home, Adams House, as well.
None of that seemed to matter to Ivy and Father when I had to coax them in from their garden every night. It was our evening ritual of cat and mouse. I cooked and then had to chase them, and by the time we were seated around the dining room table, the meal I’d prepared would be cold.
Mother and Father had traveled the world before they found out I was “on the way.” That’s when they gave up their vagabond ways and returned to Father’s ancestral home. I always believed that Adams House belonged to me. It became a living breathing part of my soul. Every clapboard of it, each column, all the curved arches. Mine. From its spires to the precarious-looking turrets, to the wide, wraparound porch. All mine. None of them loved it as much as I did. I considered Adams House to be a full member of the family, and as the years went by after Mother died, I took solace in the fact that I’d traded in the last bit of my childhood for full ownership. Adams House would be my legacy, payment in full for the years I spent in charge.
