I was excited to read this because I loved [b:Debutante: A breathtaking wartime saga of love, loss, and friendship|39314170|Debutante A breathtaking wartime saga of love, loss, and friendship|Anne Melville|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1521384205l/39314170._SY75_.jpg|16012403] by Anne Melville. Both stories are about a group of deb friends from the year before WWII broke out, and I loved reading about how the girls in Debutante saw their lives change, and how they coped with change, and how they turned their social accomplishments into war work.

I usually enjoy historical settings, and the clothes, dances, and customs of debutante life in The Last Debutantes did not disappoint. All the rituals around the Season are fascinating, although there’s a lot of talk about that nasty business in Europe in between curtsying to the cake or doing the Lambeth Walk. There’s a lot of talk about regiments, about taking up volunteer positions, and a bit too much tragic talk about how everything is ending, but I was disappointed to find the novel ends before we actually see the changes.

It doesn’t quite work as a society novel, either, because there aren’t any real consequences or rewards for performing the rituals. No glorious matches made, no dramatic social failures from gossip and scandal. The takeaways about class and wealth felt a bit trite, too. Somehow Valerie’s coming-of-age discovery that even polished upper-class families can have secrets felt flat and obvious (perhaps because she discovers it so many times).

Full review and novel comparison is on my blog

This is definitely Downton Abbey-esque as one reviewer has put it. You really feel as if you are there. The descriptions of the activities and events feel so real. I enjoyed the positive spin on Chamberlain's time as Prime Minister. This author definitely did her homework when it came to researching the lives of debutantes of the time. However, I did have a complaint. The wife of Prince George, Duke of Kent, is consistently referred to as Princess Maria in the book. She was Princess Marina. I would've let it go had it been a one time mistake. But it was mentioned several times.

A good escapist read. ( )

For all the WWII-era historical fiction I've read, this novel is the first (that I can remember, at least) to offer a positive take on Neville Chamberlain. Set in the months leading up to the second world war, The Last Debutantes is centered around Valerie de Vere Cole, niece of the British Prime Minister, who is experiencing the famed "Season," in which youthful members of the elite dance, flirt, drink tea, make friends, acquire enemies, and sometimes even fall in love. Valerie has baggage from her past - she's essentially a poor cousin raised in France - but she's hopeful she can find some friends and discover a path for her own future. The impending war, of course, hangs over this story, but it's not the focus. Overall, I liked this novel, I appreciated the characters, and the story was enjoyable and satisfying. ( )

One of those gossipy historical novels about a very small segment of society. Fun to read. This one highlights the really rather boring life of British debutantes during "the season" when they are introduced to polite (!?) society. Set during the months leading up to the entry of the UK into World War 2 it gives an interesting look into No. 10 Downing Street as the central character is Valerie de Vere Cole niece of Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain.

Not a lot of depth here, but maybe there can't be when you are dealing with a bunch of self-centered young people trying to avoid thinking about the future. Not a challenging read but a nice diversion on a summer day.

I received an advance review copy through Goodreads First Reads progam ( )

This is an interesting look at the last debutante season before WWII focusing on Valerie de Vere Cole who, despite being the niece of British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, has a scandalous past she has to overcome to be accepted by society.

I love historical fiction about debutantes and coming outs and although this one is filled with stories of glitzy parties, it's set against the backdrop of the turbulence going on at 10 Downing Street as Neville fought to avoid going to war. It's an intriguing contrast, especially as Blalock introduces with Marian Holmes, one of the typists working for the Prime Minister whose experiences so differ from Valerie's. I also enjoyed the inclusion of Eunice Kennedy, who was presented the same year, and mentions of her sister Kick (who was the subject of one of my favorite books, The Kennedy Debutante) and the conflict between Joseph Kennedy and the British at this time.

The details in this book are wonderful, from curtsying to a cake at the Queen Charlotte Birthday Ball to doing the Lambeth Walk, but I wish the characters had more depth to them. Valerie's backstory wasn't that surprising (and talk of it got to be a tad repetitive) and I wanted to know more about her friends, each of whom seemed to have their own battle to fight. It was hard to get invested in what would happen to all of them when I sometimes had a hard time remembering who was who.

That being said, the action picked up in the last quarter of the book, the ending was solid and THE LAST DEBUTANTE gives a compelling look into the life of English society on the brink of WWII. ( )