The Great Pretenders is a great read for fans of historical fiction, family drama, and romance. It covers a lot of issues during the mid-50s: the effect the Second Red Scare had on the studios, people, and pictures in Hollywood; the civil rights movement; inter-racial relationships and sexism.

I really enjoyed this story and the boldness, bravery, and morality of Roxanne’s character. I also appreciated her naïveté and vulnerability. However, it did start off a bit slow for me as the author provided context and backstory for the existing family dynamic and its stature in the industry.

After some quicker, lighter reads this was definitely a change of pace for me. It took me a bit to get into the rhythm of the story, but it was really impactful, especially when thinking about the parallels of what is happening now in the country. I highly recommend this book.