I was drawn to this book by the blurb, it intrigued me! I love books set in New York of the past and the dual timeline of 1955 and 1975 piqued my interest. Firstly, this book is really well written, emotive and has great characterisation. The three main girls - Dovie, Gillian and Ava are well developed and you really feel for them. The book has obviously been well researched and really evokes the New York of its time, the jazz bars and underground clubs and the sheer unrelenting heat. It is an interesting look, through the character of Ava's mother, at how mental health was treated in the 70s, how electroconvulsive therapy was still the 'cure' for things doctors just didn't understand. I honestly loved this book and would thoroughly recommend it. What a debut!

This had really interesting historical elements to this which kept the novel moving. It took me a little while to get going and I was less engaged in the secondary plot but it did all weave together quite well in the end. There was something about some of the characters I didn’t quite connect with (though in some cases this was the point).

Loved this book.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for letting me access an advance copy of this book in exchange for my feedback.

I absolutely loved this novel and became completely immersed and invested in its vivid world and beautiful queer love story.

That Green Eyed Girl tells the story of one apartment and the women who live there through two timelines, 1955 and 1975.

In 1955, Dovie and Gillian are living together but live in constant fear of their true relationship being exposed. They will go to desperate lengths to protect the truth and that’s put into practice when somebody threatens to expose them.

In 1975, Ava receives a box on her doorstep - it’s addressed to the apartment she lives in but is full of letters addressed to somebody else, and there’s a picture of a woman with LIAR scrawled over her face.

The book flicks between timelines effortlessly and is so well written that you truly feel like you’re there with Dovie in a hazy jazz club in 1955 and then a sweltering hot pool party with Ava twenty years later.

That Green Eyed Girl covers some very dark topics (please look up content warnings before reading) and will leave you seething with anger for these women who deserved so much better.

A fantastic book filled with incredible characters that i’ll be thinking about for a very long time.

This is so emotional

I filled up on more than one occasion when I realised what was happening/going to happen and wanted to warn a character before something happened.

Oh how easy this was to happen but how wrong! I felt so sad at one point. Then at another. God, another.
If only you could shout out to someone in a book and tell them what was going on!
This tugs at your heart strings!

A poignant read about 1950s New York and what is was like to be gay and afraid of being 'exposed'. A modern day thread shocked me of how only a few years later than the 1950s thread, we were shown how people with mental health were treated by society. Scenes in the mental asylum were particularly brutal.

The ending will floor you.

Thank you to the publishers and Net Galley for my free e-copy.

I am so happy to have chosen this book. It really was unlike anything I have ever read before.
The story begins in New York in the 1970s but flicks back and forth between then and the 50's.

There are two narrators one from each era, Ava and Dovie

Ava receives a box from Paris which sets her off to uncover a mystery of who its from and why it has been sent.

Themes throughout the book are love, loss, loneliness, mental health and having to hide who you really are.

I loved Ava as a main character and really felt for her trying to navigate adolescence and feeling that nobody cares about her. and the book is achingly sad in parts.

There is also one horrible character who I and I am sure others will despise

This was such a wonderful story and Julie Owen Moylan is a wonderful storyteller

This is the kind of book that takes your heart in it’s hands. That Green-Eyed Girl is stunning. It’s cast of rich characters pull you into their world; the beautifully drawn New York of the fifties and seventies, and won’t let you leave.

I often find when reading novels with a dual narrative that I prefer one over the other, that’s not the case here - whether I was reading about Dovie and Gillian, or Ava and Viola, I was exactly where I wanted to be, and that’s a rare skill in a writer., as is the weaving in of social issues in an authentic, and wholly, horrifyingly believable way.

My only ‘complaint’ about this book is that it made me want to go to both New York and Paris immediately, which the ongoing pandemic makes challenging.

Just superb.

Unfortunately this one missed the mark for me, hopefully it resonates more in the future but I wasn’t in the right frame of reading mind at this time. The premise was good and the writing style superb, I just wasn’t feeling it

A super interesting book with compelling and original characters to root for. I really enjoyed Julie Owen Moylan’s language in particular, which felt polished and shined throughout the book.

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book. It was a good read which was set across two timelines in New York City. Good characters and writing, with one particularly vile female character. It was engrossing and touching. I enjoyed it.

You’re going to have to wait until May 2022 for Julie Owen Moylan’s ice-cool debut to hit the shops. I would go so far as to recommend you pre-order it, if you like your fiction served with a whiskey chaser and a toe-tapping jazz soundtrack.

The narrative slips fluidly between 1950’s New York and the very same apartment twenty years later, as long-buried secrets are uncovered by Ava, its new resident. Dovie and Gillian, our jazz-loving fifties’ heroines, fear persecution for their romantic involvement. At a time when a woman could be accused of “unnatural activities” for being drawn to another, is it any wonder that Dovie and Gillian face difficult challenges in their relationship? One major obstacle, in the shape of their mutual colleague Judith, proves to be catastrophic. Twenty years later, young Ava pieces together the fragments of the past to reveal a story that begs to be told.

I savoured every thimbleful of Julie’s masterful prose. Those who know me “in real life” will vouch for the fact that if I’m reading something on a tablet, it means it must be really forking good, and That Green-Eyed Girl is.

I was desperate to read this book and it really didn’t disappoint. Thank you to Penguin Michael Joseph for giving me the opportunity to read an advance copy. A wonderfully evocative story told over two timelines in New York City, I felt the oppressive heat, the weight of Ava’s responsibilities, the absolute tragedy of Dovie and Gillian’s story. As well as a visceral hatred for Judith. Period details in both timelines brought it all to life in technicolour with an assured style and a propulsive story. I loved it! Thoroughly recommend.

I wasn't sure what to expect going into this book but I got so invested in both of the parallel plotlines and characters - Judith is up there with Umbridge on the list of "most hateable book villains ever".

Well worth a read if you like historical fiction or books starring LGBT main characters.

I struggled a bit with the story - it felt very laboured and difficult to enjoy, for once I thought the dual narrative was irrelevant almost. For me I think just pursuing Dovie’s story and filling this out would have been a more successful story.

I was really excited to read this book… until I got into it. I can see well-drawn characters and some strong themes around LGBTQ+, keeping secrets, mental health issues and family dynamics… but it never really grabbed me. I plodded my way through resenting it. I didn’t warm to any of the characters and found many of them self centred or manipulative.

It’s a very rare thumbs down from me.

I absolutely loved this book! It is two stories 20 years apart which eventually come together.. The characters are wonderfully described and the descriptions between 1955 and 1975 New York are brilliantly different yet as compelling as each other. Yes there is a lesbian couple and themes of poor mental health but please don’t let that put you off, this truly is a wonderful book which I highly recommend, I will certainly read it again!
Thank you to Netgalley for the advance read x

An atmostpheric mystery set across two timelines, one in 1955 and one twenty years later. The story centres around a lavender lesbian relationship and the fallout after an incredibly nasty piece of work sees the main characters kiss.
It is a propulsive read with some lovely details of that period in New York and some interesting female characters. The villain of the piece - who is female - is particularly vile, so much so that you find yourself willing her downfall from almost the first meeting.
A thoroughly enjoyable read that I think will capture a lot of hearts.
Thanks to the author and the publisher for the opportunity to read an pre-publication copy of this novel.

A novel set in 1 apartment during 2 times 1955 and 1975. An intertwined story of , love , prejudice, heartache , betrayal and mystery linked to a box which arrives in 1975 from a previous occupant 20 years ago in the search to send on this box to their lover.

A fascinating and insightful story of how life and society viewed homosexuality in the 1950s and 1970s. How this impacted those who were scared or concerned to be true to themselves. A well written story with characters that you felt a true empathy and love for meant I couldn't put this book down.

This was an ARC from netgalley in return for an honest review.

This book was such a ride - I felt every emotion possible - anger, heartbreak, and then, joy! Julie Owen Moylan's prose is pitch perfect, and the pacing of this book was a masterclass in novel writing. I loved being transported to historical NYC and I can't wait to see what's next for this author.