The Tumbling Turner Sisters

This was a really charming, entertaining book about four sisters (and their domineering stage mother) who find themselves on the vaudeville circuit in the early 1920s when their father loses his job. The book really shines when it focuses on the other performers, agents, managers etc. and when it explores the Turner family dynamics. All four of the sisters grow from the unique experience, although the change is not without challenge, heartache and ultimately tragedy. However, as a romance reader, I am somewhat surprised to find myself admit that the book falters when it focuses on the rather pedestrian romance between brainy sister Winnie and the Italian piano player she meets on the road. I would have rather read more about the paternal Jewish comedy duo who give the sisters the help they need to take their act to the next level, or about the horrifyingly racist “coon” singer than about the “what if he doesn't really like me?” romantic melodrama. Overall, however, I really enjoyed the book and could easily have spent another 100 pages on the road with the Turners.