'Champagne At Seven!' by Toni Glickman

Book Description

Champagne at Seven! Olivia Wyatt, a mid-40s, rich Washingtonian who beautifully plays the part of mother, socialite, philanthropist, wife, and Stepford cut-out doll in the chardonnay and whiskey-wrapped superficial world in which she lives. Her exclusive last minute D.C. dinner party didn't quite end how she had anticipated. Tragic news was served up late night instead of her planned dessert of luscious and blissful black forest cake. Olivia and her daughter, Gwynnie, suddenly need to rebuild their lives—and themselves.

If Olivia reluctantly moves from her Georgetown high society personal battlefield back to New York City, and is on the prowl for work, only to find herself fighting in the trenches of a new, more intense luxury retail sales war. She dodges designer landmines in her new job as a high-end personal shopper—which only catapults her into a fifth gear spin cycle of anxiety, insanity and toxicity. She is now working alongside Bitches of Fifth Avenue in a gut-wrenching and nerve-wracking struggle to maintain her sanity, and her bank account. Olivia needs to find her way, and fast, before she loses her mind—and her job.

BLOG TOUR REVIEW

Review for 'Champagne At Seven' by Toni Glickman

Read and reviewed for NetGalley, Literally PR, Toni Glickman and Speaking Volumes.

Publication date 11th July 2022.

This is the first book I have read by this author. It is also the first book in the 'Bltch3$ Of Fifth Avenue' series

I was originally drawn to this book by its interesting cover and intriguing sounding synopsis and title. I must admit I was also biased due to the publisher being Speaking Volumes. I have yet to read a book published by Speaking Volumes that I haven't enjoyed. Hopefully this won't be the first... Watch this space! (Written before I started reading the book).

This novel consists of 11 chapters. The chapters are medium in length so easy to read 'just one more chapter' before bed...OK, I know yeah right, but still just in case!

This book is based in New York, USA 🇺🇸..

This book is written in third person perspective and the main protagonist is Olivia Wyatt . The benefits of third person perspective are that it let's you see the bigger picture of what's going on and you get to know more characters more, what they are thinking and what they are doing. It feels like you get to see the whole picture and not miss out in anything.

This book is very well written with vivid descriptions setting the picture perfectly in the readers mind. The title, description and cover works perfectly with the storyline. It is one of those books that are very easy to read and perfect for any reading situations whether you are laying on a beach or curled up in front of a fire. It is an absolutely ideal read for anyone who is interested in fashions, the life's of the wealthy, rich and famous and anyone who is intrigued in what goes on behind the closed doors of top end brands. However, it is also for anyone who is not particularly interested in any of those, like myself, and is just looking for a fun, witty, funny, easy, b!tch\/ read!! I really enjoyed the first book in this series and really cannot wait to get my hands on the second book 'Cutthroat Couture' which sounds just as good as this one!! In this book we see Olivia go from rich, famous and well known to scandalized, degraded and back to living with her mother. She has to move from her uptown life in Georgetown to reality in New York City where she is now on the other side of what her life once was, job hunting and being looked down upon. I loved watching Olivia's personality change and her character developing and changing throughout the storyline and I did feel for her on occasions, especially the way her so called friends shunned her but unfortunately that is the reality of some lifestyles. It was fun watching Olivia pulling off events and her love of design. the fact that Toni has experience in the fashion and retail industry absolutely shines through this book and I think any author without this experience would have struggled to pull off such a book whilst making it as realistic and believable as Toni did. I always find it fun reading about the life of the rich and famous, especially knowing I will never be either but being able to see how the "other half live" is fun and sometimes makes me glad I am neither considering how fake some people are!!

This may be the first book I have read by Toni but I cannot wait to get hold of more books by this extremely talented author!!!

It is always worrying when starting a new series as you have no idea who the characters are. It is very important for me to bond with not only the lead protagonists but also with any characters who may make repeat appearances throughout the series. I had nothing to worry about with this book as I really clicked with Olivia and also Marguerite who I would class as the main characters. I could picture Olivia going through her daily rituals of her skin care plan, trying different clothes and accessories on, job hunting, event planning and everything she gets up to in this fantastic book. Once Olivia's life changed for the worse, although I did feel for her, I did like her even more as that is when we see the real Olivia and can see her determination, strength and personality really shine. Gwynnie, who is Olivia's daughter is very mature and likeable and although we didn't see a huge amount of her in this book I hope to meet her again in this series as she is very down to Earth and a genuine person. I also adored Marguerite who may have been an older lady but she had plenty of fight with her and was feisty and fun. I could not stand Lauren and any other people like her that I have met who think they know more than people who actually have experience because they have a certificate saying so. She is a horrible person and I hope we don't meet again. however, regardless if you love them or hate them each of these characters come together to make this an absolutely fantastic read!!

Congratulations Toni on an absolutely fantastic, funny and page turning book!!! I am looking forward to reading more of your previous and future books. I would absolutely love to see this book turned into a movie!!! Welcome to my favourite author list and here's to your next success 🥂

Overall an absolutely unputdownable, funny, page turning and successful start to what promises to be an addictive series!!

Genres covered in this book include Business Humour, Satire, Women's Friendship Fiction, Women's Contemporary Fiction, Dark Humour, Fiction Satire, General Humour, Women's Writers & Fiction, Humorous Fiction, Literary Fiction, Friendship Fiction, Modern Fiction and Contemporary Fiction amongst others.

I would recommend this book to the fans of the above as well as fans of 'The Devil Wears Prada', the fashion industry,, you, your friends, your family, your neighbours and absolutely everybody and anybody!!!!! What are you waiting for??? Grab your copy now!!!

244 pages.

This book is just £6.58 to purchase and £13.14 in paperback via Amazon at time of review which I think is an absolute bargain for this book!!!

Rated 5 /5 (I LOVED it ) on Goodreads, Instagram, Amazon UK and Amazon US and on over 30 Facebook pages plus my blog on Facebook.

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Author Bio

Toni Glickman is a former retail executive, who spent twenty years in the cashmere and silk-studded front lines in the luxury space of this piranha infested industry. Toni, in her provocative new book Bitches of Fifth Avenue, reveals the story of life behind the luxury lines—what the client never sees. The exhaustion, depression, and anxiety-ridden days of an employee’s experience, which clients never realize. The fear of low sales numbers, of losing rank, of losing a job to someone with a better client book. Also, there’s the fear of returned merchandise and the constant worry of losing a client to another salesperson. Never a moment of purity, or peace, or calm. It is a life lived constantly on the edge. Saks Fifth Avenue, Prada, Jil Sander, Chanel, Bloomingdale’s and Burberry—these were just a few brands in which Toni achieved success before ultimately being backstabbed by those she thought she could trust.

Moving up the ladder from sales associate to industry executive, Toni Glickman compares working in the field to the front lines of a minefield. Her colleagues exemplified the mines in which she had to navigate through in order to survive and make her sales numbers, which is all that matters at the end of the day when the cash registers close. An employee in this industry is only respected by how much business is done, in business lingo: “day over day, month over month, and year over year”. Expectations run high, illness is not permitted, and personal lives are ignored. It is report after report, endless conference calls, sales strategies, and goals. Personal shoppers do whatever it takes—it is sell, sell, sell.

Toni Glickman now enjoys life as a real estate professional, where she sets her own schedule and no longer needs to contend with maneuvering “bitchy” retail colleagues. She’s also a Francophile, plays classical piano, loves the cinema, travel, her children, family, friends, and Teacup Pomeranian—her very bold, spirited, and lovable pet dog. And, of course, her forever passion for fashion.

Purchase Link

Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B0B6D449MY/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1673352585&sr=8-1