Note: Thank you to NetGalley, Storm Publishing, and author Annabelle Marx for the advanced reader copy of this book. This review will also be posted on NetGalley. What follows is my unbiased review of the book.

The Rebel of Seventh Avenue was a bit of a surprise. I do enjoy a good historical fiction book, but they are usually set in times of war and conflict. The two world wars, which this book spans and beyond, are really nothing more than background to the story of a seamstress who evolves into a world-famous designer and couture house. At the same time, there are social issues brought in that are indicative of the times and show how one woman dealt with the constrictions society placed on her life.

Maisie McIntyre grew up in Edinburgh, Scotland. Her family was quite poor. Her father disappeared when she was young, leaving her mother to figure out how to care for her two daughters. When she is gifted a sewing machine to ease the conscience of the wealthy woman she worked for, her mother works as a seamstress. Of the two daughters, Maisie is the only one who shows an interest in her mother’s work and learns from her. Maisie has dreams far beyond Edinburgh, but she doesn’t know how to achieve them until circumstances force her to bolt the city. She heads for New York with her mother’s sewing machine, a bolt of blue silk, and lots of ambition.

The story is primarily set in New York City, where Maisie navigates building a fashion empire. She makes friends and loses them in tragic situations. She finds the love of her life, but it’s a forbidden love in its time that threatens to topple everything she has built.

I’m not a fashion maven, but I loved how The Rebel of Seventh Avenue showed Maisie trying to navigate a world that she was so far ahead of. She needs a wealthy patron to get things going, and helps a mousy, quiet new bride come into her own through fashion. Still, the old values prevailed, and Maisie had to make choices. There are several times, though, where she draws a line in the sand and will not cave to social pressure to do something else. At the same time, she’s conscious of where she came from and all of the people who are depending on her for work.

Most of the characters are women, and they are all strong. Her closest friend in business is Oti, who is a black woman with remarkable skills. They know they must stay hidden, even as Maisie relies on them. Maisie doesn’t have a problem working with them; it’s the society women who buy her designs that are the problem. However, once confident enough, Maisie will begin breaking society’s rules. I liked the relationship between these two women. They worked together, but there was also friendship. Oti knows Maisie is doing her best to navigate society and doesn’t hold choices against her. However, Maisie eventually decides that “this is who we are,” and lets the chips fall where they may. It’s a stand to take that could have ended in disaster, but it wouldn’t be much of a story if she fell flat on her face after making that decision.

These are the women who changed the world for future generations, just by challenging what was accepted socially. I’d never have thought that a book based on the fashion industry could be this informative as to what women had to go through to get to where we are today. Societal norms limited what women could do, and The Rebel of Seventh Avenue shows what Maisie was up against. She doesn’t want to be told how she must behave, but there are times of give and take. She designs outfits that are colorful at a time when society is rather drab, and uses her designs to enhance the personalities of the women she designs for.

I do recommend The Rebel of Seventh Avenue despite it being out of the norm for the historical fiction I usually read. I’m Miss Jeans and a T-Shirt, so the designing part didn’t really interest me at all. However, I enjoyed these characters quite a bit. The setting was familiar to me, having lived in New York for the first 39 years of my life, which meant the setting was somewhat familiar to me. It also demonstrates that societal change happens slowly, as by the end of the book, things that weren’t permissible at the beginning seems to have more possibilities.