Juliana: Book 1
... captures the fear, excitement, and eroticism of a young lesbian's awakening in the the 1940s. --Kirkus Reviews
Juliana is a captivating piece of history and romance, a time capsule that captures all of the tumult and thrill of wartime America in the early 1940s. --Indie Reader
An Absolutely Beautiful and Moving Novel! --Philip Crawford, author of Mafia and the Gays
Semi-Finalist: Goethe Award for Historical Fiction
Indie Reader Favorite
Olympus Nights on the Square: Book 2
…In this second book of the Juliana series, the singer, Juliana, figures prominently, but in many ways, it’s Al cast as her young, secret, confused lover and eventual career director, who steals the floor show. The tension between Al and Juliana’s legal husband, Richard, is tragic and powerful and continues to grow throughout the work. Al herself is growing in every chapter, and changes from a terrified girl with an impossible dream, to a businesswoman who has earned the grudging respect of many powerful men….
"Olympus Nights" can be seen as a lesbian coming-of-age story with all the recognizable dangers present in the past that a more modern audience can still feel. Yet even though the story really is centered on the women, the men in Al’s life also have important roles to play. We’re treated to historical glimpses of stars, such as Walter Winchell, Liberace, and Mayor O’Dwyer; and squirm with Max, Al’s mentor and ally, and Marty, a former soldier and aspiring actor, as they struggle to be their true selves. In every chapter, Vanda highlights the political climate of the times and brings forth a wealth of information describing the anti-Gay, anti-People of Color, anti-Communist, anti-Jew, and anti-Woman policies in New York City and America, during that decade.
It isn’t hard to make the connections Vanda wants the reader to see, that these intolerant policies are making a resurgence years later, and that they have an ugly history of repression and violence …
Her creation of characters we care about, struggling to be themselves against every threat, every unjust law, attempts to remove the stigma of “other” and “pervert” and every other horrible name homosexual individuals have been forced to live under… (Chanticleer Reviews)
Bronze Award: Indie Reader Awards
Indie Approved Reader
Paris, Adrift: Book 3
This story and these unforgettable characters will touch you very deeply because it certainly brought tears to my eyes during the really tough moments. Each book in this series reveals the harsh and painful truth about the way women, people of color and the LGBT people were treated during that time. There was so much inequality between men and women and life was very difficult for anyone who did not fit into the heterosexual mold. I am so happy that this story highlighted how far women and the LGBT community have come and the progress we have made so far. This story and by extension this entire series will stay in my heart for a very long time.
The Lesbian Review (7/12/18)
Finalist: Lesfic Bard
First Place: Goethe Late Historical Fiction
Chanticleer International Book Award
Heaven is to Your Left: Book 4
This fourth book continues the story of the main characters introduced in the first book. I’ve felt each book is stand-alone in spite of some cliff-hanger endings. The fourth book has a surprise ending, at least to me, but I didn’t view it as making this book transitory. Not that I’d wish Vanda to stop writing, but I felt “Heaven is On Your Left” is a complete story even with its unexpected ending.
Like other reviewers, I appreciate Vanda’s obvious attention to historical accuracy in this series. I was so enthralled with the first book, that I started reading history books of the gay rights movement. Vanda’s characters live the oppression. Fiction is often a more effective tool for learning than history.
These are definitely character-driven books. I think the characters’ dialogs play a major role in all these books to sustain the stories. There aren’t a non-stop series of dramatic events to keep the story moving. I found myself having a difficult time putting the book down as I was eager to read what happens next when the characters interact. (An Amazon Customer)