Whistling Women and Crowing Hens, Melora Fern
Whistling Women and Crowing Hens, Melora Fern
List: $24.99 | Sale: $17.50
Club: $12.49

Whistling Women and Crowing Hens
A Novel

Author: Melora Fern

Narrator: Janelle Tedesco

Unabridged: 11 hr 49 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 02/17/2026


Synopsis

To escape her strait-laced overbearing sister, Birdie Stauffer auditions for the all-female Versatile Quintet, Chautauqua circuit's opening act. Through this train-traveling roadshow she experiences the tumultuous 1920s, a modern era of shocking flappers and smuggled whiskey, with the camaraderie of newfound friends. Her exceptional gift of concert whistling entertains more than songbirds as she gains national notoriety and she's soon entangled in two romantic relationships—one with a dapper circuit manager, the other her fellow pianist. Accompanied by four other musicians—a slang slinging flapper, a confident girl-next-door, a tight-lipped loner, and a virtuoso sapphic—and following a series of traumatic events, Birdie discovers even the best relationships can be filled with misunderstandings. As she learns to trust her intuition, she finds it may cost her love interests, her sister, and maybe even herself.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Ferdaleiser on May 16, 2025

This was such a fun read! I loved Birdie and how Melora Fern explored different types of relationships and what we can learn about ourselves while we are learning about them. This a great coming of age story, and really touches on the different growing pains that come with breaking out of your shell......more

Goodreads review by Andrea on October 01, 2025

I loved this and am sad that it’s over!! I’ll miss you, my little gay whistler book 😭......more

Goodreads review by Melora on July 30, 2025

Hello readers! This is not a review because I am the author of Whistling Women and Crowing Hens. I sincerely hope you add my debut novel to your “want to read” list and once you’ve read it, tell me what you think! I treasure all my readers and especially appreciate their honest feedback—it’s what ma......more

Goodreads review by LA on July 08, 2025

To borrow the words of the young women comprising the Versatile Quintet at the story’s heart, this book is “the bee’s nose,” “the pig’s wings,” “the duck’s quack,” “the bear’s hug,” and (my personal favorite which I’ve already used twice in conversation) “the berries.” This heroine’s journey by trai......more

Goodreads review by Lisa on October 28, 2025

Whistling Women and Crowing Hens is a powerful story about a young woman whose determination and strength will help her to never stop trying to achieve her goals. During a time (the 1920's) when women were meant to get married and have children, one girl, with a bit of luck and a great amount of tal......more