Oye: a coming of age through family drama

Oye by Melissa Mogollon is one young woman’s story as she deals with family drama among high school drama and an incoming hurricane. Luciana is the baby of her very large Colombian American family. She is usually pushed to the sidelines; however, she suddenly finds herself front and center as the voice of reason during an unexpected crisis. As South Florida residents are ordered to evacuate as a hurricane heads their direction, Luciana is left to deal with Abue, her eccentric grandmother, who refuses to leave. When a crushing medical diagnosis forces Abue to move into Luciana’s room, the two find themselves on a personal journey neither wanted. Forced into the role of caretaker, translator and keeper of Abue’s secrets, Luciana finds herself facing adulthood and ready for the challenge. 

Billed as a “coming-of-age comedy. A telenovela-worthy drama. A moving family saga. All in a phone call you won’t want to hang up on,” I found the premise of Oye to be intriguing. With an eye-catching cover, I could not pass on this story. However, I was quickly confused as the story is told mostly as a one-sided phone conversation and series of voicemails. I could not find the comedy, the telenovela drama or the family saga. Perhaps I am simply not the audience for this story to fully appreciate its unique format. While labeled as adult fiction, I feel it belongs in the young adult category. Overall, I found it hard to enjoy this story. However, if you think you may enjoy a story told in an unique and unconventional format, I recommend giving Oye a try. 

Oye is available in hardcover, eBook and audiobook

Travis: sometimes you need to lose it all to gain a brighter future

Travis by Mia Sheridan is a follow up story to Archer’s Voice. Travis Hale has it all. He enjoys his role as the chief of police in Pelion, Maine. He has built a relationship with his half-brother, Archer, his wife Bree and their three children. Despite a past filled with regrets and misguided choices, he is looking into the future with eagerness. Until he discovers his girlfriend in bed with a new guy in town. Travis immediately begins to plot his revenge, that is until he meets Haven Torres, the new guy’s smoothie-making, plant loving woman from California. Haven is not his type at all and she’s only in town for the summer. Haven left behind a painful past in California, she and her brother have been on the road, only staying in a town for a few months before moving on again. She and Travis form an unlikely friendship that soon turns complicated. 

Travis takes place a few years after the events of Archer’s Voice. While Archer and Bree make the occasional appearance, and it was sweet to see them still living their happily ever after, this story is all Travis as he deals with the fallout from the previous book and trying to rebuild his life. Overall, I enjoyed this story. I loved Travis’ personal and emotional journey. I loved Haven’s growth as well. These were two broken people who come together and heal together. It was beautiful. I loved seeing Travis truly confront his family’s past, his past in order to build a brighter future for himself. The only person I felt really bad for is Gage Buchanan, the other eligible bachelor in Pelion. I think he deserves his own love story. If you haven’t read Archer’s Voice, I highly recommend reading it before reading Travis. If you enjoyed Archer’s Voice, you will enjoy Travis as well.

Travis is available in paperback, eBook and audiobook

Every Time We Say Goodbye: confronting the past and facing the future in post war Europe

Every Time We Say Goodbye by Natalie Jenner is the third book in the Jane Austen Society series. In a story of love and art, of grief and memory, and of confronting the past and facing the future, it opens in 1955, as Vivian Lowry faces an uncertain future. After a poorly reviewed play that threatens her career as a dramatic playwright, she takes a job as a script doctor on a major film shooting in Rome’s Cinecitta Studios. There she finds a movie filled with rising stars, acclaimed directors and famous actors. The cast and crew find themselves torn between the past and a possibly brighter future, between the liberation of the post war cinema and the restrictions imposed by the Catholic Church. On a personal note, Vivien begins to learn the long-buried truth of what really happened to her deceased fiancé during the war. 

As a fan of The Bloomsbury Girls, I was looking forward to Every Time We Say Goodbye. I enjoy stories that feature life in the postwar world. Unfortunately, the story fell flat very quickly. The opening prologue was captivating and I was eager to discover more. However, the story that followed left me confused and lost. There were just so many characters. It was hard to keep track of who was who without stopping every other page to take notes and took me out of the story every time. I didn’t care for Vivien. I found her harsh and lacking any warmth or likability. I did enjoy learning about the famous Cinecitta Studios and the classic American movies that were filmed there. If you enjoyed Ms. Jenner’s The Jane Austen Society and The Bloomsbury Girls, I suggest giving Every Time We Say Goodbye a try. You may enjoy it more than I did. 

Every Time We Say Goodbye will be available 

in hardcover, eBook, and audiobook May 14, 2024

Rednecks: the West Virginia Mine Wars and an origin of the term "rednecks"

Rednecks by Taylor Brown is an historical fiction based on the West Virginia Mine Wars between 1920 and 1921 culminating in the Battle of Blair Mountain. An army of 10,000 coal miners fought back against mine owners, state militia and the United States government in the largest labor uprising in American history and largest armed conflict since the Civil War. A powerful story of rebellion against oppression, in a land where coal companies used violence and intimidation to keep workers in line. Told from the perspectives of “Doc Moo” Muhanna, a Lebanese-American Doctor, who witnesses the blood toll and injustice occurring in the mining camps, and Frank Hugham, a black World War I veteran and coal miner, takes the dramatic steps to lead a miners’ revolt. Many historical figures make appearances as their roles in the conflict from the fiery Mother Jones, labeled as “The Most Dangerous Woman in America” to the sharp shooting police chief “Smilin’ Sid Hatfield. 

The Battle of Blair Mountain and the West Virginia Mine Wars were quickly forgotten by the world outside of Appalachia while the people who live in the region, the memory is alive and well. Taylor Brown is an award winning novelist who brings these events to life in vivid color and reminds the world of the lengths that were taken to achieve the labor protections we take for granted today. As someone who was raised outside of the Appalachian regions, I knew of the conflicts between miners and the mine owners, however; I was shocked to learn the details of the injustices suffered, the acts of heroism, and cheered at the power of a community when they band together. I was also surprised to learn the unexpected origin of the term redneck. Redneck details the grittiness of the region and the people’s determination to stand up and fight back against all odds with realism and authenticity. I highly recommend Rednecks. 

Rednecks will be available in hardcover, eBook and audiobook May 14, 2024

Throne of Grace: an epic look into a relatively unknown historical figure

Throne of Grace: A Mountain Man, an Epic Adventure and the Bloody Conquest of the American West by Tom Clavin and Bob Drury shines light on a historical figure largely forgotten in the push West. The legendary adventurer Jedediah Smith and the Mountain Men explored the American frontier after the Lewis and Clark expedition of the Louisiana Purchase and the birth of Manifest Destiny. Stories of friendly deals and bloody battles with the indigenous tribes, the strange beasts and animals they encountered and the gorgeous landscapes before their eyes. From the Rocky Mountains to the western coast, Smith’s explorations became legendary although he fell into obscurity for seventy years after his death. Throne of Grace is a gripping narrative about an relatively underreported era in US history and brings to life one of the great American explorers. 

Whenever I am given the opportunity to read a new historical book by Tom Clavin and Bob Drury, I jump at it. They give the full view of history and its events in its reality and with honesty. Throne of Grace sets out to provide an epic narrative of America’s greatest and yet relatively unknown pathfinder in Jedediah Smith. As their standard, Clavin and Drury provide a painstaking researched story with amazing details and insights into the historical figures and events.  While it is Smith’s story that drives the main narrative, the story of settling west is told through the eyes of the ordinary and memorable men and women who witnessed it, both settlers and indigenous. If you love historical non-fiction, you cannot go wrong with Clavin and Drury’s books. I highly, highly recommend Throne of Grace. 

Throne of Grace: A Mountain Man, an Epic Adventure and the Bloody Conquest of the American West is available in hardcover, eBook and audiobook

One Last Shot: a marriage pact and a second chance at romance

One Last Shot by Betty Cayouette is a friends to lovers, marriage pact romance. From the moment Emerson and Theo met freshman year of high school, they were inseparable best friends. As they expressed their true feelings for each other, their lives went on different paths, not before promising each other that if they were not married by twenty-eight, they would marry each other. Emerson is an in-demand supermodel nearing her twenty-eighth birthday. When a calendar reminder pops up on her phone of her marriage pact with Theo. She realizes that this is her shot to rekindle the only love she really wanted. She learns where Theo, now a photographer, is shooting next and orchestrates her way to be a part of it. A four-day shoot in the romantic setting of Cinque Terre, Italy, Emerson and Theo find their feelings being tested as roadblocks after obstacles get in their way. Is this their last shot at love or their final goodbye? 

One Last Shot is the debut romance from Betty Cayouette and I love a good second chance, friends to lovers romance. I hemmed and hawed about reading this story as I do not care for fashion or supermodel world. But I decided to give it a chance anyway. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get into it. The main issue with this story was the miscommunication. The miscommunication trope is one of my least favorite romantic trope. Their roadblocks and obstacles could have been avoided if they just talked about it! They dance around their marriage pact, something they are both aware of as they reunite, and yet pretend they had forgotten about it. The constant flashbacks to their high school years took me out of the present events and bogged the story down. Overall, the story was okay. I think I am not the right audience for this book. If you think you may enjoy this story, I recommend giving One Last Shot a try. 

One Last Shot is available in paperback, eBook and audiobook

Love Blooms: a small town romance

Love Blooms by Jennifer Faye is the first book in the Bell Family of Bluestar Island series. New York firefighter Ethan Walker was injured on the job. As he prepares to return to work, he gets an urgent call that sends him to Bluestar Island. Hannah Bell has grown up on Bluestar Island and has finally achieved her dream of opening up her own bakery. But her dreams come crashing down when a water pipe breaks and destroys the building. With the island’s sea breeze and warm sunshine, Hannah and Ethan find themselves at turning points in their lives. Does Ethan go back to his job as a firefighter in New York? Will Hannah be able to fix her bakery and finally open it? As they also find themselves drawn to each other, can they find the perfect mix to make both of their dreams come true? 

Love Blooms is a sweet small town romance. It is a slow burn clean romance. I mean slow! I was bored after the first chapters. I did not care for the characters. I found Hannah to be immature and unreasonable. While I understand that she is upset at the destruction of her bakery and the set back in its opening; however, I found her reactions to certain situations a little over the top. Ethan was a decent character. There were the standard quirky small town characters. Some were fun and enjoyable while others were cringy and annoying. Overall, it was a decent story but I closed the book feeling underwhelmed. I most likely will not continue the series. While I did not enjoy the story, I know there are readers who probably would. If you enjoy small town romance, I recommend giving  Love Blooms a try. 

Love Blooms is available in paperback and eBook