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harmony's review
2.0
Amazing Grace by Lena Hart
One Star
Setting aside the chemistry-less insta-love and the twee fact that the hero is attracted to the heroine, named Gracie, while she's singing Amazing Grace, I just couldn't find much to like in this novella. The heroine is a young Black woman who escaped from a plantation with her family when she was 4, her father having sustained a brutal beating over the theft of an apple.
Who does she fall in love with? HER FORMER OWNER! Not that she realizes that at first. At first he's just some random guy she gets sort of thrown together with on flimsy reasons who is prone to inappropriate touching. Despite knowing basically nothing about each other, the girl who was willing to move away from everything she knows and loves to marry a stranger on the frontier to help her family basically throws herself at him, simultaneously throwing her family's future away. She regrets it, but it's okay because he totally wants to marry her now, except that he knows she's from his plantation and DOESN'T TELL HER. She's mad for a while, but after a couple weeks she's ready to forgive him and make little frontier babies with the guy who owned slaves and fought for the Confederacy. Gross, gross, gross!
Drifting to You by Kianna Alexander
Three Stars
I didn't really have strong feelings about this story. The attraction and buildup between the two characters is largely implied to have happened before the story actually starts, so we're supposed to instantly buy into chemistry that they supposedly have and are ignoring. Will is the owner of a very successful business for backstory reasons that are barely plausible, and Rosaline is a baker who seems to be universally admired, enough that a wealthy local woman is willing to lower her standards to encourage her nephew to marry a former slave. Obviously that doesn't work out the way she'd hoped. The couple is sweet but bland, and the story didn't stick in my mind.
A Sweet Way to Freedom by Piper Huguley
One Star
I couldn't finish this one. The heroine is too perfect to believe and the hero is supposed to be a redeemed player but he just comes across as awkward and a little gross. The writing was technically competent, but the overall story didn't work for me at all.
Let it Shine by Alyssa Cole
Five Stars
Unsurprisingly, Cole is the shining star of this collection. She writes beautifully, her characters are delightful and vulnerable and real, and her story is crafted with skill and care. Sophie and Ivan, a young black woman and a Jewish man in the early days of the first Civil Rights Era, have just reconnected after being childhood friends, but their relationship is illegal in Virginia, and even if it weren't, they are both prepared to throw themselves into the danger and violence of protest and prison. It's an emotional journey and a great story.
One Star
Setting aside the chemistry-less insta-love and the twee fact that the hero is attracted to the heroine, named Gracie, while she's singing Amazing Grace, I just couldn't find much to like in this novella. The heroine is a young Black woman who escaped from a plantation with her family when she was 4, her father having sustained a brutal beating over the theft of an apple.
Who does she fall in love with?
Drifting to You by Kianna Alexander
Three Stars
I didn't really have strong feelings about this story. The attraction and buildup between the two characters is largely implied to have happened before the story actually starts, so we're supposed to instantly buy into chemistry that they supposedly have and are ignoring. Will is the owner of a very successful business for backstory reasons that are barely plausible, and Rosaline is a baker who seems to be universally admired, enough that a wealthy local woman is willing to lower her standards to encourage her nephew to marry a former slave. Obviously that doesn't work out the way she'd hoped. The couple is sweet but bland, and the story didn't stick in my mind.
A Sweet Way to Freedom by Piper Huguley
One Star
I couldn't finish this one. The heroine is too perfect to believe and the hero is supposed to be a redeemed player but he just comes across as awkward and a little gross. The writing was technically competent, but the overall story didn't work for me at all.
Let it Shine by Alyssa Cole
Five Stars
Unsurprisingly, Cole is the shining star of this collection. She writes beautifully, her characters are delightful and vulnerable and real, and her story is crafted with skill and care. Sophie and Ivan, a young black woman and a Jewish man in the early days of the first Civil Rights Era, have just reconnected after being childhood friends, but their relationship is illegal in Virginia, and even if it weren't, they are both prepared to throw themselves into the danger and violence of protest and prison. It's an emotional journey and a great story.
firewhiskeyreader's review
3.0
Amazing Grace by Lena Hart has a Confederate soldier hero and I mean, I know it's post war and all that, but like.... I don't want to read a Confederate soldier as a hero? I guess I should be all about redemption, but... Um. Idk, y'all. 2019 is too much for me to be reading Confederate heroes.
Drifting to You by Kianna Alexander is one of those novellas that doesn't work for me because I'm like ??? How did you decide you love each other that fast? It was good and if you can just fill in the blanks of their history so their story is satisfying, you'll probably really enjoy it. Maybe I was just cranky when I read it?
A Sweet Way to Freedom by Piper Huguley was difficult. I struggle with romances with accidental pregnancy on the best of days, but when you give me one with a hero who doesn't want to take responsibility for much of anything in his life? I'm pretty much checked out before we even really get started. There is not enough groveling IN THE WORLD for that.
Let It Shine by Alyssa Cole is absolutely wonderful and amazing. Essentially it's about a black woman and a Jewish man who grew up together because her mom worked for his. Well, her mom died, and her dad went way too overbearing and really stifled her. But she sees this flyer at church about an activist group for nonviolent sit ins and she goes and who is there but this hot as hell white man. Turns out the white man is her old friend! And the two of them falling in love is freaking everything. Not to mention all the fierce resistance and also, the Civil Rights Movement people were fierce af and we do not appreciate them enough. Like John Lewis is still ALIVE y'all. This was not that long ago. But when I tell you how little I know about this era because it wasn't taught in school, I'm not kidding. I know the big things, right? Like Brown v. Board and Plessy v. Ferguson and Loving v. Virginia, but that's because I'm a lawyer, not because my high school did a good job teaching. Anyway, I'm going to get off my soap box now because this post is already so long.
Drifting to You by Kianna Alexander is one of those novellas that doesn't work for me because I'm like ??? How did you decide you love each other that fast? It was good and if you can just fill in the blanks of their history so their story is satisfying, you'll probably really enjoy it. Maybe I was just cranky when I read it?
A Sweet Way to Freedom by Piper Huguley was difficult. I struggle with romances with accidental pregnancy on the best of days, but when you give me one with a hero who doesn't want to take responsibility for much of anything in his life? I'm pretty much checked out before we even really get started. There is not enough groveling IN THE WORLD for that.
Let It Shine by Alyssa Cole is absolutely wonderful and amazing. Essentially it's about a black woman and a Jewish man who grew up together because her mom worked for his. Well, her mom died, and her dad went way too overbearing and really stifled her. But she sees this flyer at church about an activist group for nonviolent sit ins and she goes and who is there but this hot as hell white man. Turns out the white man is her old friend! And the two of them falling in love is freaking everything. Not to mention all the fierce resistance and also, the Civil Rights Movement people were fierce af and we do not appreciate them enough. Like John Lewis is still ALIVE y'all. This was not that long ago. But when I tell you how little I know about this era because it wasn't taught in school, I'm not kidding. I know the big things, right? Like Brown v. Board and Plessy v. Ferguson and Loving v. Virginia, but that's because I'm a lawyer, not because my high school did a good job teaching. Anyway, I'm going to get off my soap box now because this post is already so long.
darlenemarshall's review
4.0
I live in a small town in North Florida where Juneteenth is celebrated as the community remembers it took a war and the Emancipation Proclamation to free the slaves who lived here, and throughout the South.
This outstanding collection celebrates the 19th of June (and if you don't know why that's a holiday, each story explains it), and the brave women and men who were strong in the face of adversity, whether it was a Jim Crow rail car of the late 19th c. or the Freedom Riders of the 1960s. Some of the stories are Inspirationals, some are straight historical romance (with some sensuality), all are well-written and entertaining.
I look forward to reading more from these authors, and applaud them on putting together a very special anthology.
This outstanding collection celebrates the 19th of June (and if you don't know why that's a holiday, each story explains it), and the brave women and men who were strong in the face of adversity, whether it was a Jim Crow rail car of the late 19th c. or the Freedom Riders of the 1960s. Some of the stories are Inspirationals, some are straight historical romance (with some sensuality), all are well-written and entertaining.
I look forward to reading more from these authors, and applaud them on putting together a very special anthology.
reeseryan's review
5.0
A strong anthology consisting of four tales of love strong enough to overcome even the fiercest obstacles. Despite the length, each story feels complete and satisfying.
Lena Hart's tale of an interracial romance that develops between two unlikely people with a common thread explores the lives of a strong heroine willing to sacrifice everything for her family and the man who is willing to sacrifice everything for the woman he loves.
Kianna Alexander weaves a tale of two former slaves, now entrepreneurs, who learn to let go of an ugly past and claim the love they both deserve.
Piper Huguley's story of a school teacher who finds herself in the family way, thanks to the proprietor of the good time joint in a small town is sweet, funny and deeply emotional. The heroine is strong, smart as a whip and determined to live life on her terms. The hero proves to be far more than just a charmer only interested in making a quick buck.
Alyssa Cole's story of interracial love between two people with a shared, tragic past that changed them both is gripping. The growing emotion between two characters on the front lines of the battle against racial injustice, who must also overcome prejudices in their own homes in order to be together is a thing of beauty. The glimpse the author provides inside the experience of the Freedom Riders gives one chills, a renewed appreciation for their sacrifices and a reminder that there is much yet to be done.
This is a truly wonderful anthology. Hopefully the first of many.
Lena Hart's tale of an interracial romance that develops between two unlikely people with a common thread explores the lives of a strong heroine willing to sacrifice everything for her family and the man who is willing to sacrifice everything for the woman he loves.
Kianna Alexander weaves a tale of two former slaves, now entrepreneurs, who learn to let go of an ugly past and claim the love they both deserve.
Piper Huguley's story of a school teacher who finds herself in the family way, thanks to the proprietor of the good time joint in a small town is sweet, funny and deeply emotional. The heroine is strong, smart as a whip and determined to live life on her terms. The hero proves to be far more than just a charmer only interested in making a quick buck.
Alyssa Cole's story of interracial love between two people with a shared, tragic past that changed them both is gripping. The growing emotion between two characters on the front lines of the battle against racial injustice, who must also overcome prejudices in their own homes in order to be together is a thing of beauty. The glimpse the author provides inside the experience of the Freedom Riders gives one chills, a renewed appreciation for their sacrifices and a reminder that there is much yet to be done.
This is a truly wonderful anthology. Hopefully the first of many.
kjcharles's review
This is a remarkable collection. A few thoughts:
a) I don't know much in depth about the slavery period of US history (I'm a white Brit) and I don't like what I learned. The backstory of one freed slave in 'Drifting to You' was pretty nearly unbearable to read, to the point where it almost overwhelmed the story. Except, that is the point of this collection: the unbelievable, grotesque injustice done to people and the strength of those who not just survived it but actually made themselves good lives. It's genuinely astonishing to read, obviously well researched by all authors, and important.
b) I've had a lot of conversations about depicting unattractive historical attitudes in romance and how far that can go. Everyone always concludes, 'you could never have a US slave-owning hero'. Lena Hart knocks that one out of the park, brilliantly, because part of slavery's corrosive evil, as she shows, is the way people accepted it as normal. Lots of 'ordinary' people played their parts too.
c) I *love* the way Piper Hugeley's story is written: the speech, the vocabulary, the flavour. Intensely immersive.
d) The final story, with Freedom Riders and a Jewish boxer hero, is an absolute cracker, and I am off to scout out more from Alyssa Cole right now. It says there's a linked book coming, which if so, I am *on* that.
This is a really good set of romance stories, and a terrific vivid historical, but it's also seriously important and informative without being teachy or depressing (which is pretty damn impressive considering the horrendousness of the material). Everyone should read this collection.
a) I don't know much in depth about the slavery period of US history (I'm a white Brit) and I don't like what I learned. The backstory of one freed slave in 'Drifting to You' was pretty nearly unbearable to read, to the point where it almost overwhelmed the story. Except, that is the point of this collection: the unbelievable, grotesque injustice done to people and the strength of those who not just survived it but actually made themselves good lives. It's genuinely astonishing to read, obviously well researched by all authors, and important.
b) I've had a lot of conversations about depicting unattractive historical attitudes in romance and how far that can go. Everyone always concludes, 'you could never have a US slave-owning hero'. Lena Hart knocks that one out of the park, brilliantly, because part of slavery's corrosive evil, as she shows, is the way people accepted it as normal. Lots of 'ordinary' people played their parts too.
c) I *love* the way Piper Hugeley's story is written: the speech, the vocabulary, the flavour. Intensely immersive.
d) The final story, with Freedom Riders and a Jewish boxer hero, is an absolute cracker, and I am off to scout out more from Alyssa Cole right now. It says there's a linked book coming, which if so, I am *on* that.
This is a really good set of romance stories, and a terrific vivid historical, but it's also seriously important and informative without being teachy or depressing (which is pretty damn impressive considering the horrendousness of the material). Everyone should read this collection.
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