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A review by ericawrites
Finding Joy by Adriana Herrera
3.0
Super sweet romance about Desta, an American temporarily living in Ethiopia doing aid work, and Elias, an Ethiopian man who is one of his coworkers. A lot of the tension is around culture differences, especially in how the two navigate getting to know each other, flirting, and finally getting together. Homosexuality is illegal in Ethiopia.
Finding Joy is from Desta's point of view in first person, and at times, I really wanted to know what Elias thought about their situation. A huge part of their disconnect is around Desta trying to make "the best decision" about how to proceed with their relationship, both from the secrecy aspect and because Desta is only in Ethiopia for a handful of months.
It's clear that Herrera very much loves Ethiopia and the Ethiopian people, and in many ways, this is also a love letter to the place.
Finding Joy is from Desta's point of view in first person, and at times, I really wanted to know what Elias thought about their situation. A huge part of their disconnect is around Desta trying to make "the best decision" about how to proceed with their relationship, both from the secrecy aspect and because Desta is only in Ethiopia for a handful of months.
It's clear that Herrera very much loves Ethiopia and the Ethiopian people, and in many ways, this is also a love letter to the place.