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Black History Month Read: The Light Always Breaks

384 pages Publisher Harper Muse Publication date July 5, 2022

ABOUT THE BOOK

As 1947 opens, Eva Cardon is the twenty-four-year-old owner of Washington, D.C.’s, most famous Black-owned restaurant. When her path crosses with Courtland, a handsome white senator from Georgia, both find themselves drawn to one another—but the danger of a relationship between a Black woman and a white man from the South could destroy them and everything they’ve worked for.

Few women own upscale restaurants in civil rights era Washington, D.C. Fewer still are twenty-four, Black, and wildly successful. But Eva Cardon is unwilling to serve only the wealthiest movers and shakers, and she plans to open a diner that offers Southern comfort to the working class.

A war hero and one of Georgia’s native sons, Courtland Hardiman Kingsley IV is a junior senator with great ambitions for his time in D.C. But while his father is determined to see Courtland on a path to the White House, the young senator wants to use his office to make a difference in people’s lives, regardless of political consequences.

When equal-rights activism throws Eva and Courtland into each other’s paths, they can’t fight the attraction they feel, no matter how much it complicates their dreams. For Eva, falling in love with a white Southerner is all but unforgivable—and undesirable. Her mother and grandmother fell in love with white men, and their families paid the price. Courtland is already under pressure for his liberal ideals, and his family has a line of smiling debutantes waiting for him on every visit. If his father found out about Eva, he’s not sure he’d be welcome home again.

Surrounded by the disapproval of their families and the scorn of the public, Eva and Courtland must decide if the values they hold most dear—including love—are worth the loss of their dreams . . . and everything else.

The author of When Stars Rain Down returns with a historical love story about all that has—and has not—changed in the United States

  • Historical romance set in civil rights era Washington, D.C.
  • Stand-alone novel
  • Book length: approximately 120,000 words
  • Includes discussion questions for book clubs

MY THOUGHTS

I’d give this more than five stars if I could, I just loved it. I could barely put it down.
It started out with a fiercely independent black woman. She owns one of the most prestigious D.C. restaurants in 1947.
At a New Years party there she meets a white politician from Georgia.
This turns into a forbidden romance that people on both sides try to dissuade each other from this romance.
This junior senator has high ambitions in D.C., and his father in his mind, already has him married off to one of the smiling white women and taking his first steps towards the presidency.
Falling in love with a white man is an unforgivable sin in her family’s eyes. Her mother and grandmother both did and the results weren’t favorable.
In this civil rights era novel, we see threats both verbal and physical aimed at the public’s displeasure of the relationship.
They must decide if them being together is worth possibly losing everything they hold dear or to let the chance at strength, compassion and not giving in to others wishes is worth it.
Fabulous read but heartbreaking. Will not easily be forgotten.

I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.

MEET THE AUTHOR

Angela Jackson-Brown is an award-winning writer, poet, and playwright who is an Associate Professor in Creative Writing at Indiana University in Bloomington, IN and a member of the graduate faculty of the Naslund-Mann Graduate School of Writing at Spalding University in Louisville, KY.

Angela is a graduate of Troy University, Auburn University, and the Spalding low-residency MFA program in creative writing. She has published her short fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry in journals like the Louisville Courier Journal and Appalachian Review. She is the author of Drinking from a Bitter Cup, House Repairs, When Stars Rain Down, and The Light Always Breaks.

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The Last Day in Paris: A totally heartbreaking WW2 historical novel (The Paris Sisters #1) 

360 pages Publisher Bookouture Publication date February 26, 2024

ABOUT THE BOOK

Paris, 1940: All over Paris, families are being pulled from their beds in the middle of the night. And ever since her husband was shot in cold blood, Brigitte Goldstein has known she is running out of time. She and her daughter Sophie are Jewish, so it won’t be long until the Nazis bang on their door.

But before she leaves, Brigitte must find her beloved husband’s painting, which was seized by the Nazis. She desperately hopes that if she saves it from destruction, then a piece of him will live on forever. And perhaps one day her daughter will uncover her father’s legacy, and the secret hidden inside…

Working in a museum under a false identity is Brigitte’s only hope. Until she meets Isabelle Valette, who confides in hushed tones that she is part of the Resistance. And when her new friend tells her of a train leaving Paris that can take children to safety, Brigitte knows her daughter must be on it, even if it breaks her heart.

But getting Sophie onto the train is dangerous. If they are caught smuggling a Jewish child out of Paris, they will be killed. And with the enemy closing in, can Brigitte get her beloved daughter to safety before it is too late?

MY THOUGHTS

The Last Day in Paris is the first book in the Paris Sisters series though I have read a few of the other books in this series first. Being each story is a standalone I’m not missing anything.
As with quite a few historical fiction books this is a dual timeline that all comes together nicely in the end though it does have some loose end that need tidying up that lead right into the next book in the series.
This one features WWII and the Nazis and stolen art. One factor I enjoy reading about in the author’s books is her featuring women during WWII and their courageous nature.
The past and present mesh delightfully through art, galleries where it is showcased and we see our characters pouring out such love as they are painting.
The women put their life on the line daily for what they feel is right and you can’t help but admire them.
I greatly look forward to reading more books by the author.

I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.

MEET THE AUTHOR

Suzanne Kelman an Amazon bestselling author in America, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia, and her books have sold over 400,000 copies worldwide accumulated 10 rights deals across eight territories. Her WW2 historical fiction books are published by Bookouture – an imprint for Hachette U.K.

She is also the author of the bestselling book, “The Rejected Writers’ Book Club”, published by Lake Union, which is the first book in the Southlea Bay series. Other books in the series include, “Rejected Writers Take the Stage” and “The Rejected Writers’ Christmas Wedding”.

Kelman is an award-winning writer/screenwriter whose accolades include the Best Comedy Feature Screenplay Award from the L.A. International Film Festival, the Gold Award from the California Film Awards, and the Van Gogh Award from the Amsterdam Film Festival.

In 2015 her script, Held, was recognized by the Academy of Motion Pictures and was shortlisted to the top ten in the Academy Of Motion Pictures Nichols Fellowship competition.

As well as a screenwriter and a published author, Suzanne is also a playwright, and her award-winning comedy play, “Over My Dead Body”, had its World Premiere at Outcast Theatre in Washington, Fall 2019.

Born in the United Kingdom, Suzanne now resides in Washington State.

Please sign up for her newsletter to stay in touch – https://www.suzannekelmanauthor.com

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