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A review by kjcharles
The Brightest Day: A Juneteenth Historical Romance Anthology by Piper Huguley, Lena Hart, Alyssa Cole, Kianna Alexander
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.