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