Dangerous Beauty by Melissa Koslin, A Review

 

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Book Description

Liliana Vela hates the term victim. She's not a victim, she's a fighter. Stubborn and strong with a quiet elegance, she's determined to take back her life after escaping the clutches of human traffickers in her poor Mexican village. But she can't stay safely over the border in America--unless the man who aided in her rescue is serious about his unconventional proposal to marry her.

Meric Toledan was just stopping at a service station for a bottle of water. Assessing the situation, he steps in to rescue Liliana from traffickers. If he can keep his secrets at bay, his wealth and position afford him many resources to help her. But the mysterious buyer who funded her capture will not sit idly by while his prize is stolen from him.

Melissa Koslin throws you right into the middle of the action in this high-stakes thriller that poses the question: What is the price of freedom?

Review

I received a copy of this book from the publisher. Here is my honest review.

Wow - what a book!
Captivating story from the very beginning. This book focuses on human trafficking, which gets very little attention in proportion to the major crime problem that it is. I liked how Koslin brought focus to the issue without including graphic detail that would make it difficult for many readers to read. Liliana is a strong character, who really personifies the "I never saw myself as a victim" mentality. Meric is a man with an intense sense of right and wrong and the conviction to seek justice for those who are taken advantage of. Their past experiences with human trafficking - hers, very recent and his rooted in trauma his mother faced - draw them together in a shared vision of doing what they can to help.
It was so sweet how both Liliana and Meric selflessly cared for the other, thinking that they needed to put aside their personal feelings so that they other could heal. They both needed the other to truly see them and to trust them.
I really enjoyed this story - thank you to the publisher for sending me a copy to review. 

I gave this book: ★★★★

★ = I did not like it     ★★ = It was okay     ★★★ = I liked it    ★★★★ = I really liked it     ★★★★★ = I loved it

The Summer of Grace by Karen Jones, A Review

 

(book cover via NetGalley)

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I have been unable to find this book listed on any of the above sites at the time of writing my review. 

Book Description

Ten-year-old Gracie sits on the backyard picnic table, hugging Brown Hound, wiping her nose on the dog’s fur. Her daddy is sending them both to her grandmother for the summer. They are too much for her high-strung mother.

It’s 1951 on the NC family farm when Gracie and Brown Hound meet the family. Great Granny Jane smokes a pipe and is fast with her cane, Miss Emily is loving but firm, and Jane, her cousin of the same age, has a swashbuckler’s heart.

It is wild and heady freedom, far from her mother’s scorn and her father’s indifference. The girls hunt for ancient graves, sneak visits the conjure woman, fight, make up, and sleep in the same bed, tangled like puppies.

But there is also Marcell, the solitary woman who keeps the house. Her dark skin shines but not her eyes; her history is mysteriously entwined with the family, and for some inexplicable reason she hates dogs. Gracie and Jane must fix this before Brown Hound gets sent away.

Can the girls unearth Marcell’s secrets? Why must they find a missing grave? And what time-worn promise exposed will reveal the family’s hidden past?

Review

I received a dARC copy of this book from the publisher. Here is my honest review.

I loved the title of this book: The Summer of Grace. So much could be explored within that.  It is listed on NetGalley in General/Women's Fiction as well as Teen & YA - which had me intrigued.  

The writing structure "feels" middle grade to me but doesn't feel childish.  All I know is I enjoyed it very much and was curious to see what else the author wrote; I look forward to seeing future works from her in this same vein.

Grace is a young girl who is ignored largely by her mother and scolded when she garners her mother's attention. She is sent to her grandmother's farm for the summer to give her mother a "rest".   She is apprehensive but thrives in the simple country setting and loving guidance of not only her grandmother but other extended family as well.  

This book also explores the impact of segregation, lynchings and racism through Marcell's storyline.  While the girls were originally motivated to help Marcell for selfish reasons, they begin to understand her as they uncover the past one secret at a time.  

I gave this book: ★★★★

★ = I did not like it     ★★ = It was okay     ★★★ = I liked it    ★★★★ = I really liked it     ★★★★★ = I loved it