Scan barcode
mwilsner's review against another edition
5.0
oh my god, this book! the first chapter absolutely wrecked me immediately, and then the rest of the book slowly killed me again. just outstanding.
glitteringeyes418's review
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
melannrosenthal's review against another edition
5.0
Enormously beautiful. As much as I loved the prose I had to force myself to take breaks and put it down rather than inhale all of the story at once because of just how excellent and how heartbreaking it was.
From the first page we know that Evangeline’s husband Eamon died in the line of duty, and now, with the baby he didn’t live to meet, Evi is grieving with Dalton, Eamon’s adopted brother. Dalton’s biological mother, Penelope, was best friends with Eamon’s mom, Loretta, before their sons were even born, and when they each got pregnant at the same time the bonds between the women and their boys were permanently cemented. When Penelope committed suicide 12 years later Loretta was quick to take Dalton in and officially make him a member of their family, which he feels at home with, though questions of the identity of his father always haunt him.
The book goes backwards and forwards revealing bit by bit how Evi and Eamon got together, why Dalton wouldn’t settle down with his longtime on-off girlfriend Frances, and how both Evi and Dalton are surviving without Eamon. Each chapter shifts POV to each of the 3 leads, seamlessly providing every hidden piece and every visceral feeling of their stories.
Leesa Cross-Smith is so obviously a master of words and I was lucky to pick this up, clutching the hardcover to my chest, as the sentences washed over me over and over again knocking me down and helping me get back up to turn the page. I’m stunned by how lovely the writing is and I will have a difficult time waiting for her to publish another novel.
From the first page we know that Evangeline’s husband Eamon died in the line of duty, and now, with the baby he didn’t live to meet, Evi is grieving with Dalton, Eamon’s adopted brother. Dalton’s biological mother, Penelope, was best friends with Eamon’s mom, Loretta, before their sons were even born, and when they each got pregnant at the same time the bonds between the women and their boys were permanently cemented. When Penelope committed suicide 12 years later Loretta was quick to take Dalton in and officially make him a member of their family, which he feels at home with, though questions of the identity of his father always haunt him.
The book goes backwards and forwards revealing bit by bit how Evi and Eamon got together, why Dalton wouldn’t settle down with his longtime on-off girlfriend Frances, and how both Evi and Dalton are surviving without Eamon. Each chapter shifts POV to each of the 3 leads, seamlessly providing every hidden piece and every visceral feeling of their stories.
Leesa Cross-Smith is so obviously a master of words and I was lucky to pick this up, clutching the hardcover to my chest, as the sentences washed over me over and over again knocking me down and helping me get back up to turn the page. I’m stunned by how lovely the writing is and I will have a difficult time waiting for her to publish another novel.
literarypaiges's review
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death
just_one_more_paige's review against another edition
5.0
This review originally appeared on the book review blog: Just One More Pa(i)ge.
I had really never heard of this book before seeing one of the main characters mentioned in a post on bookstagram. As always, I need to be better about writing these things down, because I totally don’t remember who made the original post, but the question was something about book boyfriends. And more than one person mentioned someone named Dalton. It wasn’t a name I recognized, so thankfully someone also listed the book it was from: Whiskey and Ribbons. Well, I’m nothing if not a sucker for a good book boyfriend, so the next time I was at the library I checked for this book and, since it was available, grabbed it!
I think perhaps the premise of this book doesn’t do its contents justice. I think, if I had just read the description, I would not have been as inclined to read it. Evangeline is nine months pregnant when her husband, Eamon, a police officer, is killed in the line of duty. Honestly, that’s such a heartbreaking start and I am not always in the mood for sobbing while reading (I’m ridiculously emotional). Told from three perspectives, we get the full story of a family through the unfolding of this book. Evangeline speaks to us from after Eamon’s death, primarily during a current day weekend snowed in with Eamon’s brother, Dalton. Eamon speaks to us from before his death, how it felt finding Evangeline, marrying her and towards the end, his internal struggle as he prepares to be a father while working in a dangerous profession. And then there’s Dalton, Eamon’s adopted brother. His story spans years, back to his childhood becoming part of Eamon’s family up through the present day as he finds out about his biological parents and deals with Eamon’s passing and his promises to take care of Evangeline and the baby is anything were ever to happen to Eamon.
I can’t say exactly what I was expecting from this book. Between the mentions of Dalton as a perfect book boyfriend and the tragic circumstances that create the basis of the novel, I didn’t real have a tangible feel for how I thought things would play out. And really, I hadn’t done too much research into it, other than seeing those few comments on bookstagram and seeing if the library had it. So, needless to say, what I got was unexpectedly amazing – much more than I had been planning or hoping for, that’s for sure. First of all, the writing was just brilliant. It’s vividly insightful and emotional without taking the language too far and obscuring the messages with words. Does that make sense? I am not into novels where the individual words/language is more important than the story they’re telling – a balance of the two elements is really important to me. It’s meditative and reflecting without getting lost in itself, or losing me as a reader. All in all, the narrative style is a perfect match for the story it’s telling. I wrote the following note as I was reading and it’s so accurate that I’m just going to quote myself here: “The feelings that come through on every page are so strong, so heavily rendered, the good and the bad, that you can feel them rising off the page and enveloping you.” Yup – I wrote the truth. Also, I just loved the artistic aspects woven all the way through. I’m not a dancer or a musician (so I had to look up some of the terms), but with Evangeline as a ballerina and Dalton as a pianist, the music and dance vocabulary sprinkled throughout and used as a framework for the story itself is a lovely device.
As for the characters themselves, it would be hard for them to not seem realistic, based on how well-written their emotions are. So yes, they were fully dimensional. I mean, this is a limited view of them, based on the circumstances they are in and this section of their lives we’re exploring, so (especially for Evangeline) they may not be as developed as a larger context could have made them. But at the same time, the was Cross-Smith represents them, you can tell that there is more there for each of them, it’s just pushed away for now. And I did like that. Also, and mainly, let’s talk about the men. I have never, not that I can remember, read a book with two such wonderful male protagonists. The healthy masculinity in the book is off the charts. Both Eamon and Dalton are emotional, sensitive, thoughtful and completely able to be “manly” without sacrificing these traits. I just…it was beautiful to read. And yes, everyone who said Dalton was the perfect book boyfriend was SO RIGHT. Oh man, he really is close to perfect. But I don’t want to forget about Eamon. I see why Dalton is the focal point, for sure (and I’m down with it), but Eamon displays all these characteristics and would be just as legit as far as book boyfriends go, if he were option. It’s impossible to say that Evangeline is lucky to have them both in her life under the circumstances,
but also, one cannot ignore that there is good fortune there somewhere.
This book was just so much more than I was expecting. The plot had more depth and twists than I was expecting, the relationships developed were exquisite in both joy and pain, and the emphasis on family, what makes a family, is everything. I loved this book and, even though I cried through the last 30-40 pages, it was totally worth it. I just feel so much after reading this and have so much belief in the power behind healing and hope and how worth it, how meaningful, it is to pour your heart into the people that you have chosen.
“Women, you are sleek and gorgeous. You hold us together, you’re the ribbons. We’re men. Dangerous only if you take us too seriously. We’re the whiskey. To whiskey and ribbons.”
“Family was a pact. Friendship was a pact. Love was a pact. Written in blood.”
“Grief is horrifyingly personal. Grief is horrifyingly generic.”
“I think of our breaking hearts sounding like the snow – so quiet we can barely hear them, but after the right amount of times we can look around and see how everything is changed. Covered.”
“…I look happy and hope it’s not an accident. Happiness, an elusive fish I cannot catch whole – only small darting flashes. Feels nasty to consider or wish for happiness. But I also know that without at least a little light, things die.”
“I can see it. Like how if you put your thumb over the end of a spraying garden hose it’ll make a rainbow. A surprise. It’s almost an accident. You have to look for it or you’ll miss it. You have to hold it perfectly still in the right light.”
I had really never heard of this book before seeing one of the main characters mentioned in a post on bookstagram. As always, I need to be better about writing these things down, because I totally don’t remember who made the original post, but the question was something about book boyfriends. And more than one person mentioned someone named Dalton. It wasn’t a name I recognized, so thankfully someone also listed the book it was from: Whiskey and Ribbons. Well, I’m nothing if not a sucker for a good book boyfriend, so the next time I was at the library I checked for this book and, since it was available, grabbed it!
I think perhaps the premise of this book doesn’t do its contents justice. I think, if I had just read the description, I would not have been as inclined to read it. Evangeline is nine months pregnant when her husband, Eamon, a police officer, is killed in the line of duty. Honestly, that’s such a heartbreaking start and I am not always in the mood for sobbing while reading (I’m ridiculously emotional). Told from three perspectives, we get the full story of a family through the unfolding of this book. Evangeline speaks to us from after Eamon’s death, primarily during a current day weekend snowed in with Eamon’s brother, Dalton. Eamon speaks to us from before his death, how it felt finding Evangeline, marrying her and towards the end, his internal struggle as he prepares to be a father while working in a dangerous profession. And then there’s Dalton, Eamon’s adopted brother. His story spans years, back to his childhood becoming part of Eamon’s family up through the present day as he finds out about his biological parents and deals with Eamon’s passing and his promises to take care of Evangeline and the baby is anything were ever to happen to Eamon.
I can’t say exactly what I was expecting from this book. Between the mentions of Dalton as a perfect book boyfriend and the tragic circumstances that create the basis of the novel, I didn’t real have a tangible feel for how I thought things would play out. And really, I hadn’t done too much research into it, other than seeing those few comments on bookstagram and seeing if the library had it. So, needless to say, what I got was unexpectedly amazing – much more than I had been planning or hoping for, that’s for sure. First of all, the writing was just brilliant. It’s vividly insightful and emotional without taking the language too far and obscuring the messages with words. Does that make sense? I am not into novels where the individual words/language is more important than the story they’re telling – a balance of the two elements is really important to me. It’s meditative and reflecting without getting lost in itself, or losing me as a reader. All in all, the narrative style is a perfect match for the story it’s telling. I wrote the following note as I was reading and it’s so accurate that I’m just going to quote myself here: “The feelings that come through on every page are so strong, so heavily rendered, the good and the bad, that you can feel them rising off the page and enveloping you.” Yup – I wrote the truth. Also, I just loved the artistic aspects woven all the way through. I’m not a dancer or a musician (so I had to look up some of the terms), but with Evangeline as a ballerina and Dalton as a pianist, the music and dance vocabulary sprinkled throughout and used as a framework for the story itself is a lovely device.
As for the characters themselves, it would be hard for them to not seem realistic, based on how well-written their emotions are. So yes, they were fully dimensional. I mean, this is a limited view of them, based on the circumstances they are in and this section of their lives we’re exploring, so (especially for Evangeline) they may not be as developed as a larger context could have made them. But at the same time, the was Cross-Smith represents them, you can tell that there is more there for each of them, it’s just pushed away for now. And I did like that. Also, and mainly, let’s talk about the men. I have never, not that I can remember, read a book with two such wonderful male protagonists. The healthy masculinity in the book is off the charts. Both Eamon and Dalton are emotional, sensitive, thoughtful and completely able to be “manly” without sacrificing these traits. I just…it was beautiful to read. And yes, everyone who said Dalton was the perfect book boyfriend was SO RIGHT. Oh man, he really is close to perfect. But I don’t want to forget about Eamon. I see why Dalton is the focal point, for sure (and I’m down with it), but Eamon displays all these characteristics and would be just as legit as far as book boyfriends go, if he were option. It’s impossible to say that Evangeline is lucky to have them both in her life under the circumstances,
but also, one cannot ignore that there is good fortune there somewhere.
This book was just so much more than I was expecting. The plot had more depth and twists than I was expecting, the relationships developed were exquisite in both joy and pain, and the emphasis on family, what makes a family, is everything. I loved this book and, even though I cried through the last 30-40 pages, it was totally worth it. I just feel so much after reading this and have so much belief in the power behind healing and hope and how worth it, how meaningful, it is to pour your heart into the people that you have chosen.
“Women, you are sleek and gorgeous. You hold us together, you’re the ribbons. We’re men. Dangerous only if you take us too seriously. We’re the whiskey. To whiskey and ribbons.”
“Family was a pact. Friendship was a pact. Love was a pact. Written in blood.”
“Grief is horrifyingly personal. Grief is horrifyingly generic.”
“I think of our breaking hearts sounding like the snow – so quiet we can barely hear them, but after the right amount of times we can look around and see how everything is changed. Covered.”
“…I look happy and hope it’s not an accident. Happiness, an elusive fish I cannot catch whole – only small darting flashes. Feels nasty to consider or wish for happiness. But I also know that without at least a little light, things die.”
“I can see it. Like how if you put your thumb over the end of a spraying garden hose it’ll make a rainbow. A surprise. It’s almost an accident. You have to look for it or you’ll miss it. You have to hold it perfectly still in the right light.”
kirsty_reads's review against another edition
4.0
Beautifully written and completely engrossing! The characterisation and the sadness of the story is captivating.
thelowreylibrary's review against another edition
5.0
Oh, I love this book. It takes a situation that is sorrowful and confusing and makes sense of grief. It’s really beautiful, and I’m so happy it was written.
megtristao's review against another edition
5.0
Oh, I'm so happy I decided to read this before the end of the year, because it definitely deserves a spot on my "best of 2018" list. Leesa Cross-Smith is truly a masterful storyteller (I think I read that phrase in a blurb somewhere), and I certainly hope she writes more novels for me to savor. I even took a full lunch break to read this book because I couldn't stop thinking about it, so that's saying something! 4.5 stars.
arisbookcorner's review against another edition
5.0
IQ "What no one tells you about grief is that you don’t want to figure out a way to live with it—you want the part of you that hurts to die instead."
Wow this book emotionally wrecked me. Thus far I have not endured a loss of the magnitude portrayed here but I still felt like I was gasping for breath sometimes, as deeply grief stricken as the rest of the characters. Even though you know the circumstances of the tragedy, I still felt my eyes welling with tears by the time I got to the end. The writing is poetic, at times melodious in structure. It seems to be reflective of Evie's love for ballet and music. "I wasn't exactly sure where we stood but I wouldn't have guessed it was kind or solid ground. Not as solid as the concrete sidewalk were standing on" (Eamon, 163). I think one quibble would be sometimes Eamon and Dalton were too similar, their voices blended together and sometimes it would take me a minute to figure out who was talking or what distinguished one from the other. I also thought the title was a little silly but it was not a big deal, just felt like a stretch to me aside from the whiskey/Kentucky connection.
The characters are all quiet and delightfully normal, there's plenty of everyday life drama but the characters remain wonderfully level headed throughout. The story moves slowly just like the snowstorm that surrounds most of its present day setting but it never feels like a drag, you're too wrapped up in their lives and tenderness of various moments. So if someone were to ask me if I'd been intimate with Dalton, I'd say yes. Sobbing together was its own unique form of intimacy-a thread wrapped around us so tight it was cutting off our circulation from the rest of the world." (Evie, 6). And the romance(s). It's all knowing looks and pregnant pauses that made me tingle inside (can't believe I just typed that honestly). It's not super explicit but it's not eye-rollingly chaste either which felt like an appropriate balance. It's wholesome and felt like just what I needed at a time when I was feeling really down although I seriously doubt men like this actually exist. Although I do think their bond is realistic, male friendship fascinates me and it's wonderfully explored here. Dalton and Eamon talk shit to each other but are also affectionate towards each other and when talking about each other to other people. The Louisville setting also struck me as a particularly strong choice, I never think of Black people living in Louisville so I fully enjoyed my immersion in middle class Black Louisville. It also touches on religion without being melodramatic or moralizing. Evie and Eamon have strong faith and it holds them together but they don't preach at Dalton or anyone else who might not feel as strongly as they do.
WHISKEY & RIBBONS is an achingly beautiful story about life after tragedy, specifically how to love after a tragedy. A mesmerizing romance but also an intimate look at grief particularly how you get through the day to day with a heavy heart. I wasn't prepared to cry but don't be shocked if you get swept up and emotional. I also think it should be classified as a Southern novel, its emphasis on community, faith, family and whiskey make it the ideal fit. I would love to re-read this during the winter, contrary to the initial subject matter, it's not all despair, it's a cozy story. One of my favorite books of the year.
One of the cutest exchanges between Evie and Dalton:
"'You always tell me to quit it.' (Evie)
'Because I'm trying to stop you from going to much into some...thing,' he [Dalton] says leaning forward to take a bite.
'I go too much into things sometimes. I know I;m doing it. But I don't know how to stop it,' I say, sitting back in my chair.
'That's okay,' he says." (105)
Wow this book emotionally wrecked me. Thus far I have not endured a loss of the magnitude portrayed here but I still felt like I was gasping for breath sometimes, as deeply grief stricken as the rest of the characters. Even though you know the circumstances of the tragedy, I still felt my eyes welling with tears by the time I got to the end. The writing is poetic, at times melodious in structure. It seems to be reflective of Evie's love for ballet and music. "I wasn't exactly sure where we stood but I wouldn't have guessed it was kind or solid ground. Not as solid as the concrete sidewalk were standing on" (Eamon, 163). I think one quibble would be sometimes Eamon and Dalton were too similar, their voices blended together and sometimes it would take me a minute to figure out who was talking or what distinguished one from the other. I also thought the title was a little silly but it was not a big deal, just felt like a stretch to me aside from the whiskey/Kentucky connection.
The characters are all quiet and delightfully normal, there's plenty of everyday life drama but the characters remain wonderfully level headed throughout. The story moves slowly just like the snowstorm that surrounds most of its present day setting but it never feels like a drag, you're too wrapped up in their lives and tenderness of various moments. So if someone were to ask me if I'd been intimate with Dalton, I'd say yes. Sobbing together was its own unique form of intimacy-a thread wrapped around us so tight it was cutting off our circulation from the rest of the world." (Evie, 6). And the romance(s). It's all knowing looks and pregnant pauses that made me tingle inside (can't believe I just typed that honestly). It's not super explicit but it's not eye-rollingly chaste either which felt like an appropriate balance. It's wholesome and felt like just what I needed at a time when I was feeling really down although I seriously doubt men like this actually exist. Although I do think their bond is realistic, male friendship fascinates me and it's wonderfully explored here. Dalton and Eamon talk shit to each other but are also affectionate towards each other and when talking about each other to other people. The Louisville setting also struck me as a particularly strong choice, I never think of Black people living in Louisville so I fully enjoyed my immersion in middle class Black Louisville. It also touches on religion without being melodramatic or moralizing. Evie and Eamon have strong faith and it holds them together but they don't preach at Dalton or anyone else who might not feel as strongly as they do.
WHISKEY & RIBBONS is an achingly beautiful story about life after tragedy, specifically how to love after a tragedy. A mesmerizing romance but also an intimate look at grief particularly how you get through the day to day with a heavy heart. I wasn't prepared to cry but don't be shocked if you get swept up and emotional. I also think it should be classified as a Southern novel, its emphasis on community, faith, family and whiskey make it the ideal fit. I would love to re-read this during the winter, contrary to the initial subject matter, it's not all despair, it's a cozy story. One of my favorite books of the year.
One of the cutest exchanges between Evie and Dalton:
"'You always tell me to quit it.' (Evie)
'Because I'm trying to stop you from going to much into some...thing,' he [Dalton] says leaning forward to take a bite.
'I go too much into things sometimes. I know I;m doing it. But I don't know how to stop it,' I say, sitting back in my chair.
'That's okay,' he says." (105)
readincolour's review against another edition
5.0
I don't drink whiskey, I drink rum and I savored the words and characters of Whiskey & Ribbons like a good bottle of my favorite. Can't wait for everyone to read it.