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margaretefg's review against another edition
2.0
There were many things I liked about this book...the different narrative voices and the way the story came together by interweaving the past with the longest snow day ever. But I thought it was going to be a powerful adoption story, and then when it turned out that Dalton and Eamon share the same biological father and that father goes from being a gentle, loving role model to a despicable philanderer in his sons' eyes, I found it jarring. Didn't seem to fit and in other ways, seemed like too simple a telling for an otherwise more complicated story.
lingfish7's review against another edition
4.0
I loved Leesa's book "This Close to Okay" and that book made me curious to read her debut novel - Whiskey & Ribbons. Although I prefer This Close to Okay, this book was just shy of a masterpiece in terms of prose, deep emotions, processing grief, and redemption.
If you're not into prose then you probably wouldn't like it as much as I did because the plot was a little laggy and slow. It's super artsy though, so I read it slowly and relished each sentence and artistic expression.
1. She has 3 interweaving timelines which makes the book feel like you're constantly going back and forth from present to future, but in a way that makes it mysterious and beautiful. This might drive some people crazy but I loved it.
2. The book is structured around the theme of music and each chapter is like a part in a symphony.
3. The main characters are super artistic, from Evangeline's ballet to Dalton's piano playing. I appreciated how art was woven throughout the book in all of these creative ways.
If you're not into prose then you probably wouldn't like it as much as I did because the plot was a little laggy and slow. It's super artsy though, so I read it slowly and relished each sentence and artistic expression.
1. She has 3 interweaving timelines which makes the book feel like you're constantly going back and forth from present to future, but in a way that makes it mysterious and beautiful. This might drive some people crazy but I loved it.
2. The book is structured around the theme of music and each chapter is like a part in a symphony.
3. The main characters are super artistic, from Evangeline's ballet to Dalton's piano playing. I appreciated how art was woven throughout the book in all of these creative ways.
dwcofer's review against another edition
1.0
Oh my gosh, where do I start. "Whiskey & Ribbons," by Leesa Cross-Smith was just horrible.
First, the writing. Ms. Cross has obviously never studied writing seriously. The book is all telling, no showing. I wanted to scream, "Show me, please!" The book could have been improved so much by showing me the action instead of a flat telling me what happened.
Second, the characters are so flat and not developed. They are not even underdeveloped. They are not developed at all. By not showing us their action and providing enough dialogue, I never felt like I got to know and relate to them. The characters were nothing more than just names. They all had the same voice, and all spoke alike.
Thirdly, the premise was a good one, but fell way short due to the inadequacies of the author. Who at the publishing house told her this was a good book? They lied to her. Again, the premise of grief, love, and memory are good ideas, but they needed the hand of a skilled craftsman to bring it alive for the reader.
Finally, Ms. Cross tries to hard to make this a literary piece of work. She uses flowery language when it is neither needed nor appropriate. The "romance" story is so cliché it is sickening. Ms. Cross is trying to create something (a work of literary fiction) in which she is incapable of doing.
Save your money and skip this book.
First, the writing. Ms. Cross has obviously never studied writing seriously. The book is all telling, no showing. I wanted to scream, "Show me, please!" The book could have been improved so much by showing me the action instead of a flat telling me what happened.
Second, the characters are so flat and not developed. They are not even underdeveloped. They are not developed at all. By not showing us their action and providing enough dialogue, I never felt like I got to know and relate to them. The characters were nothing more than just names. They all had the same voice, and all spoke alike.
Thirdly, the premise was a good one, but fell way short due to the inadequacies of the author. Who at the publishing house told her this was a good book? They lied to her. Again, the premise of grief, love, and memory are good ideas, but they needed the hand of a skilled craftsman to bring it alive for the reader.
Finally, Ms. Cross tries to hard to make this a literary piece of work. She uses flowery language when it is neither needed nor appropriate. The "romance" story is so cliché it is sickening. Ms. Cross is trying to create something (a work of literary fiction) in which she is incapable of doing.
Save your money and skip this book.
librarystan4lyfe's review against another edition
4.0
Beautiful, all-consuming, real. Such an unusually written, stunning book.
shannanh's review against another edition
3.0
I was able to finish it. It took me a while, but I didn't really get the hype.
thelexingtonbookie's review against another edition
4.0
A heartbreaking love story, set in Kentucky, in the midst of a snowstorm? Yes, please.
The reader is introduced to Eamon Royce, a Louisville cop, and his brother, Dalton, a bike-shop owner. These boys were born six days apart, grew up together, and their mothers had been best friends. When Dalton's mother passed away, the Royce's adopt Dalton and treat him like he had always been a part of the family- because he had been.
When Eamon meets Evangeline "Evi", a dancer and ballet teacher, he knew he it was love at first sight, and that one day they would be married. From there, it's a blissful whirlwind romance. Eamon knows Evi worries about him while he's on duty, but she never once asked him to give up the job he loves.Deciding that he'll do anything to make sure that Evi is always taken care of, he makes a pact with Dalton. Dalton agrees that if something were to ever happen to Eamon, he would take care of Evi. Image result for Louisville Police Dept
While miles apart on a fishing trip, Eamon receives a call from Evi- she's pregnant, and he's over the moon, joyous. Dalton can't be more thrilled for the two of them, and he ups the ante with the pact- he will take care of Evi and this unborn child.
Then, the worst and unexpected happens- Eamon is killed in the line of duty, sixteen days before Evi gives birth to baby Noah. She is distraught, and Dalton knows he has to be strong for her, but he's also swallowed by grief. Determined to keep his promise, Dalton makes sure that Noah is loved and cared for, as well as Evi. He knows that no matter what, he will never replace the love that Eamon had for these two, but it's more than the pact keeping him to his promise- it's the fact that these two are his family. He loves them both. And as time passes and the sharp ache from the loss dulls, Evi and Dalton learn that the two of them have more than kind feelings towards each other. Dalton and Evi end up snowed in together with baby Noah at his grandparents. Now, the two of them have a chance to sort out their tangled feelings of past loves and the future of their relationship.Image result for Whiskey & Ribbons
Cross-Smith has made a gorgeous debut novel with Whiskey and Ribbons, and a new fan out of me. The writing is beautiful, and the word choice shows, rather than tells, the reader how the characters feel. I loved the repetition of certain words and phrases, giving them deeper meaning and allowing the reader to roll them in their mouths or swirl them in their minds. And the development of the characters is wonderful, especially Dalton's as the man who has always been in the shadow of Eamon's family.
Overall, it's an intimate story line full of family, faith, love, duty, and grief. I absolutely recommend you give it a read, but prepare to have your heart broken.
The reader is introduced to Eamon Royce, a Louisville cop, and his brother, Dalton, a bike-shop owner. These boys were born six days apart, grew up together, and their mothers had been best friends. When Dalton's mother passed away, the Royce's adopt Dalton and treat him like he had always been a part of the family- because he had been.
When Eamon meets Evangeline "Evi", a dancer and ballet teacher, he knew he it was love at first sight, and that one day they would be married. From there, it's a blissful whirlwind romance. Eamon knows Evi worries about him while he's on duty, but she never once asked him to give up the job he loves.Deciding that he'll do anything to make sure that Evi is always taken care of, he makes a pact with Dalton. Dalton agrees that if something were to ever happen to Eamon, he would take care of Evi. Image result for Louisville Police Dept
While miles apart on a fishing trip, Eamon receives a call from Evi- she's pregnant, and he's over the moon, joyous. Dalton can't be more thrilled for the two of them, and he ups the ante with the pact- he will take care of Evi and this unborn child.
Then, the worst and unexpected happens- Eamon is killed in the line of duty, sixteen days before Evi gives birth to baby Noah. She is distraught, and Dalton knows he has to be strong for her, but he's also swallowed by grief. Determined to keep his promise, Dalton makes sure that Noah is loved and cared for, as well as Evi. He knows that no matter what, he will never replace the love that Eamon had for these two, but it's more than the pact keeping him to his promise- it's the fact that these two are his family. He loves them both. And as time passes and the sharp ache from the loss dulls, Evi and Dalton learn that the two of them have more than kind feelings towards each other. Dalton and Evi end up snowed in together with baby Noah at his grandparents. Now, the two of them have a chance to sort out their tangled feelings of past loves and the future of their relationship.Image result for Whiskey & Ribbons
Cross-Smith has made a gorgeous debut novel with Whiskey and Ribbons, and a new fan out of me. The writing is beautiful, and the word choice shows, rather than tells, the reader how the characters feel. I loved the repetition of certain words and phrases, giving them deeper meaning and allowing the reader to roll them in their mouths or swirl them in their minds. And the development of the characters is wonderful, especially Dalton's as the man who has always been in the shadow of Eamon's family.
Overall, it's an intimate story line full of family, faith, love, duty, and grief. I absolutely recommend you give it a read, but prepare to have your heart broken.
demottar's review against another edition
4.0
Whiskey & Ribbons was so much better than I thought it would be, even considering the terrible, country song title. The narrative style is lyrical and fluid, and is structured pretty brilliantly between three narrators and two timelines, so the story is always propelling forward.
The three main characters are complex and different than what I expected them to be. They break all kinds of stereotypes about what black families, Kentucky families, and adopted families should be, and that brought a freshness to the book. I also appreciated the modern take on the Arthurian love triangle: Evangeline, Eamonn, and Dalton all share a deep bond with the other two, and it complicates everything about their feelings and relationships.
Was this sappy? Yes. Was this a little far-fetched? Yes. But it was also intelligent and enjoyable and worth the read for something a little out of my normal reading comfort zone.
The three main characters are complex and different than what I expected them to be. They break all kinds of stereotypes about what black families, Kentucky families, and adopted families should be, and that brought a freshness to the book. I also appreciated the modern take on the Arthurian love triangle: Evangeline, Eamonn, and Dalton all share a deep bond with the other two, and it complicates everything about their feelings and relationships.
Was this sappy? Yes. Was this a little far-fetched? Yes. But it was also intelligent and enjoyable and worth the read for something a little out of my normal reading comfort zone.
thelizzabee's review against another edition
5.0
4.5 beautifully written. The bredth of emotions the reader goes through while reading this book is breathtaking. Leesa Cross-Smith expertly interweves the story through the 3 main characters point of view. Beautifully heart breaking story of love and grief.
black_girl_reading's review against another edition
3.0
I found myself a bit stifled reading whiskey & ribbons by Leesa Cross-Smith on a couple of fronts. Firstly, despite the third narrator already being dead (this is NOT a spoiler - his death is central to the whole narrative) the majority of the book takes place over a weekend storm in which two people are stuck together in a house and it is dramatic as hell up in there. Secondly, despite the book being an adult novel, and sex being a central topic, the intensity of it felt a bit young adult fiction to me (this book had claustrophobic elements of the sun is also a star that I wasn’t fond of). The constant focus on who had sex with who/when they had sex/if they were having sex/if they were going to have sex read as very juvenile to me. Finally, and I don’t know if the author is aware of this, the social conservatism around women and sexuality was abundantly clear. The men were all able to be complex sexual beings, but the women who had premarital sex were at best captured as somehow more dark, but honestly, were mostly characterized in a “virgin/whore” dichotomy and either disposable, vixens, likeable but desperate or lacking in some way; all of this compared to a central character who was a virgin until marriage and was definitely written as the pure angel of the book. I found it moralizing in a way I wasn’t fond of, I am not okay with religion being used to diminish women who don’t fit a certain profile, and whether Cross-Smith did this intentionally or not (it felt like something she uncritically and unthinkingly contributed to but idk 🤷🏿♀️) it was a huge thorn in my side. So, those were the downsides for me. I did find the content around a major reveal to be very accurate in terms of the pain that parents can create, and the rejection that can happen for children when adults practice self preservation at all costs. I also felt the loss of the third narrator at times, as a wife and mother, and that was very touching. But really, the whole book had a Tyler Perry Woman Thou Art Loosed feel about it with one character in particular, and that is not a compliment. Bad women getting what they deserve, with a thin veil of complexity over an age old way to shame women irked me.
khjb's review against another edition
4.0
Guys, I kind of loved this book. My only complaint is the characters are all eminently likeable (with the exception, perhaps, of Frances) and what kind of complaint is that? The plot line is sad/dramatic, but it didn’t feel maudlin or manipulative to me the way some sad romances can. Think Jojo Moyes but with better writing.