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A review by melannrosenthal
Whiskey & Ribbons by Leesa Cross-Smith
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.