9 minute read
Literary Reviews
Moonlight Ride Trilogy
Sherelle Green - Midnight ace book bar
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Love triumphs in these uplifting romances, part of the Moonlight Ridge series:
Book 1: Homecoming Heartbreaker by Joss Woods
Book 2: Best Laid Wedding Plans by Karen Booth
Book 3: Just a Little Married by Reese Ryan
The Moonlight Ridge Trilogy is a Harlequin Desire collaboration featuring 3 individuals stories written by Joss Wood, Karen Booth, and Reese Ryan. These ladies do a great job of seamlessly connecting each storyline, pulling the reader in, and engaging them with the scenic visuals and well-developed characters. When we see a Harlequin title, we expect to have a romance with some conflict and HEA, and before you get up in arms, I assure you that it is in each of the titles. After reading this trilogy, the romance took a back seat to the Holloway’s unique family dynamic (Mack, Grey, and Travis* are all adoptive brothers) There are so many things that can make up a family unit, and more often than not, it isn’t DNA. Jamison Holloway is the patriarch of this clan. A man with a big heart and a desire to have a family to extend its legacy. Most family generations are left to deal with past deception, secrets, neglect, abuse, trauma, and distrust. The Holloways were torn apart by a tragedy that took place over a decade ago. Will it be a tragedy that makes them whole again? It was something about Moonlight Ridge that brought about healing. Each story has elements of family and second chance romances that were heartfelt and heartwarming at the same time. Each book can be read separately, but I highly recommend reading all of them and in order to get to a full scope of this family’s dynamic as well as challenges they face and the healing that comes after. You will enjoy the uniqueness in each couple’s journey and you can thank me later.
Recommended Wine Pairing
Josh Chardonnay $12-$15 Can be found in most local wine & spirits and most local grocery stores It is what you would expect from a Chardonnay, dry and oaky, but it doesn’t take away the fruit flavors and crisp finish. Much like the Holloway family, there are few complexities going on, but in the end, everything comes together in unity. This wine comes with a great price point and I will purchase it again. Whether you are taking in this trilogy all in the same sitting or at different times grab a bottle of Josh Chardonnay. As always ENJOY, whether you try these together or separately, sip responsibly! Recommended Food Pairing:
Pairs beautifully with shrimp, steamed mussels, creamy kinds of pasta, roasted chicken, and grilled vegetables.
Interview by Annie McDowell
How would you describe KILL ALL YOUR DARLINGS? KILL ALL YOUR DARLINGS is a fast-paced thriller that tells the story of Connor Nye, a creative writing professor who is struggling to get over the death of his wife and son in an accident. One of his best students turns in an honors thesis—a novel—and then disappears and is presumed dead. Connor passes the book off as his own, and then the student turns up very much alive. And then the police show up because the book Connor passed off as his own implicates him in an unsolved cold case murder. Things get worse from there.
You’ve written over ten novels, while also being a college professor. Why now did you decide to write a story set on a college campus? I’ve had the idea for this novel in the back of my head for a long time. Years. And I’ve tried on a few different occasions to get it off the ground and never could get it right. Finally, I cracked the code and went for it in
2021. Since I’m a professor at a university, I think about the academic world all the time.
And since I’m a suspense writer who produces a book every year I’m always on the lookout for a good story. It was inevitable I’d set one on a campus. What inspired you to write the book? During my time as a graduate student and then as a professor, I’ve seen more than one case of a professor abusing their power and pursuing inappropriate relationships with their students.
I’ve seen the toll this takes on the students and the entire community. We’ve made progress on this issue, but it hasn’t gone away, so I hope my book calls attention to the problem while it also entertains the reader.
The Book Review Corner: An Interview with David Bell
How do you think KILL ALL YOUR DARLINGS differs from your previous books?
The subject matter and setting are different. More than anything, I wanted to push myself in the way the story is told. The book uses multiple points of view and goes back and forth in time, and these are techniques I’ve never employed to this extent before. However, I thought the story—which is complex and tangled—could only be told in such an unusual way. Each of the characters knows a part of the story, and the events stretch across time with the past very much affecting the present. Telling the story this way certainly created challenges for me because it meant a lot of balls were in the air. So I had to learn to juggle as I went along. While writing the book did you come across anything in writing about campus life that surprised you? Did you interview anyone for the book to get some ideas on how to characterize anyone? Obviously, I know the academic world very well since I’ve been working in it so long. It’s a unique setting, rather different than other workplaces. As I developed the idea for the book, I did speak to some of my colleagues and some of my students, asking them if they had experiences that were similar to the ones I was going to be writing about. I was surprised to learn that so many people I know have experienced or witnessed the kind of harassment that is depicted in the book. I’m not exactly a Pollyanna, but I was still surprised. And not in a good way. In KILL ALL YOUR DARLINGS, some of Connor’s colleagues look down at him writing a mystery novel. You’re currently the head of the creative writing program— has anyone ever thought that you “ought” to be writing the next “Great American Novel” instead of mysteries or thrillers?
Hey, who says the “Great American Novel”—whatever that is—can’t be a mystery or a thriller? I tell you what, if it was a mystery or a thriller, a heck of a lot more people would read it. And they wouldn’t be bored by it. But to answer the question, yes, there is absolutely a snobbish attitude among a fair number of my academic brethren when it comes to writing anything that might be remotely popular or accessible. At the same time, I have plenty of colleagues who not only read my books but they also read the work of other thriller writers.
As I always tell my students, don’t write what you think other people want you to write. Write what you want to write. We can only follow our own paths and not worry about others. Your protagonist Connor develops great rapport with his students, how have some of your students reacted to your books when they’ve read them? Some people assume that all of my students would read my books. The truth is I have plenty of students who probably have no idea
The Book Review Corner: An Interview with David Bell
that I’ve written or published any books. But some students read them and tell me they enjoy them. I have a rule—I don’t count it as a real compliment if a student praises one of my books while they’re in my class. That strikes me as an easy way to score brownie points. Now if a student compliments one of my books years after they’ve graduated and I can no longer give them a grade, I take that to be sincere.
Since being in a college classroom for 16 years, how have you seen the dynamics of college change? In many ways, things don’t change. I’m not sure students are vastly different now than they were when I was in college back during the Revolutionary War. Certain things are universal. Students are trying to figure out who they are and what they’re going to do. They worry about their grades. They like to have a good time—too good sometimes. They want to fall in love. But many things are different. Technology for one. There was no social media when I was in school. (Thank the Lord.) It barely existed when I started teaching. More than anything else, I think the economics of college continue to get worse, and the book reflects this. It’s harder and harder for working and middle class students to pay their way. Madeline O’Brien is one of those students struggling to get by. She has to work long hours at a job in a grocery store in order to come close to keeping her head above water. As someone who went through school on student loans and financial aid, I understand, but I think the costs are getting further and further out of control. Let’s face it, even the professors have a hard time getting by on shrinking salaries. The financial picture is bleak Why do you think KILL ALL YOUR DARLINGS is so important to today’s times? As I said above, we’ve made progress in terms of how students are treated on campus. And we’ve taken steps to eliminate harassing behavior. But change only comes completely when people are aware, and I think—among some people—there is a tendency to say, “Hey, we had the MeToo movement so there’s no more harassment.”
That’s absolutely not true. In my own small way, I’m trying to call attention to this issue while also writing an entertaining thriller. And the book is a reminder that students are vulnerable in a lot of ways, and those in power have an obligation to protect them. What do you think readers who are entering college now would find surprising when reading KILL ALL YOUR DARLINGS versus and readers who have been out of college for a while? I think it would be the amount of pressure on the students. It’s not just the things that happen in the classroom. It’s the tremendous economic pressure so many students and their families face. It’s the profound worry about what the future is going to look like. All of these pressures take a toll on the mental health of the students. And colleges themselves are facing enormous economic pressures as states cut funding and invest less in our educational system. Something needs to change, but I’m not sure it will.