BOOK DESCRIPTION (FROM THE BACK OF THE BOOK)
Nicole~Marie Handy has loved all things French since she was a child. After the death of her best friend, determined to get out of her rut, she goes to Paris, leaving behind a marriage proposal. While there, Nicole chances upon an old photograph of her father ~ lovingly inscribed, in his hand, to a woman Nicole has never heard of. What starts as a vacation quickly becomes an unexpected adventure.
Moving back and forth between the sparkling Paris of today and the jazz~fueled city filled with expatriates in the 1950s, Passing Love is the story of two women dealing with lost love, secrets and betrayal…and how the City of Light may hold all the answers.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
After leaving the corporate world, Jacqueline took a creative writing class on a dare, from herself, and began writing short stories and poetry and never looked back. Her essay, “Traveling with Ghosts,” was included in Best Women’s Travel Writing 2011. She is the author of two novels, Passing Love and Searching for Tina Turner.
Connect with Jacqueline E. Luckett on her blog, Jacqueline Luckett, Facebook and Twitter.
MY OPINION
I absolutely adored this book! I’m a big fan of the Jazz Age and post~World War II African American culture, but those two topics are usually only covered within the confines of American society. Taking the concepts of racism, black womanhood, poverty and expectation across the Atlantic and intertwining it with romance, mystery, secrets and lies made for a delightful read.
This novel is part history lesson, part fantasy and a whole lot of “oh no she didn’t”. The sometimes antagonistic mother~daughter relationship is played out in a loving way that makes it relatable to women of all ages no matter what their relationships with their mothers. I also enjoyed the way Luckett handled the exploration of parents as people before they came together and created families. Did Mom or Dad really love someone before they met each other?
Overall, this is a terrific read and would make for some wonderfully creative book group discussions.
RATING
★★★★
Disclaimer: This book was provided to me courtesy of TLC Book Tours in exchange for a review. All opinions are my own.