Review - - A Chance Inheritance

A Chance Inheritance

by Carolyn Brown

Publisher: Sourcebooks

Release Date: January 10, 2023 (reprint anthology)

Reviewed by Hellie

 

Upon inheriting their sassy grandmother's home and family bait shop, cousins Lanie, Jodi, and Becky Cornell return to Catfish, Texas, looking for a fresh start. Turns out living as roommates in Granny Lizzie's tiny two-bedroom house and running the Catfish Fisherman's Hut isn't at all like the idyllic summers they spent as children on the banks of the Red River. The days are long and hot, the tourists demanding and rude. And then there's Chris Adams, a local river guide who seems to have eyes only for Becky.

But Lizzie's death has set in motion a chain of events that will cause a new generation of Cornell women to come together. And thanks to this chance inheritance, the Cornell cousins discover that sometimes an ending is really a new beginning .

Hellie’s Heeds 

Carolyn Brown is a very reliable read if you are in the market for sweet, romantic, and small town, and the stories featured here definitely fit her trademark storytelling. When I originally read the back blurb for this book, I thought the entire book was about Lanie, Jodi, and Becki–and admittedly I was quite invested in the trio when I started–but I soon realized (yes, I’m one of those who occasionally skips ahead to see what might be happening), this was actually a novella. And this book was a series of three novellas. A little more research had me realizing this book is a reprint, and while I, a book hoarding dragon, enjoy my books, I do get a little put out when I end up buying a duplicate book I didn’t mean to, especially for an author I was anticipating as a new read. I think Sourcebooks should have made it a bit clearer in the blurb and such that this was a reprint anthology.  

The first novella, in the complicated nature novellas are, is short and only lightly conflicted. When you only have a hundred pages, there aren’t massive dark secrets and dark moments. I enjoyed the story, especially the cousins, and the romance between the eldest cousin and a childhood crush was very cute, though perhaps I did have to suspend belief a little for myself because as a romance hero–his career is a professional fishing guide?–he isn’t exactly Mr. Darcy. I fully admit this probably says much more about me who does not find fishing particularly alluring in reality or fantasy, especially since catfish seems to be the main target, and have you ever smelled the bait for that? You never forget it. I think my real disappointment is that I wanted to know more about the other two cousins, or even have romances for them, and maybe I’ll go in search to see if Ms. Brown wrote novellas featuring them.  

The second novella is another of Ms. Brown, written in first person, and featuring entirely different characters. The story is much more complex and dark, full of secrets and problems and an absent father. The heroine is plucky and has a sister who is hilarious and just the kind of older sister you imagine: bossy and “I know best.” The hero–while not a fishing guide (plus)--is an assclown. Now Mr. Darcy is definitely an assclown, so this should not have bothered me, but this guy did. And again, since this is a novella, his evolution from asshole to Prince Charming left me a bit disbelieving, though as a Pisces, I do like to hold a grudge so again, this may just be me.  

The third novella is Sharon Sala’s…and I believe in Ms. Sala’s fashion, it does not lack in drama, conflict, or black moments. In fact, it starts with a jilted bride (heroine) and then turns into a school shooter situation and ends with an optimistic new start in a new school system. (I only share the main beats here because if you’re like me, I was rather triggered by a short story of a school shooting as part of an anthology of sweet contemporary Western romances.) 

In summary, my recommendation for the stories is a bit mixed. If you’re in the mood for very lightly conflicted romance and you don’t want to commit to a 300 page book, this book may be much more your preferred read. The first two stories were definitely quick reads and enjoyable. The third one feels a bit odd man out compared to the other two, but Ms. Sala is a very good writer and if you enjoy her stories, I imagine you will enjoy this too. If, like me, you’d rather not go fishing on a romantic date and you prefer the gentleman status of Mr. Darcy to the self-employed fishing guide as a hero, this might not be your book.

                                                               

 

Review - - The Best of Me

The Best of Me

by Sharon Sala

Blessings, Georgia - Book 13

Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca

Release Date: April 26, 2022

Reviewed by Santa

There's never a dull moment in Blessings, Georgia:

• An orphaned little girl desperately needs a new home
• An eager couple is ready to welcome her with open arms
• Friendly neighbors are always there for each other
• In this southern small town, good things happen to good people

Ruby Butterman and her husband, Peanut, cannot have children, but they're given a second chance at a family when eight-year-old orphan Carlie is left in their care. It's a challenge for Carlie to adapt to a new town, a new school, and a new family, and when she gets bullied at school, Ruby and Peanut discover how to step up as parents, and how to make a forever family for their beloved little girl.

Santa Says:

The Best of Me by Sharon Sala is a book that helped this reader bid a fond farewell to the warm, embracing town of Blessings, Georgia. Sharon Sala provides a five star finish to the Blessings, Georgia series as two of the town’s favorite couples (in my humble opinion) - Ruby and Peanut Butterman -  welcome an unexpected bundle of joy.  

Shirley Duroy was dying. There was no mistake in this. She barely made it off the Greyhound bus and into the police station before collapsing. Tragically, she dies but not before making sure police chief, Lon Pittman, got a hold of Ruby Butterman. Shirley made sure she legally named Ruby as guardian of her seven year old daughter Carlie and provided monies for her daughter’s future. 

In the true Blessings way, the whole town rallies to help Carlie adjust with Ruby and Peanut giving all the joy and love they can to Carlie. They were truly blessed with the child they never thought they would be able to have. There are some trials that they face as a family. Carlie faces some bullying from a jealous schoolmate but both girls come out better at the end. 

Sharon Sala’s small town romances tell the story of true love. The Best of Me also has a secondary romance of two people who come home to help their aging parents and work their neighboring family farms. Deborah and Ladd were teenage lovers who went their separate ways. They are reunited here and rediscover each other and their love. 

These two storylines are as wonderful and delicious as the amazing biscuits served at Granny’s. I really enjoy Sharon Sala’s books. The Best of Me and all the other books in this series, can easily be read as stand alones. Enjoy a respite that the town and people of Blessings, Georgia provide.

  

Review - - The Color of Love

The Color of Love

By Sharon Sala

Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca

Release Date: February 6, 2018

Reviewed by Janga

  

When Ruby Dye, owner of the Curl Up and Dye hair salon in Blessings, Georgia, failed to show up in her usual place at church on Sunday morning, her friends were concerned. When she did not respond to their phone calls or text messages, their worry escalated. Concern turned to fear when Vera and Vesta Conklin, who worked with Ruby at her shop, and P. Nutt Butterman, Ruby’s Sunday lunch date, found her house ransacked and the message “Help Me” written in bloody letters. Ruby has become a valued part of the community, and the town comes together to pray for Ruby’s safety.

Ruby arrived in Blessings nearly fifteen years ago, looking for a safe place to escape the abusive husband she had divorced. She found sanctuary and a place to belong in the small Southern town, but just as she feels confident of her safety and is filled with hope that local lawyer Peanut Butterman is the secret admirer who has been sending her gifts for the past several months, Jarrod Dye, her violent former husband shows up at her front door, forces his way into her home, and abducts her.  Ruby is afraid that her life may end before she can experience the new happiness she was beginning to believe was within her reach.

This is just the beginning of the adventures of Ruby and Peanut as these two popular characters finally get their own story in Sala’s latest Blessings novel. The two will get their HEA, but not before danger threatens both of them and they prove that they and their love for one another can survive whatever life throws at them. Woven into the story of Ruby and Peanut are two secondary story threads of good people overcoming adversity. Widow Melissa Dean is unjustly fired from her job, but she faces the blow with determination and optimism and ends up with more than she dreamed. Twelve-year-old Charlie Conroy is doing his best to be the man of the family and take care of his sick mother and five-year-old sister after his father’s death in a meth explosion. But their situation is dire with no electricity and little food in the house. When a nursing home resident goes missing, Charlie and his bloodhound Booger get their chance to show their stuff. They not only find the woman, but Charlie earns $25.00 and wins the hearts and the help of the compassionate community of Blessings for himself and his family.

In the fifth novel of this heartwarming series, the town of Blessings once again functions as a central character. It is a small town with the usual propensity for gossip and nosiness that can have a mean edge, but it is also a place filled with good-hearted people who take care of their own. Ruby, who has been front and center of the caretaking brigade in earlier books is less comfortable when it is her turn to be on the receiving end. Determined not to be an object of pity and to stand on her own two feet, she has a difficult time accepting help graciously. Just as she is recovering from her injuries, physical and emotional, evil strikes a second and more devastating blow. Fans of the series will rejoice to see Ruby and Peanut prevail and to root for the other characters who prove that at least in Blessings good guys win.

If you like romance that is community-centered with multiple plot threads, a rich vein of humor, and a feel-good finish for more than the focal couple, I recommend The Color of Love. It can probably be read as a standalone, but it will be a particularly rewarding read for those who have watched Ruby and Peanut’s relationship slowly develop through the earlier books. Lest any fans of the series fear Ruby and Peanut’s HEA ends the series, book six, Come Back to Me, a reunion/prodigal son/secret-baby tale, will be released on September 4, 2018. Since I really enjoy Sala’s voice, her atypical protagonists, and the Blessings setting, I have already added the next one to my book calendar. I hope Sala follows the route Jodi Thomas took in her Harmony series and eventually gives us more of the Conroy family as well.

Review - - A PIece of My Heart

A Piece of My Heart

By Sharon Sala

Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca

Release Date: May 2, 2017

Reviewed by Janga

 

 

At twenty-six, Mercy Dane, who aged out of Georgia’s foster care system at eighteen, has spent five years in a dead-end job as a waitress at the Road Warrior Bar in Savannah. Although Mercy’s boss and co-workers have become her friends, it is a limited friendship because Mercy’s protective shell is thick enough to be almost impenetrable. She is very much a cat who walks by herself. That begins to change early one Christmas morning when Mercy gets a phone call asking if she can come to Blessings, Georgia, to give blood to a woman critically injured in an automobile accident and in desperate need of RH negative blood. With no hesitation, Mercy hops on her Harley and hits the interstate. Slightly over an hour later, she arrives at the hospital, pursued by the local police chief who thinks she is a stranger speeding recklessly through his town. Chief Pittman will discover that he is wrong on both counts: her speed is not prompted by recklessness, and she is not a stranger to him.

As Jack Talbot and his brother Duke, the husband and brother-in-law of Hope Talbot, the accident victim, are thanking Mercy for her help, Duke notices a resemblance between Mercy and his sister-in-law. He also notices that Mercy has an unusual birthmark, the same birthmark Hope has described as an identifying mark on her long-lost younger sister. Mercy scoffs at the idea that she could be that sister, but Duke persuades her to agree to a DNA test. As if that were not shock enough, Police Chief Lon Pittman turns out to be the man who befriended Mercy eight years ago when she was robbed and had nowhere to turn. Lon represented safety to her that night, and the two became lovers. Mercy fled the next morning, and Lon, who never forgot her, was never able to find her.

Once the results of the DNA test confirm that Hope and Mercy are sisters, Mercy moves to Blessings to get to know her sister. She also discovers that the persistent Lon, who is all that he appeared to be when he rescued her eight years ago, is difficult to resist. But not everyone welcomes Mercy to Blessings, and she has some battles to fight before she can claim the small town as home. Despite the cruelty of the adult equivalent of teen mean girls, Blessings with its familiar cast of characters proves that it can take care of its own and that it considers Mercy one of them.

A Piece of My Heart is the fourth book in Sharon Sala’s Blessings series, and it has the heartwarming appeal of the earlier books. Mercy, who is both tough and vulnerable, emotionally needy and independent, is an interesting, sympathetic heroine, and Lon is courageous, honorable, and patient enough to deserve her love. Unfortunately, the number of coincidences pushed the story into the unwilling-to-suspend-disbelief zone for me. The lost-sister plot and the reunion of the one-time lovers was one coincidence too many for me to accept as plausible.  I was also bothered by the inept villains that seem to be a recurring motif in these books.

Nevertheless, I still find Blessings, as insular as it seems at times, an amusing place to visit. The colorful Ruby Dye (Sorry. I could not resist that pun) continues to pull strings, accomplish good deeds, and win the hearts of readers.  I like Ruby, and I am intrigued by the ongoing Ruby-Peanut Butterman thread. I hope they get their own book soon. A Piece of My Heart is not the strongest book in the series, but fans of the earlier books will find it rewarding despite some flaws. If you are new to the series, I suggest beginning with You and Only You (originally titled The Curl Up and Dye), the first book in the series, followed by I’ll Stand by You and Saving Jake.

Review - - Saving Jake

Saving Jake

By Sharon Sala

Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca

Release Date: October 4, 2016 

Jacob Lorde has returned to his hometown of Blessings, Georgia, after his eight-year stint in the army. A limp serves as a visible reminder of his close encounter with an IED. Despite the limp and some residual pain, his body has healed faster than his psyche. PTSD means that unexpected noises can trigger flashbacks and nightmares shatter his sleep, but Jake hopes he can find healing for his war-weary soul in his peaceful hometown. Although his father’s death means home is different, he takes comfort in all that remains unchanged. If he can just convince the people of Blessings that he’s no hero regardless of his Purple Heart, Jake just may be able to build a life for himself in the tiny mountain town.

Laurel Payne recognizes Jake Lorde when she sees him walking home. She has known Jake all her life. Even so, she is tempted to ignore him. His uniform is an all too vivid reminder of her late husband Adam who returned safely from his time in Afghanistan only to kill himself with his own gun a few months later. She doesn’t need the reminder, but her conscience will not allow her to ignore the limping veteran. She turns her old pickup around to offer him a ride home.

Neither Jake nor Laurel is looking for a relationship. Jake has enough to deal with making repairs to his parents’ home that is now his, adjusting to civilian life, and deciding what he’s going to do now with his time now that he has been discharged. Between cleaning houses to support herself and Bonnie, her six-year-old daughter and caring for her child, Laurel has little time for anything else. The enmity of her husband’s family, who hold her responsible for Adam’s death, makes her life more difficult. She is also still haunted by the horror of discovering her husband’s bloody body in their bedroom and angry with him for leaving her and Bonnie. But Bonnie is charmed by Jake who reminds her of her daddy, and she will not allow her mother to ignore their lonely neighbor. Jake and Laurel begin as helpful neighbors and soon become friends. Friendship morphs into a love that will bring healing to all of them if Laurel can open her heart to trust again.

Saving Jake is the third book in Sala’s Blessings series. The idyllic small town is filled with quirky characters who care for one another and are not shy about beneficial meddling. Jake and Laurel are sympathetic, vulnerable people who deserve an HEA, and Bonnie is a believable six-year-old who touches the reader’s heart and, along with her pet chicken Lavonne, evokes a few chuckles. This Eden is not without its serpents, but one is a singularly inept villain, and the other, whom I found the more horrifying, is unwittingly self-destructive. Both get their just deserts.

I have been charmed by this series. It is entertaining and heartwarming, and if there is a bit of tongue-in-cheek mockery of Southern mores, the mockery is gentle. Sala’s affection for her fictional town and its appealing characters comes through clearly and adds to the reader’s enjoyment. Nevertheless, my reaction to Saving Jake is mixed. I loved visiting Blessings again, and I found Jake a particularly engaging character. But as a Georgian born and bred, I kept getting pulled out of the story by the geography. From the beginning, Blessings is described as a mountain town: “He took a deep breath, smelling pine trees on the mountains around him, and the scent of smoke from someone’s fireplace. He was home.”

However, we are also told that Blessings is near Savannah. That lovely city is located on the coastal plain, and the highest elevation is only about fifty feet above sea level. Although “mountain” can be used somewhat loosely, “mountain town” in Georgia generally refers to places such as Dawsonville, Ellijay, and Hiawassee in the northern part of the state. * Some would consider this confusion a minor point, and certainly many readers will not notice it. But it was enough of a problem for this reader to keep the book from being an unqualified great read. Regardless, Sala’s voice is wonderful, Blessings is a delightful place to visit, and I recommend you add it to your itinerary.  I’m sure I will be returning in May when the next book in the series is released.

~Janga

* I should note that I read an ARC of the book. It is possible that a mountainous Savannah does not appear in the final edition.

Spotlight Review & Giveaway - - Count Your Blessings and I'll Stand ByYou

Count Your Blessings

(Novella released May 5, 2015)

I’ll Stand By You

By Sharon Sala

Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca

Release Date: June 2, 2015

A beauty shop might seem like a strange site for launching a revolution, but the first shot in the campaign that destroyed the status quo in Blessings, Georgia, started in the Curl Up and Dye, the beauty shop owned by Ruby Dye, when Patty June Clymer, wife of the Rev. Conrad Clymer, pastor of the Freewill Baptist Church, spotted Bobette Paulson. When the skirmish ended, Bobette had a three-inch swathe from widow’s peak to neckline, a bloodied lip, and a broken nose, all courtesy of Patty June, and everyone in the beauty shop knew the identity of the slut who had been having an affair with Conrad. Before that preacher heard the latest news, he was homeless, jobless, and soon to be wifeless, with everything he owned in garbage bags and his bank account considerably depleted.

When Patty June laughed at the church delegation who urged her to forgive and forget, the men of Blessings feared her rebellion would spread. They persuaded their wives that Patty June was a radical feminist rather than the good, Christian woman they had supposed. But the erosion of her support system just motivated Patty June to alter her good-girl image further with an edgy new hairstyle and color and plans to leave her hometown for a month in Italy. However, first, she suggested the women of Blessings should pay more attention to their own households, advice that led to rearranged bedrooms, a run on jewelry stores and new car lots, and an apology for Patty June. Blessings would never be the same.

The novella that introduced Blessings, Georgia, to readers, originally entitled Color Me Bad when it was issued as a prequel to The Curl Up and Dye, has been reissued under a new title before the release of the second novel in the series. A story filled with quirky characters and a plot that is a mix of the humorous and the poignant, Count Your Blessings is a quick read and an unforgettable introduction to Sala’s fictional Georgia town. It is currently free for Kindle users.

I’ll Stand By You is a contemporary romance that features two have-nots as the hero and heroine and reveals the heart--and the heartlessness--of Blessings. Brought up by her grandfather after the deaths of her parents, Dori Grant is an unmarried mother with a six-month-old son, Luther Joe. Only seventeen, Dori has steadily refused to name the father of her child, but with her grandfather’s love and support, she is doing her best to build a life for herself and Luther. She and Luther live with her grandfather, and he cares for Luther during Dori’s shifts as a waitress at Granny’s Country Kitchen. Dori, who has earned her GED, is also taking college-level courses in web design online and doing her best to ignore the town gossips who continue to give her a hard time.

Johnny Pine is the eldest son of a mother who died two years ago from a meth overdose and a father who is serving a lifetime prison sentence. The citizens of Blessings have written Johnny and his brothers off as trash, but twenty-year-old Johnny is doing his best to see that the current generation of Pines changes the family reputation. He works hard driving a bulldozer for a construction company, and he works even harder to see that his two younger brothers, Marshall, ten, and seven-year-old Brooks, better known as Beep, eat three meals, have clean clothes, and complete their homework. When Beep is mocked and viciously beaten by four older, bigger boys and left with two black eyes, a broken nose, broken ribs, and heavy bruising, Johnny hopes the families of Beep’s attackers will be forced to pay medical bills, but he is skeptical that the four offenders, all boys from “good” families, will be held accountable for their actions. Sure enough, the school principal does her best to make light of the problem, and many of the townspeople are up in arms when boys from the right side of town are questioned by the police for a fight that must have been the fault of that bad Pine boy. But Beep has his supporters too, the ER physician, the investigating police officer, and a lawyer who takes the case pro bono among them.

Dori and Johnny know each other only slightly, but when Dori faces a tragedy that leaves her homeless and alone, Johnny is the one who offers her help. Her church-going neighbors, some of whom have known her all her life, offer Dori condolences and prayers and then hurry back inside their homes, leaving Dori and her baby alone in the night. It is Johnny from the other side of the tracks who steps up and offers Dori safety and shelter. Dori and Johnny haven’t even left when speculation that he is the father of her child begins.  When Dori and Luther make their home with the Pine brothers over the next week, the gossip intensifies, fueled by a hypocritical neighbor eager to protect her own righteous reputation. Marriage seems the answer when Johnny’s guardianship of his brothers is jeopardized, but wedding publicity brings new problems. The good citizens of Blessings have a chance to take care of their own in memorable style on the way to an HEA for Dori, Johnny, boys, baby and all.

Multi-RITA winner and RWA Lifetime Achievement honoree Sala is a gifted writer who has authored more than seventy books. Readers who know her best as a writer of romantic suspense will discover a different voice in this contemporary romance, one that evokes laughter, tugs at the heartstrings, and fosters an examination of what is meant by “small-town values.” The characterization is rich and varied. Dori and Johnny are far from typical romance leads, but they are endearing characters who will engage the affections and attention of readers. Marshall and Beep are funny, vulnerable, and real. A large cast of additional characters--ordinary and quirky, big-hearted and hard-hearted, familiar to some readers and new to all readers,--adds to the novel’s appeal.

Blessings is no idealized small town. It is home to narrow-minded, selfish people who defend their prejudices and are capable of pettiness and cruelty; it is also home to people who care for their neighbors, speak out when they need to, and prove to be generous and compassionate. In other words, it is the kind of small town with which many readers are familiar.

If you read only fast-paced romance steeped in adventure, with or without explosions, these stories are not for you, but if you like small-town romance with humor and heart and a heaping pinch of reality, I give both the novella and the novel a high recommendation. I’m hoping to see more of some of the characters in other Blessings stories.

~Janga

Buy Links

Amazon: http://bit.ly/AmazonSala

Barnes and Noble: http://bit.ly/BNSala

iBookstore: http://bit.ly/AppleSala

IndieBound: http://bit.ly/IndieSala

Sharon Sala, who has also written under the name Dinah McCall, has 85-plus books in print, published in four different genres-Romance, Young Adult, Western, and Women's Fiction, and her Young Adult books have been optioned for film. She has been named a RITA finalist seven times by Romance Writers of America, and in 2011 they named her the recipient of the Nora Roberts Lifetime Achievement Award. Her books are New York Times, USA Today, Publishers Weekly bestsellers and published in many different languages. She lives in Oklahoma, the state where she was born.

Social Networking Links

Website: http://sharonsala.net/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sharonkaysala

Twitter: https://twitter.com/SharonSala1

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/40570.Sharon_Sala

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Today's Special - - Sharon Sala

It is my pleasure to welcome the much loved, very prolific and utterly delightful Sharon Sala to The Romance Dish.  I had the opportunity to chat with Sharon at the RWA National Conference in Atlanta last summer and was struck once again by how warm, gracious and real this successful author is to fellow writers as well as her legions of fans.  

Sharon Sala, who also writes under the name Dinah McCall, has 99 books in print, is published in four genres: romance, young adult, western, and women's fiction, and has sold more than 1.5 million books. Her books have appeared on USA Today, New York Times, and Publishers Weekly bestseller lists 47 times, and have been published in many different languages.  She was the 2011 recipient of the Nora Roberts Lifetime Achievement Award.

Follow Sharon on Facebook or visit her online at sharonsala.net.

As Sharon approaches publication of her 100th novel, I asked her to share with us her thoughts on her journey to this point in her life.  Here's what she had to say.

I began writing because of a job I hated, which was a grocery checker in a local supermarket. One night after a particularly difficult day I went home, pulled the typewriter out of a closet and sat down and started writing a book that had been in my head.  It took a year to finish it and it was terrible, but I was hooked on the process, so I wrote another that took another year, and it was no better. I stuck both of them under the bed and told myself I’d do this one day when I had more time. 

Four years later my father and then my only sister died within two months of each other. It was a horrible wake-up call to the fact that if I had a dream, I had to make it happen. No one was going to give it to me. After a few more years of joining writers groups, and learning how to put on paper what I saw in my head, I wrote a third book, and the first place I sent it, bought it. I haven’t looked back. 

That year my first granddaughter was born, and this coming May she graduates from college and I helped put her through college with proceeds from my books. She has become my touchstone to marking off the writing years.  She will be beginning her adult life and career, and I will soon mark the release of my 100^th book.  It’s called, making two dreams come true.

Awesome authors and pals
 Maggie Shayne, Sharon Sala & Jean Brashear

Thank you, Sharon for sharing your journey with us.  Readers, what dreams are you making come true?  Or, if you haven't yet begun your journey, what dreams do you hope to make true?








One randomly chosen reader leaving a comment no later than Midnight, (EST)Thursday, February 6th will receive a copy of Sharon's new book, The Curl Up & Dye.  

About Curl Up and Dye

In The Curl Up & Dye (February 2014) no piece of gossip can get past the sassy women who run the Curl Up & Dye salon. As patron LilyAnne Bronte declares she’s finally ready to move on 11 years after the death of her fiancé to the war in Iraq, the women of the salon take matters into their own hands. Sala explores the hopelessness within LilyAnne that’s all too relatable, and reveals with honest humor and cutting emotions the realities young American women must face when they lose a partner and try to move on. It’s Sala’s soulful writing that will make readers want to befriend LilyAnne and join the ladies of the Curl Up & Dye in in helping her find love again.