Summary: Welcome to stop two of our summer road trip around the United states - the Carolinas! Holly and Devin both have connections to these southern states (Holly’s bachelorette was in Charleston, SC!) but the books they brought today made them feel even closer to the region. Whether you’re curling up to read a sapphic romance or buckling up for a character-driven murder mystery, our hosts have something for you today!
Topics Discussed:
The Dagger (4:04): Holly discussed Decent People by De’Shawn Charles Winslow, a historical mystery set in the segregated town of West Mills in 1976. Josephine (Jo) Wright has returned back to her small hometown to marry her childhood sweetheart, Olympus “Lymp” Seymour. When the bodies of Lym’s three half-siblings are found, though, Lymp becomes the lead suspect and Jo must fight for her love and her community to uncover the truth. Holly’s key takeaways were:
This book explores shame in all its forms; the characters struggle with shame around their station in life, race, heritage and sexuality. It motivates certain people to hide and others to act, as Jo uncovers as she untangles the knots of relationships in her community.
As Joe begins to investigate those who might know the most about the deaths of her fiancés half-siblings, she uncovers darker secrets than she ever imagined. Winslow paints for the reader a slow story pivoting between townspeople connected to the victims; a pattern of cover-ups, racial incidents, homophobia and medical misuse.
Read this book if you enjoy character-driven mysteries, small town secrets and drama, a historical 1970s setting. North Carolina as a setting strikes a great backdrop for the themes Winslow explores.
The Heart (18:42): Devin discussed Late Bloomer by Mazey Eddings, a floral sapphic romance set in Asheville, NC. Opal Devlin, a woman dressed as an ice cream cone and used to being taken advantage of by everyone she knows, finds the opportunity to achieve her dreams when she wins the lottery and purchases a flower farm where she envisions becoming an artist. Little does she know that Pepper Smith, an angry, gorgeous farmer, is waiting for her and sees herself as the rightful owner of Thistle and Bloom Farms. Enemies to roommates to… well. Devin’s key takeaways were:
This book is perfect for Pride Month! Opal is enthusiastically bisexual and has had a lot of experience with myriad genders, often with a lot of negative ones with cis men (see: her crappy ex Miles who keeps trying to get some of her winnings). Pepper identifies as a lesbian but has never felt like she can trust anyone enough to open up and actually have an intimate experience.
Opal moves from Charlotte to Asheville and the sense of place is strong in this novel; The Thistle and Bloom Farm is vivid, vibrant, and a microcosm of the rich culture in North Carolina. Pepper has never known any home outside of the farm and Opal is working on a new beginning herself, all couched inside of the verdant region.
Pepper has been diagnosed as on the autism spectrum. Opal is undiagnosed but knows that she is likely on the spectrum as well as having ADHD. They have both struggled in their lives with being taken advantage of by people who were supposed to love them and their neurodivergent experience bonds them and aligns with the way they each seek to build, finally, a safe space in which to thrive.
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Keywords: Literature, Books, Reading, Bookish, Pop-culture, Thriller, Romance, North Carolina, South Carolina, The Carolinas, Summer Roadtrip, Decent People, De’Shawn Charles Winslow, Late Bloomer, Mazey Eddings, Just for the Summer, Abby Jimenez, Middle of the Night, Riley Sager, Pride Month, Challengers, Zendaya
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