I loved Asha Lemmie's debut, Fifty Words for Rain. It was one of my top reads of 2020. When I had the chance to read The Wildest Sun, I wasn't sure how it would measure up -- Would I love Asha's sophomore novel just as much? Without a doubt, the answer is yes. The Wildest Sun is, at its core, a growing-up story, but it's so much more than that. It's about loss and friendship, the ability to trust and to find your place in the world.. which isn't maybe where you expected it to be. It;s about being true to yourself, despite the world trying to make you conform to something else. Delphine is a phenomenal character, and The Wildest Sun is now destined to be one of my top reads of 2023.

A Teen Searches for Her Father

Growing up in Paris with an alcoholic mother, Delphine, was always told her father was Earnest Hemingway. When her mother dies, she goes to the US and stays with her mother’s friends in Harlem. She desperately wants to meet her father. Being an aspiring writer herself, she wants to write something that will impress him, so she works on her novel.

Eventually she leaves Harlem in search of Hemingway. She travels to Havana, Cuba where she meets Hemingway, but fails to take advantage of the encounter to explore their relationship. Leaving Havana abruptly, Delphine returns to Paris.

This is a coming of age story focusing on Delphine. The interaction with Hemingway is unsatisfactory. There is some historical background, but the story is all about Delphine. I thought she was a sympathetic character. I liked her determination. The author did a good job with the descriptions of the various places Delphine visits, they are evocative and made me feel as if I were there.

If you enjoy character driven fiction, I can recommend it.

Thanks to the publisher and Net Galley for this review copy.

I received this advance reader copy from NetGalley in exchange for a fair review. I really wanted to like this novel, and I'm a huge fan of the author's debut novel, Fifty Words for Rain. However, this novel did not take me by surprise or engage me as much as I was looking for. I think the main character is someone of interesting design, seeing as she believes herself to be Hemingway's daughter, but I didn't have the easiest time connecting with her as an individual protagonist in the story.

The Wildest Sun is a historical coming of age novel that is also a study on family; the family we're born into, and the family we make for ourselves.

It’s the end of the war, and Delphine is a young woman looking to escape her past. Her alcoholic mother has led Delphine to believe her father is Ernest Hemingway, and Delphine is determined to find him. First showing up in Harlem, New York at one of her mother’s friend’s house, then to Cuba, Al the time hoping to meet “Papa”. Delphine grows up along the way, meeting many new people and pursuing her dream of writing. Lemmie is a talented writer, her words beautifully crafted. The story is unique, and although at times a bit unrealistic, it is absorbing. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

Delphine decides to leave her home and search for her father. She believes him to be Ernest Hemingway.
I had a hard time getting into this book. I didn’t really care too much for the main character. I’m sure others will like it but it was a pass for me

THE WILDEST SUN by Asha Lemmie is a fascinating coming-of-age novel that takes the main character, Delphine Auber, on a sweeping journey from post-World War II Paris to Harlem, then to Havana and Key West to search for the father she has never known. Born in Paris, Delphine’s mother has always told her that she is the daughter of famed author, Ernest Hemingway. Delphine’s childhood is spent taking care of her severely alcoholic mother. When her mother dies suddenly, Delphine, an aspiring author herself, is determined to find the iconic writer and confront him with his supposed parentage, but only after she has written something worthy of his approval. Can Delphine escape her traumatic past and find a place for herself in the world? I enjoyed the latter part of the book the most when Delphine has interactions with Hemingway and the reader learns about his adopted country of Cuba and its revolutionary history. THE WILDEST SUN is an interesting and compelling book and I thank the author, publisher and NetGalley for the chance to read and review an early copy.

After absolutely loving Fifty Words for Rain, I was happy to be granted an ARC of The Wildest Sun by Asha Lemmie. I thoroughly enjoyed this new novel, and although I struggled to like the main character through much of the book, by the end I had grown to love Delphine and to hope for her happiness.

Delphine does not have an easy life, and her search for her father, Ernest Hemingway, is only a small part of the transformation that takes place over the years of the novel, and her travels from Paris to New York City and Havana. Along the way, Delphine learns to love and trust others as well as herself. Delphine is, herself, not an open book, with many secrets that are slowly revealed to the reader, almost as she is revealing the truth to those that are closest to her.

Asha Lemmie writes interesting historical fiction, with protaganists that are not typical for the genre. I look forward to reading more from her in the future.

Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Group Dutton for the digital ARC of The Wildest Sun by Asha Lemmie. The opinions in this review are my own.

Delphine, an aspiring writer, was raised in Paris by a beautiful but troubled mother. After her mother's death, Delphine embarks on a fifteen-year journey to find the man she believes is her father, Ernest Hemingway. With stops in Harlem, Key West, and Havanna, Delphine's globe-trotting journey is her coming of age.

This has an interesting premise: a Parisian teenager in the years after WWII who believes she is the secret biracial daughter of a larger-than-life literary figure in Ernest Hemingway and embarks on a long journey to connect with him while trying to become a published writer herself to impress him and show him that she is his daughter.

While there are changes in setting and other plot points, this is primarily a character-driven story. And Delphine is the complex, complicated, well-developed, and all too human character at its center. Wounded by her difficult and damaging childhood, she is an intriguing and strong FMC and a survivor. Delphine endures more than her fair share of hardships in her young life. The book opens with her stating that by age five she was already having to care for her alcoholic mother instead of being cared for. Her path is a winding one, but along it, her character grows and evolves. Delphine does what she must, and sometimes it isn't pretty, but the author does an excellent job of helping you understand and sympathize with her, and I rooted for her.

The author has a lovely writing style. Her descriptions of the settings were immersive, and parts of the story were very moving. The historical info about 1950s Cuba and Hemingway was fascinating. Still, I wish Hemingway and some other characters had been fleshed out more, maybe because Delphine's depiction was so vivid. An enjoyable read. This was my first book by Lemmie, and I now plan to go back and read her debut novel.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Dutton for the gifted ARC.

Quick and Dirty ⁣
-coming of age story⁣
-Paris-NYC-Cuba settings ⁣
-spans several decades⁣
-great for fans of Hemingway ⁣
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Thoughts ⁣
It’s been a while since I’ve read such a moving coking-of-age novel, one that speaks to found family and overcoming childhood trauma. Delphine is the type of female protagonist that pulls at my little heartstrings. She’s wise beyond her years, a bit wizened yet simultaneously naive. She’s got something to prove even if she (and you the reader) are really sure yet what that is. We all know what it’s like to want something to be true so badly that it blinds us to the actual truth. Through the epic journey of Delphine’s we watch her come to that realization. The global adventure that is The Wildest Sun makes it perfect for lovers of travel, especially the pre-Civil War Cuba portion of the book (reminiscent of Chanel Cleeton) where readers are immersed in the sights and sounds of Havana. Lastly, I can’t ignore the one reason I wanted to read this book: Hemingway. By far one of my all-time favorite authors, Hemingway’s work is spell-binding, and the role he plays in this book (and his influence on Lemmie’s writing style) is profound yet simple (much like the man himself). For those of you who haven’t experienced The Sun Also Rises, please do me a favor and give it a shot. ⁣
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My only complaint about this book is that it felt much more YA than adult. There are hints of romance, hints of violence, and lots of trauma, but overall it was very tame. It’s a great read for teenage readers who love literature, but I wanted more adult themes than I got. Still, it’s a beautiful book.

Beginning in the late 1940s the young woman, Delphine, leaves Paris and embarks on a fifteen year journey that includes time in New York and Havana. She believes she is the biracial, illegitimate daughter of author, Ernest Hemingway.
The main focus of the book is her self-exploration and growth as a woman and writer. It’s a coming-of-age character-driven story with a slower pace and some heavy content. There were moments that it felt sluggish but most of the time I thought the flow and writing style were good. The end was actually my favorite so I’m very glad I kept with it.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and Dutton for this e-arc.*

Delphine has been raised by her beautiful but alcoholic mother in post war Paris believing that her father is Ernest Hemingway. After her mother dies, Delphine, still a teenager escapes runs away to NYC to find him. After living in Harlem for a while and running with a rough Hollywood-adjacent crowd she ends up following Hemingway to Cuba where she remains until the revolution. During her time in Cuba she creates a life for herself that she was not able to in Harlem or in Paris while living out her dream to become a writer to make her father proud.

This novel had potential because of the time period and the locations; but unfortunately it just fell flat for me. I’m not sure exactly why I could not connect with the characters or the story but this novel just could not hold my attention.

3.25 stars for me

Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Dutton Group for the ARC for review

An unusual one. Delphine firmly believes that Ernest Hemingway is her father and after the death of her alcoholic mother in post War Paris, she sets out for the US to find him. She's lucky to have a support system in the US and with Louise, a nun in Paris but not with much else. A chance meeting with Teddy, a young and tragic woman, leads to the next step in her quest- time in Cuba. And once in Cuba, she's helped by Elian but then....Delphine also believes that she will be a writer, given that her mother was a poet, and well, Hemingway. Know that while there are Hemingway details here (and he does turn up), he did not have a daughter (acknowledged or otherwise) who meets Delphine's description. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. This has an odd mood, almost dreamlike and is a tad unrealistic in spots. The end comes in a rush and felt almost aa though it came from another novel. That said it's an atmospheric and intriguing read. Fans of Lemme's Fifty Words for Rain (I'm one of them) will recognize her interest in outsiders.

Delphine, an older teen girl, flees Paris after her mother’s death to live in Harlem with friends of her mother. She stays in touch via letters with her godmother, Louise. Delphine has been told by her mother that Ernest Hemingway is her father so she decides to make contact with him while she herself works on writing a novel. Her quest takes her to Havana where she meets Hemingway but has difficulty being direct with him about their possible biological relationship. Along her way, Delphine makes a couple of friends but her associations with them cause her to have to leave both New York City and Havana abruptly and she eventually makes her way back to Paris.
I really liked the idea of this story and was hopeful that it would be an engaging and interesting book. Unfortunately, the plot just fell flat for me. Delphine’s friendships had so much potential but just went no where. I found certain scenes in the book just silly and meaningless such as Delphine’s encounters with Hemingway while fishing as her friend Elian hid on the boat. I just didn’t get why she made it her quest to let Hemingway know that she was his daughter but she went totally against her character in how she approached him. I wasn’t really bored with the book; just frustrated that it went no where and the characters were unlikable.
#NetGalley #PenguinGroupDutton

This was a moving coming of age historical fiction novel about Ernest Hemmingway's illegitimate biracial daughter, Delphine, who travels from Paris to Cuba and back again to confront him about her parentage. Beautifully written and wonderful on audio narrated by Imani Jade Powers. I have never read anything by Hemmingway but this was still a related story about found family, toxic parental relationships and aspiring writers, set against the backdrop of post WWII Paris and the Cuban revolution. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy and @prhaudio for a complimentary ALC in exchange for my honest review!

CW: suicide, alcoholism

Pub day: December 5

Beginning in the late 1940s the young woman, Delphine, leaves Paris and embarks on a fifteen year journey that includes time in New York and Havana.

The main focus of the book is her self-exploration and growth as a woman and writer. It’s a coming-of-age character-driven story with a slower pace and some heavy content. While the plot was interesting I struggled with this one and I can’t quite pin down why. It had really interesting sections and then others I felt like I was a logging through. The end was actually my favorite so I’m very glad I kept with it.

“The book smells like Sunday mornings.”

I liked this little quote because Sunday mornings do indeed smell amazing! Lol

Thank you Penguin Group Dutton for the arc via Netgalley in exchange for my honest feedback.

An intriguing set-up - aspiring writer is convinced she's the illegitimate daughter of one Earnest Hemingway and sets off on an international quest to prove said point - that makes for a lively and entertaining read. Doesn't quite pull off its ambition for this reader, but think that's very much a matter of taste and sure it will find a happy home with lots of readers.

The Wildest Sun by Asha Lemmie is an intriguing novel about a young woman whose mother had told her she was the daughter of Ernest Hemmingway. Delphine had run from Paris after her mother’s suicide, the two of them having had a mostly miserable life. Her mother was an alcoholic and mooched off people she knew. As Delphine got older, she turned into an accomplished thief managing to survive during the war years on that skill. They lived in an apartment Delphine’s grandfather owned, or there would have been no hope. The day of the suicide, Delphine and her mother had had a huge argument and so Delphine took the blame on herself. She was discovered cradling her mother’s body by her mother’s best friend, Louise, a nun, who had always done her best for the two of them. Delphine wanted to be a writer, like her father. Louise encouraged her education to that end. She ran away and emigrated to the US after contacting one of her mother’s old friends. Blue and Delia welcomed her with open arms. What was to follow in the next ten years took the reader and Delphine on a very bumpy journey, living through New York, the revolution on Cuba, and her final return to Paris.

Delphine had been damaged by her early life. She was fiercely loyal, however, to the few people who could penetrate her hard shell. She went from a scraggly youth to a beautiful woman, from a scribbler to a renowned author, and finally from a damaged youth to a happy woman. It was a difficult journey and one with many side roads and bumps. She met and lost people on her journey, some through death, and others through distance. She was a well written character and it was a thought-provoking tale of a life well-lived. I loved it!

I was invited to read a free e-ARC of The Wildest Sun by Penguin Group Dutton, through Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are mine. #Netgalley #PenguinGroupDutton #AshaLemmie #TheWildestSun

Set in Paris, New York and Havana in the 1950s and 60s, The Wildest Sun is the coming of age story of Delphine Auber, born to a single, alcoholic mother who was once a noted poet in Parisian literary circles. Delphine was a writer herself and was told by her mother that her father was acclaimed author Ernest Hemingway. Throughout the book we know there has been a murder but the circumstances are not revealed until the very end.

After being caregiver to her usually drunken mother , Delphine sets out after her mother’s death in search of her missing father. Her hope is that he will acknowledge her as well as her talent as an author. Believing Hemingway to be in NY, Delphine crosses the Atlantic and finds a warm reception and acceptance in the home of family friends in Harlem. There she learns some important and life altering lessons, Subsequent a traumatic experience and after she realizes her father is not in NY, Delphine sets off for Havana,

In Havana she meets Elian who will play an important role in this chapter of Delphine’s life. Eventually she makes acquaintance with Hemingway in a Cuba before Castro’s regime. This interesting bit of history helps carry the,plot forward. A time of self reckoning comes and Delphine must make a heart wrenching choice.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and found the author’s descriptive and passionate writing style brought each setting and each character straight into my living room. Four shining stars for a book that will be published soon, on December 5, 2023. My thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for providing me with an advance reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review.

A personal tragedy causes a young woman to flee Paris in search of the man she believes to be her father: Ernest Hemingway.