By the Light of Embers

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Pub Date 09 May 2019 | Archive Date 15 Jul 2019

Description

It's 1954, and twenty-two-year-old Lucia Lafleur has always dreamed of following in her father’s footsteps. While sock hops and poodle skirts occupy her classmates, she dreams of bacteria and broken bones—and the day she’ll finally fix them.

After graduation, a letter arrives, and Lucia reads the words she’s labored a lifetime to earn—"we are pleased to offer you a position at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine." But in the midst of her triumph, her fiancé delivers a crushing ultimatum: forego medical school, or forego marriage. ​

With fractured hopes, she returns home to Louisiana, expecting nothing of the summer of '54 but sweet tea and gumbo while she agonizes over her impending choice. There, she unexpectedly befriends Nicholas, a dark-skinned poet whose dignity and intellect are a salve to her aching heart. Their bond, initially forged from a shared love of literature, soon blossoms into something as bewitching as it is forbidden. ​

Yet her predicament deepens when a trivial misunderstanding between a local white woman and a black man results in a brutal lynching, and the peril of love across the color lines becomes chillingly real. Now, fulfilling her lifelong dream means relinquishing her heart—and escaping Louisiana alive.

It's 1954, and twenty-two-year-old Lucia Lafleur has always dreamed of following in her father’s footsteps. While sock hops and poodle skirts occupy her classmates, she dreams of bacteria and broken...


Advance Praise

"Gandhi’s passion and creativity spill forth onto every page of this book, creating a truly magnificent and brave narrative." -- Entrada Publishing

"Gandhi’s passion and creativity spill forth onto every page of this book, creating a truly magnificent and brave narrative." -- Entrada Publishing


Available Editions

EDITION Ebook
ISBN 9781733586405
PRICE $3.99 (USD)

Average rating from 38 members


Featured Reviews

Heart-breaking ~ Beautiful ~ Haunting

tl: dr: Society often puts boundaries on love even if hearts don't.

This beautifully written tale shares the story of an African-American poet who falls for a white female medical student in 1950s Lousiana. That set up basically should allude to the truth and sadness of the tale. The story is well-paced with beautiful literary passages. It is one of those books that makes you sad but happy you read it. I would mention that there are certain triggers, particularly about racial prejudice. But, the characters, and the love story, make this tear-jerker worth reading.

4.5

Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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