Reviewed by Chris
TITLE: Yesterday 
AUTHOR: Mickie B. Ashling
PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press
LENGTH: 200 pages
RELEASE DATE: January 22, 2016
BLURB:
In June of 1978 Grady Ormond, eighteen-year-old son of diplomat Peter Ormond, accompanies his father to his new posting as US Ambassador to Pakistan. Neighboring Iran is on the brink of a civil war, with the monarchy in danger of being overthrown.
Grady will be leaving for New York City in late August to study cinematography and has been warned to keep his homosexual orientation tightly under wraps while on vacation. Repercussions in the predominantly Islamic region could be severe.
On their first night in Karachi, his father hosts a cocktail party to meet the local dignitaries. Grady is introduced to His Highness Prince Kamran Izadi, nephew of the shah of Iran. Twenty-three-year-old Kamran has recently returned from the UK, where he spent eleven years, first as a student, and then as a financial analyst.
The attraction is immediate—unforeseen and dangerously powerful—but neither one dares to make a move. Odds are so stacked against them it’s futile to even entertain a friendship, but they do, and their world tilts precariously.
With his country in turmoil and Grady about to leave for college, Kamran makes a decision that will change their lives forever.
REVIEW:
When his US Ambassador father moves to Karachi, Pakistan for his new posting, Grady accompanies him for the summer. When the fall rolls around he plans on heading back to the United States to start university, but until then he is planning to waste away the summer under the hot (and I do me hot) Pakistani sun.
But unrest is already at a tipping point in the neighboring country of Iran and the tension is high all around. While Grady knows that things can get bad, he doesn’t really understand till he meets Prince Kamran Izadi of Iran. Kam is spending the summer in Karachi desperate for one last gasp of freedom before he is forced to return to Iran to an arranged marriage probably doomed to failure and a country on the brink of revolution.
As the two grow closer it becomes nearly impossible to ignore the danger they are in. Homosexuality is pretty much a death sentence where they are, and even if they somehow keep their deepening relationship a secret there is nothing they can do about the dangers Kam faces at home from his country and his own family. They might just have to settle for a brief summer together because who knows if both of them will survive until fall.
I don’t normally pick up historical novels that happen post 1950s. There don’t seem to be a lot of them out there, so that isn’t a big surprise, but it just also seems to not be something I am overly interested in. But when this book came up for review I have to admit that I was intrigued. The whole middle-eastern aspect was a great draw for me, and while I don’t know a lot about this time period (no matter where on the globe it is) the dangerous mix of politics, love, and forbidden sexuality moved me to take this book up for review.
I liked that even though I didn’t know practically anything about the political troubles in Iran during this time that this book made sure that I knew enough to understand what was going on. I love history, but even with all the troubles happening in the area now, I just haven’t had a lot of exposure to the middle east. This book did a good job of making sure that I didn’t get totally lost as I tried to figure out where all the problems were coming from.
It also did a great job in setting up Karachi. I loved the various trips to the markets and the overall feel of the place. I would have loved for them to have spent more time in the city proper so that I could have experienced more of it. It was fascinating.
My biggest stumbling block was Grady. There was nothing wrong with him on the whole, but his attitude and his actions screamed Privileged White Male. While I agree with just about everything he said, he tended to come off as if he needed to educate poor Kam on how the world really works. Which was a bit ridiculous, since Grady is so painfully naive. He is still a teenager (just turning 18) when this story happens and it is so bloody obvious. He still has that whole “this is how the world should work because I think it should and I am always right” attitude that I frankly find frustrating in children.
And his lack of discretion nearly drove me up the wall. I kinda wanted to shout “What part of Death Sentence do you not understand?!” at him every time he openly flirted with Kam out in public. Even after being told repeatedly what could happen if anyone found out about their sexuality. I don’t know how many times Grady is told how incredibly risky his actions are (not only to himself but to his father, his father’s and the United States political position, but especially Kam–whom he claims to love) and yet he blithely ignores it time and again. He keeps saying he gets it, but his actions leave quite a bit to be desired.
This book had a great story and a good backing, but Grady just made it a bit hard for me to ever truly commit to it. Had Grady been a bit older, and probably a bit less childish, I think this story would have really been great. But his attitude and actions just kinda spoiled a lot of this story for me.
RATING:
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Thank you for taking the time to review my novel. I’m glad to hear you enjoyed most of it.