Reviewed by Dee
TITLE: Into the Sunrise
AUTHOR: Becky Black
PUBLISHER: Loose Id
LENGTH: 121 pages
BLURB:
On the day her son leaves home, Lorna Friern makes a long-planned escape from her loveless marriage. With one suitcase, her laptop, and a box full of books, she leaves L.A. to drive to a new life in a house she’s inherited in Long Island. On the same day, after Northern Californian wildfires burn down the motel where she lives and the bar where she works, Zoe Bradshaw decides to move on again. Her destination, Las Vegas. Maybe. Or home to her family. Maybe.
The two women meet on the road and when Zoe’s old junker of a car finally gives up the ghost, she accepts the offer to travel with Lorna for a while. perhaps all the way to New York. Lorna wasn’t looking for romance so soon after leaving her marriage, but chance put Zoe in her way and Lorna doesn’t want to leave her behind. Sharing a car and motel room beds, the two women learn each other’s histories and secrets. Only at the end of the journey will they know if they’ve escaped the past, as it makes its last grabs at both of them
REVIEW:
This is a difficult review for me to write. I want to make it clear these are my thoughts and opinions only and please remember every reader takes something different from a story. What hits a cord with one, might barely even register on the next readers radar. So with no further ado let’s get to it.
At the start of the book I had high hopes it was going to be a fun adventure. When the ladies crossed paths and decided to set out, the story almost had a Thelma and Louise feel to it, but sadly that was short lived.
As per the blurb, the main character, Lorna, leaves home on the same day her son heads off to start life at College. That alone must have been extremely nerve wracking for her child, not that it was something Lorna gave any indication she cared about. The way she disclosed to him she’d left his father wasn’t so much selfish as it was cowardice. She didn’t even have the balls to tell him face to face. Then telling him via text messages he’s a man now and needs to act like one, ignoring his concerned replies stating, ‘she can’t talk about it’! Divorce aside, not once did she pick up the phone and ask if he’d settled in to College life? And how the hell could he when he was worried about what on earth was going on with his parents?
Hoping and praying Lorna would redeem herself by the end of the story, I kept reading.
Zoe was a character I felt indifferent about for most of the story. She’s a drifter so it’s perfect for them to hook-up and take off on an adventure. While travelling we learn Lorna is a writer, and low and behold she just so happens to write MM romance.
Cue the next issue I had with the plot. We all know MM stories are taking the world by storm. I read FF fiction for a reason and that’s not to have a character convincing another about why so many people like reading MM. Add to that, the ladies getting off after becoming aroused reading said books – I wasn’t impressed. Some readers might like the idea. However I couldn’t help but wonder how someone reading a MM book would feel about the characters, reading lesbian fic and getting off!! Somehow I can’t see it happening.
Righto, so yes there’s some sex. Yay, I should be saying as clearly that’s another reason I read FF erotica. I’m all for lady love! However again in this story I found the scenes warm at best, definitely not hot. But in fairness that could be due to my lack of connection with the story and misgivings about the heroine.
We discover Zoe had been duped by a previous lover, so the ladies set out to locate her and recover some of Zoe’s treasured items. The way it played out fell flat for me, and left me wondering what the point of it all was? That is totally on my head. I’m sure someone else will get it.
I must add, the first thing Lorna did at each rest stop, hotel, wherever they stopped was check her social media. She replied to her husband, friends, checked facebook, all that crap. But still didn’t take the time to reach out to her son. When he gives up messaging her, she muses he is being childish and she won’t buy into that behavior. At this point, I’m ready to reach through my kindle and strangle the woman! Has she got no compassion? Oh she must have, just not for her child, as she felt sorry for her husband when he admitted he too had strayed during their marriage. Something I thought surely I’d read wrong, so read it again.
Two weeks later they arrive at the house Lorna has inherited, and of course by this time they’re in love. The child turns up on the doorstep! Any thread of respect I had left for Lorna vanished with the spiel she gave her son.
In summary, this story wasn’t terrible, but it rubbed me the wrong way. I’d struggle to imagine how anyone who has been through a divorce, be it their own or their parents parting ways, will be able to warm to Lorna. That said, if you’re all for a woman following her own path and forsaking all others, the day her child leaves the nest, this is the book for you.
RATING: 
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