Reviewed by Kat
TITLE: Hawaiian Ginger
SERIES: The Hawaiians (book #4)
AUTHOR: Meg Amor
PUBLISHER: Loose Id
LENGTH: 311 pages
RELEASE DATE: June 6, 2017
BLURB:
Zane Andrews, a striking redhead and severely deaf dancer, has a love of pretty aloha dresses and girly feminine things. He comes from a poor, and extremely sheltered, cultish background. When he and Danny connect after the winning tango, things heat up quickly. But what about Zane’s relationship with Kaleho? Guilt eats at him and he wonders what he’s doing.
Danny’s a fourth-generation Hawaiian Big Islander, from the wealthy Lucerno ranching family. He’s a dark-haired, smoldering mix of Portuguese male and Argentine sensuality who was fighting his attraction to Zane. But even he can’t deny where his heart has taken him.
When Zane decides to face Kaleho, Danny disappears to Las Vegas. Zane’s worried he’s gone back to his old, glamorous life he had with Paolo. Has he lost Danny?
Zane’s first time on a plane to Vegas away from Hawai’i overwhelms him. And what if Danny rejects him? Then Zane’s past catches up with him. His abusive birth parents sue Danny and his adopted family, the Masterson-Mahikoas, sending everyone into turmoil.
Can they finally heal from the past abuse of dysfunctional family relationships? Will
Danny and Zane be able to accept each other’s backgrounds, insecurities, and express their deep feelings for each other?
REVIEW:
I am extremely fond of “The Hawaiians” series and this new book picks up immediately where “Hawaiian Fragrance” left off. This book is probably the most emotionally charge for me yet.
Zane Andrews is the gorgeous red headed adopted son of the family. He is a fabulous and gifted dancer that faces almost unbearable odds. He is severely deaf. He is also very much a gay boy but loves to embrace his love of frilly and girly feminine things. He is freshly starting a romance with his adoptive brother Danny that has developed during their dancing practicing and competitions. But how does he break it to Kaleho, his best friend and boyfriend since he was a small keiki? And what will happen to his new family when his horrid birth family finds them? “Hawaiian Ginger” is the heart wrenching story of a young man with so many challenges against him and how he faces those problems.
Zane’s story was particularly touching for me. Having retired from a career of working with post High School young adults with severe physical and mental disabilities, I saw several of my past students and their struggles here. Being deaf in a hearing world is a huge challenge. Being deaf and a competitive classical ballroom dancer is awe inspiring. The challenges that Zane faced were overwhelming to me. To compete with another male is even more challenging and frightening in our homophobic society. The way the writer embraced our native Hawaiian culture for a third gender in Hawaii before the missionaries can was truly fabulous called “ “Mahu is the Hawaiian…idea of living between two genders but taking pieces from each that work for you.” Weaving in the “fa’afafine, who are thought of as a natural third gender Samoan people see as a normal part of society” was an additional validation of our island’s beliefs. It was truly gratifying to have a writer embrace the islands and our diverse cultures.
I can’t sing the praises of this fabulous book enough. It truly had a deep and touching impact on me. To see a young person tackle such odds was inspiring and heart touching. I highly recommend this wonderful story and all the books in “The Hawaiians” series. A Must-Read!!!
RATING: 
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Aloha Kat!! Wow… Stunning review. And as always, you really got what I was wanting to get across about Zane’s world and life. Thank you so much for this in depth review and writing such a thoughtful one. I appreciate it so much. And I’m so glad you loved his story. It was a harder one to write and I was worried I’d missed something vital with it. So THANK YOU. Aloha nui loa Meg 🙂