Reviewed by Jess
TITLE: Into the Sunrise
AUTHOR: Becky Black
PUBLISHER: JMS Books
LENGTH: 121 pages
RELEASE DATE: June 30, 2018
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 to ride off together into the sunrise.
REVIEW:
Road trip settings are always a safe bet for romances. They’re perfect for blossoming sexual tension, confessions made in tight spaces, and making the journey just as good as the destination. What makes this story even better than all the road trip romances before it is how deftly it deals with the past as well as the future. Lorna and Zoe start their trip running away from something, but by the end, they face their demons and look forward when they’re good and ready. Such a satisfying arc in any romance.
Lorna and Zoe’s relationship moves pretty steadily from the first chapter on, but as their sexual chemistry catches fire quickly, their emotional connection is more of a slow burn. They peel back layers and uncover hidden depths as they move from state to state, stopping at diners and tourist attractions along the way. As they become more intertwined in each other’s new beginnings, they help each other mend mistakes of the past.
For the first half of the book, Lorna made some sketchy choices, but I really grew to love her. As a child of divorce, I felt bad for Dominic, Lorna’s son—he may be eighteen, but that doesn’t make a child a man overnight, and Lorna didn’t deal with breaking the news of her divorce to him very well. However, the older I get, the more I understand what is going through parents’ minds when they separate, and how they need their own space to figure things out. Lorna’s personal journey towards independence and self-discovery is just as compelling as her romance with Zoe.
I also really like how Lorna is a lesbian who writes gay male romance and struggles with what that may mean for her as a partner, a mother, and a woman who loves women. I think a lot of readers on this blog can relate to the complexities of why we read what we read, and to have Lorna tackle that with a new, trusting partner is fascinating. I’d also love to read some of her books!
This is the first book I’ve read by Becky Black. Her writing is top-notch—it easily flows from funny to sexy to tense and back again. She’s a UK author, and though these characters are American, they do sound a little British here and there with word choices or turns of phrase. A quick sweep by a picky American editor would’ve gone a long way.
This is a short, accessible book that encompasses all that is good about road trip stories. An excellent summer beach read.
RATING: 
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