Reviewed by Sadonna
TITLE: American Love Story
SERIES: Dreamers
AUTHOR: Adriana Herrera
PUBLISHER: Carina Press
LENGTH: 368 pages
RELEASE DATE: October 5, 2019
BLURB:
No one should have to choose between love and justice.
Haitian-born professor and activist Patrice Denis is not here for anything that will veer him off the path he’s worked so hard for. One particularly dangerous distraction: Easton Archer, the assistant district attorney who last summer gave Patrice some of the most intense nights of his life, and still makes him all but forget they’re from two completely different worlds.
All-around golden boy Easton forged his own path to success, choosing public service over the comforts of his family’s wealth. With local law enforcement unfairly targeting young men of color, and his career—and conscience—on the line, now is hardly the time to be thirsting after Patrice again. Even if their nights together have turned into so much more.
For the first time, Patrice is tempted to open up and embrace the happiness he’s always denied himself. But as tensions between the community and the sheriff’s office grow by the day, Easton’s personal and professional lives collide. And when the issue at hand hits closer to home than either could imagine, they’ll have to work to forge a path forward…together.
REVIEW:
Note: This is the third of Adriana Herrera’s Dreamer’s series. There are some slight spoilers for the first two book as this takes place long after the first book and overlaps with the second book, but works perfectly fine as a standalone.
Patrice has worked his ass off to get where he is. He and his mother immigrated to the US during the coup in Haiti when he was a small child. They had some desperate times but have done everything they can to overcome this tough beginning. He has earned his PhD from Columbia and takes a tenure track position at Cornell. The summer before he had finished his degree, he had helped one of the best friends, Nesto, move his food truck business to Ithaca and had a summer fling with Easton Archer.
Easton is a trust fund guy but he has bucked his family, gone to law school and is the Assistant District Attorney. He’s especially dedicated to making sure justice is served in all cases. He realizes his privilege, but he’s trying to right wrongs that he sees. He’s invested in the cases he tries. He very close to the current DA who is supposed to be on medical leave, but she does keep nosing into what’s happening. Easton is trying to balance his trial load with everything else in his life. His family has no respect for what he does and they weren’t exactly understanding when he came out either. He’s got a good relationship with a couple family members, but his parents are not his biggest fans.
When Patrice moves to Ithaca, he does his best to stay away from Easton. He doesn’t have time for anything but his work and his activism. Easton is a distraction. However, he keeps bumping into him at gatherings – a number of them at the behest of Nesto and his partner Jude and Jude’s BFF Carmen. It seems like there are matchmakers afoot. Eventually it seems that they cannot stay away from each other and when Patrice moves closer to Easton, well all bets are off. Things begin to heat up and are going along pretty well. Patrice still worries about being distracted and Easton worries about getting hurt and not being enough. There are real struggles that they face due to outside forces and circumstances.
With the escalation of “driving while black” stops by the Sherriff department, Easton is asked to handle it behind closed doors. But as additional incidents occur, it becomes clear that allowing the Sherriff (who has his own set of circumstances) to handle it his way is not working. Easton does his best trying to walk a fine line, but of course that ends up with everyone unhappy about the situation and the handling of the situation. Patrice and Easton have to face some uncomfortable situations and conversations and ultimately decide what is the best for themselves and each other.
Boy there is a lot to unpack in this one. I I loved how strong Patrice was in this story. He really takes us through his headspace. No matter how hard he’s worked, somebody still is condescending to him – asking what he’s doing there, where he’s from, etc. It’s humiliating and belittling and just plain tiring to have to face that on a daily basis. Simply because of the color of his skin. Taken from the headlines, this book addresses the realities of life for black and brown people – especially men – in the US. This story could have gone tragically wrong. That is what I think the author would like us to think about. In the cases in this story, it wasn’t the worst outcome, but there were still consequences and really, that’s just the luck of the draw. One other detail changed and it would be a very different book. I also really liked that Easton realizes he still has work to do to be able to be the man and the attorney he wants to be for himself, his community and his partner. These guys have to work hard for their relationship to stay on track. The guys from the previous two books show up a bit in this one – Nesto more than Milo and Juanpa, since he lives in Ithaca as well. It’s nice to see Nesto and Jude happy together. There are some wonderful supporting characters – particularly Patrice’s mom. This book hopefully will make people think about the realities of our country in particular and recognize that truly if you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem. Once again, this author has given us a glimpse into the world that many of us aren’t familiar with and makes us consider how we can help change the narrative.
RATING: 
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