September-October Reading List

 September -October Reading List 

Last month started well but illness, injury, bad weather, and a depressive episode postponed the finish until now. So this list covers both September and October

The Fourth Victim (A Belfast Murder Mystery Book 7) by Brian O'Hare 

Tales of The Whythenhood by J.W. Hawkins 

Among Stars and Shadows by Diane Farrugia

Buckingham Mockup by Asif Shaikh

Trigger Point (An Angela Hardwicke Science Fiction Mystery Book 5) by Russ Colchamiro

Whirl of Birds: Short Stories by Liana Vraijitoru Andreasen

What Was Left of Her: A Story of Ghosts by Victoria Hattersley*

BASH: Love Madness and Murder by Michael Bartos

Sailing By Gemini’s Star (The Constellation Trilogy Book 3) by Katie Crabb

Bedlam Trances by Nicholas Wagner

The Serpent's Bridge (The Serpent Series) by S.Z. Estavillo

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Well that's it. Thanks and as always, Happy Reading.

Tales of Whiskey Tango from Misery Towers by James Aylott; Politics, Love, Crime, and Weirdness Come Together in St. Louis Apartment Building

 Tales From Whiskey Tango of Misery Towers by James Aylott; Politics, Love, Crime, and Weirdness Come Together in St. Louis Apartment Building 

By Julie Sara Porter 

Bookworm Reviews

Spoilers: I am quite giddy over the fact that one of the frequent settings this year is my home state of Missouri. It is even better when books are set in St. Louis, the closest city to where I live and consider my home. James Aylott’s anthologized novel, Tales of Whiskey Tango from Misery Towers is the fourth book this year to be set in Missouri, following Somewhere East of Me by Samuel Vincent O’Keefe, The Girl in the Corn, and The Boy From Two Worlds by Jason Offutt. In fact the only books that I reviewed previously that had a Missouri setting were Shaare Emeth (The Gates of Truth) by T.A. McLaughlin, Toward That Which is Beautiful by Marian O’Shea Warnicke, Chasing Dragons: The True History of the Piasa by Mark and Laurie Bonner-Nickless, the short story, “Jewel Box” in Sympathetic People by Donna Baier Stein, and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn from 2019-2023. So this year definitely made up for the minimal Missouri representation in previous years.

Missouri, particularly St. Louis, makes a heck of an appearance in Tales of Whiskey Tango. It is practically a character itself in a book that is filled to the brim with fascinating characters. It boasts of a group of fascinating weird characters that inhabit a St. Louis Apartment and deal with issues with love, politics, economics, and crime in the Gateway to the West.

In Missouri Towers, nicknamed Misery Towers, a downtown St. Louis Apartment that overlooks the Arch and the Mississippi River, a group of residents are contemplating their life choices: Nick Pipeman is standing on a bridge thinking of the crises that led to his despair; Colton Chesterfield III was the victim of a very strange crime and is currently inside a coffin alive; Mike Love is thinking about some serious love affairs and is racing towards the one who might be the love of his life; Daris Ballic is drunk and prepared to defend his property Missouri Towers with violence if necessary; Sam Robinson is in despair about an affair that ended; Butterfly wants to dance at her job and forget about her troubles; Gloria McKendrick is at the City Museum is anxious about an important decision regarding her love life; Tyrone Booker is covering his police beat preparing for what could be a rough night; Madison Stone is sitting on the rooftop of Missouri Towers observing the chaos underneath and the approaching storm on the horizon. 

The most important character is certainly the city itself. Readers are treated to the various tourist spots like The City Museum, Busch Stadium, The Arch, and Forest Park, and the Enterprise Center, and the teams like The Blues and the Cardinals. But we are given more than that. Aylott knows the city and its people.

We are immersed into the local culture like the food (toasted ravioli, gooey butter cakes, thin crusted pizza, and pork steaks), areas (the wealthy Central West End, suburban South side, working class North side, and impoverished East side, along with neighborhoods like the Loop, The Hill, Dogstown, Ferguson, Soulard, Clayton, Bellefontaine, and enough St. name schools and towns to fill an entire Catholic yearly calendar), colloquialisms (“Where did you go to high school” instead of college and the endless debates whether the state is pronounced “Missouri,” “Missoura,” or “Misery.”), music (many blues, alternative, and hip hop artists got their start there), sports (The Blues winning the Stanley Cup in 2019, The Cardinals winning 11 World Series), celebrities (Jon Hamm, Chuck Berry, Veruca Salt, and Nelly are shouted out), controversies (the tempestuous school board meetings and local elections, the Michael Brown shooting and Ferguson police protests, income inequality, the political division between Conservative Republicans and Liberal Democrats with most of Missouri on one side and St. Louis on the other). 

Aylott gives a total sensory journey for Readers to experience a city that, unless they are local, many may not think about very often. Once read about it, few Readers will forget this fly over city. They may even want to stop by and visit once in awhile.

Tales From Whiskey Tango is a brilliant ensemble of a novel that explores the characters through their interests, personality traits, obsessions, and occupations. They stand out in different ways. Their personal journeys connect with one another by various means. Mike Love is a real estate agent who compares his life to his favorite Bruce Springsteen songs like “Born to Run,” “Born in the USA,” and “Thunder Road.” 

Gloria is a trapeze artist, newly arrived from Kansas and is fascinated by rom coms, specifically those starring Molly Ringwald. Mike and Gloria are weighing a potential romance but workplace conflicts, old flames, and different expectations throw challenges their way.

Mikes’ boss Daris is a Bosnian immigrant turned naturalized citizen and is hyper aware whether he seems American enough to his employees and clients. He treats his properties and sales leads like they are battlefields and his agents like Mike and Nick are soldiers in a war. 

Daris’ top agent, Nick is considered charming but has some very odd fetishes that affect his relationship with Zoe, a former circus clown and Gloria's roommate and is involved in criminal activity that could jeopardize his career.

 Nick and Zoe and Mike and Gloria's romances are observed and gossipped about by Madison whose favorite activities are sunbathing topless and spying on her neighbors.

Sam has an obsession with prostitutes and when he has an assignation with Alice, his latest, he has a notion to make her over Pretty Woman-style to be an ideal companion. But Alice is no Julia Roberts. She gets very tired of being controlled.

 Colton is a billionaire and ex-con whose darker side and hidden disreputability come back to haunt him when he is caught in a bizarre crime involving Reginald, a desperate gunman and Butterfly, an aging exotic dancer. 

As Tyrone tries to keep the peace in a city that is simmering with hatred and racism, he has to get to the roots of various crimes that involve many of the other characters.

Tales of Whiskey Tango isn't afraid to explore the beauty and ugliness of its setting and characters. Everyone is left to their own devices to make choices towards their own conclusion. They and the city lie in wait. 

The book explores each character and what led them and the city into this precarious position where they are waiting for romantic closure, crushing despair, escalating violence, delayed justice, waiting for a decision, to move forward, to live, to fight, or to die. Just like those storm clouds in the horizon, the characters will come and decide fates that they had been moving towards.

Said The Spider to the Fly by Findlay Ward; Moving, Honest, and Triumphant Contemporary Literature About Intergenerational Domestic Abuse

Said The Spider to the Fly by Findlay Ward; Moving, Honest, and Triumphant Contemporary Literature About Intergenerational Domestic Abuse

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews

Spoilers: Findlay Ward’s Said The Spider to the Fly covers a very important and very familiar topic for this blog: domestic abuse. In fact, this is the fifth book this month alone after A Cat's Cradle by Carly Rheilan, A Woman Like Maria by Gabriel Costans, Red Gifts in The Garden of Stones by P.A. Swanborough, and When Banana Stains Fade by Frances-Marie Coke deal with some form of abuse. (Other books about domestic violence this year include American Odyssey: Devil's Hand by B.F. Hess, I Was a Teenage Communist by JC Hopkins, Dancing in the Ring by Susan E. Sage, Freeze Frame by Rob Santana, Virtuous Women by Anna Goltz, How We Were Before by Jonathan Kravetz, Boy From Two Worlds by Jason Offutt, Tipani Walker and The Nightmare Knot by Jessica Crichton, Masters of the Star Machine by Joe Crawford, Somewhere East of Me by Samuel Vincent O'Keefe, Girl in a Smart Uniform by Gill James, The Peacock’s Heritage by Sasha Stephens, Journey of Souls by Rebecca Warner, and What Happened at the Abbey by Isobel Blackthorn). 

Domestic abuse is a very difficult thing to discuss and opens such raw emotion and trauma in a person's life. It also opens dialogue on this and other connected concerns such as problems within the legal system, the restrictions of gender roles, the negative aspects of marriage and divorce, the conspiracy of silence within certain occupations and communities, how religious views, social status, politics and economics play into the abuse and aftermath, and the psychological after effects of that trauma.

Said the Spider to the Fly is the kind of book that reveals how domestic violence can be felt through three generations of the same family by either tolerating abuse, becoming abused themselves, or being traumatized by such a situation in their past. 

After Rachael’s grandmother, Dorothy,  dies, she goes through her things, particularly her journal. Dorothy’s book recounts a traumatized childhood, marriage, vacations on Turtle Island, and a secret that the island possesses. Reading this account, causes Rachel to recognize the connections to her own unhappy relationship.

Said the Spider to the Fly weaves the past and present with similar themes. It shows Readers how abuse takes many forms, can still be experienced years even decades after the abuse ends, and has two interesting characters that represent separate generations and how they treat those conflicts.

Dorothy represents an older generation that grew up in a tempestuous toxic home life during the 50’s-60’s. Her father was a bad tempered violent man who hurt his wife and children. Dorothy became an expert in remaining silent, docile, and obedient to avoid her father's rages. Her older brother, Jimmy, took on an almost parental role by engaging Dorothy in various activities like fishing and hiking to keep her away from their father. Because of the time period, Dorothy’s mother was unable to leave or file for divorce, so they had to endure it.

Fortunately, Dorothy has a much happier marriage with her husband, Bob who is a kind empathetic loyal man with a corny sense of humor. (He told dad jokes before the phrase was coined.) Despite this, Dorothy can't quite shake the trauma of her childhood. She is anxious about her children's welfare and second guesses herself when her daughter, Lisa, starts seeing a man who sends red flag signals. 

Dorothy is a woman with PTSD and while her opinion about Lisa's boyfriend turns out to be true, she is also shown to be very anxious and hyper vigilant of the signs. It's natural to protect one’s younger relatives from the same trauma that had been faced before and Dorothy explores this.

Rachel represents the current generation. While she has more options about whether she can leave an unhealthy relationship, she chooses to stay with her partner, Bradley. The reason, that she stays with him is not because of society pressure but within her own mind, psychological pressure.

 Rachel at first doesn't recognize that Bradley is abusive. She reads about Dorothy's memories of beatings and slappings and other symptoms of physical abuse and thinks that it has nothing to do with her. Instead of being physical, Bradley mostly relies on verbal and psychological abuse. He belittles Rachel, acts condescending towards her opinions, makes fun of her when she makes a mistake, gaslights her, and leaves her feeling isolated, worthless, and dependent. This also is a similar pattern with her mother, Lisa, and Lisa’s husband. 

By the time Rachel recognizes Bradley's behavior, she is so beaten down by his words that she won't leave him. Not that she can't but that she won't. His manipulation and verbal abuse has worked to the point that he left her in a mental prison unable to see an escape.

This book goes out of its way to show that abuse is abuse. It doesn't matter if it's a punch, a purposely hateful word, an unwanted demand for sex, withheld money, it's still abuse. In fact verbal abuse is one of the hardest to prove and leaves long lasting mental and emotional scars. The fact that both Lisa and Rachel, mother and daughter become involved with similar men shows exactly how those scars are recycled.

While abuse is a frequent motif in this book, another is nature particularly that of Turtle Island. Turtle Island is a frequent setting in this book. It is the source of many happy memories that Dorothy experiences over the years with her family as they go on entertaining vacations. It is a source of joy but a source of pain as well. It is also where the Intergenerational tensions within Dorothy's family are resolved in violent ways.

Turtle Island has a strange hold on the people that visit it. The appearance of a raven and a mysterious boy suggest something supernatural but it is not overdone. Instead they are manifestations of the toxic home life that Dorothy, Lisa, and Rachel have to endure. 

The more that abuse is present within the people, the more nature adapts to it. The shouts, slaps, accusations, name callings, punches, lies, and isolation become fuel for something vengeful and violent that had long been buried but needed to be addressed.

Said The Spider to The Fly is a moving, honest, and complex book on how domestic abuse affects generations of families in a seemingly endless cycle but it is also triumphant when the cycle finally stops.

 

The Mantis Variant Book 1 in The Mantis Gland Series by Adam Andrews Johnson; Lunar Naturals: Alpha Squad by V.S. Hall; Two Allegorical Satirical and Topical Science Fiction Novels About People With Special Abilities

 

The Mantis Variant Book 1 in The Mantis Gland Series by Adam Andrews Johnson; Lunar Naturals: Alpha Squad by V.S. Hall; Two Allegorical Satirical and Topical Science Fiction Novels About People With Special Abilities 

By Julie Sara Porter 

Bookworm Reviews 

Spoilers: The Mantis Variant Book 1 in The Mantis Gland Series by Adam Andrews Johnson and Lunar Naturals: Alpha Squad by V.S. Hall are two novels that combine two frequent tropes found in Science Fiction: the existence of people with unusual abilities and an allegorical storytelling style that comments on the fictional world in the book and the real world surrounding the Reader. It is how the two works are approached in content, style, storytelling, and inspiration where the differences lie.

The Mantis Variant is an empowering novel that uses special abilities to comment on marginalized communities and the control that religious institutions have on the people underneath. 

The Mantis Variant focuses on three women who represent different statuses in futuristic Teshon City. Agrell is a member of the Messiahs, a cult that controls the city around them and has brutal means of enforcing that control. During a ritual, Agrell becomes sickened and runs away. Dozi is a street smart thief living by her wits and wants to be a Demifae, a mystic with special powers. Ilya is a Shift who has the ability of flight and has to take cover as her commune of Shifts is destroyed. The three women meet and become involved in the larger struggle between the Messiahs and those that they want to crush like the Shifts and Demifae.

The Mantis Variant touches on many current issues that exist in this fictional environment. The most prominent issues concern the stranglehold and fear mongering that groups like the Messiahs have over the people. They use their narrow minded world-view as a means to control and gain dominance over others, particularly marginalized people like the Shifts. The Messiahs’ influence is vast as Shifts are treated as second class citizens and either huddle up in homeless enclaves or are rounded up to serve their purposes.

 However, it's not enough for the Messiahs to have complete control over their people. They want the Mantis Glands, the glands that give Shifts their powers. Despite fearing the Shifts’ abilities, the Messiahs want to swallow those glands so that they can obtain power. That's what causes Agrell to run away. This inhuman process of not only denying a people's rights to live but to eat them like they were cattle is too far for her.

While the Messiahs represent the upper class in power, the Shifts stand for every minority, immigrant, LGBT person, person with disabilities, anyone who is considered an outsider or the “other.” The Shifts look different because some of their abilities manifest themselves in physical abnormalities. Their thought processes alter so they have highly elevated perspectives. Above all, they are often loyal to each other forming surrogate families to survive this oppression. 

Agrell, Ilyana, and Dozi are taken in by Mystic and his husband,Theolon, a pair of Demifae who give them unconditional support and a plan for the future. They are part of a resistance against the current government and for the first time in a long time or ever, the trio are able to visualize a life without their oppressors. They also have another reason to bond with the young women. The couple’s Shift daughter, Lahari is missing and they need the trio’s help to find her.

Agrell, Ilyana, and Dozi form a formidable trio that aids the resistance, their new friends, and each other. They begin to see the larger picture of fighting for others rather than their survival as individuals.

They also learn to adapt to their surroundings and evolve as characters. Ilyana has felt cast aside, ignored, and hated by others, particularly her family. Now with her new allies, she accepts her abilities and finds a new family that understands her. 

Agrell was ashamed of her past and what her people did, often hiding much of herself like an empathetic nature or the extent of her powers. With her new friends and partners, she accepts those parts of her nature and personality that have been hidden because of prejudice. 

Unlike the others, Dozi doesn't have any special abilities and actually wants them. She feels insignificant and unimportant surrounded by people who do amazing things. Her evolution comes when she realizes that her street smart intelligence, physical dexterity, and survival instincts are valuable and no less important because she was trained to use them rather than being born with them. 

The Mantis Variant is a brilliant novel that reminds us that there are people who gain control by spreading fear and ignorance. But there are other people who counter that by accepting, understanding, and learning about others and fighting alongside them.

Lunar Naturals: Alpha Squad is definitely inspired by anime with its characters with wide ranging abilities, multiple action plots, and themes of young people rebelling against a tyrannical system.

Vin Sylo is a refugee from Earth and has pyrokinesis. After a fight in which his powers are revealed, Vin is recruited by Roy, the leader of Lunar, an organization inside a space colony dedicated to ensuring peace despite the violent terrorist factions and dictatorial governments that exist. Vin meets his future compatriots: Lae, who is an expert markswoman,  Kyo, who can control darkness, and Kaz, who has extra fast reflexes and movement.

Fans of manga and anime will especially love this book which is a love letter to the Japanese born art form. Many of the situations, characters, and plot points aren't too dissimilar from works like Rurouni Kenshin, Yu Yu Hakusho, The Gundam franchise, Dragonball, Get Backers, and Naruto. It is flashy, exciting, deep, and filled with tension and drama just like its film, television, and literary predecessors.

Vin is the archetypal lead in such works. He is a young hot head who had to get by his wits. Since he's been independent for so long, he isn't used to working with a team. Recognizing other's strengths, weaknesses, and his role within a group setting are the first tests that he must pass.

Most of the book is spent on Vin’s training which involves strategy and combat techniques. He learns to harness and increase his powers. He also learns when to attack, when to defend, and when to retreat. 

One of the best fighting chapters details a match between Vin and Kyo when both of their dark natures are unleashed. Watching the release of Kyo’s alternate demonic personality unnerves Vin but also pushes him to release the physical and psychological toll that his friend had been suppressing. He empathizes with his friend's plight and also recognizes the parallels between Kyo and himself with his own unchecked powers.

He has a similar situation with Lae when he is sent on assignment with the rest of his crew, Alpha Squad. At first he minimized Lae’s contribution and abilities while at the same time becoming attracted to her. When she takes their enemies down, he recognizes the full extent of her abilities and that she in many ways is Vin’s equal even superior in leadership and is able to even out some of the rougher edges of Vin’s personality as he does for her.

Anime fans in particular will love Lunar Naturals: Alpha Squad. But anyone looking for a good Science Fiction novel that explores young people discovering their own power against oppression will also enjoy it too.

SOS Podcasts by Rosamaria Mancini; Gingered by Ryan G. Murphy; Two Hilarious Memoirs About Life, Love, Podcasts, and Red Hair

 

SOS Podcasts by Rosamaria Mancini; Gingered by Ryan G. Murphy; Two Hilarious Memoirs About Life, Love, Podcasts, and Red Hair

By Julie Sara Porter 

Bookworm Reviews 

Spoilers: Because I am very behind on my work, both this and the next review will feature two books with similar topics and themes.

When you want to laugh about life's daily routines and problems, you may want to turn to a memoir. Some deal with darker aspects and are dramatic as they discuss the author's struggles. Then there are some that discuss struggles with a smile, nod, and a chuckle or two. 

The books, SOS Podcasts by Rosamaria Mancini and Gingered by Ryan G. Murphy are the latter. They are hilarious memoirs about life, love, learning and communicating through social media, and living with the curse of having red hair.

SOS Podcasts is a lighthearted witty memoir about author Rosamaria Mancini’s life in Italy and Germany with a military husband, two young children, and a growing interest in listening to podcasts.

Mancini describes herself as “a big pain, a lot to deal with, and overbearing” and a born worrier. She attributes these traits to a life of constant change. She moved to Italy for a career in media where she married Marco, an electronics specialist in the Italian Air Force and had a young daughter. They moved to a NATO Base in Germany where Mancini gave birth to a son. 

In Germany, Mancini felt a tremendous culture shock. Since she came from an Italian-American family, she was able to adjust to life in Italy, speak the language, and adapt to the culture though she was mocked for her American ways and disliked many things about the country like the constant red tape. Her time in Germany however was a much more stressful situation. She was worried about the language, the cold weather, and the rumored preciseness and efficiency.

 To combat these anxieties, Mancini made sure her family stuck to various rules like wearing layers of sleep during a scheduled time. These rules, her overbearing nature, and difficulty in making new friends made Mancini a “fish so far out of water that (she) might as well be in the Gobi Desert." In her loneliness, Mancini made a new friend, one that became, as she described it “a new savior: Podcast.

Through podcasts, Mancini learned about important topics like femicide, wrongful convictions, climate change, immigration, student loan debt, and vaccination controversies. She learned about cooking and child care to help her with household responsibilities. She practiced prayer and meditation for stress relief. She got hooked on comedy and Fiction shows. Podcasts proved to be a source of education and information for Mancini.

There seemed to be a podcast for every occasion to help with Mancini’s various conflicts and questions. For example, she had trouble getting along with the other military wives. The podcast, Life Kits proved to be such a valuable source of comfort so much that Mancini considered its host, Julia Furlan, to be a friend.

Podcasts like the Pregnancy Podcast and The Birth Hour soothed any fears and answered any questions that Mancini had about her pregnancies. Podcasts like The Longest Shortest Time and Care and Feeding provided advice on parenting when she had difficulties raising two small children. Skimm This gave her a youthful perspective on popular culture and social trends. Dear Sugars helped her process her guilt and grief about her father's death. It seemed that any life change had a podcast to go with it.

Mancini also found podcasts that reflected or created various interests in her life. A beautiful chapter on Mancini and her family observing Christmas markets and traditions adds to her recommendation of Rick Steves Germany and Austria. Listening to cooking podcasts like La Scossapizza gave her a chance to get in touch with her Italian roots by preparing the cultural food. Mancini became fascinated by storytelling podcasts like Serial because of their ongoing serialized format.

Mancini has some recommendations for advice on spiritual and emotional well-being. Journeys of Faith with Paul Faris helped center her into her Catholic faith. While NPR’s Up First, BBC’s Global News, and New York Times’ The Daily are useful for the current news, The Good News Podcast is an antidote for lighter, hopeful, and more humanitarian stories. 

SOS Podcasts is a love letter from a woman to her favorite media source. It lets the Reader know that there is a podcast and a story for just about every feeling, activity, interest, and experience.

Gingered is a hilarious side splitting memoir about something that I am quite familiar with:  having red hair.

Ryan G. Murphy's red hair was an asset in his young years when he modeled for stock photos and acted in commercials and bit parts. Unfortunately when he began school, his hair became less of an advantage and was a means for other kids to bully him. This chapter reminds Readers that schoolchildren will find any reason, any excuse to pick at something different to ostracize and bully others.

Even as an adult Murphy still felt scrutinized because of his hair. Many strangers remarked on it. Girls refused to date him because of it. He is often asked if he is one of several red haired people such as Damien Lewis, Prince Harry, Ed Sheeran, or Kevin-”not a famous Kevin or anything. Just Kevin.”

Murphy had a colorful childhood with two doting parents and particularly his charming and conniving grandfather who created and sold bootlegged VHS. Much of Murphy's stories depict his loving relationship with his outrageous, impudent but devoted grandpa. 

Murphy goes through many of the milestones in a young person's life with a light comic touch. Things like first kiss (“Adult kissing is not really kissing at all. It's opening your mouth into someone else's mouth, wrestling your tongues and then spending the next few minutes wondering what the Hell you are supposed to do with your hands”), getting punished (“My Dad was angry three times when I was a kid”), getting into fights with other kids (“I was punched in the face on a Sunday. Punched in the ear if we are being specific.”), receiving sex education in a Catholic school (“They tried to scare the puberty out of us by guaranteeing that we'd all get AIDS then separated the boys and girls into different classrooms.”), attending high school (“High school was a lot like grammar school only with more penises.”), his first girlfriend (After he shaved his red hair, she gave him a baseball cap and he responded: “Even with only peach fuzz on top of my head, she still couldn't stand my red hair.”), college adventures (on taking three girls in a date to see Passion of the Christ: “The dinners were great. We got buzzed sipping on Bahamaritas-feeling all fancy and flirty-the perfect tone setter. Then Jesus had to ruin everything like always.”), finding a long term partner (He knew that his future wife, Pam, was The One after they quoted Zoolander to each other.), his difficulties with anger management (“When a UPS truck is chasing you at eighty miles an hour down the Staten Island Expressway, you start to evaluate your life choices.”)  

These universal milestones are individualized by Murphy's deft writing and witty observations. 

With red hair and a sharp wit, Murphy knows how to stand out in a crowd.

A Woman Like Maria by Gabriel Costans; Sweet Romance About a Woman Discovering Her Sexuality and Finding Love

A Woman Like Maria by Gabriel Costans; Sweet Romance About a Woman Discovering Her Sexuality and Finding Love

By Julie Sara Porter 

Bookworm Reviews

Spoilers: Gabriel Costans’ A Woman Like Maria is a sweet Romance about a woman discovering her own sexuality and finding love with another woman.

Sophia is a German woman who lives with a very dysfunctional family. Her parents have a fractured argumentative marriage. Sophia spends much of her time exploring her body and experimenting with relationships. She goes through a few bad relationships before she meets Ricardo, her future husband. Feeling alone and trying to deal with the pressure of life with an abusive husband, Sophia develops a bond with Ricardo's sister, Maria. The bond becomes a friendship and then develops into a romance. 

Sophia is a protagonist who hasn't exactly had the easiest start in life so she obtained an inner strength and determination to survive it. Her parents had a tempestuous relationship which began out of necessity rather than love because her mother was raped by another man. She needed a quick shotgun marriage to save face. 

The couple took their disappointments and failures out on their four children. 

Sophia often had to help her mother raise her younger siblings.In her small village of Blumenjagen, women are expected to marry and have lots of children. Sophia sees the drudgery, volatility, and resentment in the couples around her and certainly wants no part of it.

As Sophia grows, she has some difficult troubled relationships. Her first romance ended because her love interest enjoyed too much attention from other girls. Another ended because of differing ideas about their future. He wanted marriage and she wanted to begin a nursing career. Sophia’s early relationships show her as the type of woman who won't compromise who she is for anyone.

Sophia's romance with Ricardo begins innocuously enough with flirtation, compliments, and small gifts. It hits a snag when Sophia learns that Ricardo is already married and has a son. Sophia is drawn to him but also feels longings for women that she isn't certain about. 

Rather than address those longings, she marries Ricardo after he divorced his first wife. Sophia is strong and independent but when faced with her sexuality she is uncertain how to pursue it or whether she will be accepted. Instead of confronting her feelings for women, she transfers those feelings to Ricardo. She got married because she felt that it was safer to settle and marry a man than embark on a potential affair with a woman.

Sophia pays a heavy price for settling. Her marriage to Ricardo crumbles into abuse and infidelity. Ricardo has multiple affairs, frequent patches of unemployment, and an explosive temper. Their marriage only gets worse when she accompanies him to the United States to be closer to his family. The geographical distance only creates more tension as Sophia has to endure physical and psychological isolation from Ricardo's mistreatment of her. 

Sophia faces the abuse with a stoicism and almost coldness until she meets Maria. The only bright spot in Sophia's life is her relationship with Maria. The more free spirited woman is very open and honest about her relationships with women. She opens Sophia's heart and reminds her of the stirrings that she thought had disappeared. Their passion is undeniable.

More important than the passion is the emotion. Maria is not the same type of person as her brother. She treats Sophia like an equal as compared to Ricardo who treats her like a maid that he doesn't have to pay. Maria is selfless enough to back off out of Sophia's life when she senses things are getting too complicated for her but still retains their companionship through letters. 

After Sophia gives birth to two children, Maria gives her shelter and becomes a second mother to them. Maria encourages Sophia's passions for her career, family, and love. Their relationship allows Sophia the chance to be authentic and embrace the chance for love and fulfillment.

A Woman Like Maria is the type of Romance that explores the relationship between two people but it also explores the inner discovery of one's true self.