Nancy Brandon

*Thanks to Netgalley for letting me read this book for a honest review*

This book, man did this book make me feel. Considering the era this book takes place in I had to set aside my current beliefs and how I feel about certain topics to fully immerse myself into this book. Once I did I was able to fully commit myself to the book, and boy am I glad that I did.

Marthanne/Oma are two incredible personalities in one package. They are complete opposites of each other but have to communicate (despite seeing each other face to face), most of the book is trying to make this work, while also facing the complications or being mentally ill in an era where not much was known. Comfort was a incredible delight, she was such a warm-hearted but logical person. She was the rationale, the person with the most reason and surprisingly the most understanding with what was going on with everyone.

I also really loved Royce, I'm really glad the author didn't take him down the road I thought he was going to go down. Brandon did an amazing job on her research and giving her characters life. At first the multiple point of views really bothered me, I thought 'oh great another story I have to try and keep track of all the characters', by the end of the book I knew everyone pretty well and I never once had to go back a chapter to remember any of the characters.

I had wished the ended was different, it sort of broke my heart with what every one of these characters went through. Although the ending pretty much tore me up, it actually left me with some peace of mind. Brandon's ending was realistic, something you get too much everyday. I once even had to remind myself that this was fiction and I was not reading someone's memoirs.

In the end I am so glad I read this book despite the heaviness of it's contents.I'll be on the lookout for more of Brandon's work since I've enjoyed this one so much.… (más)

*Thanks to Netgalley for letting me read this book for a honest review*

This book, man did this book make me feel. Considering the era this book takes place in I had to set aside my current beliefs and how I feel about certain topics to fully immerse myself into this book. Once I did I was able to fully commit myself to the book, and boy am I glad that I did.

Marthanne/Oma are two incredible personalities in one package. They are complete opposites of each other but have to communicate (despite seeing each other face to face), most of the book is trying to make this work, while also facing the complications or being mentally ill in an era where not much was known. Comfort was a incredible delight, she was such a warm-hearted but logical person. She was the rationale, the person with the most reason and surprisingly the most understanding with what was going on with everyone.

I also really loved Royce, I'm really glad the author didn't take him down the road I thought he was going to go down. Brandon did an amazing job on her research and giving her characters life. At first the multiple point of views really bothered me, I thought 'oh great another story I have to try and keep track of all the characters', by the end of the book I knew everyone pretty well and I never once had to go back a chapter to remember any of the characters.

I had wished the ended was different, it sort of broke my heart with what every one of these characters went through. Although the ending pretty much tore me up, it actually left me with some peace of mind. Brandon's ending was realistic, something you get too much everyday. I once even had to remind myself that this was fiction and I was not reading someone's memoirs.

In the end I am so glad I read this book despite the heaviness of it's contents.I'll be on the lookout for more of Brandon's work since I've enjoyed this one so much.… (más)

I enjoyed the story and historical details in Dunaway’s Crossing. The author doesn't shirk from the brutal details of the Spanish flu and the hardships faced by people in daily life. She’s brought to life this small town’s struggle with overwhelming death with deft hands. I liked how she also dealt with other heavy issues, mainly the PTSD issues suffered by returning servicemen from WWI, the great dichotomy between the white and black worlds in rural Georgia, and the status of women of the time.

There’s also her skill at the intimate details of her characters. They make up the heart of the story, their relationships and their struggle to make sense of a world that is rapidly going to hell. The readers get a real sense for how this great plague affects the everyday people of Pineview. From the local doctor’s wife compelled to leave town to escape the sickness to the maid compelled to stay in that same town due to no recourse to leave and to act as a nurse, the reader sees many different slices of the population during this harsh reality that was the Spanish Flu Pandemic.

Bea’s and Will’s relationship made me smile more than once. I loved them together and enjoyed the romantic element they brought to the horrors of their current reality. The whole bit with Bea’s abusive husband and her horrific past added spice to the mix, sometimes to a degree, though, of eyebrow-raising melodrama. Yet, that wasn't overpowering nor did it happen often. So I can overlook the occasional melodrama. Altogether, though, I loved Bea and Will together. I was rooting for them to the end and was made a very happy reader at the ultimate happily ever after.

The one issue I mainly have for this book may seem small to others but jumped out like crazy for me. The interactions between the characters seemed overwhelmingly negative and harsh. Almost every conversation or interaction had back-stabbing or digging overtones somewhere in the exchange. Now, I can see some of this as this town is pretty much going through hell and there’s a ton of stress around. But come on people! How ‘bout pulling together just a tad more?!

Still, this novel is a pretty solid look at Spanish Flu era America with all its death and horror. The author shows her research by bringing the world to life and creates an intimately horrific world for her characters. The reader gets to know these people, both the good and the bad, in a way not many books can achieve. There are some instances of overwhelming negativity. Yet, I’d still recommend this book to lovers of the historical fiction or romantic genres.… (más)