Lilies in Moonlight

PITTMAN, ALLISON

LILIES IN MOONLIGHT

He'd lost his zeal for life. She was just as lost. Will they find the healing and love they long for?

After a roaring night on the town, fun-loving flapper Lilly Margolis, dazed and disoriented, twists her ankle and falls in the backyard of a wealthy family where the effects of the Great War -- over for more than half a decade -- are still endured. Inside the walls of the Burnside mansion, Cullen Burnside, a disillusioned and disfigured veteran, and his widowed mother, Betty Ruth, who daily slips a little further into dementia, lead a lonely existence...until Lilly. Whimsical, light-hearted and beautiful, she rejuvenates their sad, disconnected lives and blossoms in the light of their attention.

But Lilly, like Cullen, is hiding from a painful past. And when Cullen insists on returning her to her faraway home, their budding attraction seems destined to die on the vine. The resulting road trip becomes a journey of self-discovery -- but what will Cullen and Lilly find at journey's end?

My Review:

This book surprised me in a lot of ways. From the very beginning, I wasn't sure I liked Lilly. In fact, I was pretty certain I didn't. She was too...brassy...sassy...devil-may-care. A fly-by-night without substance or so I thought. But Pittman penned her well -- a very lost soul living a life I couldn't relate to. I felt a wall going up between Lilly and me, though I adored Cullen the first time I laid eyes on him. I kept reading for Cullen's sake but Pittman very cleverly shows her readers Lilly's heart early on in the book. Those two small instances kept me reading. Lily might be lost but I now had assurance that she could be found.

Exquisite descriptive writing created images that transported me out of my world and into the roaring twenties. I could see everything -- everyone -- so vividly that every page was a delight to read. Here's a couple of examples:

Describing the Burnside's maid, Pittman wrote:

"The woman herself was gray. Her hair, her skin. All muted shades without a speck of color to be found. She had a face made of features -- eyes, nose, mouth - all with a lack of distinction."

And how about this description of Lilly's landlady:

"Mrs. Myrtle had a face that in her youth, was probably quite plump and pretty, but in her old age had the appearance of cake batter run over the edge of the pan."

Pittman brought the flavor of that era to life and created memorable characters that are far from perfect. Then she threw God into the mix and turned their story into a spiritual journey culminating in a powerful climax. Sheer brilliance. I'm glad I stuck around to get to know Lilly.

Leave a comment below if you would like a chance at winning a copy of Lilies by Moonlight. The last April Giveaway draw will be held on Saturday, April 30th.