Book Review: Lilies in Moonlight

Lilies in Moonlight was my first Allison Pittman novel, and I really liked it. Her writing kept my interest and I was drawn into the story from the first page.

Lilly, a young and nearly penniless flapper, is trying to make a living selling cosmetics door-to-door. After a party one night, intoxicated Lilly ends up passed out in the yard of an older woman to whom she had recently sold cosmetics. Amazingly enough (and against the better judgment of her adult son, Cullen), Betty Ruth Burnside insists on making Lilly a part of her household. Cullen, a former baseball player, is dealing with his own disappointments and problems . . . he survived the Great War, but it left him burned and wounded. Lilies in Moonlight is the story of Lilly and Cullen's journey to forgiveness, hope, and love.

I found this book really enjoyable and I appreciated the overall theme and message. I will say that there was a little too much "physical" attraction mentioned (in my opinion)--nothing really offensive, and the characters don't ever go "too far"--in fact there isn't even a kiss till the end of the book--but there is some reference to Lilly's immoral past, mention of Cullen struggling to keep his thoughts pure and not let himself get physically too close to Lilly . . . I just wanted to mention that because this is a book I would want to read first before giving it to my teen daughter (if I had one). Obviously to some people, this stuff won't necessarily be an issue; I just felt the physical references could have been toned down a bit. But overall I did really enjoy this book--the setting, time period, and characters all felt so real . . . and I loved the cover, too. I rarely see a cover where the characters look just as I see them in my imagination, but this one was just right in my opinion. I hope to read more Allison Pittman books in the future!

Disclosure: I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.