Book Review: Going Home

 Going Home by Evelyn Palfrey is a romance, but probably not your typical romance. Yes, there's a man and a woman leading the story. But as Evelyn Palfrey says on the cover, she writes romance novels for the marvelously mature.

Thalia Allen has recently retired after 30 years on the job. She dreams of traveling, but then Hurricane Katrina invades New Orleans. Thalia doesn't live in New Orleans, though. She lives in Austin, Texas.  But as the refugees begin to escape to the shelter in her home town, she steps up to help. She works at the shelter, taking her granddaughter along. Eventually, she takes Joe Lambert and his nephew Kyobe into her home.

I enjoyed reading Going Home. Katrina wasn't that long ago -- just long enough to see that time for what it was  … chaos and tragedy for those involved. Joe wants to go back to New Orleans, back to his home and the crew who work for him, but he doesn't even have a car. He works hard to put together some money. And yet he's torn since he's starting to have feelings for Thalia.

Reading Going Home brought back that time, the shock, the fear, the helplessness. Even if you live far away from New Orleans, Evelyn Palfrey gives you a taste of that time.  Despite the growing feelings between Thalia and Joe, he's determined to go home. Kyobe is just as determined, but the reason for his resolve is something neither Joe nor Thalia know anything about.



Evelyn Palfrey has quite a few books out in her Mavelously Mature series.

Kindle 

Paperback from Moon Child Books 

Going Home has lots of twists and turns and is set against a compelling backdrop. I give Going Home a rating of Hel-of-a-Character(s).
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FTC Disclaimer: I bought Going Home. This did not influence my review. Nor was my review influenced by the fact that I know Evelyn from back in the days when I was Executive Director of the Writers' League of Texas. I hadn't seen her in ages. I went to hear her speak and discovered she's really, really funny. I remember the Katrina time. I wasn't in Austin. I lived here then, but I was out of state at a conference. Can't even remember where. But I do remember staring in disbelief at the TV in the hotel's lobby. Even now, it's hard to understand what happened during and after the hurricane ripped New Orleans apart. Evelyn's book will take you beyond what you saw on TV. She takes you into the heart of survivors. So, if you'd like a book starring "marvelously mature" characters, give Evelyn Palfrey a try. I did. Even though I'm neither marvelous nor mature. Ask my kids. They'll tell you I'm neither.