Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin for the opportunity to read The Wildest Sin by Asha Lemmie.

This kept me interested with its sly, suspenseful peeks around corners. Strong characters and lyrical writing.

The Wildest Sun is Asha Lemmie's follow-up to her debut novel. Here we meet Delphine who has just survived World War II in France. She sets off to America to find her father - Ernest Hemingway and spends the next decade searching for him and herself.

I thought the plot of the story sounded very interesting and I love Lemmie's writing style. I did struggle to connect with Delphine a bit as I was confused and frustrated by her choices, but the beautiful, lyrical nature of the writing more than made up for it. It had a bit of a Forrest Gump feel as Delphine finds herself in the middle of many historical events in history. All in all, a good read.

Thanks to NetGalley for this advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review. This will be posted on Goodreads.
I have read this author before and pull out Fifty Words for Rain at the library as a staff pick. I think I even suggested it for purchase after reading that as an advanced reader. I often see the second historical fiction of an author to be an offshoot of the first one, meaning the same time frame of event but another aspect. So I was surprised that this one is completely different!
What I liked: The history of Cuba. I really enjoyed the historical aspects of the book. I also enjoyed the over arching storyline of Delphina's coming of age. There's love, family, secrets and mystery.
What I didn't I care for - the amount of history was light. We learn about Hemingway somewhat, but not a ton more than a wiki article. I wanted more of Cuba and Castro's rise and how it affected Elian. I also wish the settings were described more fully. What I enjoyed about 50 Words was that I could imagine every part of the story - all of the places including the attic. I wish for more description.
I would still recommend the book as a staff pick because I think the topic of the book is unique. I didn't get to 5* for me though. Still I'll round up to a 4*

I was lucky enough to win an e-ARC of THE WILDEST SUN by Asha Lemmie in a Shelf Awareness giveaway. Thank you for the early look, and have a safe and happy summer!

I am always a fan of books about books (authors, bookstores, libraries etc). Historical fiction is also my favourite genre so I was hoping this book would be a five star read for me.

The writing style took a bit for me to get used to. I wanted to know what happened to her mother when her death was first mentioned (the "why & how" comes way later in the story). There was also suspense in waiting to hear Hemmingway was really her dad and with Elian in Cuba.

It took a bit for me to fall in love with Delphine (she frustrated me with her bad decisions) but somewhere in the early part of the book I was hooked. Strong female protagonists are always so fun to read about and she was no exception. I was rooting for her the whole way. This book also has a great supporting cast with their own stories and I love how Delphine fit into their lives.

Trigger warnings for suicide, intravenous drug use, abortion & domestic violence. None of these were the main focus of the story but they are all in the book.

Thank you to Net Galley, the publisher and the author for the ARC of this book. It will be published in early December and I recommend picking up a copy.