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Whiskey Sunrise
Lesbian Historical Romance -- Royal Duval is the pride of her grandfather, Duke, from whom she learned all about faith, ambition, and women. After her father passed, Royal inherited his part of the family business: running bootleg whiskey. The back roads of Georgia had been perfect for the dissemination of the much sought after illegal elixir until the local Baptist minister, Abraham Porter, decided to make prohibition his mission, and Royal the target of his evangelical wrath.
Lovey Porter, Abraham’s daughter, is the living embodiment of chaste beauty, until she meets the charmingly handsome Royal Duval. Their growing attraction for each other challenges every belief that Lovey holds dear and calls into question every truth she felt sure was absolute. Even if she must defy her father, in the end, Lovey has to find her own path to faith and love. She alone must decide whether that path leads to Royal.
Lovey Porter, Abraham’s daughter, is the living embodiment of chaste beauty, until she meets the charmingly handsome Royal Duval. Their growing attraction for each other challenges every belief that Lovey holds dear and calls into question every truth she felt sure was absolute. Even if she must defy her father, in the end, Lovey has to find her own path to faith and love. She alone must decide whether that path leads to Royal.
240 pages, Paperback
First published February 16, 2016
8 people are currently reading
244 people want to read
About the author
Missouri Vaun
24 books142 followersMissouri Vaun is a two-time Golden Crown Literary Society award-winning lesbian romance writer published by Bold Strokes Books. FOREVER'S PROMISE is Vaun's latest, a historical romance. Wes dresses as a man for property rights. Will she risk it all for love?
Vaun spent a large part of her childhood in southern Mississippi, before attending high school in North Carolina and college in Tennessee. Strong connections to her roots in the rural South have been a grounding force throughout her life. Vaun spent twelve years finding her voice working as a journalist in places as disparate as Chicago, Atlanta and Jackson, Miss., all along filing away characters and their stories. Her novels are heartfelt, earthy; speak of loyalty and our responsibility to others.
She and her wife live in Northern California.
Vaun spent a large part of her childhood in southern Mississippi, before attending high school in North Carolina and college in Tennessee. Strong connections to her roots in the rural South have been a grounding force throughout her life. Vaun spent twelve years finding her voice working as a journalist in places as disparate as Chicago, Atlanta and Jackson, Miss., all along filing away characters and their stories. Her novels are heartfelt, earthy; speak of loyalty and our responsibility to others.
She and her wife live in Northern California.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
December 30, 2021
This is the first book I've read from Missouri Vaun. I knew going in that is in part based on her family history, though I wasn't (and I'm still not) certain to what degree. I do know it's an engaging and believable tale with moments of joy and tension and longing and tragedy and a whole lot of love.
The story opens with Lovey recently widowed, moving in with her father (a preacher) in his new home. Royal is an 'out' lesbian (which I assume was unusual in smalltown USA in 1939) from a family of moonshiners. I liked that a lot of the drive in their relationship came from Lovey, who is slightly older and has no prior same-sex relationship history.
I've read in a couple of reviews that readers expected Royal to be living as a man. That is not the case, though she dresses in men's clothing as shown in the excellent cover artwork, by the author herself.
The prose is lovely, a little steamy in places but there's more romance than erotica here, and it works. The story includes some violence and racial bigotry perpetrated by minor characters.
4.5 Stars. Very recommended.
The story opens with Lovey recently widowed, moving in with her father (a preacher) in his new home. Royal is an 'out' lesbian (which I assume was unusual in smalltown USA in 1939) from a family of moonshiners. I liked that a lot of the drive in their relationship came from Lovey, who is slightly older and has no prior same-sex relationship history.
I've read in a couple of reviews that readers expected Royal to be living as a man. That is not the case, though she dresses in men's clothing as shown in the excellent cover artwork, by the author herself.
The prose is lovely, a little steamy in places but there's more romance than erotica here, and it works. The story includes some violence and racial bigotry perpetrated by minor characters.
4.5 Stars. Very recommended.
July 17, 2016
This is my first book by Missouri Vaun, but after reading this one I will definitely check out other offerings from this author.
Whiskey Sunrise is a nicely done historical romance with two believable, three-dimensional main characters, and a bunch of secondary characters who are more than just tools for making the story more interesting. I really found myself caring about the protagonists, Lovey and Royal. They are both very nice people with a lot of kindness and concern for others. Royal is especially appealing in her strength and vulnerability. Their romance develops at a rather fast pace and comes of as a surprise to both characters. The historical setting (Prohibition-era Georgia) plays a nice role in the narrative without being overbearing.
All in all, a very good and enjoyable read. I very much recommend it to anyone who enjoys tender love stories.
*ARC provided by publisher via NetGalley*
Whiskey Sunrise is a nicely done historical romance with two believable, three-dimensional main characters, and a bunch of secondary characters who are more than just tools for making the story more interesting. I really found myself caring about the protagonists, Lovey and Royal. They are both very nice people with a lot of kindness and concern for others. Royal is especially appealing in her strength and vulnerability. Their romance develops at a rather fast pace and comes of as a surprise to both characters. The historical setting (Prohibition-era Georgia) plays a nice role in the narrative without being overbearing.
All in all, a very good and enjoyable read. I very much recommend it to anyone who enjoys tender love stories.
*ARC provided by publisher via NetGalley*
June 4, 2019
A short, gentle, clean lesbian romance. The setting is interesting and the characters unusual: I was excited to read a complicated relationship between a butch moonshine runner and a widowed daughter of a homophobic preacher. SO much potential for conflict, right? But there actually isn’t much; the stakes feel very low and there’s not much at risk. All the problems are easily overcome. Also I know there’s a difference between romance and erotica, but I personally do like some sexual tension and hot bits even in a sweet romance. Here there’s only one sex scene, and it’s weirdly clinical (“Royal continued to rhythmically push in and out until Lovey climaxed under her.”)
I still love the potential of the characters - I just wish there was some actual conflict and some hot bits. Still, no use complaining when a book isn’t exactly what I want it to be. If you want some undemanding comfort reading after a hard day, this works fine.
I still love the potential of the characters - I just wish there was some actual conflict and some hot bits. Still, no use complaining when a book isn’t exactly what I want it to be. If you want some undemanding comfort reading after a hard day, this works fine.
June 10, 2016
*I received this book from NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books in return for a fair review.*
This is the first book that I have read written by this author.
Before I get into the normal series of ‘this is what the book is about/this is what I think/etc’ comments, I need to tackle one specific issue head on immediately. Actually, looking at the description, two specific issues.
Nature of the book I was reading - I’m not sure if it’s something that I thought I saw in the book description, something I saw elsewhere, or just the book cover, but I got the wrong impression going into this book. And that impression was that the book involved two women who end up falling for each other. All good there, which was a solid impression that is not changed by reading the book. No, it was the part where I had this vague idea that one of them, Royal to be exact, was living as a man. As in, calling herself a man. She isn’t. She’s living as a woman. Who happens to have short hair, drive fast, drink, chase women, and wear men’s clothing. But there’s no mistaking the issue – she’s doing this as a woman doing these things that defy convention. Not as a woman pretending to be a man (this leads to another issue that I’ll either break out here or elsewhere).
Not a deal breaker or anything like that. I had just confused myself for some reason. In the end, this is one of the few books that I can outright, without any deep thinking on my part (or any need for anything but surface thinking) just call a butch/femme pairing. Since Royal is living in the look of a 1940s butch woman (she’s just 1 year early), at least based on nonfiction I’ve read about lesbian history. With Lovey Porter, the other woman in the book, living the part of the femme.
I don’t wish to go to deep here, but I’ll continue this one extra inch. The stereotypical butch of the time would wear men’s clothing, which may or may not have a female cut – depends on if they can get that type of clothing (a brief mention is made that Royal’s clothing has a male cut to them). Specifically, in the 1940s, (yes I know this is 1939) that would involve some kind of suit and top hat. I do not recall mention of Royal having a hat (though there is/was mention of hooks for men to hang their hats on), but otherwise the clothing she wore would be typical for men of her region.
I’ll add one last historical note before moving on – while Royal is defying convention in 1939 rural Georgia by dressing as a man, if this book had been set one or two years later, in a city, then she’d have had a lot of company. It was a great era for women to be able to openly wear pants and strut around – maybe not strut, but it’s easier to go off to work in factories in pants.
Book Description - first off, it’s both somewhat inaccurate and, oddly given that, gives too much information. I do not wish to go too deep here. There are more examples but I’ll just lift one from the description: ‘The back roads of Georgia had been perfect for the dissemination of the much sought after illegal elixir until the local Baptist minister, Abraham Porter, decided to make prohibition his mission, and Royal the target of his evangelical wrath.’ - (1) moonshine, wasn’t actually specifically illegal. There’s a scene where this came up. It was the part where the people running moonshine didn’t want to pay tax on it. Moonshine in and of itself wasn’t illegal; it was running it without paying tax on it that was illegal. (2) Abraham Porter? That is not his name. Lovey, Reverend Abraham’s daughter, married a fellow with the last name of Porter. She goes around town telling everyone that she’s Lovey Porter. That does not suddenly make her father Abraham Porter. No, he is Reverend Abraham Edwards. Oddly, that isn’t what I had meant to focus on there; I just noticed the wrong name before I could get to what I wanted to get to. Edwards wasn’t directly targeting Royal – he was targeting the Duval family as moonshiners.
‘Lovey Porter, Abraham’s daughter, is the living embodiment of chaste beauty,’ – hmms. Calling a woman who has been married the ‘living embodiment of chaste’ seems wrong on so many levels. Chaste? Really?
Setting
I normally leave this to second or third in the section rotation, but I figure I need to leap onto this immediately. The year is 1939; the place is a rural town nearish to Atlanta Georgia. The town is located in Dawson County (and I only recall that part because a guy named Joe Dawson was courting Lovey Porter).
There’s a nice good ‘backwoods’ vibe to everything. There’s a vaguely magical flavor to everything, and no I don’t mean actual magic or that there’s fantasy involved. Just there’s a certain disconnect, at times, from reality. While at the same time, reality has a tendency to meanly reach in and make everything bloody. I’m being purposely vague.
Characters
There are more than two characters that inhabit this book, though only two have their points of view expressed.
Lovey Porter : Lovey grew up in the locality this story takes place, but she went away, briefly, to get a college education, and then moved to Chicago with her husband. Husband died in 1938. Lovey returned to live in her father’s house. She’s trying to figure out how to make her way in the world, feeling constrained and suffocating from convention – though she’s good at putting on the good/polite/dutiful daughter mask.
Connected people : Reverend Abraham Edwards (father to Lovey); Cal? (person who comes by occasionally to clean); various church members who occasionally thrust their way into the story. Briefly. Joe Dawson (tall, well-muscled fella courting Lovey).
Royal Duval - a woman who loves to wear men’s clothing, drink, chase women, and drive fast cars, Royal works as something of a moonshine delivery driver – which occasionally involves driving fast and getting shot at.
Connected people : Duke Duval (current head of the moonshining family, though he’s on his last legs, so to speak); Wade Duval (son to Duke, uncle to Royal, and a mean asshole); Ned Duval (son of Wade’s; best friend to Royal); Royal Duval’s mother (I forget if her first name is given); Grace (friend of Royal’s who gets into trouble and ‘must be saved’; both Grace (and her family) and Cal represent the ‘colored’ part of rural Georgia).
Plot
The book opens with Lovey feeling trapped in her house, so she goes for a late night stroll. On the roads. No one has driven past her father’s house in a good long while, so she figures its safe enough to walk out there. Until she finds out it isn’t.
Royal is testing a new potential route to drive on her moonshine deliveries, one with a newly graded/whatevered road. She roars up, slowing only so she can take a turn and . . . spots a figure in the roadway. She attempts to avoid running over the figure and ends up rolling her car.
Lovey sees the car roar up, and flip. She scrambles down to try to help the man in the car. Whereupon a comment is made that there are no boys here, unless Lovey brought some. Lovey helps Royal back to her place to patch her up. And Lovey learns that some women wear men’s clothing.
A relationship between Lovey and Royal develops – but it’s kind of hard, what with it being 1939 rural Georgia. And the Duval family and the Edwards family are kind of on opposite sides on certain matters (like how dry the county should be). This here is where I insert something I thought of while reading the book. There are aspects, obviously, involved when two women meet and get involved romantically. Not putting that aside, I’d like to note that Royal could actually have been a man and there still would have been massive problems involved in having a male Royal date Lovey. Issues that would need to be overcome/resolved regardless of gender. Course, then you take that on, the gender thing, and it seems hopeless, eh?
The problems of two women courting, or whatever word you wish to use, in 1939, causes massive issues. As does the ‘low character’ attached to the Duval name, at least as seen through the eyes of ‘good’ people like Abraham Edwards. Massive massive issues. Oh, and to help remind people that this is 1939 rural Georgia, there’s a few scenes here and there involving (1) blacks being treated badly; (2) women being treated poorly, as lower class citizens; one such event involving a black woman being felt up by some ‘good old white boys’.
Romance
It’s 1939. Two women find they have feelings for each other. One, as far as she knew, is a straight woman (here I’ll note the whole genre/topic/theme of straight women in lesbian fiction actually makes a certain amount of sense – if worked right – in a 1939 book). The other is a ‘player’. Obviously . . . . obviously nothing. The romance went a gentle, magical type direction. And somewhat faster than I kind of expected.
Still, problems pop up, what with it being 1939; one is the daughter of the local minister; the same one wanting to keep up appearances and so allows herself to be courted by a man (Joe Dawson). So, yeah, there are problems making this romance ‘work’.
Overall, though, the romance worked quite well. Despite certain things here and there, seemed to flow naturally.
Overall
One of my first, maybe first book updates noted how lovely the writing was in this book. For the most part that kept up throughout the book. Maybe not at whatever level it had to be to get me to actually make that comment initially, but still ‘lovely’.
I liked the book. It was an enjoyable read. Showed the frustrations of attempting to be a woman in the early 20th century, a lesbian, and a resident of a small rural county in the south. I’d recommend the book.
February 29 2016
This is the first book that I have read written by this author.
Before I get into the normal series of ‘this is what the book is about/this is what I think/etc’ comments, I need to tackle one specific issue head on immediately. Actually, looking at the description, two specific issues.
Nature of the book I was reading - I’m not sure if it’s something that I thought I saw in the book description, something I saw elsewhere, or just the book cover, but I got the wrong impression going into this book. And that impression was that the book involved two women who end up falling for each other. All good there, which was a solid impression that is not changed by reading the book. No, it was the part where I had this vague idea that one of them, Royal to be exact, was living as a man. As in, calling herself a man. She isn’t. She’s living as a woman. Who happens to have short hair, drive fast, drink, chase women, and wear men’s clothing. But there’s no mistaking the issue – she’s doing this as a woman doing these things that defy convention. Not as a woman pretending to be a man (this leads to another issue that I’ll either break out here or elsewhere).
Not a deal breaker or anything like that. I had just confused myself for some reason. In the end, this is one of the few books that I can outright, without any deep thinking on my part (or any need for anything but surface thinking) just call a butch/femme pairing. Since Royal is living in the look of a 1940s butch woman (she’s just 1 year early), at least based on nonfiction I’ve read about lesbian history. With Lovey Porter, the other woman in the book, living the part of the femme.
I don’t wish to go to deep here, but I’ll continue this one extra inch. The stereotypical butch of the time would wear men’s clothing, which may or may not have a female cut – depends on if they can get that type of clothing (a brief mention is made that Royal’s clothing has a male cut to them). Specifically, in the 1940s, (yes I know this is 1939) that would involve some kind of suit and top hat. I do not recall mention of Royal having a hat (though there is/was mention of hooks for men to hang their hats on), but otherwise the clothing she wore would be typical for men of her region.
I’ll add one last historical note before moving on – while Royal is defying convention in 1939 rural Georgia by dressing as a man, if this book had been set one or two years later, in a city, then she’d have had a lot of company. It was a great era for women to be able to openly wear pants and strut around – maybe not strut, but it’s easier to go off to work in factories in pants.
Book Description - first off, it’s both somewhat inaccurate and, oddly given that, gives too much information. I do not wish to go too deep here. There are more examples but I’ll just lift one from the description: ‘The back roads of Georgia had been perfect for the dissemination of the much sought after illegal elixir until the local Baptist minister, Abraham Porter, decided to make prohibition his mission, and Royal the target of his evangelical wrath.’ - (1) moonshine, wasn’t actually specifically illegal. There’s a scene where this came up. It was the part where the people running moonshine didn’t want to pay tax on it. Moonshine in and of itself wasn’t illegal; it was running it without paying tax on it that was illegal. (2) Abraham Porter? That is not his name. Lovey, Reverend Abraham’s daughter, married a fellow with the last name of Porter. She goes around town telling everyone that she’s Lovey Porter. That does not suddenly make her father Abraham Porter. No, he is Reverend Abraham Edwards. Oddly, that isn’t what I had meant to focus on there; I just noticed the wrong name before I could get to what I wanted to get to. Edwards wasn’t directly targeting Royal – he was targeting the Duval family as moonshiners.
‘Lovey Porter, Abraham’s daughter, is the living embodiment of chaste beauty,’ – hmms. Calling a woman who has been married the ‘living embodiment of chaste’ seems wrong on so many levels. Chaste? Really?
Setting
I normally leave this to second or third in the section rotation, but I figure I need to leap onto this immediately. The year is 1939; the place is a rural town nearish to Atlanta Georgia. The town is located in Dawson County (and I only recall that part because a guy named Joe Dawson was courting Lovey Porter).
There’s a nice good ‘backwoods’ vibe to everything. There’s a vaguely magical flavor to everything, and no I don’t mean actual magic or that there’s fantasy involved. Just there’s a certain disconnect, at times, from reality. While at the same time, reality has a tendency to meanly reach in and make everything bloody. I’m being purposely vague.
Characters
There are more than two characters that inhabit this book, though only two have their points of view expressed.
Lovey Porter : Lovey grew up in the locality this story takes place, but she went away, briefly, to get a college education, and then moved to Chicago with her husband. Husband died in 1938. Lovey returned to live in her father’s house. She’s trying to figure out how to make her way in the world, feeling constrained and suffocating from convention – though she’s good at putting on the good/polite/dutiful daughter mask.
Connected people : Reverend Abraham Edwards (father to Lovey); Cal? (person who comes by occasionally to clean); various church members who occasionally thrust their way into the story. Briefly. Joe Dawson (tall, well-muscled fella courting Lovey).
Royal Duval - a woman who loves to wear men’s clothing, drink, chase women, and drive fast cars, Royal works as something of a moonshine delivery driver – which occasionally involves driving fast and getting shot at.
Connected people : Duke Duval (current head of the moonshining family, though he’s on his last legs, so to speak); Wade Duval (son to Duke, uncle to Royal, and a mean asshole); Ned Duval (son of Wade’s; best friend to Royal); Royal Duval’s mother (I forget if her first name is given); Grace (friend of Royal’s who gets into trouble and ‘must be saved’; both Grace (and her family) and Cal represent the ‘colored’ part of rural Georgia).
Plot
The book opens with Lovey feeling trapped in her house, so she goes for a late night stroll. On the roads. No one has driven past her father’s house in a good long while, so she figures its safe enough to walk out there. Until she finds out it isn’t.
Royal is testing a new potential route to drive on her moonshine deliveries, one with a newly graded/whatevered road. She roars up, slowing only so she can take a turn and . . . spots a figure in the roadway. She attempts to avoid running over the figure and ends up rolling her car.
Lovey sees the car roar up, and flip. She scrambles down to try to help the man in the car. Whereupon a comment is made that there are no boys here, unless Lovey brought some. Lovey helps Royal back to her place to patch her up. And Lovey learns that some women wear men’s clothing.
A relationship between Lovey and Royal develops – but it’s kind of hard, what with it being 1939 rural Georgia. And the Duval family and the Edwards family are kind of on opposite sides on certain matters (like how dry the county should be). This here is where I insert something I thought of while reading the book. There are aspects, obviously, involved when two women meet and get involved romantically. Not putting that aside, I’d like to note that Royal could actually have been a man and there still would have been massive problems involved in having a male Royal date Lovey. Issues that would need to be overcome/resolved regardless of gender. Course, then you take that on, the gender thing, and it seems hopeless, eh?
The problems of two women courting, or whatever word you wish to use, in 1939, causes massive issues. As does the ‘low character’ attached to the Duval name, at least as seen through the eyes of ‘good’ people like Abraham Edwards. Massive massive issues. Oh, and to help remind people that this is 1939 rural Georgia, there’s a few scenes here and there involving (1) blacks being treated badly; (2) women being treated poorly, as lower class citizens; one such event involving a black woman being felt up by some ‘good old white boys’.
Romance
It’s 1939. Two women find they have feelings for each other. One, as far as she knew, is a straight woman (here I’ll note the whole genre/topic/theme of straight women in lesbian fiction actually makes a certain amount of sense – if worked right – in a 1939 book). The other is a ‘player’. Obviously . . . . obviously nothing. The romance went a gentle, magical type direction. And somewhat faster than I kind of expected.
Still, problems pop up, what with it being 1939; one is the daughter of the local minister; the same one wanting to keep up appearances and so allows herself to be courted by a man (Joe Dawson). So, yeah, there are problems making this romance ‘work’.
Overall, though, the romance worked quite well. Despite certain things here and there, seemed to flow naturally.
Overall
One of my first, maybe first book updates noted how lovely the writing was in this book. For the most part that kept up throughout the book. Maybe not at whatever level it had to be to get me to actually make that comment initially, but still ‘lovely’.
I liked the book. It was an enjoyable read. Showed the frustrations of attempting to be a woman in the early 20th century, a lesbian, and a resident of a small rural county in the south. I’d recommend the book.
February 29 2016
February 28, 2016
This book set in 1939 is a most intriguing story. The two main women initially seem to be polar opposites and the unlikeliest pair of lovers one could imagine. However, their fascinating differences actually seem to enhance and stimulate them both, adding a magnificent form of tension and texture that I truly adored. The supporting cast is also very well crafted. They provide assistance and succor for the women as they grow closer in the most loving and intimate manner while on the surrounding multiple levels all hell breaks loose. This tremendously delightful and engaging tale is set primarily in Dawsonville, Georgia, a small town where most of the action takes place. It is a winner!
Lillian Royal Duval, who most definitely prefers to be called Royal, is a real eye-opening character. Since her father died, she has taken over his position in the family business, which happens to be under-the-radar liquor sale deliveries. Royal loves to drive fast and this talent is extremely helpful while transporting the late-night liquor orders. Royal is also a poet, and in the eyes of her new lover a writer with great talent who should be published. In addition to these two disparate talents is Royal's open preference for female lovers while she looks and dresses like a rough and ready guy. I totally love Royal for her intricate audacity, family loyalty, and wondrously provocative sensuousness as she breathtakingly wows her new inamorata. Royal gives a new look and feel to the phrase a treasure beyond measure. Glorious!
Lovey Porter is widowed and is now living with her father, Reverend Edwards, a new minister in town. Lovey kind of rescues Royal after Royal swerves to avoid her walking on the road late at night. Lovey is taken aback at her physical responses toward Royal. Not completely unaware that same-sex folks can be intimate, she simply has some difficulty getting her mind around her own attraction to Royal. Observing how Lovey deals with all manner of scenarios is incredibly charming, but the intensity of her captivation with Royal is exceptionally spicy and tantalizing. Lovey accentuates both the intellectual and carnal connections with Royal, displaying an impressive foundation for a possible long-lasting relationship. Lovey is a triumphant counterpart to Royal so they clearly appeared to me to be the *real thing*. Sublime!
I heartily recommend this book for the experiences presented and the levels of partnership captured. Bravo!
NOTE: This book was provided by Bold Strokes Books for the purpose of a review on Rainbow Book Reviews.
Lillian Royal Duval, who most definitely prefers to be called Royal, is a real eye-opening character. Since her father died, she has taken over his position in the family business, which happens to be under-the-radar liquor sale deliveries. Royal loves to drive fast and this talent is extremely helpful while transporting the late-night liquor orders. Royal is also a poet, and in the eyes of her new lover a writer with great talent who should be published. In addition to these two disparate talents is Royal's open preference for female lovers while she looks and dresses like a rough and ready guy. I totally love Royal for her intricate audacity, family loyalty, and wondrously provocative sensuousness as she breathtakingly wows her new inamorata. Royal gives a new look and feel to the phrase a treasure beyond measure. Glorious!
Lovey Porter is widowed and is now living with her father, Reverend Edwards, a new minister in town. Lovey kind of rescues Royal after Royal swerves to avoid her walking on the road late at night. Lovey is taken aback at her physical responses toward Royal. Not completely unaware that same-sex folks can be intimate, she simply has some difficulty getting her mind around her own attraction to Royal. Observing how Lovey deals with all manner of scenarios is incredibly charming, but the intensity of her captivation with Royal is exceptionally spicy and tantalizing. Lovey accentuates both the intellectual and carnal connections with Royal, displaying an impressive foundation for a possible long-lasting relationship. Lovey is a triumphant counterpart to Royal so they clearly appeared to me to be the *real thing*. Sublime!
I heartily recommend this book for the experiences presented and the levels of partnership captured. Bravo!
NOTE: This book was provided by Bold Strokes Books for the purpose of a review on Rainbow Book Reviews.
January 26, 2016
If possible, I would have given this book six stars because it's exactly the type of story that lights my match, tugs my heart strings, and ... well, calls to my hopeless romantic side. This is one of the sweetest tale I've read lately, checking every box on my list of "re-read shelf" requirements:
1) The author seamlessly wisks you to a historic setting without that feeling that you're sitting through a history lecture (the reason that genre doesn't top my list).
2)The characters are deep and well fleshed without being tiresomely self-involved - essential for a great romance.
3)The plot is tight and moves along at a good pace that keeps you turning pages.
While Royal seems to be a courageous butch who has taken all the chances and ignored convention, her vulnerability when she loses her heart to Lovey is so endearing you just want to crawl in the book and to give her a hug and a "bless your heart."
Full disclosure: I beta-read this manuscript for the author, who is a friend. But when I received a paperback copy from her in the mail last night and began to thumb through it, I found myself sucked right back into the story again and staying up until the wee morning hours to revisit two characters I'd really missed while they wound their way through the editing and printing process. Missouri Vaun is the pen for a woman who is no stranger to story telling, but still a novice to novel writing two years ago. In a very short time, she's matured as a writer into one of my favorite novelists. Give "Whiskey Sunrise" a chance if you're a fan of the romance genre. I'm betting Missouri Vaun will move up to your "favorites" list, too.
1) The author seamlessly wisks you to a historic setting without that feeling that you're sitting through a history lecture (the reason that genre doesn't top my list).
2)The characters are deep and well fleshed without being tiresomely self-involved - essential for a great romance.
3)The plot is tight and moves along at a good pace that keeps you turning pages.
While Royal seems to be a courageous butch who has taken all the chances and ignored convention, her vulnerability when she loses her heart to Lovey is so endearing you just want to crawl in the book and to give her a hug and a "bless your heart."
Full disclosure: I beta-read this manuscript for the author, who is a friend. But when I received a paperback copy from her in the mail last night and began to thumb through it, I found myself sucked right back into the story again and staying up until the wee morning hours to revisit two characters I'd really missed while they wound their way through the editing and printing process. Missouri Vaun is the pen for a woman who is no stranger to story telling, but still a novice to novel writing two years ago. In a very short time, she's matured as a writer into one of my favorite novelists. Give "Whiskey Sunrise" a chance if you're a fan of the romance genre. I'm betting Missouri Vaun will move up to your "favorites" list, too.
January 2, 2018
I try to avoid lesbian novels set prior to 1960 because I'm sure that no happy ending is feasible: someone will die, be assaulted or live in unrequited love ever after. Thank goodness for the romance genre. Whiskey Sunrise is a beautiful read, from its setting to its characters, to its storyline. Lovey Porter has returned home to her father's house after the death of her husband a year before. One dark night Royal Duval nearly runs her over while testing out a new route for moonshine deliveries. Both Lovey and Royal are powerful characters, well-described with lots of depth to them.
This is well worth reading and I'm looking forward to more by Missouri Vaun.
This is well worth reading and I'm looking forward to more by Missouri Vaun.
February 22, 2019
Sometimes love has a lot to say about the future and decisions you will make. In this case, it was a lovely story of two people who found each other in the most natural ways. Even though the set takes place in the times where this kind of love is seen as unnatural, they made it.
January 10, 2018
2.5 stars. This one was hard for me to rate because I find Vaun’s writing enjoyable and her characters engaging, but this book never grew into what it could be. Like in All Things Rise, Vaun has placed her characters in a unique premise, one where just the environment could drive many interesting plot points. But again like All Things Rise, the writing is much more focused on the relationship between the two characters rather than everything that’s going on around them. I’m all for the romance (I do read the romance genre extensively), and I’m all for romances taking place in a variety of settings, but if you hit on a really engaging one and that setting is under utilized, the reader will feel something is lacking no matter how good the romance is.
I also struggled a bit with how inconsistent the writing was in terms of representing the time period. This is set in Georgia in 1939. A relationship between two women at that time would have been met with rampant disapproval. Vaun doesn’t reflect that, instead showing most other characters as understanding and accepting, and only using homophobia on rare occasion as a plot point, and even then it’s not well developed. I think a story set at this time can be believable without expressing the homophobia of the era, but the inconsistent way it’s dealt with here just ends up making the story lack credibility.
To me this book hinted at Fried Green Tomatoes, with ghosts of Idgie and Ruth clinging to Royal and Lovey, but the problems I’ve described in the writing kept this from realizing that potential and it ended up feeling disappointing. I’m still looking forward to reading more by Vaun, though.
I also struggled a bit with how inconsistent the writing was in terms of representing the time period. This is set in Georgia in 1939. A relationship between two women at that time would have been met with rampant disapproval. Vaun doesn’t reflect that, instead showing most other characters as understanding and accepting, and only using homophobia on rare occasion as a plot point, and even then it’s not well developed. I think a story set at this time can be believable without expressing the homophobia of the era, but the inconsistent way it’s dealt with here just ends up making the story lack credibility.
To me this book hinted at Fried Green Tomatoes, with ghosts of Idgie and Ruth clinging to Royal and Lovey, but the problems I’ve described in the writing kept this from realizing that potential and it ended up feeling disappointing. I’m still looking forward to reading more by Vaun, though.
April 20, 2021
3.5. This was a good read. The romance started much faster than I thought it would, but I wouldn’t call it instalove. The pace was good; events move along at the kind of smooth and steady speed that marks seasoned writing. The plot and characters were interesting. In particular, I really liked Royal. My heart ached for her at different points in the story, so I suppose that’s a sign that the author successfully emotionally engaged me.
Really, the setting and premise was what attracted me to the story. I haven’t read any lesfic books set in backwoods America during the late 1930s, let alone any centered around the illicit moonshine trade. Historically-speaking, almost nothing stuck out to me as a blatant anachronism, and the author created a very charming atmosphere.
I say “almost” because I felt elements of the ending were a little hard to believe. The idea that two women could live openly in a romantic relationship, one of them even entrusted with being a schoolteacher, in that era, raised my eyebrows. Not that lesbians living openly didn’t happen, but you paid a heavy toll of ostracism back in the day for being openly homosexual. I just can’t picture things panning out as idyllically as the happy couple hope for in the end.
Overall, I’m glad I gave this book a read. It was interesting and engaging, and something a little different to shake up my reading life.
Really, the setting and premise was what attracted me to the story. I haven’t read any lesfic books set in backwoods America during the late 1930s, let alone any centered around the illicit moonshine trade. Historically-speaking, almost nothing stuck out to me as a blatant anachronism, and the author created a very charming atmosphere.
I say “almost” because I felt elements of the ending were a little hard to believe. The idea that two women could live openly in a romantic relationship, one of them even entrusted with being a schoolteacher, in that era, raised my eyebrows. Not that lesbians living openly didn’t happen, but you paid a heavy toll of ostracism back in the day for being openly homosexual. I just can’t picture things panning out as idyllically as the happy couple hope for in the end.
Overall, I’m glad I gave this book a read. It was interesting and engaging, and something a little different to shake up my reading life.
March 18, 2019
I've been on a lesbian fiction binge for the past couple months, and I am grateful that I added "Whiskey Sunrise" to the lineup. This was my first Missouri Vaun book, and I'm thrilled because now I have a new author to obsessively read. The writing was beautiful, the images rich as they played out in my head, and the characters felt as real as I do. I enjoyed it so much that I read it all in one day, like a happy gay hermit. Thank you for that, Missouri Vaun. You got yourself another new fan.
November 6, 2024
Why 5 Stars? Well, this is exactly the kind of romance I'm looking for- a tender, suspenseful, butch/femme lesbian love story with plenty of twists and turns.
Oh, and don't get me started with that Royal Duval! Ooh, what a heart throb!
Oh, and don't get me started with that Royal Duval! Ooh, what a heart throb!
December 2, 2017
Really. Good. Book.
This is an amazing read. It completely sucked me in, like The Never Ending Story. I was completely lost in this story, like I was floating 6 feet above the the characters witnessing every moment. And then something would happen around me, and I would come back to my body and take a deep breath as if it was my first breath in hours.
"This, what we're doing, it isn't real, Royal." - oh, this line cut me straight through because I have actually heard it, and it nearly destroyed me.
It happened so fast. Royal and Lovey became very dear friends so fast and I miss them so much!
This is an amazing read. It completely sucked me in, like The Never Ending Story. I was completely lost in this story, like I was floating 6 feet above the the characters witnessing every moment. And then something would happen around me, and I would come back to my body and take a deep breath as if it was my first breath in hours.
"This, what we're doing, it isn't real, Royal." - oh, this line cut me straight through because I have actually heard it, and it nearly destroyed me.
It happened so fast. Royal and Lovey became very dear friends so fast and I miss them so much!
August 30, 2021
Loved loved LOVED this one!!
A sapphic historical set in 1939, this book is so fun! We don't often see sapphic historicals, and even rarer do we see historicals set int he 1930s and 40s, but this one hit the mark for me. It is so full of joy and love and desire. It's a romance between a bootlegger and the recently widowed daughter of the local vicar. There's angst and conflict, but the most prevailing element in this one is swoon. I loved the depiction of the reality of the lives of lesbians in American history. Royal, for example, is a butch woman who lives her life fully and openly. It's sexy and romantic and captivating. If you like sapphic historicals, don't sleep on Bold Strokes' historicals.
CW: Gun violence, death
A sapphic historical set in 1939, this book is so fun! We don't often see sapphic historicals, and even rarer do we see historicals set int he 1930s and 40s, but this one hit the mark for me. It is so full of joy and love and desire. It's a romance between a bootlegger and the recently widowed daughter of the local vicar. There's angst and conflict, but the most prevailing element in this one is swoon. I loved the depiction of the reality of the lives of lesbians in American history. Royal, for example, is a butch woman who lives her life fully and openly. It's sexy and romantic and captivating. If you like sapphic historicals, don't sleep on Bold Strokes' historicals.
CW: Gun violence, death
August 24, 2021
Characters - Royal and Lovey: I liked the characters and their development throughout the novel. Their relationship felt real and authentic to read. Both are in their 20s and start off as what appears to be polar opposites (a bootlegger and a minister’s daughter).
Voice, prose, pacing: this is not the first book I have read by Vaun and I generally like her style of writing. She keeps me interested and entertained and I don’t start to get frustrated with the style.
Plot: I appreciate novels with more plot than just the relationship and this had the added element of bootlegging. There wasn’t anything too contrived and I enjoyed the emotions tied in.
Setting, story: I tend to be more critical of historical novels, but this is outside my area of knowledge in the 1930s American south. I felt enough immersed in the version of the past that Vaun has created and ended up enjoying the 1930s setting and personality of the town.
Voice, prose, pacing: this is not the first book I have read by Vaun and I generally like her style of writing. She keeps me interested and entertained and I don’t start to get frustrated with the style.
Plot: I appreciate novels with more plot than just the relationship and this had the added element of bootlegging. There wasn’t anything too contrived and I enjoyed the emotions tied in.
Setting, story: I tend to be more critical of historical novels, but this is outside my area of knowledge in the 1930s American south. I felt enough immersed in the version of the past that Vaun has created and ended up enjoying the 1930s setting and personality of the town.
April 10, 2016
It is a classic lesbian love story set in the 1930s. There were no surprises in the book, but it was a nice read. The book started out slow and didn't intriguing me much. But after a while it picked up and I did enjoy it. There was a few issues. For a woman formerly married to a man I found it sort of strange that Lovey kissed a woman the second time she met this woman, and I thought their relationship moved very fast for two woman in the 1930s.
A nice book and the writing was god. So I rounded the book up to 4 stars.
A nice book and the writing was god. So I rounded the book up to 4 stars.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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February 10, 2016This novel has such a nice combination of hilarious scenes, romance, social issues, and complications. The way the main characters met hooked me, and the way they saw each other next is so comic and sweet. I really like the complexities of the characters, too. Fans of tomboys and Fried Green Tomatoes should take a look.
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