Review of "Lilies of the Bowery" by Lily R. Mason

Page Count: 254 Pages

Publish Date: February 14th, 2015

Genre: Historical Fiction/LGBT

Synopsis: After an arduous voyage from Napoli in the summer of 1914, eighteen-year-old Joan Passerini arrives in New York City with her mother and brother in hopes of building a better life. Finding neither the milk or honey America had promised, Joan is quickly disenchanted with the city; the heat and noise and poverty are oppressive, and her father, who journeyed ahead to find work and accomodations is nowhere to be found. Tucked into a disorganized laundry, Joan meets an unlikely companion named Paloma Morello who is as secretive as she is beautiful. As Joan develops an intense attraction to her, she discovers that though things aren't always as they seem, all love is sanctuary.

Review: In Lilies of the Bowery, Mason tells the story of disabled main character Joan Passerini as her family journeys from Italy to New York City. With lush descriptions of New York as a backdrop, Joan Passerini's story of immigrant life in New York unfolds. While I usually do not read historical fiction, the idea of a lesbian romance in a historical context was interesting and I'm so glad that I decided to read this.

Joan and her love interest Paloma Morello are both realistic and well developed characters. Joan is not defined by the fact that she is disabled and it's refreshing to hear the story of a character who faces unique challenges. Paloma is much more mysterious and, while I had suspicions about her secrets, you don't find them out until the very end of the book. The mystery of Paloma kept me reading for several hours straight.

As for the love story between Joan and Paloma, it's probably my favorite part of this book after the amazing descriptions. It's so sweet to watch Joan's feelings for Paloma develop especially because she has no idea about what they really are initially.


(Me anytime Joan talked about her feelings for Paloma)

I would highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a lesbian romance with a happy ending since those can be hard to find. Lilies of the Bowery is a beautiful romance.

Rating: 5 STARS.