In 1869, San Francisco saloon owner Cera Cassidy offers redemption to any woman looking for honest work. At Cera’s Place, men can get a decent hot meal with a whiskey, but if they want anything more, they have to take their desires elsewhere. One summer night, a distraught Chinese girl bursts through the swinging doors with a shocking tale of murder, kidnapping, and prostitution. Outraged, Cera vows to set things right.
Jake Tanner, a scarred ex-soldier haunted by the horrors of the Civil War, is on a mission to fulfill a friend’s dying wish. The trail has brought him to Cera’s door. Captivated by her Irish beauty, he wants to join her fight – but will she let him?
Jake Tanner, a scarred ex-soldier haunted by the horrors of the Civil War, is on a mission to fulfill a friend’s dying wish. The trail has brought him to Cera’s door. Captivated by her Irish beauty, he wants to join her fight – but will she let him?
Paperback, 270 pages
Published December 19th 2011 by CreateSpace (first published September 25th 2011)
***
Cera’s Place is historical romance with the story doing circles around Cera. Cera’s Place is a small saloon she runs in San Francisco. The novel’s main concept is Cera’s fight against prostitution, corruption and powerful people. On her way she somehow happens to meet an ex-captain and a war hero. Slowly a love story begins to pile up with a ongoing battle against the powerful authorities of the town in the background.
Once the love angle creeps in, it takes up the center stage. The love scenes hog all the attention up and it becomes a typical love story. Although the genre is labeled as historical romance, there is no hint of the old world charm that I expected it to have. Everything from the swearing, to the plot didn’t have that rustic vibe to it. The architecture of Cera’s Place though did seem to contribute a bit, but couldn’t do justice well enough.
The story line is just okay with no powerful writing to support it. The pick up of the story from the not so coincident looking fire tragedy and the killing with the bodies not being found was a nice idea just not executed well. The story loses tempo now and then. It is a thrilling page turner at times and at times as slow as a sloth. Too much exaggeration of the intimate scenes could have been avoided. But, again since romance too is an integral part of the story, it’s okay.
I understand that the story begins at Cera’s Place but that place doesn’t witness any important events excluding the fire incident in the beginning and Cera meeting Jake. The title even then is intriguing and somewhat explains everything.
Considering that the book is her first, let’s not be too harsh on her. There’s a lot of room for improvement and there’s a long way she’s gotta go. Moreover, do we ever stop learning?
3 on 5 from me.
0 comments:
Post a Comment