Reviews for In the face of the sun

Book list
From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.

Hotel Somerville is the place for the famous and wealthy elite of the Black community to gather in Los Angeles in 1928. Daisy Washington is a chambermaid there but aims to be a journalist one day. For now, her position in the hotel gives her access to rumors that she passes along to a gossip columnist for cash. With the money from both her jobs, Daisy hopes to get help for her sick mother, but her life is changed when she meets a handsome guest. Forty years later, Daisy comes to the rescue of her niece Frankie, pregnant and fleeing her abusive husband. Together they travel from Chicago to Los Angeles, with one seeking a new start and one seeking revenge. Like she did in her previous novel (Wild Women and the Blues, 2021), Bryce excels at placing readers in a glamorous time and place. Her 1928 LA is riveting and vibrant. Still, it is difficult to see how the Daisy of 1928 became the Daisy of 1968. Recommended for historical-fiction readers who like to get lost in a time and place.

Back