Lake County

Addie Anne Buckley is desperate to leave Hockta Florida and follow in the footsteps of her Aunt Norma Jean, who the world knows as Marilyn Monroe. Marilyn offers Addie a trip to Hollywood for her 18^th birthday and Addie sees this as the opportunity of a lifetime to finally get out of Florida. Truitt Holt, Addies boyfriend and first love, gives Addie an ultimatum. Marry him or they’re through. Addie chooses her dream which devastates them both. Truitt is involved in the bolita game and has come across the mob. Truitt does something to a mob boss’s nephew and now he, Addie and everyone they both know is in danger.

Writing, Story & Characters

The writing is descriptive, and I liked that Addie was telling her story from her point of view. It did feel a bit off that the other characters were not telling their story from their perspective. I can picture Florida in the 1950s with the old-time cars, the beautiful dresses that women wore. The mob was interesting too.  I also liked that Marilyn Monroe was a character in this book. It’s nice that she had gotten a different ending than what she had in real life. Whether she would have chosen that in real life? I don’t think so. It’s nice to wonder what if sometimes though. I liked Addie, Wiley & her parents & brother. Truitt was not my favorite character, at least he changed in the end, but I felt that things between him & Addie were tied up too neatly considering the fact a lot of what happened was his fault and he gave her an ultimatum.

Overall

Overall, it’s a fun read. If you enjoy stories that take place in the 1950s in Florida with the mob and Marilyn Monroe showing up, then I recommend this novel. It’s fast paced, and you do want to know what happens next. Lake County by Lori Roy came out on June 1^st and is available to buy now.