Queenie's Place by Toni Morgan
Publication Date: December 6, 2018
Adelaide Books Publishers
Paperback & eBook; 302 pages
Genre: Historical Fiction
Queenie's Place, set in rural North Carolina in the early seventies, is the story of an unusual sisterhood between a thirty-something white woman from California and a fifty-something black woman from the south. From the moment Doreen Donavan sees the “Welcome to Klan Country” sign outside Goldsboro, North Carolina is one culture shock after another. She thinks the women she meets on the military base, where she and her family now live, are the dullest, stuffiest, most stuck-up women she’s ever run across, and frankly, they don’t think much of her either. She’s hot, miserable, and bored. Then one day, BAM, her car tire goes flat, right in front of a roadhouse outside the town of Richland, near where MCB Camp Puller is located. Inside, Queenie is holding forth at the piano. The place is jumping. Besides the music, there’s dancing and the best barbecue in North Carolina. Doreen’s husband, Tom arrives and must practically peel her out of the place. Queenie doesn’t expect to see Doreen again, but Doreen comes back and their unlikely friendship begins. Without warning, Queenie’s place is closed, the women accused of prostitution and bootlegging. A born crusader (she cut her teeth demonstrating against the Vietnam War—yes, even with her husband over there), Doreen quickly dons her armor and saddles up. Things don’t go quite as planned.
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Review
⭐⭐⭐⭐
"Marine Corps Wife for Peace"
Doreen Donavan isn't afraid to stand up for what she thinks is right and protesting the Vietnam War even when her own husband is over there fighting is something she is passionate about despite the criticism she receives for doing so.
When her husband returns from war they are relocated to the military base in Camp Puller, North Carolina. Moving from California Doreen is in for a shock when she sees a Klan sign in her new neighborhood. She's horrified at seeing such hate. She happens upon Queenie's Place one day when her car tire goes flat and that is the start of Doreen and Queenie's friendship. Although they are from completely different backgrounds and racial tensions are high around them, the two women quickly bond and establish a relationship of love and trust. When Queenie's Place is being threatened to shut down and her and her family are in physical danger, Doreen knows she has to do all that she can to try and help Queenie, despite the danger involved and possibly hurting her marriage as Doreen takes on the local officials.
I really loved Doreen and Queenie - both women were smart, strong, and resilient. There are also some fabulous secondary characters, especially Doreen's son.
Toni Morgan's writing is excellent and the plot moved deftly. Queenie's Place is an important and entertaining read that I highly recommend!
Review at Passages to the Past
Tuesday, March 16
Review at Pursuing Stacie
Wednesday, March 17
Interview at Passages to the Past
Friday, March 19
Feature at View from the Birdhouse
Saturday, March 20
Review at Rajiv's Reviews
Monday, March 22
Excerpt at Bookworlder
Wednesday, March 24
Review at YA, It's Lit
Friday, March 26
Guest Post at Novels Alive
Saturday, March 27
Review at Reading is My Remedy
Sunday, March 28
Interview at Reader_ceygo
Monday, March 29
Review at Reader_ceygo
Wednesday, March 31
Interview at Jathan & Heather
Thursday, April 1
Review at American Historical Novels Book Club
Friday, April 2
Excerpt at Coffee and Ink
The giveaway is open to the US only and ends on April 2nd. You must be 18 or older to enter.
Queenie's Place
"Marine Corps Wife for Peace"
Doreen Donavan isn't afraid to stand up for what she thinks is right and protesting the Vietnam War even when her own husband is over there fighting is something she is passionate about despite the criticism she receives for doing so.
When her husband returns from war they are relocated to the military base in Camp Puller, North Carolina. Moving from California Doreen is in for a shock when she sees a Klan sign in her new neighborhood. She's horrified at seeing such hate. She happens upon Queenie's Place one day when her car tire goes flat and that is the start of Doreen and Queenie's friendship. Although they are from completely different backgrounds and racial tensions are high around them, the two women quickly bond and establish a relationship of love and trust. When Queenie's Place is being threatened to shut down and her and her family are in physical danger, Doreen knows she has to do all that she can to try and help Queenie, despite the danger involved and possibly hurting her marriage as Doreen takes on the local officials.
I really loved Doreen and Queenie - both women were smart, strong, and resilient. There are also some fabulous secondary characters, especially Doreen's son.
Toni Morgan's writing is excellent and the plot moved deftly. Queenie's Place is an important and entertaining read that I highly recommend!
About the Author
A longtime military spouse, TONI MORGAN has lived in many parts of the US and also for nearly four years in rural Japan. There she had the good fortune to work part-time in a Japanese pottery factory. That rich experience led to the first in her WWII trilogy ECHOES FROM A FALLING BRIDGE, which gives a unique view of life in rural Japan during the war. Second in the trilogy is HARVEST THE WIND, partially set in a Japanese internment camp in Idaho's Magic Valley. The third in the series is LOTUS BLOSSOM UNFURLING, which continues the saga after the war ends. She also wrote PATRIMONY, and TWO-HEARTED CROSSING, companion books set in Montreal Quebec Canada during the Quebec Separatist Movement and 20 years later, in northern Idaho. Her novel QUEENIE'S PLACE is a 2019 National Book Award in Literature nominee. Her short stories have appeared in various literary magazines and journals, and her short story "Tin Soldier" was included in MOORING AGAINST THE TIDE, a creative fiction and poetry textbook published by Prentice Hall. Her most recent release is BETWEEN LOVE AND HATE, a collection of short stories, including Pushcart Prize nominee "The House on East Orange Street" and the aforementioned "Tin Soldier."
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Blog Tour Schedule
Monday, March 15Review at Passages to the Past
Tuesday, March 16
Review at Pursuing Stacie
Wednesday, March 17
Interview at Passages to the Past
Friday, March 19
Feature at View from the Birdhouse
Saturday, March 20
Review at Rajiv's Reviews
Monday, March 22
Excerpt at Bookworlder
Wednesday, March 24
Review at YA, It's Lit
Friday, March 26
Guest Post at Novels Alive
Saturday, March 27
Review at Reading is My Remedy
Sunday, March 28
Interview at Reader_ceygo
Monday, March 29
Review at Reader_ceygo
Wednesday, March 31
Interview at Jathan & Heather
Thursday, April 1
Review at American Historical Novels Book Club
Friday, April 2
Excerpt at Coffee and Ink
Giveaway
Enter to win a set of signed paperback copies of Toni Morgan's WWII Trilogy!The giveaway is open to the US only and ends on April 2nd. You must be 18 or older to enter.
Queenie's Place
