A Mini Book Review of Easy Does It by Brooke St. James | A Vintage 1960's Novel About Young Love and Perserverance
*I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book from the author. All thoughts are my own and I was not required to post a positive review. Also, this blog post includes affiliate links. You can view my affiliate disclaimer here.
Easy Does It Synopsis:
I always wanted to live at the beach. It had been my dream since I was a little girl. I longed to experience the sand and sea. My heart's desire was to become a famous artist who painted scenes with palm trees and blue waters.Finally, I was moving to a coastal town. It was only three hours from where I grew up, but it might as well have been paradise with how excited I was. My sister was coming with me, except she didn't care about painting palm trees and beach scenes. She was only in it for the shirtless guys.Abigail and I packed our bags and headed south to Galveston Island where we'd stay for the summer. In the fall she would return to college, but if I liked Galveston enough I would stay. From the moment I got off the ferry I was sure this island would be my new home. I knew I had finally found my muse. What I didn't know was that I would also find my soulmate.
Easy Does It by Brooke St. James is the first of nine full-length novels and one Christmas-themed novella (book 2.5) in her popular, multi-generational romance series, the Bank Street Stories. Easy Does It introduces readers to Tess Cohen, a 23-year-old aspiring artist with dreams of painting beach scenes. She longed to leave the small town of Starks, Louisiana, and head for California to make a go of it as an artist. Instead, she compromised with her parents and decided to spend the summer of 1968 on Galveston Island with her younger sister, Abigail.
Once the extended summer vacation ends, Abigail would return to college in the fall and Tess would finally settle down for good in Starks. But then a chance encounter with ‘Easy’ Billy Castro changed everything.
Billy had a troubled past and was orphaned at the age of 16. No stranger to conflict, he’d been using his natural talent for fighting to scrape together a living collecting debts for a local gambling organization. When boxing legend Marvin Jones finds out Billy has roughed up one of his fighters, he presents him with an opportunity to turn his life around. Thankfully, Tess also sees his potential, and the love that grows between them that summer will only serve as a catalyst for his drive to become a world champion boxer.
MY REVIEW: ★★/5
Brooke St. James is a new to me author and this was the first story of hers that I have read. Easy Does It had all the makings of a sweet, clean romance between two young people. Set in the late 1960’s in the oceanfront setting of Galveston, Texas this story unfolds as a 23 year old, aspiring artist moves to the then small town and meets a boxer, “Easy” Billy Castro, a young man with a broken past. There were some sweet undertones that I liked about this story as well as a very inspiring elements to fight strong.
Highlights:
Small, oceanfront town (Galveston, TX)
Late 1960’s era
Underdog rising to the top
Boxing and Young Love
Part of a series, reads as a standalone
What I liked:
This story was sweet, clean and very mild. I enjoyed rooting for the Tess and Billy’s new and young love as well as Billy’s blossoming career in boxing. I enjoyed the bond between Tess and her sister Abigail. I also loved that they were figuring out a little bit about where their lives were headed. Billy’s character was the strongest for me and I did find myself drawn to him. Boxing legend, Marvin Jones, was another notable character who was truly inspiring and had some of the greatest lines in this novel regarding working hard, overcoming and persevering. The setting was pleasant and I found the author did a lovely job of bringing the late 60’s to life with notable mentions of vehicles, music and phrases.
Additional Thoughts:
As much as I wanted to love this story, it fell flat for me. It lacked any conflict and was anti-climatic. It was a love story, but nothing else. I had wanted to see character growth and more dimension or conflict, perhaps a big event that conspired against the couple or some sort of tension but didn’t find any. Lastly, I didn’t feel the modern cover (though an incredibly stunning couple) matched the vintage style or setting of the story which were significant aspects of this story.
Summary:
Overall, Easy Does It is a simple, clean, feel-good romance read. If you enjoy lighthearted books with a good underdog story, you might find this to be very enjoyable!
