Notes on Whiskey & Ribbons by Leesa Cross-Smith

Warning: *spoiler alert*

Double warning: This is a boring review, because this was a boring book.

This book was a cliche, not an unpleasant one, but a flat one that was easy to read and was more or less enjoyable. From Evi being a professional ballerina to Dalton being a wildly-talented sometimes-professional piano player to Eamon being killed in the line of duty one week before he said he would leave the force to the “rainbow weather” to The Pact... there was nothing truly original here nor did anything original develop. Bland.

I feel that Leesa Cross-Smith poured her own personal life and tastes onto these pages but in a way I found unoriginal. Before reading her bio, I could tell she was a Christian, I could tell she was from Kentucky, I could tell she loved whiskey, I can even go as far as to assume her views on porn, masturbation, premarital sex, and her favorite foods based on this text. I can’t decide if I find this charming or uncreative -- I’m leaning towards the latter. Awkward.

While this wasn’t a religious text, the religious overtones were unnecessary and simply not my style. This spirituality didn’t do anything to change how the characters behave or live their lives apart from going to church on Sundays. Typical.

There were stereotypical gender roles sprinkled throughout, even the title is simply a metaphor for Men & Women. I don’t know about you, but I would rather be described as a hard alcohol than a flimsy and shiny piece of delicate, decorative fabric. Traditional.

I think it’s difficult for any author to tell as story from a gender that they don’t identify with, and I never believed for a moment that Eamon’s or Dalton’s chapters were written by men. Adding, “I jacked off” or “she’s a goose” or “I want to bang her” does not make me believe a dude is speaking. Dalton and Eamon were reduced to male stereotypes which was just bothersome by the end, especially since Evi was too pure to watch porn herself. Conservative.

The writing was nice. Just nice. It was poetic and rolled well off my mental tongue. The plot was super slow. At some points I didn’t know what I was waiting for. To be honest, I’m not really sure what the plot was even at this point since Eamon dies in the introduction. I suppose it’s just “Evi copes with loss” which isn’t much to keep one reading. Plain.

Generally speaking, though I didn’t particularly enjoy this book, I think it would be a great read for those who are grieving, especially those who are grieving over the loss of a significant other. Helpful.

On the bright side, this book easily passes the Bechdel Test. Hooray.