Review: Lilies in Moonlight by Allison Pittman

Lilies in Moonlight

by Allison Pittman

Lilly Margolis is like many young women in 1925; she longs for fun and excitement. One of the first girls in her small hometown in Pennsylvania to cut her hair in the iconic shingled bob and wear bright red lipstick and kohl around her eyes, she and her ultra conservative mother do not get along. So she left home and traveled from “friend” to “friend” across the country until she ran out of road. Now in Pensacola, Florida, she works as a salesgirl for Dalliance Cosmetics. She peddles expensive lotions, perfumes, and make-up items to women of all social classes. But her fast life is beginning to catch up with her.

Cullen Burnside has been in a funk ever since he came home from WWI. Before the war, he had great dreams of being a baseball star. Yet now he can hardly bear for people to see the scars on his face and arms. He mainly stays at home with his senile mother and runs his late father’s business. When a flapper winds up in his mother’s flower bed in the backyard after a big party at his neighbor Bill Owens’, his mother insists the girl with them. She brings a breath of fresh air to the stately home and quickly endears herself to all, save for their strict housemaid. Yet Cullen isn’t sure at all that having this young woman living with them is a good thing.

This book was so much fun. I loved it from beginning to end. I love the 1920s, and it’s so good to see it covered in Christian fiction. I loved reading about the fashions and dances and music, but the characters are what made the story. I really liked all of the main characters- Lilly was a blast, Cullen was a serious, but good hero, and his mother Betty Ruth was just a delight to read about. I liked the fast and fun pace of the writing. Both Lilly and Cullen had gone through sad trials in their life, but the story was balanced between their grief and the hopeful future ahead. From Lilly’s arrival at the mansion to her getting to know Cullen and Betty Ruth and them traveling across the country together; the whole story was good. The book was just a blast to read.

For those looking for a fun Christian historical novel, I would definitely recommend this book.

I give this book 5 out of 5 stars.