Review by heatherk94 -- Life Before by K.L. Romo

[heatherk94]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Life Before" by K.L. Romo.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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Life Before is a riveting novel that tells the story of a middle aged empty-nester who suddenly finds herself able to connect with one of her past lives, through space and time. In this book, we meet Elaine Grace Dearborn of Dallas, Texas, who is trying to find herself and her purpose now that her children have all gone off to college. As she struggles to find her passion, one day she finds herself transported through modern technology and wakes up in 1907 Dallas. Here she lives out the day to day life of reformed prostitute, Eliza Genevieve Darling. As these trips continue, Elaine begins to delve deeper into the underground world of sex work that pervaded her city a mere two generations earlier, and it makes her wonder, is it still going on today?

I give this book a rating of 4 out of 4 stars. I chose this rating because the book overall was incredibly insightful, emotionally moving, and suspenseful. I, personally, sometimes find it hard to get through character introductions in novels, as they tend to drag. However, that was not the case at all with Life Before. As each new character was introduced, I was hungry to learn more about them, especially because K.L. Romo did such a wonderful job of intricately weaving each character’s story line together, all leading to a thrilling collision of their lives at the climax of the novel.

One of my favorite parts of this novel is the way that the sex workers are portrayed so honestly. Each one is written with such depth, that you cannot help but hold a place for them in your heart. These girls have compassion, wit, and intelligence, yet they all have their own unique shortcomings that make them feel so genuinely human. Across every class of prostitute in the city, be it in the fancy parlor houses, or the dirty and run down tenement houses, you witness the poison and evil that plagues the industry, exploiting and dehumanizing these women and girls, whether they entered the trade by choice or by force.

There is not much I can say at all that I didn’t like about this novel. One thing that did stand out was the description of forced prostitution as “white slavery”, since it was mentioned rather specifically that most of the white prostitutes in this time were prostitutes by choice, and the ones who were forced into it were more often women of color. It seemed a little disenfranchising towards people of color, who were still the ones being forced into a form of slavery. I probably would give a 3.5 out of 4 stars for this reason if I could. I only noticed one very slight typo in this book, so overall it seemed like a very professional editing job.

If you are a fan of historical fiction, I would highly recommend this novel. It will challenge your view of “working girls”, and leave your heart aching for the artfully written characters. Life Before definitely left me wanting more!

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Life Before
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Like heatherk94's review? Post a comment saying so!

[Gbemisola]

Thanks for the great review, it has made me interested in reading this book. I will appreciate the insight on the lives of the 'working girls' (as you put it) that this book will give. And yes, I will want my view of them challenged as well.

[readandsmile]

I like your review but I don't like the book. That book seems not appealing to me. And, I wanted to see more of your future review. Awesome.!