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Let It Shine
**Let It Shine originally appeared in The Brightest A Juneteenth Historical Romance Anthology. This version features the original story, as well as a bonus short story, No Valley Low.*** Sofronia Wallis knows that proper Black women don’t court trouble by upending the status quo, but it’s 1961 and the Civil Rights movement is in full swing. Sofie’s spent half her life being prim, proper, and reserved—as if that could bring her mother back—but the nonviolent protests happening across the South bring out her inner agitator. Ivan Friedman has devoted his life to boxing, loving the finesse of a well-delivered punch and the penance of receiving one. His family escaped from Europe before the horrors of WWII, and Ivan decides to help fight injustice in their new country, even if it goes against all his instincts as a fighter. When Ivan and Sofie meet, they realize that their pasts are intertwined and—with the sparks that fly between them—perhaps their futures will be too. With everything in their society lined up against them, will Sofie and Ivan be able to beat the odds? Or will their chance at love be destroyed by the tumultuous times they live in?
78 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 14, 2016
About the author
Alyssa Cole
42 books5,734 followersAlyssa Cole is an award-winning author of historical, contemporary, and sci-fi romance. Her Civil War-set espionage romance An Extraordinary Union was the RT Reviewers’ Choice Award’s Best Book of 2017 and the American Library Association’s RUSA Best Romance for 2018, and A Princess in Theory was one of the New York Times’ 100 Notable Books of 2018. She’s contributed to publications including Bustle, Shondaland, The Toast, Vulture, RT Book Reviews, and Heroes and Heartbreakers, and her books have received critical acclaim from The New York Times, Library Journal, BuzzFeed, Kirkus, Booklist, Jezebel, Vulture, Book Riot, Entertainment Weekly, and various other outlets. When she’s not working, she can usually be found watching anime or wrangling her pets.
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September 8, 2020
When I was in college I saw an excellent, excellent documentary on PBS called 'Eyes on The Prize' It was a multi-part look at the civil rights movement, starting with the murder of Emmit Till and hitting all the high points: Martin, Malcolm, Selma, 'I Have a Dream' speech, letters from Birmingham etc., right on through the assassinations of King, Kennedy, Kennedy and Malcolm.
But the one thing that stuck out for me were the episodes on SNCC - the Student Non-Violent Coordinating committee. I was in my comfy PWI, Division-A, student-centered research institution with an enrollment close to 25,000 students. And I was completely riveted by at the activism of these college students who were riding into danger, sitting at 'whites only' counters, and who had prepared wills because they knew they might not make it home. Since I was studying journalism at the time, I developed a girl crush Charlayne Hunter-Gault who was one of the first students to desegregate the Univ. of Georgia, her story is also told in the documentary.
This story is set in the same time focusing on one miss Sofronia Wallis who had let her own light dim a bit in the aftermath of her mother's untimely death. But Sofie is a woman with passions and convictions and she wants to be part of the movement.
So does Ivan Friedman, a white Jewish man who knew Sofie when they were children. IHe'd had a major crush on her but their life paths converged after that fateful day of her mother's death. Ivan also joins the movement and he and Sofie start up a new chapter in their relationship.
I liked this quite a bite mainly because it is a time and era and backdrop that romance novels don't like to visit. But it is a vibrant time and one that I'd like to see more often.
I very much like the characterization of Sofie who had repressed so much of herself. As you read you get the real sense of her true self needing to peek through and escape, very much like like light escaping through small crevices to shine bright.
I also liked the fact that Ivan was Jewish and that the author ably included pieces of that culture as well as Ivan's perspectives on the comparisons between Jim Crow and the conditions that existed when parents escaped from Europe right before WWII.
Th book had a nice dose of realism with scenes of the students drilling and learning how to take taunts, physical threats, an even punches and hits without reacting to violence as well as descriptions of them watching news reports of attacks on the Freedom Rider. But it is still a romance and Sofie and Ivan were sweet together.
I recommend. Also recommend the books the author cites at the end. Also "Eyes on the Prize" is a must see!
But the one thing that stuck out for me were the episodes on SNCC - the Student Non-Violent Coordinating committee. I was in my comfy PWI, Division-A, student-centered research institution with an enrollment close to 25,000 students. And I was completely riveted by at the activism of these college students who were riding into danger, sitting at 'whites only' counters, and who had prepared wills because they knew they might not make it home. Since I was studying journalism at the time, I developed a girl crush Charlayne Hunter-Gault who was one of the first students to desegregate the Univ. of Georgia, her story is also told in the documentary.
This story is set in the same time focusing on one miss Sofronia Wallis who had let her own light dim a bit in the aftermath of her mother's untimely death. But Sofie is a woman with passions and convictions and she wants to be part of the movement.
So does Ivan Friedman, a white Jewish man who knew Sofie when they were children. IHe'd had a major crush on her but their life paths converged after that fateful day of her mother's death. Ivan also joins the movement and he and Sofie start up a new chapter in their relationship.
I liked this quite a bite mainly because it is a time and era and backdrop that romance novels don't like to visit. But it is a vibrant time and one that I'd like to see more often.
I very much like the characterization of Sofie who had repressed so much of herself. As you read you get the real sense of her true self needing to peek through and escape, very much like like light escaping through small crevices to shine bright.
I also liked the fact that Ivan was Jewish and that the author ably included pieces of that culture as well as Ivan's perspectives on the comparisons between Jim Crow and the conditions that existed when parents escaped from Europe right before WWII.
Th book had a nice dose of realism with scenes of the students drilling and learning how to take taunts, physical threats, an even punches and hits without reacting to violence as well as descriptions of them watching news reports of attacks on the Freedom Rider. But it is still a romance and Sofie and Ivan were sweet together.
I recommend. Also recommend the books the author cites at the end. Also "Eyes on the Prize" is a must see!
July 7, 2020
*3.5 stars*
A timely read and an important romance novella, though I really wish it was longer so the couple got more page time to develop.
Novellas are hard to do well, but Alyssa Cole did the novella format justice with Let It Shine. I picked an incredibly relevant time to read this topical story of a romance between a Black woman and Jewish man set in the early 1960s. Whew, this book was tough to read at times, but it's such a powerful little story.
My only real gripe is that as a romance, it felt like it was on fast-forward, just zooming through to get to the end. I liked the multiple epilogues, but I really wanted more time with these two to see their romance progress. The historical aspects shined and really engaged me, but the romance was more lack-luster. Still, one of my favorites from Alyssa Cole, and I'd love to her to write more historical romances as she seems to have a knack for them.
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A timely read and an important romance novella, though I really wish it was longer so the couple got more page time to develop.
Novellas are hard to do well, but Alyssa Cole did the novella format justice with Let It Shine. I picked an incredibly relevant time to read this topical story of a romance between a Black woman and Jewish man set in the early 1960s. Whew, this book was tough to read at times, but it's such a powerful little story.
My only real gripe is that as a romance, it felt like it was on fast-forward, just zooming through to get to the end. I liked the multiple epilogues, but I really wanted more time with these two to see their romance progress. The historical aspects shined and really engaged me, but the romance was more lack-luster. Still, one of my favorites from Alyssa Cole, and I'd love to her to write more historical romances as she seems to have a knack for them.
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March 20, 2017
Cole is unapologetic in her depictions of racism in this novella. There are not many romance books I've seen that depict this era at all, and if they've done so, it's not been as accurately as I feel Cole has. Too many times, it ends up being whitewashed. I don't know if it's that they subconsciously make the decision to sugarcoat it, or if it's just something they choose to do because of their own history and guilt that makes them do it purposely. BUT, you will not find Cole pulling punches or sugarcoating anything here when it comes to the violence and the racism of the time.
"Of the time," I say. You know...there were a number of times I wanted to update my status with something racist that happened in the book and tack on something about the "racism/climate of the time," but that felt like a lie. The more I watch the news, the more I realize that there's really not that big of a difference between how black people (and other POC) were treated then versus how they're treated now. Now we just like to pretend that we're so ~progressive~ and accepting and totally not racist.
Are things really so different now?
Seriously...over and over again, Cole mentioned hateful acts black people (and their white supporters) were victim to, and I stopped every time and thought Well...that's not so different now. I just saw something like that on a news coverage...
This was a great book if you read it for the history, which I highly recommend.
If you're going to read it for the romance, however...well, it's not bad, really, but I feel like it could've been worked on a bit more. When I read Be Not Afraid by Cole, I thought it was too instalovey/lusty. In this case, I think that probably would have still been the case, but because it's kind of a second chance romance (they were friends as kids but haven't seen one another in eight years), so it doesn't feel as instalovey because they're not strangers. However, it still plays into a trope I don't like at all, and that's the pairing of an experienced hero with a virginal heroine. Sofronia mentions that she's kissed other guys and has "fumbled" around with some, but she's still a virgin (which is implied). She's also never felt any pleasure, at least that's what she pretty much says when Ivan gives her an orgasm.
Ivan, on the other hand, mentions that, although he's never stopped thinking of her in the eight years and has always looked for her, hoping they'd meet again, he's still been with other women. It's not detailed, but it's pretty much implied when it's said that "intimate encounters were nothing new for him; ladies liked a guy who could hit and punch and dominate in the ring." That's the only mention of his experience, so it might not bother some, but it's more that it bothered me because this is just another book with this type of pairing. (And I kept hoping that maybe, once they finally got together, he might say that he'd never actually been with anyone else, but it's not, so I took him at this earlier word of his and marked him off as experienced.)
Oh, and because Ivan says to Sofronia that "[he'd] never stopped thinking of [her]" and had "always kept an eye out for [her], hoping one day [they]'d see each other." And if they met again, he'd know for sure that he was either wrong and finally move on, or know he was right that something could happen between them. And, like...with the mention earlier of how he's no stranger to intimate encounters with other women...well, he's moved on. Maybe not emotionally, but he did physically. And his words would've rung true to me if he'd actually WAITED for her.
This was what kept me from giving it five stars.
The other reason why I don't think you should read it for the romance is, because while it was sweet and there totally wasn't romance, it did feel secondary to the Civil Rights activism. And don't get me wrong, I totally loved that the author didn't push that to the back burner to concentrate on the romance, but it's just a warning there. There isn't even really a consummation scene and it's told in flashbacks the day after. And the only ILYs come in the second epilogue, and that's only from Ivan.
Oh, and this is one of the few books that I actually TRULY believe in the HEA because the author wrote an epilogue that happens three years later. That was fine. Then there was ANOTHER epilogue set nine years after that epilogue, and it showed them coming together and working on them after a rough patch (miscarriage). Ivan says they'd grown distant and things had started to change, but I loved that the author included that because usually books don't show you what happens well after the book closes, with the epilogues usually set a few months later with a sugary-sweet HEA. Those HEAs aren't bad, but I liked that the author showed them working on their marriage after a rough patch.
ANYWAY. Again, I highly recommend reading this book. Although I rec not reading it simply for the romance, it was still super sweet and the two paired off well together. The Civil Rights aspect of this book is what really makes it a standout.
"Of the time," I say. You know...there were a number of times I wanted to update my status with something racist that happened in the book and tack on something about the "racism/climate of the time," but that felt like a lie. The more I watch the news, the more I realize that there's really not that big of a difference between how black people (and other POC) were treated then versus how they're treated now. Now we just like to pretend that we're so ~progressive~ and accepting and totally not racist.
A group of whites, hundreds of them at least, surrounding a Greyhound bus. ... Ivan shuddered. The hatred in the eyes of the men surrounding the bus was chilling. ... This undiluted disgust that could drive you to harm your fellow man simply for existing?
Are things really so different now?
Seriously...over and over again, Cole mentioned hateful acts black people (and their white supporters) were victim to, and I stopped every time and thought Well...that's not so different now. I just saw something like that on a news coverage...
This was a great book if you read it for the history, which I highly recommend.
If you're going to read it for the romance, however...well, it's not bad, really, but I feel like it could've been worked on a bit more. When I read Be Not Afraid by Cole, I thought it was too instalovey/lusty. In this case, I think that probably would have still been the case, but because it's kind of a second chance romance (they were friends as kids but haven't seen one another in eight years), so it doesn't feel as instalovey because they're not strangers. However, it still plays into a trope I don't like at all, and that's the pairing of an experienced hero with a virginal heroine. Sofronia mentions that she's kissed other guys and has "fumbled" around with some, but she's still a virgin (which is implied). She's also never felt any pleasure, at least that's what she pretty much says when Ivan gives her an orgasm.
Ivan, on the other hand, mentions that, although he's never stopped thinking of her in the eight years and has always looked for her, hoping they'd meet again, he's still been with other women. It's not detailed, but it's pretty much implied when it's said that "intimate encounters were nothing new for him; ladies liked a guy who could hit and punch and dominate in the ring." That's the only mention of his experience, so it might not bother some, but it's more that it bothered me because this is just another book with this type of pairing. (And I kept hoping that maybe, once they finally got together, he might say that he'd never actually been with anyone else, but it's not, so I took him at this earlier word of his and marked him off as experienced.)
Oh, and because Ivan says to Sofronia that "[he'd] never stopped thinking of [her]" and had "always kept an eye out for [her], hoping one day [they]'d see each other." And if they met again, he'd know for sure that he was either wrong and finally move on, or know he was right that something could happen between them. And, like...with the mention earlier of how he's no stranger to intimate encounters with other women...well, he's moved on. Maybe not emotionally, but he did physically. And his words would've rung true to me if he'd actually WAITED for her.
This was what kept me from giving it five stars.
The other reason why I don't think you should read it for the romance is, because while it was sweet and there totally wasn't romance, it did feel secondary to the Civil Rights activism. And don't get me wrong, I totally loved that the author didn't push that to the back burner to concentrate on the romance, but it's just a warning there. There isn't even really a consummation scene and it's told in flashbacks the day after. And the only ILYs come in the second epilogue, and that's only from Ivan.
Oh, and this is one of the few books that I actually TRULY believe in the HEA because the author wrote an epilogue that happens three years later. That was fine. Then there was ANOTHER epilogue set nine years after that epilogue, and it showed them coming together and working on them after a rough patch (miscarriage). Ivan says they'd grown distant and things had started to change, but I loved that the author included that because usually books don't show you what happens well after the book closes, with the epilogues usually set a few months later with a sugary-sweet HEA. Those HEAs aren't bad, but I liked that the author showed them working on their marriage after a rough patch.
ANYWAY. Again, I highly recommend reading this book. Although I rec not reading it simply for the romance, it was still super sweet and the two paired off well together. The Civil Rights aspect of this book is what really makes it a standout.
July 23, 2020
Let It Shine is a fantastic romance novella set in 1961 during the Civil Rights Movement. It blends difficult to read moments with humor and heart, with a romance I was pulling for. It features a Black, Christian heroine and a white, Jewish man who were childhood friends and crushes. Alyssa Cole packs a lot into this little story and it's just really well done.
Since the death of her mother, Sofie has submitted to her fathers expectation that she become the perfect model of a proper Black woman, squashing her temper and voice. But when a young woman from her church looses her unborn child after a beating by police, she decides to rebel and attend an organizing meeting for resistance. While there, she reconnects with Ivan- a boy her mother cared for up until her death when Sofie was 12. As children they played and imagined, and nurtured secret (and at the time forbidden) crushes on each other. Sofie rediscovers her voice and they fall in love while attending sit-ins, freedom rides, and being imprisoned for weeks after protesting. And resisting anti-miscegenation laws along the way, which made it illegal for white and Black people to marry or often even sleep together.
I think making the hero Jewish was really smart and we see the similarities between how their people have been discriminated against. It allows for empathy and taps into the fact that there were Jewish people involved in the Civil Rights movement for just those reasons. But we see the other side as well- her dad expresses prejudice against Jewish people and his dad expresses prejudice against Black people. As alway, Cole does an incredible job of weaving real issues into the romances she writes and this one packs a punch. At the end there is an additional short story set years later when the couple is struggling with fertility issues after a miscarriage. I think this is well worth picking up. Do be aware there are difficult depictions of racism and anti-Semitism, including racial slurs and violence.
Since the death of her mother, Sofie has submitted to her fathers expectation that she become the perfect model of a proper Black woman, squashing her temper and voice. But when a young woman from her church looses her unborn child after a beating by police, she decides to rebel and attend an organizing meeting for resistance. While there, she reconnects with Ivan- a boy her mother cared for up until her death when Sofie was 12. As children they played and imagined, and nurtured secret (and at the time forbidden) crushes on each other. Sofie rediscovers her voice and they fall in love while attending sit-ins, freedom rides, and being imprisoned for weeks after protesting. And resisting anti-miscegenation laws along the way, which made it illegal for white and Black people to marry or often even sleep together.
I think making the hero Jewish was really smart and we see the similarities between how their people have been discriminated against. It allows for empathy and taps into the fact that there were Jewish people involved in the Civil Rights movement for just those reasons. But we see the other side as well- her dad expresses prejudice against Jewish people and his dad expresses prejudice against Black people. As alway, Cole does an incredible job of weaving real issues into the romances she writes and this one packs a punch. At the end there is an additional short story set years later when the couple is struggling with fertility issues after a miscarriage. I think this is well worth picking up. Do be aware there are difficult depictions of racism and anti-Semitism, including racial slurs and violence.
March 25, 2023
This book was sooo good! Set in Virginia in 1961 in the thick of civil rights turmoil, and injustice we have Sophie, a black woman and Ivan, a Jewish boxer. I love a childhood friends to lovers trope. I always feel like I get such a history lesson when I read Alyssa’s books. The research is just so thorough and written so stellar. I can’t help the feeling of pride I get when I read about those that paved the way before me for my freedom. Sit ins, Freedom rides and for some prison. I am forever grateful for the blacks, whites and Jews did so that one day we very well could overcome. Throw an interracial love story in there and I am hooked. Sophie’s fierce bravery for her people and Ivan’s good heart that matched Sophie’s marching for those same freedoms were just beautiful together. It was so interesting watching them not only deal with the world and its racism, but also their parents not wanting them to be together. The moment when that changed in the story was such a beautiful moment that brought tears to my eyes. I loved this book so much.
“Many of you are talking about the Freedom Rides today. I would like to join the movement and head down to Mississippi, but I’m afraid I don’t have the funds for a Greyhound ticket. If there are any of you who see the same righteousness in this cause that I do, I would appreciate a donation. I may not be Martin or Malcolm, but I’d like to do my part to help put an end to the fear we live with every day, that one misstep can result in our injury or death just because of the color of our skin.”
The world is full of Sophies and Ivans. What an inspiration they were.
“Many of you are talking about the Freedom Rides today. I would like to join the movement and head down to Mississippi, but I’m afraid I don’t have the funds for a Greyhound ticket. If there are any of you who see the same righteousness in this cause that I do, I would appreciate a donation. I may not be Martin or Malcolm, but I’d like to do my part to help put an end to the fear we live with every day, that one misstep can result in our injury or death just because of the color of our skin.”
The world is full of Sophies and Ivans. What an inspiration they were.
January 12, 2020
4 Stars / 2 Steam Fans
Video review available in Week 2 Jan 5 – 11 weekly book reviews.
For other video book reviews check out my YouTube Channel: Steph's Romance Book Talk.
Video review available in Week 2 Jan 5 – 11 weekly book reviews.
For other video book reviews check out my YouTube Channel: Steph's Romance Book Talk.
October 20, 2016
4.5 rounded up
I mean, this was near perfect. Or maybe I've been in an incredibly mushy mood lately. I don't know. But the thing is that Sofie's and Ivan's story was divine.
Set in during the time of the Freedom Rides in the USA, the book follows the couple through a bit of their childhood, their harsh but sweet reunion, and the subsequent intricacies of a mixed-race romance in the 60s. And really, you should read it. Everything about it is interesting. From the way Ivan processed injustices based on race because of what he knew of injustices based on religion, him being a Jew, whose parents had fled Europe; to the way Sofie trained herself in that way that many of use still do- to look smaller, talk quieter and less, have no opinions- to be a "proper lady" until she found the courage to say enough is enough. I loved it all.
My only complaint? A couple of times I felt like the secondary plot (the Freedom rides and the sit-ins and the protests) took a bit of the protagonism away from the romantic plot. Which for me, should come first- always- in a Romance. This is a common complaint of mine. And in this case is more of an afterthought. I understand why everything had to happen like it did, but maybe this story would have worked better for me in a full length novel. I also feel like that epilogue-type ending turned a bit too sweet after a really well balanced romance novel.
But all in all? Read this.
I mean, this was near perfect. Or maybe I've been in an incredibly mushy mood lately. I don't know. But the thing is that Sofie's and Ivan's story was divine.
Set in during the time of the Freedom Rides in the USA, the book follows the couple through a bit of their childhood, their harsh but sweet reunion, and the subsequent intricacies of a mixed-race romance in the 60s. And really, you should read it. Everything about it is interesting. From the way Ivan processed injustices based on race because of what he knew of injustices based on religion, him being a Jew, whose parents had fled Europe; to the way Sofie trained herself in that way that many of use still do- to look smaller, talk quieter and less, have no opinions- to be a "proper lady" until she found the courage to say enough is enough. I loved it all.
My only complaint? A couple of times I felt like the secondary plot (the Freedom rides and the sit-ins and the protests) took a bit of the protagonism away from the romantic plot. Which for me, should come first- always- in a Romance. This is a common complaint of mine. And in this case is more of an afterthought. I understand why everything had to happen like it did, but maybe this story would have worked better for me in a full length novel. I also feel like that epilogue-type ending turned a bit too sweet after a really well balanced romance novel.
But all in all? Read this.
February 18, 2019
Fabulous historical romance (novella) set in 1960s Virginia featuring the Civil Rights movement and the love between a Black woman and a Jewish man. I will read ANYTHING Alyssa Cole writes because she has never once let me down. The audio version from Audible is fabulous.
March 27, 2016
Leave it to Alyssa Cole to write a historical IR romance that tackles one of our most violent and divisive periods of history. Thank you, Alyssa, for writing Let It Shine and sharing it with us. I loved it from start to finish!
This tightly written novella is a coming of age story for Sofie and Ivan, who've known one another since they were children--Sofie's mother Delia was the housekeeper for Ivan's family and Sofie and Ivan were childhood playmates whose friendship was cut short by the death of Sofie's mother. Now years later, they've both become activists, getting involved as nonviolent protesters in the civil rights movement while the communities around then advise otherwise. For Sofie, her father only wants her to be respectable and not make waves. He thinks he is keeping her safe in trying to groom her into a docile young woman. For Ivan, now a regional champion boxer, he and his father are at odds over his boxing--his father wanted him to be a scholar--and in how they each deal with their grief over the loss of Ivan's mother. This would be enough to cause problems for the two--but race and religion separate them. Sofie is black and Christian; Ivan is white and Jewish. And in this point in history, interracial relationships are punishable by law. And segregation is the law in Richmond, Virginia in the 1960s.
What I loved about Let It Shine that it weaves in the politics and history of the time so seamlessly with the love story. Both have equal weight in this story. And really, this is not something we can ignore. It would have been disingenuous to ignore or pretend that the violence directed at the Freedom Riders never took place. And to write a story set during this time period--the early 1960s--and setting and NOT take it up would have led to a boring and not very interesting story. But Alyssa Cole took the challenge and tackled it head on, giving the readers a fantastic sense of the courage and fear Sofie and Ivan have as they embark upon their journey into adulthood and to the reality of what their lives will be in 1960s America.
A five-star read! I look forward to Alyssa Cole's next release!
This tightly written novella is a coming of age story for Sofie and Ivan, who've known one another since they were children--Sofie's mother Delia was the housekeeper for Ivan's family and Sofie and Ivan were childhood playmates whose friendship was cut short by the death of Sofie's mother. Now years later, they've both become activists, getting involved as nonviolent protesters in the civil rights movement while the communities around then advise otherwise. For Sofie, her father only wants her to be respectable and not make waves. He thinks he is keeping her safe in trying to groom her into a docile young woman. For Ivan, now a regional champion boxer, he and his father are at odds over his boxing--his father wanted him to be a scholar--and in how they each deal with their grief over the loss of Ivan's mother. This would be enough to cause problems for the two--but race and religion separate them. Sofie is black and Christian; Ivan is white and Jewish. And in this point in history, interracial relationships are punishable by law. And segregation is the law in Richmond, Virginia in the 1960s.
What I loved about Let It Shine that it weaves in the politics and history of the time so seamlessly with the love story. Both have equal weight in this story. And really, this is not something we can ignore. It would have been disingenuous to ignore or pretend that the violence directed at the Freedom Riders never took place. And to write a story set during this time period--the early 1960s--and setting and NOT take it up would have led to a boring and not very interesting story. But Alyssa Cole took the challenge and tackled it head on, giving the readers a fantastic sense of the courage and fear Sofie and Ivan have as they embark upon their journey into adulthood and to the reality of what their lives will be in 1960s America.
A five-star read! I look forward to Alyssa Cole's next release!
January 24, 2020
3.5 stars. This was a super enjoyable novella, with two characters finding each other amidst a serious and heartbreaking time in history. I looked the romance quite a bit, but the view into what it was like to be a Civil Rights protestor was what really shined for me. Loved the two separate epilogues, so we could see how Sofie and Ivan handled the political turbulence that we knew was yet to come.
March 8, 2021
Very sweet!
The subject matter is rough - even harder for me to read than the series set during the Civil War. Partially because it’s a shame that the public and police response to non-violent protests has not changed. It’s painful to read how far we still haven’t come as a nation.
On the much, much brighter side, I really enjoyed this story! I loved Sofie as a character and I liked seeing her grow into her voice again after years of it laying dormant. I adored Ivan as a character, as well. I loved how passionate and protective he was and how he used his willingness to take punches.
I was rather surprised by how much I came to love seeing Sofie incorporate Ivan’s Jewish traditions and how it was just yet another way they worked so well together. Their bond was so wonderful to read and made for a bright spot in such dark times. I was rooting for them the entire time!
Overall, it’s a recommend from me if this setting is one you’d like to read about. While I loved it, I don’t know if I’d be able to read it again, but it was well written.
The subject matter is rough - even harder for me to read than the series set during the Civil War. Partially because it’s a shame that the public and police response to non-violent protests has not changed. It’s painful to read how far we still haven’t come as a nation.
On the much, much brighter side, I really enjoyed this story! I loved Sofie as a character and I liked seeing her grow into her voice again after years of it laying dormant. I adored Ivan as a character, as well. I loved how passionate and protective he was and how he used his willingness to take punches.
I was rather surprised by how much I came to love seeing Sofie incorporate Ivan’s Jewish traditions and how it was just yet another way they worked so well together. Their bond was so wonderful to read and made for a bright spot in such dark times. I was rooting for them the entire time!
Overall, it’s a recommend from me if this setting is one you’d like to read about. While I loved it, I don’t know if I’d be able to read it again, but it was well written.
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July 20, 2016Really exceptional historical romance can remind us that love existed even in the times in our history that are darkest and most pivotal. In Let It Shine, Alyssa Cole’s Civil Right movement-focused novella, Cole reminds readers once again that weighty topics and love stories are not mutually exclusive. The story considers anti-semitism, violence, feminism, religion, family, and love. Cole writes about the best and worst parts of human nature, and she manages to do it in about 150 pages. Let It Shine is excellent and significant because of the fact that it’s a romance, not in spite of it.
— Trisha Brown
from The Best Books We Read In June 2016: http://bookriot.com/2016/06/29/riot-r...
— Trisha Brown
from The Best Books We Read In June 2016: http://bookriot.com/2016/06/29/riot-r...
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December 28, 2019🎁 FREE on Amazon today (12/28/2019)! 🎁
November 21, 2023
This was a lovely short story/novella! I definitely think it would've felt more fleshed out if it were longer, but it was still a beautiful story in and of itself.
January 6, 2020
“Black girls can’t be princesses, Ivan.”... “Well, Jews can’t be Nazi hunters, but I’m the best there is!” He’d run ahead a few steps, spraying down a line of imaginary SS men with his imaginary gun, then looked back at her. “Besides, every beautiful girl can be a princess. I read it in a book.”
I hate expectations because when things happen differently it sometimes becomes difficult to adjust my feelings accordingly.
When I started this book, as usual I went in blind. I just knew the title and the genre (historical romance). And from the genre, the title and the cover and the fact that it’s a novella, nothing stood out. But even with this limited information about the book, I still had some sort of preconceived notion of what I am going to find. What I was expecting is simple romance, boy meets girl, they go through some stuff and then live happily ever after. My assumption made sense because this book is only 135 pages long. But this assumption couldn’t be more wrong. This book deals with so much and so deep issues in its unassuming small presentation.
While most events and issues dealt with are very sensitive and emotional, my take from the book was more on how the more things change, the more they stay the same. It seems every generation has some social injustices that it must fight through and overcome, and I really don’t think the struggles of any given group or era are worse than the others. I know this might not be a popular view, but my point is, a struggle is a struggle and one group’s struggle does not lessen the magnitude of another group. There’s too many things wrong with humanity and it seems the minute we get over one thing we also manager to start something else just as bad and driven by ignorance and bigotry as the previous.
That being said, I didn’t enjoy reading this book because I don’t like my fictional romance to deal with hard topics and racial injustice is a hard topic for me, especially when it is the main focus and it involves violence. With every book that I read, I learn something about myself and mostly my limits or triggers as I have seen them called. Because of this, even when I don’t read the blurb, I do scan them for warnings, I feel this book should come with such a warning.
***Warning – Extreme racial violence***
I wish I was prepared for this book, but I wasn’t therefore I ended up not enjoying reading it, for the most part anyway. I don’t do this kind of emotional very well and this book has buckets loads of baggage that I would have gladly avoided.
Still, it is a good book that most people would enjoy, and it did shed some light on some American history that I haven’t come across in Historical Romance genre.
I hate expectations because when things happen differently it sometimes becomes difficult to adjust my feelings accordingly.
When I started this book, as usual I went in blind. I just knew the title and the genre (historical romance). And from the genre, the title and the cover and the fact that it’s a novella, nothing stood out. But even with this limited information about the book, I still had some sort of preconceived notion of what I am going to find. What I was expecting is simple romance, boy meets girl, they go through some stuff and then live happily ever after. My assumption made sense because this book is only 135 pages long. But this assumption couldn’t be more wrong. This book deals with so much and so deep issues in its unassuming small presentation.
While most events and issues dealt with are very sensitive and emotional, my take from the book was more on how the more things change, the more they stay the same. It seems every generation has some social injustices that it must fight through and overcome, and I really don’t think the struggles of any given group or era are worse than the others. I know this might not be a popular view, but my point is, a struggle is a struggle and one group’s struggle does not lessen the magnitude of another group. There’s too many things wrong with humanity and it seems the minute we get over one thing we also manager to start something else just as bad and driven by ignorance and bigotry as the previous.
That being said, I didn’t enjoy reading this book because I don’t like my fictional romance to deal with hard topics and racial injustice is a hard topic for me, especially when it is the main focus and it involves violence. With every book that I read, I learn something about myself and mostly my limits or triggers as I have seen them called. Because of this, even when I don’t read the blurb, I do scan them for warnings, I feel this book should come with such a warning.
***Warning – Extreme racial violence***
I wish I was prepared for this book, but I wasn’t therefore I ended up not enjoying reading it, for the most part anyway. I don’t do this kind of emotional very well and this book has buckets loads of baggage that I would have gladly avoided.
Still, it is a good book that most people would enjoy, and it did shed some light on some American history that I haven’t come across in Historical Romance genre.
March 21, 2016
3.5 stars
I bought this novella (only $0.99) because 1) It's #DABWAHA 2016 nominee (and have been praised at both SBTB and Dear Author websites -- as both gave this novella A/A- rating) and 2) I've been wanting to try interracial romance in my M/F collection too.
For the most part, I enjoyed this -- as a non-American, I found the background of Freedom Rides and the fight for Civil Rights movement in the 1960's to be well-drawn. This story made me doing some Google browsing, reading about what Freedom Rides all about. I found myself learning things and that is one of the best things about reading, right?
Oh, I also found the fact that Ivan's background as Jewish to be interesting -- since Jewish Americans also suffered from prejudice, and the conflict Ivan felt because his father didn't see why he should sympathize with the movement felt real. I liked the heroine too, Sofronia, her struggle and wanting to stand up for her rights was compelling.
Sofronia and Ivan were wonderful; Ivan was winning my heart left and right though. His feeling towards his Sofie was loud and clear and I believed in him completely.
Having said that, I thought some parts of this novella also felt to be rather glossed over, maybe because of the limitation of the length? I guess I wanted to read more about the relationship too, in addition to the social background. I loved the short story though, it made me a bit teary eyed as well.
I bought this novella (only $0.99) because 1) It's #DABWAHA 2016 nominee (and have been praised at both SBTB and Dear Author websites -- as both gave this novella A/A- rating) and 2) I've been wanting to try interracial romance in my M/F collection too.
For the most part, I enjoyed this -- as a non-American, I found the background of Freedom Rides and the fight for Civil Rights movement in the 1960's to be well-drawn. This story made me doing some Google browsing, reading about what Freedom Rides all about. I found myself learning things and that is one of the best things about reading, right?
Oh, I also found the fact that Ivan's background as Jewish to be interesting -- since Jewish Americans also suffered from prejudice, and the conflict Ivan felt because his father didn't see why he should sympathize with the movement felt real. I liked the heroine too, Sofronia, her struggle and wanting to stand up for her rights was compelling.
Sofronia and Ivan were wonderful; Ivan was winning my heart left and right though. His feeling towards his Sofie was loud and clear and I believed in him completely.
Having said that, I thought some parts of this novella also felt to be rather glossed over, maybe because of the limitation of the length? I guess I wanted to read more about the relationship too, in addition to the social background. I loved the short story though, it made me a bit teary eyed as well.
March 27, 2019
I just finished Let it Shine by Alyssa Cole and wow. All the stars!
I listened to the entire story today (around 3.5 hours) because I could not wait to see how this couple, who faced so many challenges, would get their HEA.
Set in the 1960s during the lunch counter sit-ins, Let it Shine is a childhood friends to adult lovers interracial romance between a Black Christian university student and a White Jewish Boxer who reconnect during a non-violent protest training.
While their story is fraught with unflinching portrayals of racism and violence, Cole makes you believe these two deserve their hard won HEA.
Highly recommend!!!
I listened to the entire story today (around 3.5 hours) because I could not wait to see how this couple, who faced so many challenges, would get their HEA.
Set in the 1960s during the lunch counter sit-ins, Let it Shine is a childhood friends to adult lovers interracial romance between a Black Christian university student and a White Jewish Boxer who reconnect during a non-violent protest training.
While their story is fraught with unflinching portrayals of racism and violence, Cole makes you believe these two deserve their hard won HEA.
Highly recommend!!!
March 10, 2020
3.5 stars
March 9, 2020
Read March 2020
I love how Alyssa Cole combines her romance with serious topics such as racism. Let It Shine is a mixed race romance (featuring a black Christian woman and a white Jewish man) set in 1960’s Virginia during the Freedom Rides.
Also, I'm really impressed by how much she makes me care about these characters in what is only a hundred page novella.
I love how Alyssa Cole combines her romance with serious topics such as racism. Let It Shine is a mixed race romance (featuring a black Christian woman and a white Jewish man) set in 1960’s Virginia during the Freedom Rides.
Also, I'm really impressed by how much she makes me care about these characters in what is only a hundred page novella.
June 6, 2019
One of the things I love about romance is the baked-in HEA/HFN, and I will die on that hill, but sometimes the way everyone comes around—most notably bigoted family who say and do terrible things and are forgiven—leaves me one step removed from the story. That's okay, and it's not like it ruins the tale for me, but it does put distance into my experience as a reader.
March 11, 2017
Actual rating is 4.5
Sometimes, a book appears that touches your heart and mind and leaves you rolling on the floor, drowning in feels. Not because it's perfection but because reading it was a journey.
This novella by Alyssa Cole is one of those books.
First off, let me say that the dual POV really (REALLY!) works to this story's advantage. Ivan and Sofie are two (almost literal) peas in a pod as children and that bond, though a bit dulled because of distance by the time they meet each other again as adults, never ever breaks. I LURVED getting inside their heads as they reconnected and became aware of their mutual attraction. This is romance done RIGHT AND THEN SOME, LOL!
Then, there's the writing. Which, is SWOONY AF also BEAUTIFUL and VIVID. There's a v. definite sense of place (starting in the early 60s and ending in the mid-1970s) as we follow Sophie and Ivan navigate a world in which individuals had no other option but to push back against oppression and hate.
It was super cool how Sofie, a self-described goody-two shoes, became more assertive. Not because of her feelings for Ivan, but because she'd always had a fire inside of her. I'd say that Ivan didn't change as much as Sofie did, but I was charmed by how he supported Sofie emotionally throughout the entire novella.
Now, the historical aspect was done exceedingly well. I didn't see anything that would've been out of place with the time period (as far as dialogue and setting.)
And now for the things that made me go :|
My one (main) gripe was that the novella was too short. This was something I felt more acutely in the last two chapters + epilogue. The story does two major time jumps that include a lot of important events in Sofie and Ivan's lives. IMO, their story needed (at the very least) two more chapters for breathing space.
The first minor annoyance was that, given Sofie's upbringing and background, I was surprised to not see her interact with her community aside from attending church on Sundays and the non-violence protest group every so often. Also, aside from Sophie, there only two other female characters appearing here and there in the story--and that rang a bit strange since Sofie's activist role meant she'd interact with a lot of women.
The second minor annoyance was a sudden personality change that occurs in the last 20-25% of the story. [Character who isn't Sofie or Ivan] switches their perspective due to something so insignificant that it leaves you wondering why didn't [Character who isn't Sofie or Ivan] did that before.
TL;DR: A wonderfully sweet historical romance that will give you tons of feels and then some. Highly recommended despite the short length of the story.
Sometimes, a book appears that touches your heart and mind and leaves you rolling on the floor, drowning in feels. Not because it's perfection but because reading it was a journey.
This novella by Alyssa Cole is one of those books.
First off, let me say that the dual POV really (REALLY!) works to this story's advantage. Ivan and Sofie are two (almost literal) peas in a pod as children and that bond, though a bit dulled because of distance by the time they meet each other again as adults, never ever breaks. I LURVED getting inside their heads as they reconnected and became aware of their mutual attraction. This is romance done RIGHT AND THEN SOME, LOL!
Then, there's the writing. Which, is SWOONY AF also BEAUTIFUL and VIVID. There's a v. definite sense of place (starting in the early 60s and ending in the mid-1970s) as we follow Sophie and Ivan navigate a world in which individuals had no other option but to push back against oppression and hate.
It was super cool how Sofie, a self-described goody-two shoes, became more assertive. Not because of her feelings for Ivan, but because she'd always had a fire inside of her. I'd say that Ivan didn't change as much as Sofie did, but I was charmed by how he supported Sofie emotionally throughout the entire novella.
Now, the historical aspect was done exceedingly well. I didn't see anything that would've been out of place with the time period (as far as dialogue and setting.)
And now for the things that made me go :|
My one (main) gripe was that the novella was too short. This was something I felt more acutely in the last two chapters + epilogue. The story does two major time jumps that include a lot of important events in Sofie and Ivan's lives. IMO, their story needed (at the very least) two more chapters for breathing space.
The first minor annoyance was that, given Sofie's upbringing and background, I was surprised to not see her interact with her community aside from attending church on Sundays and the non-violence protest group every so often. Also, aside from Sophie, there only two other female characters appearing here and there in the story--and that rang a bit strange since Sofie's activist role meant she'd interact with a lot of women.
The second minor annoyance was a sudden personality change that occurs in the last 20-25% of the story. [Character who isn't Sofie or Ivan] switches their perspective due to something so insignificant that it leaves you wondering why didn't [Character who isn't Sofie or Ivan] did that before.
TL;DR: A wonderfully sweet historical romance that will give you tons of feels and then some. Highly recommended despite the short length of the story.
Read
August 24, 2017Let it Shine is a master class in writing a novella: moving, sexy, and perfectly paced. Sofie and Ivan are childhood sweethearts who drifted apart. She’s prim and proper and buttoned-up, and he’s a rough-and-tumble boxer. He’s Jewish and she’s black, and it’s 1961 Virginia, at the height of the Civil Rights movement, when interracial marriage was still illegal (Loving v. Virginia was decided in 1967). This book tore my heart out and then pieced it back together. —Alisha Rai (https://www.bookish.com/articles/seco...)
April 19, 2016
Short and sweet!
Five stars because it was well written, and well researched. The characters connected with me and their love felt real and beautiful. I loved that we got a view of them through the years, it's always nice to see snapshots of the happy ever after.
Five stars because it was well written, and well researched. The characters connected with me and their love felt real and beautiful. I loved that we got a view of them through the years, it's always nice to see snapshots of the happy ever after.
January 9, 2017
This novella absolutely shines as a romance and historical fiction set in the early days of the Civil Rights Movement. The setting was rich; the characters fascinating, real, and relatable; and the romance smoldering and delicious. Alyssa Cole is going on my must-buy list now.
April 2, 2017
Absolutely loved this book. I just realized that I have other Alyssa Cole books in my already purchased but never read TBR. I should get on those. <3 Recommended.
June 20, 2020
Sofronia and Ivan knew each other growing up as kids. Her mom worked for his mom. After her mom's death, they lost contact. They reconnect as adults at a meeting for civil rights and how to conduct non-violent sit-ins.
This was amazing. I loved this book. I adored Sofie and Ivan. This highlights the struggle for freedom, the basis human right to be treated as a person. To sit where you like. To be treated with respect. To be treated with dignity. The violence and hate.
The strength of this book (IMO) is it highlights we ALL have prejudices. We need to acknowledge them and learn from them to be better. Do better.
(Sofie is Black. Ivan is Jewish. Ivan's family escaped the Holocaust, but his father doesn't sympathize with the Civil Rights Movement. Sofie's father doesn't like Ivan because he is Jewish.)
The ending hints at an acceptance, a reconciliation. The ending is also realistic.
This was amazing. I loved this book. I adored Sofie and Ivan. This highlights the struggle for freedom, the basis human right to be treated as a person. To sit where you like. To be treated with respect. To be treated with dignity. The violence and hate.
The strength of this book (IMO) is it highlights we ALL have prejudices. We need to acknowledge them and learn from them to be better. Do better.
(Sofie is Black. Ivan is Jewish. Ivan's family escaped the Holocaust, but his father doesn't sympathize with the Civil Rights Movement. Sofie's father doesn't like Ivan because he is Jewish.)
The ending hints at an acceptance, a reconciliation. The ending is also realistic.
August 25, 2020
Trying to find words to do a review but I still have tears in my eyes thinking about this novella. A beautiful story, despite the ugly that Alyssa Cole doesn't shy away from. The story is set in 1961, during the Civil Rights movement. Sofronia Wallis is a young Black woman and Ivan is a young white man and Jewish. They used to play together, when her mother was working for his family, but life happened and they meet again, 8 years later, at a nonviolent coordinating committee meeting.
It's book like this, that makes me wish I had a way with words so I could express how luminous, sad and special it is. And thank God there's people who can speak more eloquently than me to talk about history! I wish it was longer than 130 pages because Sofie and Ivan's were fascinating and touching to read about but the author did an amazing job at telling their story and making me fall so fast for them.
It's book like this, that makes me wish I had a way with words so I could express how luminous, sad and special it is. And thank God there's people who can speak more eloquently than me to talk about history! I wish it was longer than 130 pages because Sofie and Ivan's were fascinating and touching to read about but the author did an amazing job at telling their story and making me fall so fast for them.
February 4, 2020
Why wasn’t this a full length book?!?! The passion the pain the history and the long time span all would have made for this being an epic full length novel. But even beyond that I’m glad it was written at all because a love story between activists is one I didn’t know I needed but now I want so many more.
February 14, 2021
A wonderful historical novella set in 1961 Virginia about two young activist fighting segregation, becoming Freedom Riders, and eventually helping racial and sexist injustices.
Alyssa isn’t afraid to show how evil this world is. How unfair this world is. But also how amazing it is when people that are willing to fight for whats right can change history.
CW: Anti-Semitism; Racism; Miscarriage
Alyssa isn’t afraid to show how evil this world is. How unfair this world is. But also how amazing it is when people that are willing to fight for whats right can change history.
CW: Anti-Semitism; Racism; Miscarriage
June 18, 2020
Rep: Black mc and side characters, Jewish mc and side character
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