Bitmo Sunday book review

Sunday Book Review – Flowers and Stone by Jan Sikes

Published on by dgkaye

Welcome to my Sunday Book Review. Today I’m sharing my review for a fictionalized memoir – Flowers and Stone, by Jan Sikes. I’d been looking forward to this book as this author and I share something in common, we both lived our passions, we both married older men, and for both of us, both our men were the great loves of our lives.

Blurb:

The epic love story begins here! A hot Texas summer, dim-lit honky-tonk bars, a young naïve fledgling go-go dancer, and a wild rebel Texas musician set the stage for this story. 1970 in Abilene, Texas finds young Darlina Flowers trying to figure out how to fit into the world she is most attracted to – the nightlife, live music, and go-go dancing. Luke Stone, a veteran Texas Musician believes he’s lost all reason to care about his music career, his health, and most especially his heart. A chance meeting with Darlina changes everything. Yet, it seems it’s too little too late, as fate has already determined the outcome. Join Luke and Darlina on a passion-filled journey down Texas roads while Luke and his band entertain crowds along the way, as Darlina Flowers struggles to adjust to this strange new world. Can she trust Luke Stone with her heart? Luke Stone, a good man who has made a career of bad decisions, falls as completely in love with Darlina as she does with him. Will their unyielding love survive the test of time, distance and iron bars?

My 5 Star Review:

Darlina Flowers, 19, wanted to get out of small town Texas and gets herself a factory job, supplementing with go-go dancing at a local bar. There she meets, 15 years her senior, Luke Stone, a musican, and becomes part of his dance show with the Rhythm Rebels.

Luke is a player that many women seem to have their eye on, and already being married, doesn’t seem to stop his roving eyes. Until he meets Darlina, a young vibrant, compassionate small town girl who steals his heart.

There are lots of mountains and valleys of emotion in this story as the passions heat up between Luke and Darlina through their musical journey together, and their love. Theirs is a true love story with a lot of obstacles and hurt to come as Luke has a secret he keeps from Darlina, and that eventually becomes a wedge between them. Luke didn’t know how to handle the situation by telling the truth to Darlina and found it best just to cast her aside and break her heart, as his own was broken too. But he felt some things he just couldn’t share with Darlina, which was very unfair as her heart was broken as she was left wondering what on earth could have gone wrong after he promised her his undying love, yet, left her in the lurch of unknowing.

Despite their craziness, the two shared a deep love for each other, and no obstacle was going to stop Darlina from loving the man of her heart.

©DGKaye2022

110 thoughts on “Sunday Book Review – Flowers and Stone by Jan Sikes”

  4. It’s great to have you back, Debby. I hope it all went well. I’m off on Thursday, but I’ll be back in a couple of weeks or so, so not much time away. Stay well and thanks for a fab review.

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    2. Hi, Carol. I am often asked the question of how much of the story of fiction and how much is true. The characters are fictionalized. All the events in the book happened. The parts that are fiction are conversations I wasn’t present for and scenes in Luke’s POV that I wasn’t actually there. I based them off of what he told me and also from knowing him so well. So, my standard answer is that the books are 99% truth and 1% fiction. Thank you for stopping by and for such a great question!

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  18. Flowers and Stone was my first exposure to Jan Sikes as an author and I fell in love with the entire series. Since then, I’ve devoured everything she’s written. An excellent review, Debby, and many congrats to Jan!

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  19. What a lovely review, Debby. I enjoy Jan’s writing and I can see why you were drawn to her books and this one in particular. It sounds like a sweet story. And welcome home! I hope your travel went smoothly and that spring is making an appearance up your way. Congrats to Jan on the amazing review. 🙂

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    1. Thanks for the warm welcome Diana. Good to be back. Lol, travel and smooth? Me? The same sentence? Updates coming this week. And yes, Jan’s is a true love story with the good and the bad, just like life. Hugs xx

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  26. Hi Debby – great to see you back … and this book obviously tugs your own heart strings … thanks for letting us know – all the best to Jan – and lovely to be able to read your reviews again. Enjoy Spring coming along – cheers Hilary

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  34. Great review, Deb. Intrigue without spoilers. The number of comments here should reaffirm it’s okay to take an extended vacation and remain in the mix! Looking forward to your Tuesday post ❤️

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