Shades of Honore (The Baudin Saga)

Honore was born in France, but moved to America when she was 3 when her father got a new job. At 15, she was back in France as an orphan after her parents were killed in a car wreck.  Both she and her grandmother, Francoise, keep themselves busy, keeping the pain of loss at bay. But there are secrets buried, begun by Francoise, new ones carried on by Honore’s mother Lisette, and horrifying ones continued by Honore herself. Until the strings are pulled, and they all start to unravel.

"Shades of Honore" is a generational story of romance gone wrong, with each generation having different, yet still negative, experiences with men.  Honore and her grandmother are strong women, however, who decide to live despite being broken. 

There are many errors in this edition, such as having two different people speaking dialogue in the same paragraph. Characters often spoke half in French and half in English; the overuse of French was not needed, and made them sound phony. The timeline starts in the book’s “present” and then continually flip-flops between the three women, multiple years and locations, with no notations of who is in the spotlight, or where the character is at. The shifting flashbacks are incredibly confusing, sometimes using asterisk delineations, sometimes beginning new chapters, making for a choppy and uneven read.  

Too bad, because Avery Grey has penned a powerful story of overcoming heartbreaking obstacles, and the women featured are strong, yet wonderful characters for their times.  

Julie York