In her latest novel, Lumina, North Carolina author Mary Flinn takes readers on a journey through time. Lumina was a beautiful beach pavilion where dances were held every Saturday night during the first half of the 20th century in Wilmington, North Carolina. Now Flinn takes us back to the days of the roaring twenties, when young women wore beaded skirts and young men covertly drank whiskey when the dance matron wasn’t looking. It was an era of cultural change, marked by the first real sexual revolution, Prohibition, the introduction of jazz, and a time when music formed a bond for many whites and African Americans.

Readers of old Mary Flinn novels will enjoy this opportunity to once again become entangled in her world. Although Lumina is her first historical romance, old favorite characters make their appearance in the form of Elle McLarin and some of her friends, Nate, Anne Borden Montgomery (AB) and Mr. May, from A Girl Like That. The story begins when Anne Borden finds a novel based on her mother’s diary and her uncle’s letters from the summer of 1928. The four friends begin a routine of sitting on Anne Borden’s porch and reading the novel aloud. As they do so, readers get alternate glimpses of the changes in today’s character world as they listen to the endearing, but sometimes shocking, story of Anne Borden’s uncle, Kip, and their mother Sylvie, and the summer that changed. their lives.

At the center of it all is Lumina, the magnificent dance hall built on Wilmington’s Wrightsville Beach. Known as the “Palace of Light”, it was the ideal place to be on a Saturday night. As Kip describes it in the novel, “Lumina is the great equalizer for young people looking for a little fun and to celebrate the happiness of youth. The best bands come there to play during the summer and thousands of people from all walks of life. From life, tourists and locals, middle class and aristocrats alike, come to dance the night away on a Saturday night. Many romances were born in Lumina, I’ll tell you. ” It is also a place for excitement and escapism. Kip says at one point in the novel, referring to the hours between eight and midnight: “We were perfect for four more hours.” It was a time when life seemed perfect.

It was also a time when you could meet anyone at dances. Kip and Sylvie come from a middle class family. His father owns a clothing store, but in Lumina they have the opportunity to rub shoulders with the Carmichaels – brother and sister Clifton and Catherine – among the richest people in North Carolina, friends of the Vanderbilts, and at the same time attractive and charming. , at least on the surface. Kip instantly falls in love with Catherine and begins a whirlwind of romance with her. Clifton clings to Sylvie, who can’t believe such a handsome gentleman is interested in her.

But both Clifton and Catherine have their demons, and as the novel progresses, secrets are revealed that threaten young couples’ relationships.

Lumina is the perfect escape book, and yet it is serious fiction, as serious as anything Fitzgerald wrote. There’s a villain who rivals Emily Bronte’s Heathcliff, and a sense of social injustice as strong as that of To Kill a Mockingbird. There are nice nights spent on a porch that reminisce about a past when neighbors took time to talk to each other. There are fast cars and short skirts and a feeling that the world is changing, no matter how much the characters wish they could freeze time.

Every page is full of life, longing, and romance, and Flinn knows how to keep up with the story so readers can breathe when things get too intense, while constantly keeping us in suspense.

My favorite section was near the end when The Shag, the great dance of the time, performed after the Pirate Party. It’s a perfect preparation for climax that effortlessly blends story and fiction. If you’re unfamiliar with fluff, it might not sound like a big deal, but when you read the novel, you’ll get goose bumps during these scenes. Flinn knows how to pace his story so that readers are helplessly caught up in excitement like they’re riding a roller coaster. Time cannot be frozen, but these scenes in the novel become so intense that they are permanently etched in the reader’s memory as golden moments to remember. Few novelists have this ability, and while Flinn makes everything seem effortless, it is the result of years of mastering his craft.

Hollywood is dying to tell stories like this. The twinkling lights of Lumina, the music that hits the beach, the dazzling dresses, the smell of bathtub gin, the southern charm, and the family secrets that won’t die – they’re all here, making The Great Gatsby look like child’s play.

If you want a magical, romantic reading experience, Lumina will captivate you.