Backseat Saints Review

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(More customer reviews)From the first sentence, Backseat Saints is a grab onto a live wire I couldn't let go of until I reached the last page. The day sweet, perfect Ro Grandee spots the tarot cards tumbling to the floor in front of an airport gypsy is the day realizes that her beautiful, abusive husband is going to be the death of her.
Ro gets a gun and begins to dig deep for the tough, smart-mouthing girl she once was, Rosa Mae Lolly, the girl who can save her own life, that same Rose Mae who dated the infamous Jim Beverly in Jackson's popular novel, GODS IN ALABAMA.
Racing from her relentless husband Thom, Rosa Mae runs looking for her disappeared high school boyfriend Jim, and then her long-lost mother to help find a way to finish off the man who both loves her and wants to murder her, running for her life from Texas to California by way of Alabama. She revisits her bruised-up childhood and knocked-around marriage to understand her flat out run toward a terrifying future before she finally lets herself love and trust.

I tend to shy from a dark subject like abuse in my entertainments, but Jackson's Rose is funny and smart, flawed and confused in a way that inspires compassion. She is messed up in the ordinary way many of us find ourselves in, and who wouldn't be, when every important person in Rose's life either abused or abandoned her? It was satisfying to watch her unravel her life and her choices and put the pieces back together in way that leads to the hope of a happy future.
Jackson's amusing wit, sharp characterizations and lovely use of language make Rose's moving and suspenseful story a joy to read.


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Elvis Takes a Back Seat Review

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(More customer reviews)Claudia is a young widow who is having a hard time moving on with her life. After experiencing the loss of her parents, she was faced with the illness and eventual death of her husband. Claudia was the kind of wife who built her life around her husband's hopes and dreams. With his death, and no children of her own to tend to, she felt lost. As the book opens, as a result of the prodding of her friends, Claudia has pulled out all of her parents' and husband's belongings and attempts to have a yard sale. However, on the day of the sale, she finds time and time again, she is unable to let go of the belongings.
While preparing for the sale, Claudia sees a lamp she understandably banished to the attic from the beginning of her marriage. The lamp, also a bust in the image of Elvis, was treasured by her late husband, and a reflection of just how much of an Elvis fan he was. When Claudia sees the lamp, she immediately knows she cannot sell it. When she discovers a note from her husband in the box, the beginnings of a plan for a road trip to return Elvis to his proper home begins to develop. Before long, Claudia, her aunt, and her best friend's daughter, head off to Graceland, with Elvis, too big to fit in the trunk, riding along in the backseat. As the group travels across state lines en route to Graceland, they get to know one another better, and it soon becomes apparent that this was more than a road trip, but rather, a journey to self-discovery.
ELVIS TAKES A BACK SEAT was an unexpected pleasure to read. In addition to telling a good story, the book carries readers on a roller coaster ride that covers the full spectrum of emotions. Leanna Ellis has created an interesting group of characters and then, like peeling back layers of an onion, she slowly reveals more and more about their lives, their secrets, and their innermost fears. The characters are genuine, flawed, and colorful, making it easy to empathize with their struggles. Elvis represents so many things in ELVIS TAKES A BACK SEAT, from letting go of the past, having faith, and the struggle between our human nature and our spiritual nature; yet the story is so much bigger. This book is poignant display of how family secrets, doubt, fear, rejection, and even love impact each of us. Finally, ELVIS TAKES A BACK SEAT is a testament to the goodness of God's grace.
Reviewed by Stacey Seay
of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers


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