Luster by Raven Leilani

Lately, I seem to be interested in stories of the messiness, and complex lives of the characters, and this one does that and does it well. Messy is what our troubled 23-year-old main character Edie is. After losing her job, she moves in with her white older lover, his wife and their adopted black daughter. I won’t get into the messiness of all that and leave that for the story.

Raven Leilani boldly and bravely creates a distinct POV with Edie, a black woman who is trying to find herself while searching for human connections. Edie is realistic, flawed, and we see her vulnerable side. She makes some ugly mistakes and sometimes walks the line morally. At times I wanted to yell at her, and other times I wanted to hug her.

Things get a little uncomfortable here with the dynamics between the characters and, at times, maybe a bit too messy for me. There are some turns to the story that turns a little ugly but Raven Leilani handles it well by showing us through Edie’s thoughts without over dramatizing it or makes a point towards anything. However, for someone who loves depth beyond the word written at times, it was a bit deep, complicated for me, and I found myself losing focus with the story, and I did struggle with really connecting to Edie.

I received a copy from the publisher on NetGalley!