Big thanks to Goodreads for this free book! I have discovered that they now have Kindle book giveaways and not as many people enter these, so the odds of winning are greater. I’ve won a couple actual books, but several Kindle books. I’m picky about which giveaways I enter, too. Nothing too sad, dramatic, or romantic in nature, so I’m only entering a few here and there and am still winning books, so you should look into this!
So, this book was one that sounded intriguing enough to enter, but I didn’t remember a lot about it when I picked this one to read (back to Kindle lottery system. Literally, I pick a page using a random number generator and then a book with the same system. It’s brilliant. Desert Flowers was the lucky winner.) The story takes place in Mexico, a hundred miles from anything. The father, Elmer, drives that distance to a job every day, leaving his wife, Rose, and daughters, Iris, Melissa, Daisy, and Dahlia (all flower names and they live in the desert, hence the title) behind. The family has a secret and keeps to themselves, aside from one daughter at a time visiting town once a month and a teacher coming to visit to educate the girls. Aside from that, they are completely isolated with no phone. One day, a traveler comes to the house. This immediately seems fishy because they are so remote, but this guy, Rick, swears he was there at random, had just been walking and stumbled into their area. We quickly learn Rick isn’t truthful and has secrets of his own. About halfway through the book, revelations begin pouring forth. They were believable and seemed to come out naturally. There were a few plot points that were a bit forced, but overall, the book was interesting.
This book was translated into English (from Spanish) and I wonder if anything was lost in the process. This book was very much character and plot driven, rather than language driven, so I would guess that not much would change. This book is 3.99 on Amazon right now and is worth reading, overall, but I’m not sure I would buy it. Maybe check your local library for this one.
Pleasant Nights 