Review: Yerba Buena by Nina LaCour, Narrated by Julia Whelan

Yerba Buena by Nina LaCour

Blurb from Goodreads:

Sara is a broken girl from a drug-soaked Northern California town. Fueled by panic, desperation, and impulse, she heads south, hoping to start over in LA. A decade after Sara has come of age in the restaurant industry, we meet Emilie, the granddaughter of Creoles who left New Orleans to escape segregation. Emilie takes a job arranging flowers for an elegant LA restaurant—and things get complicated when she captures the attention of the restaurateur and engages in an affair. When Sara and Emilie meet, their connection is immediate. But before they can find a way forward, both Sara and Emilie must reckon with the places they came from, even if it means revisiting what they'd rather leave behind.

My Review:
This book started off pretty dark but there is a lot of light, love and growth by the end. I also wasn't put off by the start at all even though it was a bit heart-breaking. This just enveloped me and comforted me -- I was rooting for the characters but also just wanted to find out what would happen.  It certainly became unputdownable and I know I will re-read this.  I also loved the narrator!

This book was just beautiful and I didn't want it to end.  Yerba Buena comes out next week on May 31, 2022, you can purchase HERE, and I hope you consider reading this one!  

They rode together up the hill. Blur of trees and sky outside, groan of brakes, a current between them. With each curve of the road, the press of one bare shoulder against another, until the bus slowed and stopped. 

The doors folded open, they stepped out to the street. Armstrong Drive dead-ended there--a parking lot, a ranger's station, the entrance to the woods. Sara unzipped her backpack and pulled out a thermos, unscrewed the lid and sipped. Their fingers touched as Annie took it, and Sara watched Annie press her mouth against its metal rim and drink.