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Long Night’s Moon
by
Cate Martin

| Description

• Historical Fiction | Short Story

Anna Olsen wants her sister to have all the best for her New Year’s Eve engagement party. The best means champagne—but scarcity to the general public is still a problem, even though Prohibition ended in 1933. Now, Anna does know a private place to find all the champagne she could ever want. But getting it? Not so easy.

| My Thoughts

This longtime lover of historical fiction understands why many stories in the genre take long novels to tell. But some good period tales come in short form, like this one.

Shimmery, Then Suspenseful

Much the same as a few other quick reads I’ve tried by this author, this story is an intriguing but undemanding dose of entertainment. The winter holiday evening setting has a moonlit shimmer but also its own shimmery vibe that turns somewhat suspenseful. The light but warm essence of romance woven in fits the story’s length.

In Light of the Holiday?

Granted, at the climax, I think an added beat of conflict, or at least more of a moment of doubt or hesitation from the characters most involved, would have kept the resolution from feeling a little too easy. But, after all, sometimes the spirit of a holiday can tide people over until they get to the nitty-gritty of deep-seated matters later on.

I’ve got one more of this author’s historical stories I plan on reading before trying one of her historical mysteries.

| Content Note

• language kept to a “PG” level
• no graphic violence
• no explicit sexual content

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Dance Til You Drop
by
Cate Martin

| Description

• Historical Fiction | Short Story

During the Great Depression, the cash prizes offered for dance competitions lure crowds of young people to literally dance until they drop. Now, Alice and Henry have traveled to Fargo determined to outlast all the other couples at such a competition, where they may wind up dancing for days or weeks without more than momentary rest breaks. But in these hard economic times, the cash awards for the top contestants are guaranteed to draw cheats and con artists to the dancing scene.

| My Thoughts

I first heard something about the Great Depression craze of dance marathons from an episode of The Waltons, when the lead character John Boy danced in one. I only remember snippets of that, but reading this short story led me to look up more of the related history.

Sorry, this isn’t a dance competition clip. Just a quick side note of a few other John Boy moments, for fans of The Waltons…

Back to Dancing (and Dropping)

Anyhow! The story gives a good depiction of how these marathons, although serving as a form of entertainment for spectators, were not light and carefree dance parties. And not all of the serious contestants would share the same goal.

Concerning the Cash

Now, a few of the particulars in this read are repetitive. On the other hand, while I got the gist of the tale, a couple of the unexplained particulars left me somewhat confused at the end. Looking up some info about the financial operations of the real-life marathons left me clearer on that score.

I plan on checking out more of this author’s historical fiction stories soon.

| Content Note

• no graphic violence
• no profanity
• no explicit sexual content