I read The Jewel Box last week mainly because it was set in Houston and was impressed that the author made my city a character in the book as well as a Clark Gable look-alike, a reluctant topless dancer, and an obscenity spouting loud-mouth just to name a few.

This wasn't a quick read for me but it was enjoyable and it did give a true depiction of the city and the mindset of the 70's and 80's.

The main character, Cherie, was a single-mother and it was told from her point of view. This was her story of love, loss, life, party, and living the a life in the cow-town turned boom-town of Houston. It wasn't a story-book romance, there was heartache, poor choices, hard decisions and drug and alcohol escapism.

There were several supporting characters in the story that I truly enjoyed, my favorites were Delilah, Cherie's obnoxious friend, and Beau her life-guru. This book had some snappy dialog - horny hyenas and all-inclusive Peruvian powder excursion were just two of the humorous lines from the story.

*DISCLAIMER: I formatted this book for the author and found as I was making the ebook I would no longer be skimming the paragraphs but actually reading them. Once I had finished with the final edition of the book, I uploaded it to my Kindle Fire (with the author's permission) and read the book from start to finish. ( )

The Jewel Box by Michelle McCarty is an excellently written story of
loss, love, tragedy and triumph. It follows the life of Jill (Cherie)
and all the people that surround her in life. Life and love are not
perfect, but this book emphasizes that a belief in oneself can bring it
all full circle. This book covers such a long span, that it was very enjoyable to relive events in the 60's, 70's, 80's and 90's. ( )