Publisher / Publication date: Kensington Books / June 25, 2024

Language: English

Format / # of Pages: available in paperback (310 pages), e-book and audiobook

Genre: Women's Fiction

ISBN/ASIN: 978-1-4967-4313

The Odds Are Not in Her Favor

The title of this novel — A Taste for More — sets the expectation that it will be about a person who has grit and ambition. The standard plot line goes like this: Even though there are setbacks along the way, hard work will win the day. Relationships, however, will be severely tested.

Now, who did you imagine in this role?  How about a young Black woman who moved from Mississippi to Wisconsin in 1961? That’s right! We have an unlikely hero who faces three obstacles — race, gender, and timing — which raises the level of energy and suspense.

Readers who are unfamiliar with our country’s history of racism and sexism are in for some surprises. Phyllis Dixon shows us the danger Freedom Riders faced, how Black veterans of the Vietnam War experienced discrimination, and how the banking industry shut out single women.

One of the benefits of this page-turner is learning about what life was like by seeing the obstacles the characters faced. And so, does our hero win the day? Are relationships able to survive intact? Readers, now it is time to find out.

-- Catherine Stover