Paradise, Karen Anne Coccioli
Paradise, Karen Anne Coccioli
2 Rating(s)
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Paradise

Author: Karen Anne Coccioli

Narrator: Maria McCann

Unabridged: 10 hr 43 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 03/08/2024

Categories: Fiction, Lgbtq+, Women


Synopsis

The goddess Aphrodite was born of sea foam, and I, too had been reborn of the waters, a true birthing as if I came from my mother’s womb all over again. Claire Leccese is a romance novelist who writes happy endings for a living. Quite ironic, since she’s spent a lifetime battling demons from childhood trauma and has been anything but happy. She is plagued by self-doubt and an inability to trust people who claim to love her. Along comes Sydney Howard, a younger successful artist who rocks Claire’s world and “lit an agreeable blaze inside my belly…” However, as Sydney falls in love with the older woman, Claire’s fears overtake her and she runs away, vowing never to see Sydney again. But true love has a way of interfering with Claire’s best laid plans and raises the question: Will Claire follow her heart and let it lead her back to Sydney? Written in alternating chapters, Paradise takes the reader on a roller coaster ride following Claire’s quest not only to heal from her traumatic past, but also, to finally come to terms with the delights and self-truths of coming out as a gay woman later in life. In the end, Paradise speaks to the indefatigable fortitude of the human spirit and becomes a beacon of hope for anyone who doubts the existence of true love! Paradise is an FF bi-racial romance, age gap, with a hard-won, heartwarming HEA! Please read the trigger warnings inside the book: This book contains graphic scenes, which may trigger some people, including past and present sexual and emotional abuse, and both implicit and implied incest.  

About Karen Anne Coccioli

I'm Karen Anne Coccioli I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t writing. I believe the stutter I experienced as a child had a lot to do with all the words building up in my head for future stories that weren’t ready to make their debut. By age five, I’d decorated the pages of my mother’s Italian cookbooks with short verses and vignettes while the women in the family prepared the meals. When I was old enough to climb the steep stairs into the attic of the colonial house I grew up in, I’d sit cross-legged in front of the fanlight window and compose poems about the mysteries of the night—the moon, stars, and unseen planets. I still love all things mystical, magical, sensual, and dark. My most inspired moments are those spent in exploring humanity’s dark desires and divining how to reach the light. My love of writing and books coupled with my identity as an androgenous gay woman manifested an aspiration to delve into academic studies that married my innate passions. I hold a Ph.D. in comparative literature, within the context of women’s meditations regarding gender identity, sexuality, and madness. In my spare time, I meditate, cook, take long walks with my two mixed-breed labs, read or listen to audiobooks from one of the many gay romance authors I follow.

About Maria McCann

Maria McCann is an audiobook narrator who graduated from the UCLA School of Theater, Film & Television. She has appeared in over forty films and television shows, including Lucifer, Shameless, and Grey’s Anatomy, and works as an acting coach. A Los Angeles native who is proud of her Mexican heritage, she is a busy wife and mother who serves on the board of directors for Colorado’s Wild Animal Sanctuary.


Reviews

Goodreads review by emma on May 30, 2024

help, i can't stop reading toni morrison! just kidding. that is not a problem i'm looking to solve. morrison never holds your hand and walks you through it, even though sometimes you (read: i) wish she would. this finale in the beloved trilogy has so much to say about violence and oppression, but stil......more

Goodreads review by Violet on October 21, 2017

Sometimes you have to hold up your hands as a reader and admit maybe you didn’t do a book justice. I found Paradise really difficult to follow. Mainly this is due to there being no central character. The central character instead is a town called Ruby where only blacks live and are free of white leg......more

Goodreads review by Michael on December 19, 2020

This is the most complex book I have read from Toni Morrison. It is the story of a black community called Ruby in rural Oklahoma in the 70s and the reaction to a female commune of sorts called the Convent out on the edge of the town. At issue here is skin-tone, the 8-rock dark black founders and the......more

Goodreads review by Cosmin on November 04, 2024

Am început cartea asta prin 2022 și abia acum am reușit s-o dau gata. E prima carte de Toni Morrison pe care o citesc. Ca de obicei când vine vorba de autori laureați cu Pulitzer și Nobel, așteptările au fost, inevitabil, destul de ridicate. De ce doar 3*? Proza e fenomenală, atât de bună încât suspec......more

Goodreads review by John on January 06, 2024

Paradise was not well received upon its publication in 1997—influential critics like Michiko Kakutani, James Wood, and Zoë Heller disparaged it, and even Oprah's audience, instructed to read it for the talk show host's book club, demurred, prompting Oprah to call Morrison to offer the viewers encour......more