The Pacifist (New Wave Newsroom, #3)

by Jenny Holiday

[Lynn]

The final novella in the New Wave Newsroom doesn't disappoint as Jenny Holiday takes us back to 1984 in The Pacifist.

Tony Bianchi is starting his fifth year at Allenhurst and hoping to finally graduate at the end of the year. It means all work and no play, so is giving up girls and photography. Only, he sees an amorous couple on campus and his impulse to capture the moment becomes unbearable when a squirrel decides to place itself within the scene. When it's joined by another squirrel, the whole image fits within the viewfinder…click! It won't harm to suggest the image will be perfect for the welcome-back edition, will it?

Laraline Reynolds aka Dove is back at Allenhurst to finish her Master's degree. She plans to have fun this semester because it may be the last opportunity before graduating. Her Father's protégé has hinted on a serious talk later in the year and they should both take advantage and not be exclusive during this time. Only, Laraline's Father has standards and a reputation to uphold, so when he sees his daughter lip-locked on the front of the college newspaper, his reaction is far from favourable.

I love Tony and Laraline together because they compliment each other, yet shouldn't. Laraline courtesy of her parents has her life mapped out for her. She's spent the past years doing what pleases them after the death of her sister Phoebe. Tony's time at Allenhurst has been misspent as he focused his time on photography for the Allenhurst Examiner and girls. Both are at a crossroads of their life...Tony, left behind by his peers and his twin sister who have graduated and moved on with their lives and Laraline who sees a future much like her mother's as a supporting wife of a professor.

This series has been a wonderful breath of fresh air for me as the author weaves engaging stories around music from the early 1980's. The song for The Pacifist is When Doves Cry by Prince and like the previous books in the series captures the essence of the decade beautifully. I'm sad this is the last novella because it really captured my imagination in a nostalgic way.

***arc generously received courtesy of the publisher***