Book Review: In a Far-Off Land by Stephanie Landsem

“Mina, listen to me for once. These people—” he jerked his head at the whole room—“people like Clara, like Barrymore. They’re looking for something—happiness, meaning, I don’t know what. They think they can find it in the bottom of a bottle, or with dope, or in somebody else’s bed.” His honey-gold eyes were bright and close. “They keep looking and looking.” His voice hardened. “And then they end up destroying themselves.”

Stephanie Landsem, In a Far-Off Land

Review:

Between the author and the synopsis of this book, I was super excited when I came across this book. The Old Hollywood feel jumps off the page early on in the book, granted, it highlights the darker side of show business. 

Mina Sinclaire ran away to Hollywood with a dream of saving her family’s farm. Instead, she finds herself deep in poverty and making money any way she thinks she can despite the shame it brings her. Her only saving grace is her friendship with her agent, Max, and the hope that he will make her star despite a recent strain that’s been put on their relationship. Things get worse for her when she finds herself in the vicinity of a murdered industry man. 

The lead-in is slow, and truthfully, I could only take Mina’s voice in small doses. I found myself more invested in Oscar and Max’s side of the story. The end of the book was worth the slower sections as the story has a beautiful theme of love and forgiveness. Particularly toward the end, there are some lovely quotes. 

Likes & Dislikes:

What I liked:

• The theme of forgiveness.
• An Old Hollywood backdrop.
• Doesn’t shy away from the darker side of humanity with a message of not letting our downfalls become out identities and to work toward redemption.

What I didn’t like:

• I found Mina whiny.
• The plot was all over the place/not organized as well as it could have been.

Afterthoughts:

I read Code Name Edelweiss by Stephanie Landsem last year (which was a newer release) and I could definitely see a lot of growth the author had as a writer between the two books. While I did enjoy both of them, I did find Code Name Edelweiss more polished.

Where to buy the book: