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Fireworks Over Toccoa

by Jeffrey Stepakoff (Goodreads Author)

3.57 of 5 stars 3.57 · rating details · 1,184 ratings · 296 reviews

Every so often that story comes along that reminds us of what it’s like to experience love for the first time—against the odds, when you least expect it, and with such passion that it completely changes you forever.

An unexpected discovery takes eighty-four-year-old Lily Davis Woodward to 1945, and the five days that forever changed her life. Married for only a week before...more

Hardcover, 260 pages

Published March 30th 2010 by St. Martin's Press/Thomas Dunne Books

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Dec 21, 2009 Jason Huffman-black rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: first-reads

Being from Georgia, I felt at home in the places described, understood the sultry heat, unhurried lifestyle, and unspoken Southern rules described by the author.

Jeffrey Stepakoff weaves a story both jubilant and heart wrenching that left me quietly holding the book once the last page was turned, feeling somehow that it deserved contemplation while I brushed the threat of a tear away. I didn't just become invested in these characters, they became family, and leaving them at the end of the book t...more

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Mar 09, 2010 April rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: for-review, romance

I don't often read contemporary adult romance. Not necessarily because I don't enjoy it, but because I tend to enjoy young adult romance more. I see a book with Nicholas Sparks' named emblazoned on the top though, and feel sort of turned off, he's just not the right author for me. I cannot get into his books, but a few of my friends can. I approached Fireworks Over Toccoa by Jeffery Stepakoff with trepidation. The plot piqued my interest, but one of the cover blurbs mentioned Nicholas Sparks, wh...more

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Mar 10, 2010 Athira (Reading on a Rainy Day) rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: source-own, source-review, 2010, fiction, f-romance, f-general, personal-library

I had this book on my wishlist, ever since I saw it on someone's blog, so I was pretty excited to receive this one for review! The excitement wasn't misplaced either. This book delivered!

My opinion
Fireworks over Toccoa spans four days in the lives of Lily Woodward and Jake Russo. Lily had been married three years to a man she lived only a couple of weeks with, before her husband, Paul, was sent to Europe to serve in the war. Anticipating Paul's return, Lily is nervous realizing that she is no lo...more I had this book on my wishlist, ever since I saw it on someone's blog, so I was pretty excited to receive this one for review! The excitement wasn't misplaced either. This book delivered!

My opinion
Fireworks over Toccoa spans four days in the lives of Lily Woodward and Jake Russo. Lily had been married three years to a man she lived only a couple of weeks with, before her husband, Paul, was sent to Europe to serve in the war. Anticipating Paul's return, Lily is nervous realizing that she is no longer the seventeen year old immature girl she was when she got married. She is even more anxious wondering how Paul would have changed. One day, on her way back home after buying groceries, she stops her car, amazed, staring at a "silver trail of light fly up into the sky", and thence she comes across Jake Russo, who is the pyrotechnics man preparing the fireworks show for the July 4th parade.

A moment in the sky, forever in the heart.

This becomes a defining quote of the fireworks' dazzling effect as well as the meeting between the two. What follows then is a connection between two people who have been little understood by others and find themselves bonding intensely.

This is not a story of many twists and turns nor is it a story of many events conjuring to create a suspense. Yes there are twists, and yes, this is a story of how a chance meeting can lead to a lifetime of memories. But that is not the main focus of this book. Rather, it is in how two people discover and fall in love with each other, and find themselves reveling in their real selves and their life secrets. It is about how duty and desire can come together and conflict violently. Duty to one's husband or desire to follow one's heart. It is about reason vs impulse.

While instincts deep inside pushed her to lean forward, toward him, she willed these forces to stop.

I enjoyed Jake and Lily's relationship. I agree it is quite strange - meeting someone and bonding with him/her almost instantaneously, much less falling in love. Does love at first sight really exist? Or better, love at the first meeting? But the relationship was credible and I didn't feel it out of the ordinary. The way they connect in the initial few minutes of their meeting, which soon expands to a dinner together was quite heartwarming to read. The backdrop of fireworks was well woven into the story of the two characters. Lily's consequent savory of her meeting with Jake interlaced with her sporadic feelings of guilt, were eloquently expressed in the lyrical writing of Jeffrey Stepakoff. And lyrical it is, for the writing is simply beautiful and almost poetic.

Even though the sky is already filled with stars, you can always make your own.

This story is narrated by an eighty-two year old Lily, and drew me in quite from the first line. Lily and Jake's love for each other, Lily's relationship with her parents, her dilemma about Paul or Jake, and the suspense of what her decision would be had me turning the pages till the very end. It made me smile and cry in turns. Overall, I was quite captivated by this story as well as by the writing. I loved it so much, I couldn't stop reading it.

Title Demystified
This story is set in Toccoa, home to the Camp Toccoa. It's one of my places to visit too, and I was surprised that quite a few people I know had once stayed in or near Toccoa. Jake, who himself just returned from the war, moves from town to town preparing fireworks shows, courtesy of his family business, Russo Fireworks.

Cover Art Demystified
This is one beautiful cover. The poster doesn't even fully reveal the perception of beauty that envelopes you as you hold the book in your hands. I took my time reading through the book, simply because half the time, I would stare at this cover. There's so much love and poignancy on the picture and it immediately brings to your mind some of those old romantic classics that you have watched, especially those set during or after the WW2.(less)

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Mar 24, 2010 Christy B (Readin' and Dreamin') rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-i-have-won, fiction, historical-fiction, historical-romance, arcs-and-galleys, wwii

I was teetering between three and four stars to rate this, until it made me CRY. Crying = automatic five stars. It is rare for a book to make me cry. I probably can count how many times I've cried over a book on one hand.

People are comparing this to Nicholas Sparks, but as I have never read him, I won't.

I read this in about a day; it was a fast read, but by no means a light one. This book proves the term 'quality over quantity'.

It tells the story of Lily Davis, married just three weeks when her...more

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Apr 28, 2013 Vicki rated it 2 of 5 stars

I know many of you just LOVED this book, but I didn’t. I started reading it thinking I was going to love it. What’s not to love after reading the blurb? But for me, it just never took off. In fact, I picked it up 4 times before finally, grudgingly, I decided to just put it down. Yes…me, the one who always has to finish every book she starts no matter what, DNF this one. I’m kind of sad I didn’t like the book more, but also proud of myself for finally being able to stop reading a book I just didn...more

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Aug 20, 2012 Madame X rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: meh

While the bulk of the novel is set in 1945, it is framed by an afternoon Lily - the protagonist - spends with her granddaughter Colleen in the present. Colleen is getting ready to start a "perfect" life with her fiance, a respectable doctor who is loving, kind, and handsome. Lily thinks that Colleen is making a mistake, but she's too wise to tell her granddaughter what to do. Instead, when she finds out that a WWII "mortar" recipe is on display at the local historical museum, Lily brings Collen...more While the bulk of the novel is set in 1945, it is framed by an afternoon Lily - the protagonist - spends with her granddaughter Colleen in the present. Colleen is getting ready to start a "perfect" life with her fiance, a respectable doctor who is loving, kind, and handsome. Lily thinks that Colleen is making a mistake, but she's too wise to tell her granddaughter what to do. Instead, when she finds out that a WWII "mortar" recipe is on display at the local historical museum, Lily brings Collen along to claim the recipe and tell her story.

Lily explains that she, too, had a "perfect" life. The daughter of a wealthy Coca Cola executive living in Atlanta in the 1940s, Lily met and married her father's handsome young protege, a former college football player, a good man who had a bright future ahead of him. They were only married for two weeks when Lily's husband Paul went off to war, and as Lily begins her story she is only days away from seeing him again, after the close of the war in 1945. But Jake Russo comes to town to orchestrate a magnificent fireworks display in honor of the soldiers' homecoming, and he and Lily begin a five day affair that teaches her that passion is better than perfection; that soul-deep connection is more important than material comfort.

Lily determines to run away with Jake, but she misses her chance. Her husband Paul never arrives home, as scheduled - after surviving years of war, his plane crashes on the way homr and he dies. Lily has to postpone her desertion, out of respect for her husband, and by the time the funeral has been arranged and Lily has attended, Jake has left town. Lily tries to reach him, but it takes her many months to find him, and by the time she succeeds he's met and married someone else.

Lily, too, finds another husband. She lives a happy life, a fulfilled and adventurous life, achieves respect as an artist, travels with her new husband, an archeology professor. But those five days with Jake remain in her memory like the fireworks he produced, bright and unforgettable. Jake also left behind a keepsake - a blue firework the exact color of Lily's eyes, the most beautiful firework he ever made, a recipe that made its way to the historical museum as a "mortar". It's not clear how Colleen reacts to this story; she doesn't immediately break off her engagement, but she has been inspired to see life in a new way.

The story is mature and romantic, but the writing is so-so. The structure, the way that the story cuts between events, has the feel of a TV show; to me, it seemed that the author had not made a natural transition to his new medium. While there is nothing actually wrong with FIREWORKS OVER TOCCOA, it didn't strike me as extraordinary.(less)

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Jun 25, 2012 Amanda Stewart rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: skip

"Fireworks over Toccoa" is a book I could've lived without reading. The story takes place at the end of WWII, with twenty-two Lily Davis getting ready for her husband to come home from fighting in the war. We've seen this premise play out over and over again with a spoiled little rich girl married to a nice upscale man yet quickly falls in love with a poor yet handsome and intelligent man. If she stays with her husband she'll continue to live a rich successful yet boring life but if she takes th...more

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May 21, 2012 Megan Tewes rated it 4 of 5 stars

“Fireworks Over Toccoa,” by Jeffrey Stepakoff is a fictional romance novel whose story takes place in Toccoa, Georgia in 19450. The main characters are Lily Davis, Paul Woodward, and Jake Russo. Some other characters included in the story are real people from Toccoa, Georgia. Lily Davis and Paul Woodward were married for two weeks before Paul was deployed to fight in World War II. The main complication is that after her husband left to fight in the war, Lily met Jake Russo who was setting up a f...more

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Sep 18, 2011 Virginia Campbell rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, womens-fiction

"Fireworks Over Toccoa", by Jeffrey Stepakoff, is just like life itself--either more or less than what you expect, but never exactly what you anticipate. At times I wasn't sure if I liked it, and then on the next page the story line would turn around and be completely captivating. I did like the characters very much. Lily Davis is a young Southern woman cultivated by her mother, Honey, to be a society belle. Her father, Walter, with whom Lily shares some private family jokes, lets her mother rul...more

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Jul 26, 2011 Betty-Anne added it

I am not a regular reader of romance-themed books, because all too often I find that they are mere formulaic repetitions of hundreds which have gone before. Nevertheless, I took a chance with Jeffrey Stepakof’s Fireworks Over Toccoa because the description caught at me with the promise of something different. At least partly, the book did deliver.

The story takes place during an unnamed present, and the period toward and after the end of WWII. The main character, Lily Woodward marries her sweethe...more I am not a regular reader of romance-themed books, because all too often I find that they are mere formulaic repetitions of hundreds which have gone before. Nevertheless, I took a chance with Jeffrey Stepakof’s Fireworks Over Toccoa because the description caught at me with the promise of something different. At least partly, the book did deliver.

The story takes place during an unnamed present, and the period toward and after the end of WWII. The main character, Lily Woodward marries her sweetheart who is promptly shipped off to the war. Awaiting his homecoming with a mixture of anticipation and trepidation, she is aware of an undefinable ‘something’ missing from her life. During this period she meets the fireworks man, Jake Russo, a man of Italian descent with his own concerns about living life and the effect of the war on his family. The decisions that Lily makes affect their future in many ways.

What I most enjoyed about the novel was the structure – Lily’s tells the story of her life to two persons, including her granddaughter, who is facing her own decisions about love’s choices. The present segues so well into the past, that it is almost difficult to return to the current day at the end of the book. I will always enjoy a book that can manage to make me figuratively ‘lose myself’ in it. The language is engaging and beautiful.

The story was still somewhat derivative however; a mix of Titanic (the movie) and Robert James Waller’s “The Bridges of Madison County”. While the story at least didn’t follow the more typical formulas found in many romances, the echoes of those two stories were too strong to be ignored. Fortunately, Stepakof’s language got me past some of the most distracting moments.

Overall, Fireworks Over Toccoa would appeal to romance readers who want a little less formula to their stories. It is an easy and short read, with an ending that was satisfying to me, but may not be so to everyone. I would still be likely to read more from Stepakof in the future, but may not actively seek out his work.(less)

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May 14, 2011 Siobian rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-fiction, read-in-2011, library

Fireworks Over Toccoa begins with the discovery of a long-lost gift given to Lily Davis Woodward when she was twenty. Lily, who is now eighty-four, begins to tell the story of four days in 1945 that changed her life forever. At the end of WWII, Lily was excited because her husband was returning home from serving three years in the war, but she was also apprehensive because they had spent but two weeks as a married couple before Paul was shipped out. While preparing for Paul's return, Lily meets...more

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Feb 24, 2011 Susan O'Bryant rated it 4 of 5 stars

Colleen, facing a pressing decision of her own, is the granddaughter of Lily, who once lived in a world guided by a set of rules, many of which she would've rather just ignored, a few of which she would have preferred to toss out altogether. But in Toccoa, Georgia in 1945, things were just done a certain way; plans and promises made were expected to be kept, societal norms were to be adhered to, no matter the cost. And Lily's strong-willed mother, Honey, wouldn't have it any other way.

During an...more Colleen, facing a pressing decision of her own, is the granddaughter of Lily, who once lived in a world guided by a set of rules, many of which she would've rather just ignored, a few of which she would have preferred to toss out altogether. But in Toccoa, Georgia in 1945, things were just done a certain way; plans and promises made were expected to be kept, societal norms were to be adhered to, no matter the cost. And Lily's strong-willed mother, Honey, wouldn't have it any other way.

During an emotional and jubilant time of historical proportions, Fireworks Over Toccoa is a novel about the heart of a woman and her struggles to stay within the confines of what it yearns for. Lily Davis Woodward meets Jake Russo just days before her husband is scheduled to return to the home they had only shared for two weeks before he went to serve in World War II. What ensues could be considered a predictable wild-oats-sowing whim, but I'm quite sure Lily didn't view it as such. Jake Russo exuded such passion and verve, Lily couldn't help but surrender and respond to his quiet, understated charm, not to mention her own emotions which had been building beneath the surface. She decides to share herself, her dreams and stories with Jake, and their time together becomes but a cherished moment to embrace forever.

My favorite part has to be when Jake cooks risotto for Lily out in the field over a campfire. I even looked up the song mentioned as playing over the radio (Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered by Helen Forrest).

The ending wraps up quite nicely and somewhat satisfactorily, despite the tragedy that felt sort of muted to me, because of Lily's actions and desires. However, throughout the book I couldn't help but be reminded of the movie Titanic. Several aspects were so similar it put me off a little bit, but not so much that I couldn't enjoy the beautiful writing, which was sometimes exquisite, sometimes educational. A few quotes I marked in particular:

~ After the War Between the States, when the only way to get salt was to boil the dirt from the floors of the ravaged smokehouses, pour off the water, and use the residue in the bottom of the pot, wasting salt was a sin in Georgia.

~ "I'll bring you a pie. A pecan pie. That's what we do in Toccoa. Baking. Lots of baking, usually with nuts."

~ When she had been dancing alone, this was who she was with. (less)

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Jan 27, 2011 Paul Pessolano rated it 5 of 5 stars

If you enjoy fiction/literature and romance you will definately enjoy "Fireworks Over Toccoa". If you enjoy a novel that encompasses southern life and southern morals, you will enjoy this book.

"Fireworks Over Toccoa" starts with the discovery of a glass bottle in Lake Hartwell that has not been opened since the late 1940's. An item inside the jar unlocks the forgotten life of Lily Davis.

Jeffrey Stepakoff brings to the reader a stunning story of life in a rural Georgia town that is suddenly swept...more

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Jun 13, 2010 christine rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: other-great-reads

A friend lent the advanced readers copy to me (though I think the final version is available now), and it was a good poolside read today. I applaud this author's debut - the story is unique, and with a level of detail that you know he did the research on it well. It was written very well. However, there were some parts that were awkward. The transition from 1945 back to the present day was not as smooth as I would have liked, as a reader without any background on life in Georgia in the 40's with...more

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Jun 09, 2010 Jlaurenmc rated it 3 of 5 stars

Southern literature is my favorite genre, but even it can fail to entertain. Thus was the case in the highly lauded, but ultimately disappointing new novel Fireworks Over Toccoa by Jeffrey Stepakoff.

The caveat: Fans of Nicholas Sparks will love the novel. I don't happen to be a fan of Sparks. I am among the thousands who loved the movie version of The Notebook, but any attempts to read his books have resulted in much eye-rolling by me. Why? I'm not sure exactly. Overly dramatic. Full of cliche....more Southern literature is my favorite genre, but even it can fail to entertain. Thus was the case in the highly lauded, but ultimately disappointing new novel Fireworks Over Toccoa by Jeffrey Stepakoff.

The caveat: Fans of Nicholas Sparks will love the novel. I don't happen to be a fan of Sparks. I am among the thousands who loved the movie version of The Notebook, but any attempts to read his books have resulted in much eye-rolling by me. Why? I'm not sure exactly. Overly dramatic. Full of cliche. Heavily focused on the emotion (love, grief, guilt, etc.) but without the character development I would like to see in a really good novel. More than that, the writing style is just not something I'm interested in. I guess the bottom line is just that it's not my cup of tea; however, it is for many, many people. And I believe Sparks's numerous fans will enjoy Fireworks Over Toccoa.

The novel is framed by a present-day tale which reverts through storytelling into a tale of long ago. (Sound familiar?) When engaged city girl Colleen goes home to visit her grandmother Lily in rural Georgia, she learns the story of her grandmother's first marriage. Lily was married during World War II, just days before her husband left to go overseas. During his three year absence, Lily becomes a different person than the girl she was at 17. As time nears for her husband's return, Lily is faced with decisions about her future and her family. Her father, a Coca Cola executive, and her mother are an integral part of this decision-making process, as they have shaped each step thus far of Lily's life. Thrown into the mix is Italian-American (and just-returned WWII veteran) Jake Russo, who has come to town to produce Toccoa's fireworks display for the 4th of July.

Some of Stepakoff's descriptions of the town of Toccoa and its surroundings are beautiful. But the characters fell flat, the plot was a worn conglomeration of love stories already written, and the setting (the small-town south) never popped as I would have liked to have seen it. For southern literature to be great, the setting has to almost become another character in a novel. Stepakoff's fictional debut fell below my expectations.(less)

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May 08, 2010 Kelly Hager rated it 3 of 5 stars

This is an incredibly sweet (and sad) love story in the vein of Nicholas Sparks. But don't judge; Stepakoff wrote for The Wonder Years. So this is a book that you can read in public with no shame. :)

This is set toward the end of World War II. Lily's a young bride and very excited that her husband, Paul, is coming home after three and a half years of being in Europe for the war. He'll be home in less than a week, and so she's working hard to get their house ready. (She's spent much of the separat...more

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Apr 22, 2010 Nancy rated it 5 of 5 stars

Fireworks Over Toccoa lives up to all the hype you've been reading about it - this book is splendid! When Colleen's fiance pushes too hard for immediate children, she runs off to visit her grandmother to help sort out her life. Lily has never tried to sway Colleen's opinion, just listens and things seem to work out. This, however is a pretty big "thing".

While visiting, they look at Lily's wedding dress and pronounce it "perfect". Then something happens that neither foresaw: The local newspaper h...more

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Mar 10, 2010 Angelc rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: already-own-read

I received an ARC copy of this book for review from the publisher.

"Fireworks over Toccoa" is a well-paced love story destined to be on the big screen. The author definitely makes use of his script-writing and producing credits because this book clips right along at the fast pace found in movies and television.

In her 80's, Lily isn't sure her granddaughter Colleen is as happy in her relationship as she wants everyone to think. When the two ladies find a long lost formula for a firework called Lil...more I received an ARC copy of this book for review from the publisher.

"Fireworks over Toccoa" is a well-paced love story destined to be on the big screen. The author definitely makes use of his script-writing and producing credits because this book clips right along at the fast pace found in movies and television.

In her 80's, Lily isn't sure her granddaughter Colleen is as happy in her relationship as she wants everyone to think. When the two ladies find a long lost formula for a firework called Lily's Star, Lily decides it's time to share her own story. In 1945, 20 year old Lily had been married to Paul, the type of man she'd always been expected to marry. Paul was returning home from WWII in a few days and Lily was starting to feel uncertain about the future she'd always felt was decided for her. Then she saw the fireworks that would change the course of her life forever. Once she meets the man behind the fireworks, Jake, her world and her heart flip upside down.

The tone is bittersweet and it makes the reader search his or her own soul and ask what they would do in the same situation. I don't think I would have made the same decisions as Lily, but I did reflect on what I would have done in her place. I don't think I was as able to fully invest myself in the romance because my heart was breaking for her husband, Paul. Perhaps I wouldn't have felt that way if Paul had been a bad person, but the infidelity aspect did make me sad. I probably would have given this book more stars if Paul had been a poor husband or possibly if they hadn't been married yet when he was overseas.

Lily's character is very complex and I felt like I could really relate to what she was going through. She didn't want to be a bored society wife and she especially didn't want her life decided for her. She wanted to get out and see the world on her own terms.

I liked the timeline of the story a lot. The story is told by the older Lily to her granddaughter, Colleen. I feel like it added interest to the story. I enjoyed being able to see see the outcome of the romance 60 years later, although I did keep thinking of the older Rose in "Titanic" telling her own story.

The rumors about this book compare it to a Nicholas Sparks novel, and the story is slightly reminiscent of Sparks. But I felt like this was only in the romantic theme and quick pace. Don't expect a Sparks clone here, this novel isn't as 'goody two-shoes' as his novels are seen to be.

Lily and Jake's love story is beautifully told and really pulls at the heartstrings.. The novel is a quick read and the fast paced twists and turns will keep you turning the pages.

reviewed for: http://inthehammockblog.blogspot.com/

(less)

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Feb 20, 2010 Chocolate & Croissants rated it 4 of 5 stars

A moment in the sky forever in the heart. (Ernesto Russo)

(from the author)
Author Jeffrey Stepakoff, made a trip in the fall of 2003, to Lawrence County, Pennsylvania, to research a TV pilot about a multigenerational fireworks family. One of the more memorable moments of the trip was having dinner with George Zambelli, founder of the Zambelli Fireworks Internationale. Zambelli talked about the magic of his work and the engraving effect of fireworks. It was clear to Stepakoff that Zambelli's wife...more A moment in the sky forever in the heart. (Ernesto Russo)

(from the author)
Author Jeffrey Stepakoff, made a trip in the fall of 2003, to Lawrence County, Pennsylvania, to research a TV pilot about a multigenerational fireworks family. One of the more memorable moments of the trip was having dinner with George Zambelli, founder of the Zambelli Fireworks Internationale. Zambelli talked about the magic of his work and the engraving effect of fireworks. It was clear to Stepakoff that Zambelli's wife was the inspiration for his magic.

The book starts of with two boys pedaling their bikes around the lake bed, seeing a glint of metal and a sparkle of glass. You are not told what they find.

Toccoa, a few days later

What could you say to a young woman who thought she was in love when you thought she may be making the biggest mistake of her life. Lily chewed on this as she waited for her granddaughter.

Lily is a young teenager when her husband of a few days is sent off to war during WW11. Having been raised in Toccoa Lily is very aware of her downtown face when she must face the society ladies and her mother. Life for her is supposed to be about keeping the right house and having children. Days before her husband is set to return from Europe, Lily pulls off the road to watch some fireworks. As fate would have it she meets Jake and they linger together neither one finding a reason for Lily to return to her car and drive home. Born to an Italian father Jake has taken off his father's firework company.

Jake invites Lily to stay for dinner. Candlelight coalesced with moonlight and in the strange and wonderful glow Lily and Jake sat tat the small table in the middle of the field and dined. Lily is mesmerized by Jake's passion for life and his understanding of her dreams and visions. This moment in the field makes Lily wonder if she is meant to be the perfect wife and continue playing the role she was born into.

Her time with Jake teachers her that "Cooking is just like making firewords. after you learn the recipes, you try to forget them and you trust your instincts-you give in to them. You take a little of this, and a little of that, separate and distinct sensations, and you mix it all together and boom you create somthing wonderful that didn't exit before".

For me I found this to be a wonderful love story. We are introduced to Lily as a grandmother, concerned about her granddaughter and her story. The author is able to take us back to a moment in time, in 1945 as through the voice of Lily we told about the love she had for Jake and the conflict she felt about her husband returning home. (less)

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Dec 26, 2011 Sadie Jayne rated it 4 of 5 stars

Why do authors not write a note on the cover of their books, cautioning readers that the book they are holding may emotionally scar them? This book was all emotion, to the point that I've been reduced to tears.

I'm used to reading the young adult version of chick lit, by authors like Sarah Dessen or Susane Colasanti, where our main character always ends up happy, with the guy of her dreams. I guess this is what I get for reading an adult romance. Its much more complicated, not to mention much mor...more

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Apr 13, 2010 Beth rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: arcs, read-in-2010

Fireworks Over Toccoa is the quick, light, romantic story of Lily, a girl who has been raised to know her place in society who falls in love with Jake, an Italian pyrotechnician who has recently come home from World War II. The story is told through a flashback Lily has when a war artifact is displayed in the historical museum and she seems to be the only one who can tell the story of what the artifact is and how it came to be. Lily was married at 17 and shortly after her husband left for war. H...more

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Apr 03, 2010 Cleverly rated it 4 of 5 stars

Lily was young and a free heart stuck in a high society. Paul is Lily's husband who is away at war. While he is away Lily stumbles upon Jake a pyrotechnic. Reflecting back on the book I don't know if Lily was ever really ready to be married. Instead of taking action and getting the house in order when her husband was supposed to return she was dancing with air. Being married myself I couldn't help but feel a pang of disgust at her choices. Even after all that I still LOVED Lily's character. She...more

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May 15, 2010 Kelly Moran rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: my-reviews

Author Jeffrey Stepakoff has a MFA in Playwriting from Carnegie Melon. His television credits include the Emmy-winning Sisters, The Wonder Years, Major Dad, Tarzan, and Dawson's Creek (as a co-executive producer). This is his debut novel, with Billion-Dollar Kiss following. He resides in Atlanta, Georgia with his family.

Colleen finds herself at a crossroads in her life. She is engaged to be married to a handsome doctor, who wishes only to provide her the perfect house to begin their perfect lif...more Author Jeffrey Stepakoff has a MFA in Playwriting from Carnegie Melon. His television credits include the Emmy-winning Sisters, The Wonder Years, Major Dad, Tarzan, and Dawson's Creek (as a co-executive producer). This is his debut novel, with Billion-Dollar Kiss following. He resides in Atlanta, Georgia with his family.

Colleen finds herself at a crossroads in her life. She is engaged to be married to a handsome doctor, who wishes only to provide her the perfect house to begin their perfect life together. But she is unsettled, and unsure why. Seeking her grandmother's comfort, they happen to read an article about a recently uncovered WWII artifact in their hometown of Toccoa, Georgia. But her grandmother, Lily, has her own story to tell to help her. A story that transpired decades ago over the course of four days in July of 1945. Lily was married just days before her husband was sent abroad to fight in the war. Now, he and the other soldiers are returning to the small town of Toccoa. But an attractive Italian immigrant responsible for the elaborate fireworks display to welcome home the troops soon captures Lily's restless heart and soul. Torn between duty to society and her husband, and a passionate man who just might be her one true love, Lily must choose between a commitment she'd already made and a love she never knew.

Reminiscent of THE NOTEBOOK and BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY, this is a story told over generations, jumping both past and present. I give the author an immense amount of credit for the research it took to write such a tale of fiction. From what it was like in the States during WWII, like coffee rationing and mindset, to the detailed setting and events for our troops, this was a well-investigated story. A book that can be read in one short sitting, but will stay with you for a lifetime.

This book was told in a very narrative tone, without a lot of dialog, which writers know is extremely difficult to pull of successfully, but Jeffrey Stepakoff did. This book is also a perfect example of how the choices we make can change the course of our life for generations to come. How one step, left or right, can alter our happiness. If anything, it makes you think. The setting and imagery was inspiring, and the characters' stories profoundly moving. Grab some tissues, you'll need them by the end.

Kelly Moran,
Author and Reviewer
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Mar 23, 2010 Alayne Bushey rated it 3 of 5 stars

Short but light, Fireworks Over Toccoa by Jeffrey Stepakoff is a nice novel and a quick read. Opening in 2007, grandmother Lily recounts the story of a love affair she had in the summer of 1945, days before her husband was due to return home from the war. Having only been married for a short time before her husband was sent overseas, Lily feels as though her privileged life has been missing something. Unhappy with her restrictions, yearning to break free from society’s expectations, Lily follows...more Short but light, Fireworks Over Toccoa by Jeffrey Stepakoff is a nice novel and a quick read. Opening in 2007, grandmother Lily recounts the story of a love affair she had in the summer of 1945, days before her husband was due to return home from the war. Having only been married for a short time before her husband was sent overseas, Lily feels as though her privileged life has been missing something. Unhappy with her restrictions, yearning to break free from society’s expectations, Lily follows the tail of a firework and finds Jake Russo, young, handsome, damaged, and passionate. During their brief time together they explore the boundaries and battles of true love. But Lily’s familial and domestic duties bound her to Toccoa, while Jake’s life expects him to leave.

One could say this was a pleasant sort of novel. The writing was not bad, the character voices were realistic, the setting was perfect, and the images were lovely. But if I’m to be perfectly honest, the flaws that I found outweigh the nicer parts.

Lily seems quite happy with her life before her husband is sent to war. We are told how they met, how he loved to watch her, how she was different from other girls, brash and bold, and basically how she charmed him and they were happy together. Yes, they were only married a brief time before he was sent away for years, but I found inconsistencies in Lily’s narrative about how she had always felt unhappy in Toccoa. If that’s how she truly felt, why was she written so happy before? Why not show us in the beginning that she was unhappy, instead of making it a later excuse for her to fall for the Fireworks Man days before her husband is due to return? It seems to me like the reasons we’re given to justify her love for Jake are thrown together as the novel progresses, instead of being constructed in the beginning. I was glad when Lily’s father told her to pull it together when he figured out she was up to something, since, to me, she was being selfish and unrealistic. We’re told she talked to her husband frequently during the years he was away, so why now? Why this unexpected (convenient) emotion that she’s supposedly had all along?

Additionally, the similarities to other works of fiction were too obvious to pass up. Take the beginning of the movie Titanic (old lady sees news article about a recently found artifact that used to be hers which brings up memories of old love affair), and add it to the middle of The Notebook (including a slow-motion run-toward-each-other-in-the-rain scene), pick one of the few available endings, and you’ve got Fireworks Over Toccoa. Now, none of these works are bad per se, but they’ve all been done before, so reading them in a new novel is a bit redundant. I’m always piqued when I feel like an author is assuming I’ll be okay with gross similarities such as these.

I was a little surprised to see that Stepakoff has been a television producer and screenwriter for some years, as it would seem to me that the number one rule you should never break is having your work be so similar to another that readers are annoyed. I find it hard to believe editors wouldn’t notice. The back cover says Fireworks is “The next great love story.” But really, the love stories in this novel have already been told. If you like these types of books, you will like Fireworks Over Toccoa, as I said, it’s not bad. But if you really are looking for “the next great love story,” I might pass by this one.

3 stars

(I received an advanced copy from the publisher)
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Mar 19, 2010 Kipi rated it 1 of 5 stars Recommends it for: No one

Shelves: fiction, read-in-2010, arc

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I really love a sweet romantic story. I'm not a huge fan of Nicholas Sparks...I hate to cry...but his writing is good. As I read Fireworks Over Toccoa I felt it inevitable that the author would be compared to Sparks, and, in my opinion, he comes up sorely lacking. In fairness I was reading an ARC, so there might still have been some editing to do, but the writing seemed choppy and clumsy. For example:

"Feeling the sun on his neck, beads of perspiration rolling down his cheek, Jake just stood ther

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Apr 09, 2010 Jennifer rated it 3 of 5 stars

Fireworks Over Toccoa is a love story about a young, wild girl named Lily and her very brief love affair with an Italian firework maker named Jake. The story starts off with Colleen visiting her grandmother Lily. At this visit, Lily happens to see an article in the paper about some new finds that were displayed at a military museum. Lily recognizes one of the artifacts as being part of her property that she lost many years before. Colleen and Lily visit the museum to collect that artifact. This...more

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Apr 23, 2013 Nikki Kay rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: romance, heart-ache

“The moonlight on their faces, they looked deeply into each other. And right then Lily felt that the simplicity and purity of this moment must surely have some purpose or plan beyond the plain serendipity of things coming together, and as she closed her eyes, in a lingering blink, her pulse racing, she was sure that right now at this second this moment was being repeated a thousand times across the planet in a thousand thousand heartbeats, all part of some great and natural design of connectio...more

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Feb 25, 2010 Ziaria rated it 4 of 5 stars

I picked this book up thinking I would find a sweet love story, I wasn't let down. It was that and so much more.

The story begins with Lily's granddaughter coming to her house to get her wedding dress. A dress Lily isn't sure Colleen's ready for. Lily's sees something the paper that leads them to the local museum and we find ourselves dropped into an amazing story of Lily's youth one summer while waiting for her husband, whom she was only married too for two week before he left, to return from WW...more

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Apr 18, 2010 Laura rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Romantics

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Hi Readers/Writers,

I am currently lending my copy to my daughter, so I can't pull out some of the wonderful lines that swept me off of my feet and place them in my review for your enjoyment. But some lines were amazing. (Perhaps I will add them in at a later date.)

Fireworks Over Toccoa: literally and figuratively!

Mr. Stepakoff's form is exact. His experience in screenwriting is evident in this book. His use of a found object, a recipe (a MacGuffin/inciting incident), as a method of connecting th...more Hi Readers/Writers,

I am currently lending my copy to my daughter, so I can't pull out some of the wonderful lines that swept me off of my feet and place them in my review for your enjoyment. But some lines were amazing. (Perhaps I will add them in at a later date.)

Fireworks Over Toccoa: literally and figuratively!

Mr. Stepakoff's form is exact. His experience in screenwriting is evident in this book. His use of a found object, a recipe (a MacGuffin/inciting incident), as a method of connecting the present to the past is brilliant, and leaving it a mystery for much of the novel propels the reader to want to know more about the importance of this item to the main character. I also loved the sentimentality of it. And isn't that what a love story is meant to evoke - tenderhearted reflection?

Honestly, for his first fiction novel, Jeffrey Stepakoff did a pretty good job of creating an absorbing love story. It was an incredibly easy read. I found myself identifying the protagonist (Lilly) with Rose from The Titanic, another very privileged and headstrong young lady. And I found myself rooting for her husband and the emotionally and physically wounded, Jake Russo at the same time; which was my greatest hurdle. (Who would I choose?)

Lilly got married too young. It was more like a puppy love or a passing fancy than the substance that creates a lifelong commitment and a bond to another soul. This is evidenced in her quick, romantic interlude with Jake, which I surmised was going to be nothing more than a fling. In a way, that made me not like Lilly at first. However, when she decided to follow her heart, and do the right thing by her husband, I saw her as courageous, and becoming a more self-connected young woman. She had been, after all, young and very immature when she married. She thought she had found her soul mate in Jake. In reality, I do think that Jake fit better with Lilly.

Three years had passed between the time she said her farewells to her husband of two weeks and his return from the war. Only dead people don't change.

The shocking death of her husband in a manner unrelated to the war, I felt, should have had more time in prose. I think it would have added to the richness of the life and death elements of war, love, and life. I would like to have seen her stand by the grave, being given a folded flag, and imbued with a sense of pride for a man she clearly "once" loved. It would have been honorable, it would have brought closure. I did appreciate that she stood by her role as a widow rather than run off to find Jake on hearing that her husband had died.

So, my two complaints about the book: 1) I don't think enough time was spent on the death/funeral of Lilly's husband; things were wrapped up too quickly (IMHO), and 2) I think there was an abundance of references to the wealth of Lilly's family that were overdone. (I think this is something new novelists tend to do a lot, I am also guilty of the same, of thinking the readers need to be reminded of something that's important to me/my character, but I think readers often find their own relevance and it's as unique as they are).

Finally, I think this book needs to go onto the Silver Screen! I would definitely see it (especially if they pick a good cast). Thus, I will keep my signed copy, and probably read it again (maybe even underline the prose that made my heart smile).

KEEP AN EYE ON THIS AUTHOR!

P.S. Lilly reminded me a great deal of the aged Rose in her story-telling about her and Jack (The Titanic), where she compares the secrets kept deep within a woman's heart to that of the ocean.
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Mar 24, 2010 Heather rated it 2 of 5 stars

I was really hoping to like this book more than I did. I'm a fan of love stories and tales of romance that surpasses time and distance a la Nicholas Sparks, but this book just didn't do it for me.

To me this story was just another retelling of the same unrequited young love that gets repeated over and over through the generations of authors who tackle this genre: ; The Notebook; and even the storyline from the movie Titanic. In essence, a free spirited young woman from a well-to-do family has h...more

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About Jeffrey Stepakoff

Jeffrey Stepakoff was raised in Atlanta, Georgia. He attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where he received a BA in Journalism. In 1988, the day after getting his MFA in Playwriting from Carnegie Mellon, he drove to Hollywood where he began writing for film and television.

Jeffrey has “written by” or “story by” credits on thirty-six television episodes, has written for fourteen...more

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Billion-Dollar Kiss: The Kiss That Saved Dawson's Creek and Other Adventures inTV Writing

Love a la Carte (prequel to "the orchard")

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Quotes from Fireworks Over Toccoa

“I'm just a girl Jake"
"I think you're that, and much, much more."
Another long moment. Lily found herself returning his smile, finding her own sense of knowing. And suddenly she felt at ease, a sense of mysterious calm.” — 1 person liked it

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