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.