I’ve had this book for so long and kept bypassing it in favor of other books. Now I’m sorry I did! This was a GREAT read! At over 500 pages, I read the entire thing today, I just could not put it down!

Set in 1898/1899 New Orleans, this is the story of Pete (the Pope) and Tom (the Emperor) and a year of their adventures and misadventures in the Storyville District of New Orleans. The only disappointment was that book ended, and left the reader hanging, wondering if Pete and Rita ever find their way back to one another. Its an adventure, a love story and a history lesson. Anyone familiar with New Orleans will appreciate all the cultural references, some that are still in existance today.