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WHAT WHITE BOYZ WANT - Various Authors Parker Publishing/Passion February 2008 |
SYNOPSIS: In Crystal B. Bright's Bitter Ball, best friends discover love is the best part of friendship. In Seressia Glass's Sex on South Beach, a food critic find the food isn't the only thing that satisfies her hunger. Lena Matthew's Heart Wrangler is a story about how childhood friends can grow up and still be playmates. Raquel Taylor's Bayou Temptress is a tale of a woman who goes through hell to find a big piece of heaven. In Simone Harlow's Cowboy Cool and New York, a woman gives a country western star a reason to sing again.
CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE |4+| Marguerite Lemons
REVIEW:
If you have ever wondered WHAT WHITE BOYS WANT,
then this book answers your questions. It is a steamy collection
of tales of seduction and romance that dispels the myth that interracial
relationships are taboo.
BITTER BALL – Crystal B. Bright (4+)
- Danika Grooms is on the fast-track at the bank and is content climbing
the career ladder. The only thing lacking in her life is Mr.
Right. G. T. Pithall owns a farm on the outskirts of town and is
one of Danika’s favorite customers, and her best friend. G. T. has
been in love with Danika since the first day he laid eyes on her, but he
can’t seem to get her to see him as anything other than a friend; and he
is afraid that if he pushes for more he will lose her altogether.
After several disastrous relationships, Danika and her friends attend
the Bitter Ball on Valentine’s Day as usual, the only difference this
year is that Danika intends to find G. T. a mate. However,
G. T. has plans of his own.
BITTER BALL is one of those
laugh-out loud stories. I thoroughly enjoyed it from start to
finish. I love each character’s independence, but I also liked how
they came to the realization that the one they are searching for is the
one that’s been standing there all along. Once they gave in to their
desires they decided that what ever reservations they may have had about
their relationship where minimal, and together they can weather any
storm.
THE HEART WRANGLER – Lena Matthews (4)
- Georgia Rothe has decided that it is time for a change and when Amber
Kane, her childhood friend, encourages her to move from San Diego to
Bellefontaine, Arizona. Georgia jumps at the chance to be close to
Sterling, Amber’s brother, again. Georgia arrives in town after
walking several miles when her car incurs two flat’s on the roadside.
She vows to kill Amber, if she lives long enough to make it to the bar
that she and her brother inherited from a relative three years ago.
Georgia’s arrival at the bar is rather awkward since she’s the only
African American in the place, and it seems that her streak of
“bad-luck” that has followed her since childhood is still in effect.
Amber is happy to see her, but Sterling is even happier. He has
missed Georgia, but that revelation dies on his tongue when he enters
his office and finds her there in jeans and a red lace bra.
Sterling is mesmerized by the woman standing before him. She’s
nothing like the Georgia he left behind.
THE HEART WRANGLER is a tale of a
cowboy who is in love with a woman, but fears that he is not good enough
for her. I thought this story was good, but I had a problem with
the lack of maturity with the lead characters; and it bothered me that
they just couldn’t sit down and talk through their issues. Of
course, everything is eventually worked out, but I just feel it could
have been better.
SEX ON SOUTH BEACH – Seressia Glass (4+)
- Katherine “Kat” Adamson and her friend Regina “Gina” Lieberman are off
to South Beach for a much needed vacation. While strolling along
the shops on Biscayne Bay, they are in search of lunch and a few much
needed drinks after enduring the torture known as a Brazilian Wax.
They stop in front of Pietro Filipini and his brother’s Italian
restaurant, Bella Luna. Pietro encourages them to dine there after
he catches Gina salivating over their fresh baked artisan bread.
Pietro is immediately drawn to Kat and begins to openly flirt with her.
Kat questions if he’s doing it just to get their patronage, but he
informs her that he’s flirting with her because Sicilian men love Black
women. During the meal, Kat decides to have a one night stand with
Pietro, and when she asks him to deliver dessert to her hotel; he
readily agrees.
This is quick and enjoyable story about a woman
going through a crisis because of a few gray hairs, and the man who
makes her realize that age, and a few gray hairs really don’t matter.
Regina is definitely the kind of friend all women need. She tells
it like it is, and forces Kat to stop having a pity party and make an
effort to get the man she wants. Pietro is every woman’s dream.
He’s good for the ego: hot, sexy, and he can cook. I wouldn’t mind
trying that dessert with a Pietro of my own.
BAYOU TEMPTRESS – Raquel Taylor (4+) - Brett Romano is a move
actor living a real life horror story. His plane has crashed in
the Louisiana Bayou, near the town of Bayou Gauche; and his sister,
Sara, has been kidnapped by some type of highly deformed monsters.
Aja Simoneaux is the first and only African American female Deputy
Sheriff in Destrehan. She, unlike the Sheriff and other’s, does
not believe that Brett Romano is suffering from Survivor’s guilt.
There have been a few kidnappings in the area that have gone unsolved,
and Aja believes that the disappearance of Brett’s sister may help her
solve this case. Now the two of them will risk their lives to
prove that there are monsters in the bayou.
Aja is small, smart, and fearless. Brett is
not your normal pampered actor. He does his own stunts and doesn’t
mind getting dirty. The dedication that these two have to each
other in such a short time is amazing. Their need to protect each
other is heart-warming. If you want steamy romance, with some
mystery and intrigue, this is the story for you.
COWBOY COOL – Jacqueline
Hamilton a.k.a. Simone Harlow (4) - Veronica Kennedy is the
only child of recording mogul Marvin Kennedy. She works in the
Human Resources department at the company, but her passion is her
charity for girls. J. B. Devlin is at the top of the country
charts when he decides to retire from the music business to raise horses
on his farm. Veronica’s father offers her 25 million dollars for
her charity if she will go to Nowhere, Texas and convince J. B. to sign
with his label. Veronica is a Manhattan girl and the closest she’s
ever been to the country is Switzerland, and as J. B. points out,
there’s nothing country about it. When Veronica steps out of the
black Escalade in her lucky Dior shoes with her dog Matisse, J. B. is
speechless. Veronica can’t help but notice how sexy he is
especially when he removes his shirt to clean “dog poo” off her shoe.
She realizes that he’s too good for her father’s label, which consists
of ill-mannered rappers, R & B singers, and other artists. But she
does want him for herself. Veronica learns that love at first
sight is not just a saying, and when she breaks down in her father’s
office and tells him the truth. She discovers just how far a
father will go to make his only child happy.
This story is funny, sexy and a lesson in true love
and how it affects those around it. The characters are fun,
entertaining and they have a lot in common. I enjoyed it, even
though the ending is predictable.
True love comes in a variety of colored packages,
and WHAT WHITE BOYZ WANT is love.
reviewer@romanceincolor.com | t7th April 2008