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dreadlockdiva2's review against another edition
2.0
Adrian and Leah meet in college and have a love affair that was quickly broken up by disapproving parents. They meet twelve years later when Leah is asked to do an interview of Adrian for the magazine for which she works. They quickly realize that despite the hurt those initial events caused, deep feelings still remain. They have will have to navigate family disapproval and old hurts to find their happy ending.
I think this book simply was not for me as it hit most if not all of plot points or tropes that irritate me in romance. 1) There was virtually no physical description of the female MC beyond a mention of cat eyes, brown hair, and "WOC". For me, these vague descriptions keep the audience from appreciating the depth and richness that diverse characters with different background can bring to a story. However, we did learn about the cultural heritage of the male MC, albeit well into the story. I read multicultural romance because I like to read about how different women find love. I felt cheated not knowing Leah's race or ethnicity.
2) I also did not quite believe the protagonists were in love and not in lust as the author gave little time for those feelings to realistically develop. I guess I like the slow build but the rushed nature of the initial encounter in college made it that much harder to believe that those feelings lingered some twelve years into the future. I also wish the author created a more realistic scenario for why Adrian and Leah initially broke up. While parents intervening makes sense, how the break up unfolded felt awkward and rushed.
3) Finally, I felt this book would have benefited from a good editor who have spotted a number of words being used incorrectly and several instances of awkward phrasing that ended up pulling me out of the story. Overall, I liked that both Adrian and Leah were not white but, and I am guessing here in terms of Leah, from different races/ethnicities. Sometimes in interracial romances we still tend to center whiteness and this story was a refreshing move away from that.
I think this book simply was not for me as it hit most if not all of plot points or tropes that irritate me in romance. 1) There was virtually no physical description of the female MC beyond a mention of cat eyes, brown hair, and "WOC". For me, these vague descriptions keep the audience from appreciating the depth and richness that diverse characters with different background can bring to a story. However, we did learn about the cultural heritage of the male MC, albeit well into the story. I read multicultural romance because I like to read about how different women find love. I felt cheated not knowing Leah's race or ethnicity.
2) I also did not quite believe the protagonists were in love and not in lust as the author gave little time for those feelings to realistically develop. I guess I like the slow build but the rushed nature of the initial encounter in college made it that much harder to believe that those feelings lingered some twelve years into the future. I also wish the author created a more realistic scenario for why Adrian and Leah initially broke up. While parents intervening makes sense, how the break up unfolded felt awkward and rushed.
3) Finally, I felt this book would have benefited from a good editor who have spotted a number of words being used incorrectly and several instances of awkward phrasing that ended up pulling me out of the story. Overall, I liked that both Adrian and Leah were not white but, and I am guessing here in terms of Leah, from different races/ethnicities. Sometimes in interracial romances we still tend to center whiteness and this story was a refreshing move away from that.
jade145611's review against another edition
4.0
I was given this arc in exchange for an honest review. Great second chance story. Loved the ending. Thanks for the opportunity to read it first !
breaking_the_epigraph's review against another edition
2.0
It started off good.
The story has potential, I just couldn’t finish it with the trip back down memory lane and the mental redlining.
The story has potential, I just couldn’t finish it with the trip back down memory lane and the mental redlining.
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