A review by loverofromance
Behind the Curtain by Beth Kery

medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

 Behind The Curtain is a standalone written by Beth Kery. This is a story that I just randomly picked up as I have been wanting to read more of this author's work. I will be honest in that I had no idea what this book was really about before I picked it up. I just knew it was an emotional one and had a flashback, but that was pretty much it. Sometimes it can be a refreshing experience to pick up a book that you don't know much about and I am glad that I did so with this. Now I rotated this one out with the ebook and audiobook. I do feel like I enjoyed it more in physically reading this one over listening to it. So listen to the sample, as this narrator isn't my favorite to listen to. Something about her voice just rubs me the wrong way, but she may work for you if you enjoy her work.

Behind the Curtain, is a story that begins with our hero who is out with his two best friends, at a jazz club, and there is a woman dancing and singing behind a curtain so only you just her motions but not what she truly looks like. But there is something that the hero recognizes, and he meets her behind the club on the subway and comes face to face with the woman he never gave up loving and broke his heart. Then we are taken to a flashback (this flashback is about half the book but there is no going back and forth) we see our two MC's fall in love and see what tears them apart. Then we are brought back to the present, where our heroine is determined to fight for their love and show the hero she is willing to fight for them now that she more mature and able to stand on her own.

Behind the Curtain was such a beautiful story and I absolutely adored this one in every way. I think if I had just stuck with the ebook, it would have been a full five-star. I did knock down my rating half a star due to the narrator. I will say that this one is one of the most beautiful romances that I have ever read. And as a plus, it was also a diverse romance that was so well done. The representation was so perfect! We need more diverse romances just like this! And it also has the type of vibe to the erotic romance that I wish was in more books. It just has a more classy feel to it which I wish more erotic romance had these days.

There are so many aspects to this story that will appeal to the romantic reader. First off, the romance itself is beyond beautiful and intense emotion is portrayed. The deep connection between these two is epic and beyond memorable. We also have an interracial relationship. The heroine is of Morrocan decent and the way that the author handled the representation was so on point. For this not being a recently published book, it was just right. I really enjoyed how their relationship was developed all the way through and even the flashback I didn't mind seeing in this one here. I also was quite curious in seeing how they would develop their romance and overcome the "forbidden" aspect to i. What breaks them apart in the beginning, actually makes sense, and seeing them find each other again when they were both mature made it possible for them to fight to be together. The heroine especially needed to grow in her maturity, she was too reliant on family and hadn't developed her own character yet but once she had, then she was a fighter in the relationship and loved the GROVEL from the heroine. We just don't see a good grovel from the heroines when they wrong the hero, but the way that she proves herself in this one was beyond epic. The only thing about this story I would have changed is wishing the author added an epilogue, I think that would have made a difference here.

Overall I found Behind The Curtain to be a story that capitalizes on the beauty of difference and diversity and a love overcoming ALL!!