Monday, August 20, 2018

Book Review: Unlawful Desires

Oy... by the time you're reading this I am (hopefully) catching up on sleep from a concert hangover. Yesterday I went to the Smashing Pumpkins concert with Matt and I'll post about that later, but to get you through the day I have a book review for you! Have you noticed I've slowed down on reading? I'm going through some kind of reading slump all of a sudden and I didn't know which book to read to get me going again but this came along because it's perfect- it's a novella coming in at 162 pages, perfect as a fast read!

Unlawful Desires - Sassy Sinclair

In this erotic suspense romance, sparks fly when a handsome lawyer falls hard for a smart, seductive woman who thinks like a man and acts like one too.

Sharla Ratliff is done with having her heart broken. Her new dating rules are simple. No emotion. No expectation of commitment. Sex purely for her own physical enjoyment. Then she meets Marcel Dennard. The attractive lawyer has all the trappings of success: a thriving career, women at his beck and call, and enough money in the bank for the finer things in life. 

Their lust for each other doesn’t just create sparks, it sets off explosions. The sexual attraction between them is so passionately erotic they behave in ways that can only be called reckless. After a shocking series of events place both of their careers in jeopardy, can they restrain their sexual desires long enough to keep everything they’ve worked for from going up in smoke?

I've said this before but I'm going to say it again because it needs to be said, the romance and erotic genre is TOO WHITE. Hell, I can count on one hand how many books I've read that feature characters that aren't predominately white, let alone romance. If there are people who want to read a book with a character like them, they will be hard pressed to find it. This book does that. We have a strong, smart, independent black woman seeking a strong, smart, independent black man. She's not messing around with these losers who don't shine with her or who only want what she brings to the table. (Honestly, I think we can all relate to that, right??) Sharla doesn't come to play, she knows what she wants and she doesn't want to settle for the sake of settling. She wants a man who is her equal match, who isn't threatened by her success. Enter Marcel. He's made a name for himself on his own right but he's happy being a wandering bachelor. Until Sharla enters the picture.

Marcel is immediately intrigued by her standoffish demeanor and she doesn't play hard to get as much as she's trying to not take a misstep with a guy, she's trying to act like a man and not get emotionally connected. Of course, we know that doesn't work out but it's not without issues. Marcel has a crazy ass ex-girlfriend, there is the issue of her being a judge and Marcel being a lawyer and all of the ethical and legal implications that arise from that. They get into some hot water and face some pretty serious obstacles but can they overcome all of that and make it out together? That's up to you to find out.

So I'm just going to come out and tell you I liked this. It was a fast read, I got it done in just a couple of hours (of interrupted reading time because I have two toddlers who only like me reading to them and this... is not that kind of book...ha!) and I felt like the arc of the story went quickly and it felt complete. I liked the characters, Marcel more than Sharla. If I had to critique anything it would be Sharla, I felt like she was too much of a bitch to Marcel at first. I mean, I get her reasoning and her indecisiveness but man.. when a guy is clearly into you, you don't have to be so damn cold. She's lucky he still kept trying. HA! I enjoyed this book enough that I would recommend this if you're looking for a hot and steamy read or if you're looking for a book that doesn't have an all white cast of characters. Is that so much to ask? Put a little color into your rainbows, authors. There is a whole untapped audience that you're missing. Just my two cents.

   

2 comments:

Shooting Stars Mag said...

Glad this was a good, quick read! I do think romance books need more POC. You know I read a lot of m/m romance and it's popping up more in those books, but I know that's not your sub-genre. Thanks for sharing! :)

-Lauren
www.shootingstarsmag.net

Pamela Samuels Young said...

Sara,
I know this is waaaayyy late, but thanks for your review!

Pamela