A beautiful story of race, romance and its implications and representations in the world around us

This was my fourth book that found me via the Reedsy Discovery program, for which I am the single approved reviewer for this new book. I chose it because the cover was beautiful and the synopsis drew me in. This review also appears on Reedsy.

If you’re interested in becoming a Reedsy reviewer (and have the chance to get paid “tips” to review books!) check it out here.

The Premise

Born out of wedlock as her mother’s shameful secret, Natalia has always wondered about her father — a married man who led an entirely separate life. As a young adult, when she learns he is dying from a terminal illness, she is compelled to take the opportunity to meet him. Unfortunately, she is too late — but their appearance and physical similarities alert his family of their relation.

Tainted by her own hang-ups of love and her mother’s past, Natalia finds it difficult to trust men. As she struggles with her decision to connect with her father’s family, she also faces a dilemma of two possible love interests: a past love looking to rekindle a flame; and a new love who may have his own past to overcome. As her romantic interests develop in parallel with her interaction with her estranged blood relations, Natalia must discover her own strength as a woman to love without fear.

The Pros

This was a beautiful story of race, romance and its implications and representations in the world around us. I loved how we were able to see both sides of the story — the illegitimate child, now a young adult desperately seeking a connection to her roots; and the late wife, roiling with anger at the past betrayal that only emerges after her husband’s death, and frustrated that she is unable to punish him. Instead, she focuses on who she can punish: Natalia, who had no control over the circumstances that led to her existence.

The author took time to craft each character, even the side characters, and all of the relationships were fraught with emotional angst. The tension was well developed, and there were a few scenes in particular that had me on the edge of my seat. Natalia’s and Pamela’s friendship also breathed some freshness and joviality amidst the heavy subject matter, and made me smile.

The Cons

While I enjoyed and appreciated the overall flow of this story, the genre straddled a divide that interweaves women’s fiction and romance… just like Natalia’s biracial background, it was half and half — which ultimately left a bit to be desired on either side.

The burning passion of a typical romance was more muted here as she vacillated between two possible love options; and the emotional overload of a typical women’s fiction was bubbling under the surface, but came up *just* short of fully exploding for me. With the high drama of the set-up, I somehow expected more suspense, more complicated/flawed female characters, or a gut-wrenching twist at the culmination point… but that’s just not the story here.

Conclusion

I really loved the underlying message of growth, change and acceptance — but it just needed a bit of an extra nudge for me to feel that ultimate triumph for both protagonists at the end. Still, there is a lot to love here. This was a well-rounded story with realistic characters, and it is definitely worth the read.

I also think it is an important story for our time, as racism presently pervades every aspect of our lives. While it’s a good read for anyone, I particularly would recommend it for Christian, female readers (especially women of colour) — despite a wee bit of explicit language, this is an excellent pick for that market. Representation matters, and this novel has it in spades; it would certainly hit that mark of leaving you inspired.

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