Kimani, $6.50, ISBN 978-0-373-86494-2
Contemporary Romance, 2017
Nights of Fantasy is related to the author’s previous three books – it’s part of the Bare Sophistication series – and it focuses on the good friend of the heroines of those books, Danni Allison, and loaded playboy Jaleen Walker.
Those two have maintained a friendship all this while, but one evening, Danni gets a little too tipsy and reveals to Jaleen that he’s on her list of things to do before she hits the big three-oh. More than once, actually. Okay, he’s not the kind to take advantage of a drunk woman, but since then, their friendship becomes tinged with sexual tension. He teases her, she teases him back, and the next thing they know, he’s taking her on a fantasy date to remember and I realize that I’m in love with Jaleen’s bank account.
Seriously. This is the guy who will take one look at things and go, “I’ll take it!” regardless of how much it actually costs. Sure, his moving in to the building next to Danni may be creepy if he’s fat, ugly, and poor, but since he’s hot, fit, and more importantly, rich – well, that’s sexy. I like that. And that date is just… really, which deity do I need to pray to and what kind of animal sacrifice do I need to make in order to enjoy that kind of hospitality? In fact, I don’t care if he’s ugly and fat – the money will make up for any inadequacies the man may carry. If you are one such man, call me!
Ahem. The whole courtship thing is really nice, and only underscores how important it is for young kids to realize that money should be the main criteria to look for when they settle for a life partner. Sure, good looks are fine and great sex is better, but having great sex with a pretty face will soon lose its luster when the bills pile up and the two of you start fighting over who gets to eat the last morsel of tuna in the can by the end of every month. With a big bank account, fat people can be made fit and ugly people can be made beautiful – just throw the cash at the right people and voila. Be like Danni. Get down with a loaded guy who is also hot and fit, and you’d be golden.
Aside from the fairy tale courtship made out of money, though, the rest of the story is first world problems given the most overwrought and illogical treatment.
Jaleen can never love, and do you know why he always break up with the women he sleeps with? No, it’s not because he’s an asshole of the first order, it’s because he’s a Walker and Walkers are supposed to put business over everything else. Thus, if he puts the ring on Danni’s finger, he will be dooming her to a lifetime of misery! I am not making this up! He goes on and on about how he cannot bring any woman happiness, and for a long time, I thought his reason would probably involve something horrifying, such as how there is a family curse that would render all firstborn to have the head of a donkey or something. When he reveals that the reason is that, I can only laugh at the ludicrous length he goes on and on like he’s the most miserable fellow in the world.
As for Danni, she is being blackmailed. Ooh. Did she kill someone? Has a past of doing sex shows with donkeys? What could be the reason that forces her to pay up and suffer in silence? Don’t laugh: she’s actually the half-sister of the heroines of the previous three books, because their mother is such a skank. In fact, the mother is blackmailing her. And since she is already BFFs with her half-sisters, and they do not have any love for the skank mother, there is no reason to believe that they would not accept her with open arms. Thus, her reason to keep paying the blackmailer just makes her look like an utter imbecile.
And given that these two just go on and on over their oh-so-stupid drama, Nights of Fantasy ends up being an overwrought tale of two morons who can’t deal with their trivial problems because of their limited intellectual capacity. It’s probably a good thing that he’s loaded so she’d be happy with him. No, really, I don’t know what the author is thinking when it comes to the drama here. Has she run out of ideas or something?
