Kimani, $6.50, ISBN 978-0-373-86440-9
Romantic Suspense, 2016
It is a very good thing that the romance gives away to the suspense elements later in the story, as the romance itself is a most uninspired affair. Seducing the Heiress introduces Farrah Blake, a corporate attorney who grasps at straws just to whine that she and hero Robert Gold will never be together.
Okay, let’s rewind a bit. Farrah and Robert gets married when the story opens as part of a Vegas dare. She intends to get the whole thing dissolved soon after, and he better not tell anyone about it, but at the same time, she has no problems doing it everywhere and anywhere with him during that Vegas trip. Of course, after she’s had her fun, she’s treating him like a leper. Robert likes her, though. I don’t know why. Farrah spends what seems like an eternity insisting that Robert is a player, he is not a forever guy, he will never settle down, et cetera – although, it’s not like she asks him or gives him a chance. She can grab his pee-pee, but heaven forbid she stops for a minute from her mental gymnastics to get to know him better.
At the same time, someone is trying to ruin the reputation of Robert and his high-tech security business. Surprise, it’s a woman! Not that I have anything against female villains in general, but I think Kimani is setting a record for the number of women cast as trollops, skanks, psycho mothers, and more. It is when the author focuses on this aspect of the plot and shoves Farrah’s “I got a warthog up my rear end” one-woman sour prune act to the side that the story becomes more readable. Not that this particular aspect of the plot is amazing, mind you, I’m just so relieved that the focus swifts away from Farrah that I may overstate the virtues of the later parts of the story a little bit more than I should.
On the bright side, this one is an easier read when I compare it to the previous book in the series. The narrative is smoother, less chunky, and the author does more showing this time around. It’s too bad that Farrah really has no good reason to prolong her nonsense, making the romance an obnoxious Bitter Betty whinefest. All things considered, though, a three-oogie score is a pretty fair one for this book. It’s alright, especially when Farrah is no longer the main focus of the story, but it could be better.
| 
