Kimani, $6.50, ISBN 978-1-335-21653-3
Contemporary Romance, 2018
Tressa Washington is a conflicted woman. She is about to be engaged to another guy, but after being kissed by Roth Lexington, she can’t help thinking that it’s going to be a bumpy nuptial when her mind is all about the Hot Roth. Oh, can someone give her a sign as to what she should do? Well, you know what they say about being careful about what you wish for – her fiancé’s girlfriend crashes the party and reveals that the scumbag has been cheating on Tressa all this while. Well, that’s a convenient way to lose an inconvenient baggage. Free at last, Tressa runs off to join Roth in a mountain cabin getaway, because we all know a hot guy is the best remedy to any lady’s hot mess.
On his part, Roth has her on his mind too ever since they first met, and now that he has his opportunity, can he make the most out of it?
The best thing about Soaring on Love is the first half or so, when Tressa and Roth are getting their groove on. There are sexy times, of course, but there are also humor, some fun banter, alcohol (don’t ask), and convincing chemistry. Both characters are likable types, although I admit they aren’t much different from the typical Hot Guy and Hot Woman that populate the Kimani line. The author has a natural, deft way with words and humor here, and the end result is a fun, smooth, and entertaining story.
And then, we have the second half, when these two have to go back to the real world. That’s when things become far more mundane. We have jealousy issues, silly mind games, and of course, a passel of sequel baits coming together to urge these two to keep going at it because they somehow know that Tressa and Roth are meant to be, forever and ever, snore. Roth’s commitment issues keep going on and on in a ridiculous manner – even after he admits that she’s everything he wants in life, he insists that he has to remain “cautious”. For what? Damn it, she’s not going to turn into a werewolf and bite off his dangling bits, so he’s just being ridiculous now.
Soaring on Love, therefore, should have been a short story that ended with a happy bang in the cabin. The second half is an interminable drag that is not worthy of the more entertaining first half. Why? What happened? Did the author run out of ideas halfway through the writing process? Sigh.
Four oogies for the first half, two for the second half – taking the average, three oogies would be a fair score for this one, I’d think.
