#22, 50 PoC Book Review

[brigdh]

22. Beverly Jenkins, Wild Sweet Love

Teresa, a train-robbing, bank-robbing, horse-riding, leather-wearing, genuine Wild West outlaw, is finally captured by the police and sentenced to jail. She gets out early on good behavior, under the condition that she does well in a rehabilitation program that requires her to live with a volunteer. Teresa is assigned to Molly Nance, a wealthy woman who decides to teach Teresa how to be a lady. Meanwhile, Molly's son, Madison- a ex-gambler turned banker- and Teresa begin to realize that all their constant bickering has more to do with sexual tension than dislike.

This book is probably the first real "romance novel" I've ever read*, and though it didn't match up to my preconceived notions in a lot of ways, I don't know if that's because this is a unusual example of the genre, because I had misguided stereotypes in the first place, or because this book has an African-American author and characters. Or all three.

I really enjoyed reading this. Many of the negative impressions I had of the romance genre were not in this book- the heroine wasn't a virgin, she and the hero were equally matched physically (they both get into and win fist-fights, at different points in the plot, for example, and even the mom got to knock out a bad guy at one point), the plot was not driven by silly misunderstandings or anyone needing to be rescued (instead there's a believable uncertainty about what kind of relationship they want to have). I liked that there were various elements of politics in the book- the hero attends an anti-lynching convention at one point, while Teresa and Molly have a discussion about different black political movements. This is a very minor detail in the book, but I appreciated its existence.

Overall, this was just a fun book. The writing wasn't amazing, but it was perfectly serviceable, and I liked the understanding between the main characters. I recommend it.


* Though I do adore Georgette Heyer, and have read tons of her books, she's not really useful as an example of the tropes and themes of the modern Romance publishing industry.

Cross-posted to 50books_poc

Comments

[parallactic.livejournal.com]

Sounds interesting. I have a thing for heroines trying to put bad pasts behind them. I also seem to end up liking romantic plots more when the characters are shown onscreen to have more going on in their lives besides their relationship.

[wordsofastory.livejournal.com]

This book definitely works on both those counts. It's not a great classic of literature, but, you know, it's fun. Do you read much romance? I hadn't realized.

[parallactic.livejournal.com]

I like romance in theory, but often react oddly to them. I feel like I should like them, because I like shipfic and some forms of manga with a significant romance focus.