Review #2: You Can't Plan Love, by Synithia Williams

Review #2-You Can't Plan Love, by Synithia Williams

Genre: Contemporary Romance
Sensuality Rating: Sensuous

     Amazon - Buy Now

Can I just say I love "discovering" new authors.  I thoroughly enjoy being surprised by a new writers work to the point of looking forward to finding and reading more of their books.  While awaiting the new release of a tried and true favorite author, it's so nice to stumble upon or be introduced to a new author or an existing author whose work I've never had the pleasure of reading.

I've been in the midst of editing and re-editing my current project, however I decided to reward myself with a "little" reading time.  BIG MISTAKE. :) After winning, You Can't Plan Love in a blog contest I had been eyeing the book on my Kindle Fire off and on.  Finally I decided to read a few pages of the first Chapter and from there I was hooked.

SYNOPSIS:
The story centers around Kenyatta Copeland and Malcolm Patterson.  Kenyatta has allowed herself to be swayed by passion and emotions so much in her past relationship disasters that she is now determined to play it safe and stay away from men who elicit any degree of lust and desire from her traitorous body.  She is engaged to Brad, a man that she is not in love with, all the while pining away for her boss Malcolm.  Malcolm is doing his own fair share of lusting over Kenyatta but is determined not to engage in an interoffice affair.  All bets are off once he finds out about her engagement and he becomes determined to show her all the reasons why she should give them a chance.  Kenyatta soon realizes that her plans to play it safe in a marriage that would be built on security and convenience may not be safe at all.  After just a taste of passion in Malcolm's arms, Kenyatta remembers all the reasons why she should trust in her heart once again.

REVIEW:
This was a very well written book, with great character development and an overall interesting and entertaining plot.  The author was able to weave a believable cast of characters together in a sensual romance that kept me turning the page to find out what would happen next.  I loved the chemistry between Kenyatta and Malcolm and how it always seemed to be simmering below the surface.  The twists and turns of the story kept things at a nice pace and I especially enjoyed the ending, which in my mind was NOT the standard cookie cutter happily ever after.  It felt more true to life and I could relate to it more than I can with the endings of some novels I've read.  See HEA: Cookie Cutter Blog  Minus a few minor edit tweaks-that took nothing away from the story-I give this book four stars.  Great writing and a sensual romance novel definitely worth picking up.  You won't be disappointed.

Author's website:  http://www.synithiawilliams.com/

HEA - Too Cookie Cutter??

borrowed from scrabblesense.com

I absolutely, positively LOVE a happy ending.  I mean let's be real, it's what dreams are made of.  Right?  That's why I've always loved reading romance novels so much.  Every little girl starts planning out how her Prince Charming will race onto the scene riding his strapping white horse, razzle-dazzle her, literally and figuratively sweeping her off her feet.  They ride off into the sunset and live HAPPILY EVER AFTER. End Credits.

Okay so maybe it's not quite so simple in romance novels.  You have the tug and pull of two opposing forces: enter hero and heroine.  They spend a portion of the story either denying their love for each other or questioning their love for each other.  Outside forces may be thrown at the couple from every conceivable angle, making an already difficult love feel even that much more impossible.  But somehow they conquer all of those perceived roadblocks and discover, rediscover or finally accept their mutual love, and then they live HAPPILY EVER AFTER.


While I can't live without my regular dose of HEA I don't always enjoy the "cookie cutter" endings that I could almost read in mind without seeing a single word of the last few pages of the book.  Sometimes reading an excellent love story can be somewhat of a disappointment when the author chooses to use what I consider to be a cookie cutter ending.  Therefore reading the last few pages or epilogue is something that is at times no fun for me and I simply scan it rather than reading it.  Yes we all want the couple to end up together and remain deliriously in love, however what I don't think is always realistic is having all of their issues magically just disappear in the span of a chapter that wraps up the story.  What I can appreciate in some of the stories that I've read is when the heroine and hero are comfortable and confident enough in their love to admit that they still have things to work out and work on.  This is in fact more true to life and easier to relate to, even if we are reading a genre based in the fictitious fantasy worlds that we wish we lived in.  Yes we want to escape to a world where love conquers all but love is a work in progress which in my mind means you can love someone and want to be with them but not have every single issue resolved.  Sometimes what we could and should love most about someone is their imperfections and how it shapes who they are.

So am I saying that all HAPPILY EVER AFTER's should have unresolved issues?  No.  Absolutely not.  I am simply saying there could be a bit more variety in the endings.  Even though I want my heroine and hero to ride into the sunset, everything doesn't have to be nice and tidy for that to happen.  They simply have to be willing to work on their love.

New Releases on My 2013 To-Read List

Books that I am anxiously awaiting...

A.C. Arthur: Decadent Dreams (Release Date: March 19)
Maureen Smith: Seducing the Wolf (Release Date: April)
Adrianne Byrd: Unbreak My Heart (Release Date: April 23)
Eric Jerome Dickey: Decadence (Release Date: April 23)
Zuri Day: Platinum Promises (Release Date: April 23)
Cheris Hodges: Forces of Nature (Release Date: May 7)
Yahrah St. John: Delicious Destiny (Release Date: May 21)
Jacquelin Thomas: Five Star Seduction (Release Date: May 21)
Niobia Bryant: Never Keeping Secrets (Release Date: May 28)
Naomi Chase: Betrayal (Release Date: August)

More to come...Indie Authors & Newly Discovered Authors

What new releases of 2013 are you awaiting???