"I hold out my hand, and Kayla slips hers into it. I tighten my grip, and she regards me with an expression I can't describe, but that makes me want to throw away my plans and stay right where I am.
But instead, I simply say: 'It was great to meet you.'"
The immediate attraction between a young, and talented Afro-Brazillian filmmaker Ren and keen Black British artist and journalist Kayla leaps off the page from the moment they lock eyes. This book ticks so many boxes for me. It is an exhilarating romance story, filled with obstacles, misunderstanding and sizzling chemistry between two people that aren't white.
You cannot believe how happy that made me. I could actually see myself in Kayla. I understood her and certain mannerisms she had like flipping "back her tangle of long, skinny dreadlocks, licks her lips and wipes cautiously around her mouth with her free fingers". The normalcy of nervously flipping back her dreadlocks and not the whisp of blonde hair that falls into her eyes was so beautiful. I was finally able to relate to the normalcy of nervously flinging a couple dreadlocks or braids over my shoulder as they tumble one after another into my face. I was able to understand due to my own experience. It's crazy to me that we are living in the 21st century and I have been obsessing about this simple act of Kayla sweeping hair away from her eyes. It shows how deprived I am of storylines that I find relatable. I shouldn't be this excited about something this simple in today's world. But at least we have Publishers like Jacaranda filling in this gap in the book market. Thank you. #twentyin2020
Anyway. Back to the story.
Ren
"Is this that sappy part of my brain again, or is she one of the most beautiful women I've ever seen?"
Kayla
"The acute awareness of him I felt in his presence has stayed with me, and it's unsettling and exciting and..."
I really enjoyed the way Domingo wrote this book; we were able to see the story through the eyes of both Ren and Kayla. The reader followed them on their own paths, even when they diverted from one another.
We learnt very early on that Kayla is engaged to her best friend Cole so that she can stay in the United States to complete her work as an artist. She was at the beginning of her artistic journey when she met Ren, and he captivated her heart and soul. Therefore, she was too scared to ever tell him about any of it.
Unfortunately, it was only after a storm cancelled their flights. After roaming the streets of New York hand in hand. After they spent the night together. After they fell deeper and deeper in love with one another that he found out the truth. Ren decided to surprises Kayla at her house, only to find her wedding party in full swing.
"If I meant so much to you, why did you walk away? Why didn't you listen, why didn't you try, why didn't you fight for me?' Her eyes are wide, firing more questions, but before I can speak she says,
'Maybe I wasn't worth it.'
'Kayla-'
'You know what? You're passive, Ren. You just wait for these things to happen to you.'"
She wanted him to fight for her, for them. But Ren was sick of fighting and exhausted from all of the secrets and lies in his life. So he walked away.
(But in fairness to Ren he did just find out that his ex who cheated on him with his best friend was actually carrying his child.)
"One look at the kid pretty much affirmed what we eventually found out to be hundred per cent true. She's my daughter."
I have to admit that it was definitely a plot twist; I honestly didn't see it coming. I was doing some next level reverse psychology with Domingo as I read this book. At first, I thought that it would be too cliche, so she wasn't going to make him the father. Then I felt that Domingo probably thought the same thing, which is why she would make Ren the dad. But then I reconsidered and figured that she would think that it was what the readers thought too. Therefore, she wouldn't make Ren the father of the child. But he was, and I was left shook and wrong.
They were both left heartbroken and alone.
Which leads to a roughly three-year time jump within which they pine for each other while going about their ordinary lives. They both grow and become more successful, but they never forget the time they spent together; a ghost of their love still hovered over their lives.
This was until they saw one another in the flesh on the streets of New York. This moment of fate brought them back together and reignited their confusion, desire and love for each other.
(Basically, they lived happily ever after.)
This was the first romance book I read with two ethnically diverse characters without any ulterior political agenda at the heart of the story. I closed this book feeling fulfilled, feeling like stories about a beautiful Black British woman falling in love with a strong Black Brazillian man is worthy of being published. I felt like a love story featuring a black man and women is worthy; like I am worthy.
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