whitneydaniell

by: Farrah Rochon
published: Jun 09, 2020
genre: Romance, Contemporary, Fiction
345 Pages, Paperback
GoodReads Link

Cute, quick read. I love a good, trauma-free romance.

I. Characters

Samiah and Daniel are a cute pair. I love the representation of black women in STEM because we’re often not front and center on the brochures of these tech companies. Samiah is sure of herself and knows what she wants out of life. She is also very tough on herself, often stressing out about every detail, and has an incessant need to control everything. Quintessential black woman trauma in the workplace. Daniel’s story is cute too. I think his need to “serve” his country was overblown because, yuck, however, it gave him some substance and fluffed up his story.

Taking into account that this story was published in 2020, I wish Samiah was embracing her “soft girl” era. I hated that she was obsessing over everything being perfect and everything going according to plan. I want more black women to embrace a soft life and let go of this ‘I have to work twice as hard’ mantra that we’ve been told for ages. Again, I understand this book was published in 2020.

Taking Daniel’s job into account, after finishing the book, I don’t feel like I know Daniel as well as I know Samiah. I loved that he is a Philly sports fan (go BIRDS) but, I would like to hear more about his desires and goals. He clearly put Samiah and his current job ahead of the BIG job that he was vying for so, what really is he passionate about? I need more on Daniel.

II. The Story / Plot

This was a cute love story that, as the reader, I predicted from chapter 3. My one gripe with romance stories is that they’re so obviously predictable that it takes away from the fun of reading. If I were a romance writer, and this was a test subject for review, I would have written it so that Samiah falls in love with Daniel’s roommate (sans him being older) or like Daniel’s brother. Why does the love interest always have to be so obvious?

The story was a quick read, and I honestly couldn’t put it down. Everything came to fruition in the last two chapters (maybe three), and then there is somewhat of a wrap-up in the epilogue. But I still feel like I’m missing some part of the story. With that being said, I do feel like the timeline of the story moved very quickly. We were constantly jumping weeks, but that wasn’t a bad thing. I just wish there was more time for these two to really fall in love. Why are we falling in love so quickly? Maybe it’s just me.

Lastly, I love the blossoming friendship/sistership between Taylor, London, and Samiah! Black women need each other and we need hobbies! BLACK WOMEN NEED HOBBIES that do not include their children, family, or employment. Black women need sisterships. These three bonded over something so crazy and turned it into a great friendship – #goals.

III. The Writing

As I’ve said a couple of times above, this was an easy read. The writing was good, and the descriptions and scene setting were on point. I’ve never been to Austin, Texas, but the imagery in this book made it seem like a beautiful place to visit.

IV. My Final Thoughts

I’m on a romance kick right now and I have two more to go – the next two in this series. As far as this book goes, as a standalone story, it is very good. Light-hearted, warm, and fluffy. A good love story to break a thriller/mystery run – even though I’ve been very romance heavy, this month. I’ll save my final, final thoughts once I finish the series.