| Title | : | The Real Thing |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 0758228872 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780758228871 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 338 |
| Publication | : | First published April 1, 2010 |
Since he lost his last fight ten years ago, Dante has led a reclusive life--and he never gives interviews. But he's making a comeback, ready to prove to the world--and his ex-wife--that he can still win a championship. He gives Christiana an ultimatum: if she can perform five tasks, she can ask him five questions. And then she can be on her way. Yet Dante's always had a weakness for beautiful black women, and seeing Christiana everyday is enough to melt his defenses. Soon Christiana is an intimate part of the very story she came to write. But when the line between personal and professional gets blurred, it can be difficult to see when you've found the real thing...
The Real Thing Reviews
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I LOVED THIS BOOK!!! First, the author...a MAN! Yes! A MAN! I want to meet the man who can write a perfect love story between a man and a woman from the point of view of a black woman. Oh, yeah he's a white man (did I forget the mention that?) regardless, I stayed up WAY past my bedtime just so that I could finish reading this lovely story.
This was an interracial romance, but race was mentioned in the description of the characters but after that race was no longer an issue. I loved Christiana, in the beginning I thought that she was going to be too hard. Being that she was a former hard-nosed New York Times journalist, who decided to work for an entertainment rag (think People Magazine). She was an orphan who was raised by her grandfather who was a former Golden Gloves Boxer so she could speak our hero's language. Yet, while she was hard, she had heart. Which she promptly lost to our lovable hero. I felt like I knew her, cause she could have been me. The girly tomboy, regardless of losing her heart she never lost herself and actually became stronger--you have to read the book to know what I'm talking about.
Now, for Dante...I liked him, didn't love him but I did like him. Mr. Murray painted a picture of the older warrior that must face one last battle before he can retire and give up the fight to his son. Dante was a boxer (think Rocky) who had been a champion but as with all things someone younger and stronger came along to defeat him. His heartless wife, leaves him and he spends 10 years staying out of the spotlight trying to win his ex-wife back. He speaks in heartrending Italian-although he is 2nd generation Italian American. He was almost too cliché. Devote Catholic, who loves his mama and believes marriage is until death...not divorce. However, our fearless heroine enters his life to record his comeback fight and while the love that blossoms is instant...Dante is hesitant because he made a promise to his ex-wife. Where I lost love for Dante is that he clearly loved Christiana but refused to accept his feelings and acted like a punk in front of the ex. After a while his weakness, left me hard to think of him as the champion boxer and alpha male that he should was supposed to be. But, his vulnerability worked even while it detracted. Regardless, it was a great read, and I will be reading more by Mr. Murray.
Review from:
www.notnowmommysreading.wordpress.com -
3 stars….
I will explain… The book is good overall. HOWEVER there are a few things that bugged the hell out of me… and since I spent almost 5 bucks on this book, I feel it’s my right to explain.
My biggest complaint… Christiana looked like a hot damn fool with the begging. Now I understand that when you are “fighting” for “love” you pour your heart into it completely…. HOWEVER she was begging… simply put, there is no other way to jazz up that chapter at all. It was sorta gross in my opinion, I was screaming at my tablet “ WHAT THE F*** ARE YOU DOING!!!”... I had my fingers crossed that she would state her peace and walk out like a boss… instead she acted like a freaking 16 year old begging for him… GROSS… this alone is why I was battling between a 3.5 and a 4. I don’t know of any woman who would leak that level of desperation… which really pissed me off.
Moving on… I get she is supposed to be “Funny” but she came across as very childish, I am like wow what 35 year old woman acts like this and if she would have said “booty” one more time I think I would have screamed.. literally screamed. I just kept thinking,... I can not take this chick serious at all… even during the serious moments I was eye rolling because it was something childish.
Sigh… my last piece of pissed… The LONG drawn out details of EVERY celeb interview that she conducted… I skimmed the hell out of all of it, I got so damn annoyed because I get it the first couple of time but DAMN it just kept going and going ugh.
NOW why the book received the 3 stars even though it pissed me off… well the story was different from what I have read in the last couple of weeks. I actually enjoyed Red, DJ, and Dante’s characters.. I think Dante was a bit soft and I wouldn’t consider him an alpha male but he was a great character none the less, Dante was also a fab father… which added to his appeal. I also enjoyed the beginning and ending of the book view much, growing the connection with the characters was nice to read about. It was very interesting how everything came to be… so yes I have a few dislikes.. but overall the book was good. -
Quick read about a female black reporter who interviews a retired Italian American boxer training for his comeback fight. To get the interview, she has to go to a small town in a remote part of Canada where the hero trains. She stays there a while getting to know him, but ends up becoming a part of his life in a way she didn't anticipate. I thought this was going to be some smutty book, nothing wrong with that, but this was far more than that. Both hero and heroine go through genuine personal journeys where they come out stronger, both physically and emotionally, than they were at the start of the novel. There's an actual plot here without the inevitable Great Misunderstanding. The heroine is the type of woman I like. Plucky, funny, sexy, curvy, unafraid to say what's on her mind. He is a passionate, fit, intense and extremely loyal. Who wouldn't want to root for characters like these two?
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Absolutely Floored By This Book!!!!
I have had this book sitting on my Kindle for a long minute. I have begone reading the tons of reads on the e-reader and this was the first one. I am so speechless and stunned by this book. I don't know where to begin. I laughed a lot, I cried, I rooted for the Hero and Heroine and pumped my fists in the air of sweet victory.
Dante "Blood and Guts" Lattanza is a retired boxer who had lost his last fight 10 years ago. He is making a come back to fight the man who he lost to. Not only did he lose the fight, he also lost his wife through the divorce.
Christiana Artis is a journalist, she used to work for the NY Times but now she works for a fluffy magazine called Personality that reports on the unimportant lives of the rich and famous. She is given an assignment to interview Dante because they are doing a top 20 gorgeous men. Dante has been given the number 13 slot. Christiana makes her way to Canada because that is where he lives with his trainer/cook, his trainer's girlfriend and his son DJ who visits during the summer and his time off from school.
What Christiana finds out is that Dante doesn't do interviews, so when she shows up and he flatly refuses to even talk with her (he is speaking rapid Italian) his son translates. Then an idea forms, if Christiana can do 5 tasks that Dante puts before her, he will then grant her the interview but if she fails, she will leave and never to return.
Dante didn't know or maybe he did with his challenge to her. It sparks a fire up in Christiana which she didn't realize had been extinguished a long time ago. So as she takes on the challenges things begin to change not only for her but for Dante as well.
Dante is an old fashioned man with old fashion morals and values. Things are sacred to him like love and in order to win the heart of a man such as him, you have got to be "The Real Thing"
There are obstacles that these two must go through in order to reach that plateau of love. Will they reach it or not is the question.
This story has been incredibly refreshing, it is hard hitting with amazing life lessons and love lessons. I encourage you to give this book a try. This is in fact my first book by this author and I know it will not be my last.
Until My Next Review Ciao Bellas! -
This was really a nice read.
Meet Christiana. journalist of Personality magazine, was about to interview former boxer, Dante "Blood and Guts" Lattanza. At first, Dante declined to be interviewed. But when he asked what rank he had on sexiest man alive column, atually Christiana said that he deserved number nine instead of number thirteen that her editorial suggested.
And that's when Christiana opened Dante's naive heart. Oh yeah, he might be a strong man with bulk of muscles, he might be a gentleman and friendly, but he had the most naive heart. He thought he could win his ex-wife back by winning a rematch with Tank Washington (who won over him ten years earlier).
I liked the story flows, I liked the arguments they had, it's witty and refreshing. I liked interracial romance which was not focused on how dark their color or how people make stereotype based on their color of skin. And this one...I liked it. And I knew a lot about boxing, thanks to this (though I still couldn't understand some things, that's my fault, not the author). -
Okay...I just finished The Real Thing...this is the first book I've read by J.J. Murray...it's LOADED with plenty scenery description...I feel like I'm SMACK DAB in sections of NY and Canada...the storyline is ENGAGING...and the full cast of characters are very ENTERTAINING...I find myself LOL at their funny antics and witty dialogue throughout...the description and portrayal of Dante's character is INTENSE...and Christiana and her antics throughout are OFF-THE-CHAIN...once Dante and Christiana meet and "hook-up"...during their INSTANT and brief encounter, they make a GREAT couple...they just seem to bring out the BEST in each other...and I ENJOY being witness to each "challenge" Dante makes Christiana perform in order to get her 5 interview questions...talk about a MAJOR work-out...LOL...and the ending is simply BEAUTIFUL and "priceless"...it brought tears to my eyes...I'll certainly have to check out more of Mr. Murray's work.
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A fight for love
No matter the path the journey is a lesson worth learning. Dante and Christiana meet for a sort of come to truth time. He was a boxing champion and she a writer. With our her knowledge p, her articles were part of the motivation to make a come back. The fluff piece turns into one heck of a love story.
Once again Mr. Murray brings real people together with flaws and all. No one is without pain. The truth is sometime you fight and sometimes you just walk away for the truth to be revealed. Some of these truth broke my heart. The fun and love that expressed throughout this story made it worth it. Things were said, promises broken and forgiveness given because love, true love is worth it.
The female verbal sparring match is a thing and Christiana stopped Evelyn's level at times. Evelyn didn't love Dante completely, she threw him away. Christiana took him as is and went toe to toe with him. She made him smile and believe again. He opened her eyes and she lived again.
The truth revealed is poetic in the love that the heart knows before they see. -
I’m gonna say something incredibly sexist here but I can’t believe this was written by a man. JJ Murray is so funny and so on point writing from a female pov. I loved christiana so much. She was ballsy, sexy and funny. There were no sexist assumptions presumptions that men usually make about women and JJ knew his stuff referring to her hair care, skin care and all the things women go through. I really enjoyed this book and the strong female character
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5.0⭐️ J.J. Murray’s writing is phenomenal. His approach is always different and fresh in every one of his books. And, I DO NOT HAVE to wade through tons of misspellings, misused words, run-on sentences or other atrocious writing/editing jobs. The characters are so richly drawn, and they are complicated, just as we all are in the real world. This is a warm and engaging interracial story of two people--a hot Italian boxer and a black female journalist-- --both of whom have issues and some baggage (whether internal or external). However, you will find that they also have depth and heart, which is why I found myself rooting for them.
The book is written from Christiana's point of view--and she is hilarious! Her inner musings are sometimes disjointed, when she is torn about what to do or what not to do. Although she can change her mind at the drop of a hat, Christiana is by no means a "flake" or superficial person. She is very serious about her journalism, and she excels at her job. When she's interviewing what she calls "fake people", AKA some celebrities, she says one thing to placate them during the interview to get the job done. On the other hand, what she really thinks is, well, what many of us may have thought about some celebrities, but just didn't say it. Great, great stuff! I liked Christiana a lot. She is by no means one dimensional; she has layers that are peeled back slowly as the book progresses. I laughed with her, cried with her, got angry with her, and I vicariously enjoyed the hell out of the lovemaking sessions both real and fantasized. I have a very good friend who reminds me so much of Christiana; she sometimes has my head spinning--but, she is a good, honest person with integrity. So is Christiana, her theatrics notwithstanding.
Dante, the boxer, is staging a comeback--only no one believes he will win. He and Christiana first meet when she is trying to gain a 30 minute interview with Dante and permission to use some pictures she shot for a fluff piece for her magazine. What happens next is very entertaining. Christiana must do five things successfully before Dante will grant her an interview. He delivers this message in Italian to his son DJ, who then explains it to Christiana. Good thing her granddaddy taught her how to fish! I won't go into detail here, because there is so much "meat and potatoes" to this very crucial part of the book that I could never do it justice. Suffice it to say Dante has a very strict work-out regimen, and he has staunchly held ways of doing things. It is through Christiana's eyes that we first catch a glimpse of the man, and it is not flattering---her first impressions of him are that he is rude, vain, rigid, distant, and unwelcoming. However, through Christiana's interviews with Dante, and their subsequent conversations, a very different picture of Dante emerges--the real Dante, the Dante on the inside, the Dante with the big heart, with principles. Dante is a man who loves his son and wants to be a hero to him--he is a man who walks the walk and talks the talk. Wow--there is so much to Dante that transcends his good looks and charm. You cannot help wanting Dante to win in boxing and in love, against all odds.
Dante's son, DJ, his trainer/friend/cook, Red, and significant other, Lelani are each very interesting and likeable characters, and add so much flavor to round out the story. The only character that is not so likeable is Dante's ex-wife, turns a simple name Evelyn into "EVElyn." Now that alone should tell you what you need to know about her. But, even she adds another dimension to the layers in this story.
I'll just put this out there for whatever its worth---there is a lot of social commentary about celebrity/stardom, about what is and is not really important in life, for example. Whether we agree with these ideologies or not, there is much to ruminate upon, and it does not detract from the story. I happen to enjoy a bit of profound thinking in romance novels! Also, there is some repetition near the end, as Christiana is writing up and editing her interviews, but that is so minor compared to the overall excellence of the book, that it has negligible impact IMHO.
In a couple of Mr. Murray's earlier books, I lamented that there wasn't enough sexual "heat" between the two main characters. DEFINITELY NOT the case in this book!
There is SO much more to this book, that I don't believe any review can capture all of the various nuances in the book and the sheer profundity of it. This book just needs to be read and, yes, savored. I felt so good after reading "The Real Thing" that I wanted to read it all over again. Murray keeps you on the edge of your seat, wondering whether a happy ending is in store for Christiana and Dante. -
I'm not one to read biracial romance novels, mainly because they tend to focus too much on race issues that I cannot relate to. But this one was just the opposite. The author says it best himself within the book, ". . . they're different. So what? All people are different. All relationships are different. Tell me a good story about these two. Entertain and delight me" (252). This book did just that. It is a story of a magazine journalist that uncovers the location of a ex-world champion boxer hidden away in Canada while training for his comeback fight. While trying to get the scoop on this sexy boxer, a battle of wills ensues. In order to get the interview with hims she must complete 5 tasks, including doing his workout with him. Throughout the book each character must figure out what is worth fighting for. A good read. Definitely for more mature audiences as there are some steamy scenes.
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Though I'm not a fan of these so-called "sexy" or "smut" novels that has most women craving for more, I find that J.J. Murray has interested me because he's a white male who is ironically writing in a black females perspective most of the time. Its hardly heard of for an author, so I've read several of his books and when I came upon this in the library, I was like "*gasp*, finally another Murray novel I haven't read!"
This time around main character Christiana is a reporter for a magazine called Personality. She is sent to Canada to do a puff piece on a boxer that made their sexiest man alive list named Dante "Blood and Guts" Lattanza. When she first arrives to his tucked away cottage Dante immediately dismisses her in a string of loud Italian, for lack of a better term. But Christiana, being the reporter that she is, is determined to get her puff piece like it or not. So Dante challenges her to join in his work out, which seems inhuman, and fishing to name a few. It isn't long before the sparks and the Italian starts flying.
Murray often writes strong black female leads who don't relieve they need help until before the end of the story and I've noticed a pattern of Italian male characters. This isn't the first time he's done this, his first novel "Renee & Jay" being my most recent memory. That aside, the story continues on in a flurry of Lust, Ex-wife madness, boxing (which I'm not a fan of or know anything about),some tender moments, and Christiana making endless references to her 'booty' or someone else's 'booty' and other body party that I will remain nameless for proprieties sake. I wish I could tell Murray that not all black females obsess over their butts, at least not so much. There were more than enough booty references.
Dante and Christiana's chemistry seemed more lust driven than anything, leaving me unconvinced that they would make a good couple. It isn't until toward the end of the book where Christiana makes some changes that I start to feel her feelings are a little more genuine. Dante, on the other hand, is a very romantic character even though he's a boxer. He seemed more attached to Christiana without the feeling of lust which I found to be a little gentlemanly.
Overall it was okay. I stray away from books in this genre because the line between lust and love is too blurred for my taste; I get mixed feelings toward the characters when they mostly focus on the physical as a reader; does this character really love this other character or is it because they had really great sex? And this is also is my personal opinion, so no offence to other readers who enjoy this genre. Murray does a good job with scenery description and I really did feel like I was fishing in Canada, on another high note. But like I said, this book okay. -
Personality magazine reporter, Christiana Artis is bored stiff with interviewing people who are famous for no good reason. Too often they’re as dumb as a box of rocks and half as interesting. She wants to return to interviewing everyday people who makes a difference in the lives of others. People who live their lives with a purpose.
Although ten years of anonymity have made Dante “Blood and Guts” Lattanza, former middleweight boxing champion less of a household name, it hasn’t claimed his skill in the ring. He has a point to prove to the world, to his ex-wife and to himself. He isn’t a loser. He’s someone that she, his son and friends can once again be proud of.
However, it’s not his return to the boxing ring that gains Christiana’s attention. Nope, it’s his becoming one of the Sexiest Men Alive that brings her to his door and sexy doesn’t begin to describe Dante’s chiseled good looks, perfect physique or smooth Italian tongue.
Could Dante be as deep and stimulating as he looks? Or is he, like so many other celebrities she’s interviewed? As shallow as a kiddie pool?
Before Christiana can ask her first question, and confirm his lack of depth, Dante makes an arrangement with her. She can ask five questions. But she must first complete five tasks to get her answers. It’s not long before the tasks turn to kisses and the questions to the satisfied moans of bliss. But when Christiana, breaks the rules and publishes his off-the-record comments, Dante once again remembers why he never trusted reporters, not even a sexy cioccolata one like Christiana.
Using his trademark wit and humor JJ Murray once again brings together two characters that are believable and easy to relate to in his latest summer read, “The Real Thing.”
Dante’s not only super sexy, he’s all that a real man should be. Responsible, respectful and a great Dad to his son DJ. While Christiana is a heroine that female readers will see a bit of themselves in. Their lives isn’t all that they want them to be, but they’re working to get them there. And when tough times come, they don’t throw in the towel, they reinforce their battlements and charge on toward their end goal. For Christiana, that’s remembering not only her roots, but how those roots shaped her into the reporter she is today. While, for Dante, that’s winning back the love of his life…now if only he could get his heart and his sense of honor to agree on who that is.
Long on laughs, yet emotionally deep, “The Real Thing” is a refreshing story of two regular people…even if one of them is famous….who simply want an everlasting love to last the ages. -
I won an autographed copy of this book from the Goodreads giveaway. I read another J.J. Murray book,
I'm Your Girl, about two years ago. What I find so enjoyable about his books is their fairly apolitical exploration of interracial relationships. Murray never makes a big hoopla out of two people from different backgrounds falling for one another--he simply lets it happen without any sociopolitical commentary. The conflicts are, instead, interpersonal.
The Real Thing is no different. Christiana, a journalist, manages to get an interview with the elusive Dante, a boxer staging a big comeback. Over the course of their three days together, they fall in lust/love. The root story is refreshing, as the protagonists are over 30 and independently successful. Christiana, however, is sometimes prone to fits of jealousy, impulsiveness, and narcissism/vanity. She has an extraordinarily compelling back-story, and I sometimes wished that the book had explored it in more depth. I think that some more concrete links could have been forged between her tragic past and her sometimes ridiculous behavior.
Overall, this book makes for a fun beach read. The characters are fairly interesting (though I found Dante's ex-wife, Evelyn/"Evil Lyn," to be somewhat of a caricature) and the tone remains generally humorous throughout. -
This is the story of Dante Lattanza ex-boxing champ and Christiana Artis photojournalist and boxing fan. Christiana has been assigned to take Dante's photo and write a little update about him because he has been chosen as one of the sexiest men alive. He is also about to return to the ring after 10 years and has secluded himself from the rest of the world. Dante has a teen son named DJ and is hoping to win his wife Evelyn back after the fight. Christiana goes to interview him and they like each other but Dante tells her FROM THE BEGINNING HE WANTS TO GET BACK WITH HIS WIFE!!!!!!But of course she thinks after 1 night of the best sex of her life he is just going to change his mind because they are in love. GIRL BYE!
This book was good for the first 1/2 of the book and I really liked Christiana and Dante. I also liked Red and Leilana and DJ. But then Christiana became a ridiculous, childish HAG so I could no longer root for her and Dante. Even the ending couldn't make me forgive or forget her behavior. When you promise someone something you keep the promise, that is all I'm going to say about that.
The last half of the book was too narrative. Most of the chapters were just Christiana talking to her self about what she'd done to Dante and that shiz was boring. And I continued to hate her. Of course at the end they get back together and live happily ever after but by then I simply did not care. -
This book was better than his Something Real book. I still think that he is an okay writer. I felt more connection with these characters which I hoped for seeing that he wrote this book 8 years later, so I had hoped he honed his writing skills. Mr. Murray still didn't fully connect all the characters. I'm not sure how to explain. Some of the initial interactions were just weird. Especially Red and Lelani, they just started to talk to Christiana as they knew her from way back like they were long lost friends or something. And one of the training scenes, I thought was unbelievable. No one who doesn't work out on the regular is going g to beable to keep up with someone who has been training for years. I almost put the book down at that point because I just KNEW it was going to get stupid. I'm glad I didn't because it did get better which I'm glad to say. It ended well which is why I gave it the 3 stars.
Side note: The cover didn't match the characters. He was a dark, older Italian and she was in her mid 30's. Not hating, I'm just saying.......... -
I would give this one 6 stars if I could. I finished this last night. I could not put this book down. JJ captured the raw, intense emotions that come with the great battle of life and love. And how important it is to oneself to have a personal sense of self, love, and respect. I love that although this is an interracial love story, race does not cloud nor take away from the story. You fall in love with Dante immediately and Christiana as well.
This one is a "hard hitter" in more ways than one. I do not want to give anything away about this book, but "boxing" I've never really been a big fan of boxing. The only boxer I ever loved is Rocky! And he still has my heart to this day LOL! But Dante, OMGOODNESS!! I was rooting, crying, screaming, laughing, getting ticked off @ times with this guy.. But I love him! This is such an inspiring story. A great love story involving self, family, and the one we just cannot live without. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS READ. -
I thought this was a decent read. Overall I enjoyed the storyline about a reporter and retired boxer who wanted to make a comeback for what he thought of as a special reason. All of the characters in the book were likeable except of course the ex-wife. Dante does seem overly gullible and puts hopeless romantics to shame. I take it back I don't think I would label him as a hopeless romantic that would be too good a description. Frankly, I found myself saying "come on" and "are you serious" regarding his reasons for returning and his relationship with his ex. The fact that the writer was a male was a bonus and I enjoyed the interracial romance aspect.
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This story is like a cross between the Rocky movies and Jennifer Crusie novels.
The book was laugh-out-loud funny with an outrageous female celebrity magazine reporter (1st person story) with a few issues. The boxer, Dante, was attractive and loyal...albeit a bit naive in his fixation on his ex-wife.
The story gives some interesting behind the scenes type look into the boxing world, although I'm not much of a boxing fan.
Overall it's a good vacation/relaxation story. Definitly worth the read. -
This book was okay, he used a lot of descriptive terms to describe Brooklyn and I feel in love with Brooklyn and I live an hour a way. I wish he would of but more emphasis on the relationship more like more of them getting together to know one another, I do believe in love at first sight but to me I did not really see enough action for them to fall I love. The sex scenes were really good.
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I wanted to give this book more star but I couldn't. Christina was just too unappealing to me. The begging and groveling she did for a man was off putting to me. And Dante was way too wishy-washy and weak IMO. Not my favorite by this author.
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This story was okay. I wish there were more scenes from Dante's point of view, Christiana seemed a bit self centered to me. I became bored with her constant monologuing. Though a bit predictable at times, I enjoyed the excitement of the last few chapters. Nice read.
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THIS BOOK WAS AMAZING!!!!
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I LOVE THIS BOOK!
4.5 stars
This book started out as a little bit of a slow burn for me, but turned out to be amazing, erotic, enticing, tear-jerking, and heartfelt at the same time. Christiana Artis is a New York journalist trying to get the scoop on former Italian heavyweight Dante Lattanza, while Dante tries to win back his ex wife’s affections in the fight of his life. These two are the perfect joyride and I appreciate the care that went into making this a true interracial romance and not just some cheap cliche.
The book isn’t perfect but on a scale of sultry to steamy it’s FREAKIN MOUTHWATERING AND I COULDNT PUT DOWN THE LAST 100 pages. Nevertheless, some things that would’ve made this book even BETTER:
1.) the Cover: I noticed that this cover is similar to the covers of his other books though there seems to be no relation to those books as sequels/prequels. A shame! The guy on the book cover does NOT look like the described Dante: Italian, buff, or hairy! If there are other updated cover versions they should take this into account
2.) not sure if it was just me, but Christiana had a very “not like other girls” mean streak about her in the first couple dozen pages. She talks down about her job at Personality magazine, about the celebrities she interviews, and when she gets to Dante’s ex wife——oh no. This was the biggest “flaw” in this book that I was disappointed in. It would’ve been nice if Dante’s ex wife was just depicted as a woman who "drifted apart" emotionally from Dante but she was literally villainized as this “witch” character for no clear reason. Christiana really doubles down on the internalized sexism, insulting her for her stick physique, “uppity” attitude, "high maintenance" lifestyle, and more. The list goes on. Which surprised me because Christiana seemed to have been written as a good feminist character to admire -- she's the granddaughter of a heavyweight, enjoys boxing, and isn't afraid to speak her truth. So seeing her put another woman down because of her feelings for another man was just...ugh. I just felt weird knowing that I was supposed to have utmost disgust for Evelyn in order to root for Christiana and Dante. But I think that both women can coexist in Dante’s life and be on good terms! She’ll always be the mother of his first-born, after all.
3.) If there’s an X-rated version of this book solely dedicated to Christiana and Dante’s...”workout sessions”...let me know. Like SERIOUSLY. Hook a sister up. Cause damn.
That’s all I have to say about this book. Do I think if written in 2020 it’d be an instant bestseller in IR with (hopefully) more feminist undertones? Definitely!
I so can’t wait to read more of this author. -
I am just a straight up fan of J.J Murray's writing. I have read 3 of his novels and I love them!
They are more "clean" than other romance novels I have chosen but the intimate scenes are as descriptive as it needs to be. There is nothing lacking when it comes to the love scenes. His novels also have more to do with the relationship/connection than sex....which is great. Makes the book and the characters have more depth than what their bodies look like and how they use them.
I enjoyed the development of the relationship in this novel. Both the hero and heroine have layers, they are not as they seem at first. Tiana's initial impressions of Dante are not all that he is-there is more to him and we see that as the story develops. He is flawed. And Dante's possible prejudice towards Tiana is quickly changed as the characters are developed through actual moments sharing life.....not just their privates.
Gonna try to finish reading as many JJ Murray books as I can! -
This is a beautifuly written book about two people coming together through questionable circumstances. This book left me on the edge of my seat with frustration, excitement, and a sense of curiosity to know what happens at the end. I highly recommend this book to anyone that loves romance, crude humor, and jealousy. I hope you will enjoy this book as much as I did.
