Back In Your Arms: Love Changes Everything\Love Lessons\A Taste Of Romance (Arabesque) [Hardcover]

Sandra Kitt (Author), Deirdre Savoy (Author), Celeste O. Norfleet (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Rekindling lost love shapes this uneven Valentine's Day collection from veteran romance writers Kitt and Savoy and rising author Norfleet. In each of the three stories, a damsel hides her loneliness through family obligations, career or pure bitterness, until the man she should have always been with (but for one reason or another, wasn't) pops up, throwing her into his bed and into an unexpected emotional frenzy. The premise sounds familiar, and the authors fail to put a fresh spin on this overused theme. Kitt's "Love Changes Everything," where a widowed mother reunites with her dead husband's best friend, is the weakest of the three stories, its lack of originality made worse by lazy writing. Savoy's "Love Lessons" is a step up in quality, adding murder-mystery suspense to the romance tale of archetypal high school sweethearts. Norfleet has the strongest offering, a story of a rising chef reconnecting with the love, life and town she'd left behind. (Though the story is marred by the protagonist's unfortunate name, Venus Lovejoy, and the equally unfortunately named town of Romance, Tex.) Like Valentine's Day, this book is about the ladies, and the collective strength of these stories resides in women's dilemma of choosing love or safeguarding their hearts.
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Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Kimani Press (January 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 158314689X
• ISBN-13: 978-1583146897
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,305,919 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Native New Yorker Deirdre Savoy spent her summers on the shores of Martha's Vineyard, soaking up the sun and scribbling in one of her many notebooks. It was there that she first started writing romance as a teenager. The island proved to be the perfect setting for her first novel, SPELLBOUND, published by BET/Arabesque books in 1999. SPELLBOUND received rave reviews and earned her the distinction of the first Rising Star author of Romance in Color and was voted their Best New Author of 1999. Deirdre also won the first annual Emma award for Favorite New Author, presented at the 2001 Romance Slam Jam in Orlando, Florida.

Deirdre's second and third books, ALWAYS (2000) and it's sequel ONCE AND AGAIN (2001), were chosen as selections for the Black Expressions Book Club. MIDNIGHT MAGIC, the third book in the Thorne family saga was a 2001 Holiday release.

Deirdre's fifth book, HOLDING OUT FOR A HERO, was published in September 2002. HOLDING OUT FOR A HERO features fictional hero, NYPD detective Adam Wexler and real-life hero firefighter Paul Haney, the winner of the 2001 Arabesque Man Contest on the cover. HOLDING OUT FOR A HERO, was also selected by Black Expressions and was featured on the cover of their holiday 2002 brochure.

In April 2003, Deirdre's first novella, Fairy Godfather was published in her first hardcover title, TO MOM WITH LOVE, a Mother's Day anthology. COULD IT BE MAGIC? Deirdre's sixth book was published in May 2003 to rave reviews, including the Gold Plug Award from The Romance Reader's Connection.

In June 2004, Deirdre's novel, LADY IN RED, served as the lead off title in BET's Sizzling Sands summer series. Other participants in the series included Donna Hill, Gwynne Forster and Sandra Kitt.

This year, Deirdre will release two titles: LOOKING FOR LOVE IN ALL THE WRONG PLACES, a follow-up to her popular Could It Be Magic? and BODY OF TRUTH, the first in a trilogy of books about three Bronx detective brothers.

Deirdre is the president of Authors Supporting Authors Positively (ASAP) and the founder of the Writer's Co-op writer's group. She lectures on such topics as Getting Your Writing Career Started, Taking Your Writing to the Next Level, and other subjects related to the craft of writing. She is listed in the American and International Authors and Writers Who's Who, as well as the Dictionary of International Biography.
Deirdre lives in Bronx, New York with her husband of 10-plus years and their two children. In her spare time she enjoys reading, dancing, calligraphy and "wicked" crossword puzzles.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Second Time Around, April 12, 2006

By 

free4lyfe "VOR" (Florida) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Back In Your Arms: Love Changes Everything\Love Lessons\A Taste Of Romance (Arabesque) (Hardcover)

Love of a second chance is always romantic and so are the three stories in Back In Your Arms.

Sandra Kitt's story LOVE CHANGES EVERYTHING reunites Carter and Grace after Benson, her husband and his best friend dies. It seems they both have had the wrong impression of the others feelings after their first meeting, but when Carter moves back to New York they explore their friendship and discover feelings each were afraid to admit and the possibility of love and a future together. Carter's relationship with the kids is special and Benson's mother whose still in mourning adds just enough spice to make things interesting.

LOVE LESSONS by Deirdre Savoy is a sweet tale of former high school lovers Cara and Joe whose break up was due to misunderstanding and her family's interference. Cara is now a teacher whose life is in danger and Joe is the detective who has to protect her. During this forced time together they are reaquainted and realize their special bond was never truly broken and first love may very well be a lasting one.

A TASTE OF ROMANCE by Celeste O. Norfleet was also a beautiful story about Venus and Avery who were childhood sweethearts that allowed their careers to be more important than that of the promises made by young lovers. Avery is still the town hero although there are rumors he has lost his wealth. When Avery offers TV chief Venus his state of the art kitchen to film her show, she is soon aware his plans involve more than her famed cooking skills. Venus has to decide if holding on to the past is worth the future she and Avery have been waiting for.

All the stories are warm and tender, I would recommend this book for any reader who enjoys romance and a second chance at making love last.

6 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Another Chance, January 14, 2006

By 

ASmoothJazzReader (Little Rock, AR United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Back In Your Arms: Love Changes Everything\Love Lessons\A Taste Of Romance (Arabesque) (Hardcover)

This was a very good book. The stories were enjoyable and although each was too short for me, they managed to show that no matter the length of time, if you are meant to be together, it will happen. Great stories, ladies.

1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Could have been better, March 27, 2006

By 

Ms. Gloria D. Laurency "mdlau7" (New York) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Back In Your Arms: Love Changes Everything\Love Lessons\A Taste Of Romance (Arabesque) (Hardcover)

The stories especially Mrs Kitt lack feeling the woman was so withdrawn that when she and Carter got together i was confused as to how that took place.