Customer Reviews

The Color Of Trouble (Love Spectrum Romance)

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

THE COLOR OF TROUBLE opens with a bang, as Kari Thomas is confronted with every woman's fear. She walks in on her boyfriend of several years and another woman. This woman produces photographs of herself and Jonathan in the throes of passion. But what really hurts Kari most is the fact that this woman, like her boyfriend, is white. As a couple, Kari and Jonathan have lost friends, developed strained relationships with their respective parents, and at times have taken on what seems like their entire small town because of the fact that they are involved in an interracial relationship. These difficulties, coupled with the confrontation with the "other woman" are more than the relationship can bear.

We then fast forward several years. The couple has moved on with their separate lives in different states. Kari is now involved with a Black doctor named Steven, a man that her parents approve of and can help make her dreams come true without all the difficulties she faced in her prior relationship. Jonathan, on the other hand, is living for his work and the meaningless flings that occupy his personal time. When a surprising chain of events force the former couple to reestablish contact with one another, each of their lives are shaken to the core, and they both begin questioning their lives as they know it. The couple is forced to deal with issues that have lacked closure over the years, and each begin to wonder whether things are really over.

Dyanne Davis has written a heartfelt story about how life circumstances can often interfere with true love. As the book progresses, readers will find themselves asking, can love conquer all? The story was heartfelt and at times full of unimaginable drama. There are plenty of lessons wrapped up in this romantic story about love, forgiveness, and what it takes to make a relationship work. The two main characters were well-rounded and written in such a way that readers could empathize with them and really understand why they made the choices they did. For balance, Davis has thrown in a few characters that readers will love to hate. Check out THE COLOR OF TROUBLE for an entertaining read about real life issues with a dramatic flair.

Reviewed by Stacey Seay
The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers

Kari Thomas hasn't been honest to herself for the last seven years. As a black woman, Kari believes being prejudice can't be a part of her personality. Kari doesn't believe she broke up with Jonathan Steele because of his white skin color. She also ignores that she's engaged to the successful, handsome, black doctor, Steven Anderson, because her parents approve of him. Steven can give her the beautiful brown skinned babies, Jonathan wouldn't ever been able to give her.

Jonathan Steele is a successful lawyer finally happy with his life and career. He isn't looking for love, nor does he want it. Kari Thomas ruined him of that emotion a long time ago. Kari Thomas and Jonathan Steele think their paths will never cross again. But Kari defaulting on a business debt brings Jonathan back into her life. Can they both overcome their past and find love again? Or is their love gone forever?

Dyanne Davis' writing style in THE COLOR OF TROUBLE, is superb. A very compelling and well-written book, Ms. Davis is able to bring her readers into the romance of the story without any problems. Her characters are well thought out and very realistic. Every emotion Kari feels from the hurt, anger and shock, the reader is right there with her. Hurt is Kari realizes she still loves Jonathan, but has to marry Steven to please her parents. She is angry at her parents for never understanding her love for Jonathan or accepting him as a part of her life. The last emotion I enjoyed feeling along with Kari is the shock when she realizes that seven years ago she did leave Jonathan because of his color skin. It is truly a pleasure to enjoy the writing style of Dyanne Davis. She has a gift for the written word.

I treasured Dyanne Davis', THE COLOR OF TROUBLE, a very vivid portrayal about interracial love. THE COLOR OF TROUBLE explores the trials and tribulations an interracial couple has to face. Kari, a young African American woman, struggles with wanting the love, respect, and approval of her parents. She is willing to stay with her fiance, Steven Anderson, a man who is supposed to make her life complete, to make them happy. Yet, Kari battles with herself because she is still in love with Jonathan Steele, her first love. Kari wonders how she can feel so empty, lost and alone at a time in her life when everything seems so perfect.

As you have read from the other reviews: this book is about Keri and Jon and their romance that dies when his mother and her parents plot against them.
Fast forward several years later and Jon is suing Keri after she gets mixed up in a resort scheme.
She decides to fight back and they come face to face again. They both want closure though he is more honest about why he wants to see her again.

But Keri is engaged to Steven and he has got MAJOR ISSUES on several fronts: interracial relationships between black women and white men, independent women and "pure" children.
Keri refuses to see these issues and convinces herself that she is not and never was a bigot (she had a relationship with Jon, didn't she?).

That is the crux of the story. The problems are these: several of the characters were not well developed. Keri was WEAK in big, block, capital letters; so much so that on several occassions I wanted to throw the book across the room. And you are being asked to believe in this day and age there would be this much angst between lovers in this situation.
But mostly, you are forced to ask yourself, "WHY?"

Why is she even bothering to look back if all she wants are those brown babies, and why is she not with some other black man, other than the idiot Steven and lastly why is she still listening to her folks when they have done so much damage?

Read this if you want to see what all the mixed reviews are about, but don't say you weren't warned!

I can't recommend this book highly enough. Dyanne Davis has created strong characters with real problems and universal appeal. Kari and Jon are compelling, flawed individuals in a difficult situation and you become totally engrossed in their story.

Although this is Dyanne Davis's first novel, it will definitely not be her last. She has an incredible talent to capture your attention with the first word and hold it until long after "the end." You experience the full range of emotions with these characters and feel the happily-ever-after glow long after the story ends. Great job!

Normally, in order to find an interracial romance enjoyable, I have to like the story- regardless of the race of the characters. I liked the story but it was most compelling primarily because of the race issue. It consumed the entire story because the story was alot more about dealing with the race issue rather than the romance. I had major problem with the main character Kari because of her obsession with race and most of her actions concerning the two men in the book.

Jonathan and Kari were young college lovers and their relationship caused them problems in their community and with their families. Jonathan was set up to appear as though he was cheating on Kari and she did not believe him. He was also accused of rape and put into jail. She left due to this and the lies that others told to tear them apart. She also refused to help him with an alibi. Years later they came into contact again but she was engaged to a black man who her family approves of. This is the story of how they came to terms with the past and Kari's wrestling with the dilemma of staying with Steven, her black fiance or going with Jonathan.

First of all, I was blown away by the problems these people faced. Both families were plain and simple racists and this was hard for the characters to deal with- especially Kari. Also, the problems that tore them apart were real- not the usual silly misunderstandings that you usually see in romance novels. I could really see how Kari would have had issues and left Jonathan but I felt bad that she did not try to at least speak up for the truth to help with an alibi.

The story was a good character study of Kari as she tries to decide between Steven and Jonathan. I alternated between liking Steven and feeling sorry for him and being annoyed at him for some jerky behavior. It was unclear what direction the author wanted you to go with this. Also, it is unclear why Jonathan still wanted Kari except for their old feelings. He never really learned about her as a woman in the present time. He only knew her as the woman from 7 years ago and from how she acted then (abandoning him and not helping). It was hard for me to see what he saw in her besides old feelings of lust. I also did not like Kari's treatment of either man while she was sorting out her issues.

All in all, this was an emotional book and the author really took alot of time to develop Kari and her issues in a realistic manner. I gave the book only 3 stars because of the problems I mentioned and I felt like the ending was a bit rushed and unrealistic after going through the whole book.

The heat flowed off the pages about this couple .The real passion that we felt from Jon made you cheer him on and turn the pages to see if Kari would respond.I felt let down with the confessions and revelations of blackmail.The charators developement was wonderful but in the end they seem to miss their big chance to be fullfiled.They just walk away at the peak.

After reading many sterling reviews of this book my expectations were very high which is why this book left me thoroughly disappointed. My problem with the book lies with the main character, Kari Thomas. Throughout a good three-forths of the book I found myself wondering why the Jon would even want a relationship with her. She had no backbone and basically allowed her parents and her new "black" fiance to make all her decisions for her. By the time she got her backbone she was past the point of even being liked. She was completely unlikeable and didn't seem to be as in love with Jon, as he was with her. There was just nothing there to like about her. I ended with the feeling that Jon would be better off without her.

Dyanne Davis is an exceptional writer. I loved this book.
These characters make choices like shining the light on their own prejudices thereby making this book work on so many levels.
After becoming a member of Romance Writers of America I studied many writing styles and this book is not cookie-cuuter. There is real growth on so many levels. One of the many questions asked...is it better to please others or follow your heart?

I can't wait for her next book.

The book tells the story of Kari and Jonathan, two perspective college graduates. Kari is a young, intelligent, ambitious only child of a stable, African-American family, Jonathan the seemingly only child of initiative of a single white mother. The two have weathered and enjoyed their interracial relationship in the bubble of college life, and though uncertain of what to expect, are prepared to see things through. Trouble comes from unexpected quarters, and the couple is separated over time, distance, professional careers, and outright shenanigans. They meet again due to circumstance. Jonathan has to use every wile to get the woman he lost (due to plotting of which he was unaware), and Kari makes him work for every bit of it. For her part, Kari has to offload baggage she never admitted to having, including a "perfect" fiancée who is just not perfect for her. Neither has ever forgotten the other, and sparks fly as soon as they are within waving distance of each other. The conclusion is touching, tender, and satisfying, but the roller coaster ride to get there is wild, humorous, and HOT, HOT, HOT!

Although the situation is not new, most novels about interracial romance tend to flow in one direction or the other. Either leaning towards the unreal and overly scripted, or staying too close to the surface. Ms. Davis does an admirable and beyond credible job of meeting a very nice balance. Her characters' emotions and responses are real. She provides real situations, and allows her characters to respond, sometimes badly, but she shows their growth. The supporting cast is provided as vehicles for explanation, not just filler, and add dimension to the overall development of the characters. Most of all, the time line seems natural. People don't arrive at conclusions over a whirlwind of weeks, and Ms. Davis gives the reader and her characters time to evolve as any normal person would.

When I finished reading the book (in one sitting!), I found that, rather than feeling rushed, I truly had met a couple who had learned a lot about themselves and the world, people I would love to meet and hear their story all over again.

Angela Hailey
Literary Essence LLC

This is the story of Kari Anderson (black) and Jonathan (white) who were lovers while they were going to college and whose relationship unraveled after a series of lies and half-truths. This book was difficult to get through because of the fact that Kari lacked a backbone and did not stand up to her parents bigotry, ending up being on the verge of marrying a black man, a man she does not love to ensure she would produce "brown babies" - a term used more than once throughtout the novel and one I found very aggravating. This novel received one star only because of the love scenes between Kari and Jonathan.