Customer Reviews

Designed For Passion (Kimani Romance)

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

 

 

Despite having beautiful young twins and running a successful boutique catering to plus-sized beauties, Melodye Carter suffers from low self-esteem. Her mother has always favored Melodye's sister Lucia and never misses an opportunity to tell Melodye how much prettier and slimmer Lucia is compared to Melodye. Melodye's late husband Rafael also added to her low self-esteem, cheating on her and taking every chance he could to put her down right up until he was murdered. When Detective Jim Ryman reenters her life while investigating Rafael's murder, the chemistry is obvious between them, but, afraid of getting hurt again, Melodye wants to keep him at arms length. That's fine with Jim, his own marriage wasn't great and he feels he failed his late wife. Will Melodye and Jim be able to just be friends or will the passion between them be too much?

A couple of things struck me right away about Melodye, the heroine of "Designed for Passion". She's not the typical lily-white, thin, and gorgeous heroine so often portrayed in romance novels. She is indeed attractive, but African-American and overweight - a welcome change. She's a great heroine and her insecurities are very real and will make readers sympathize with her especially as the details of her marriage are revealed. Jim Ryman is a great hero, as he has his own insecurities, especially about the failure of his own marriage and whether or not he'd be a good husband and father. Of the supporting characters in the book, I liked Papa France and Miss Belle the best, especially when they try to play matchmaker. Melodye's mother and sister are a bit too stereotypical villains to be believable.

"Designed for Passion" has two basic plot lines - who killed Melodye's husband and the romance between Melodye and Tim. The mystery is the weaker of the two plots and could have been developed better although there are some twists at the end. The romance between Melodye and Jim is what carries the book and it is a hot and heavy one. And I do mean hot and heavy - there are some sizzling sex scenes in the book. For me, the only problem with this is that the chemistry between Melodye and Tim is so obvious that it's hard to buy the excuses that each of them has for not getting involved with each other.

"Designed for Passion" is a sizzling romance novel.

Here's another love story praising the full figure sista. Melodye Carter is attempting to bring her life back to normal. It hasn't been long since she her husband, Rafael, died leaving her to raise the twins. Even though she has lived her life in the shadow of her ultra thin sister and domineering mother, Melodye is traveling the road of successful plus-size fashion designer and boutique owner.

Melodye's life changes when the attractive Detective Jim Ryman returns to town and discovers that Rafael was murdered. His conversations with Melodye remind him of his own tremendous loss - the tragic death of his wife and unborn child along with emotional abuse from his father. Both Melodye and Jim are battling self-esteem, trust and romantic battle scars. Their friendship has the potential to blossom into a thriving love story if their hearts soften enough to let each other in. That is if the person behind Rafael's murder doesn't get to them first.

Craft continues to prove why she is an icon in the romance industry. She consistently produces love stories that resonate with the hearts of readers. DESIGNED FOR PASSION unlocks steamy desires, murder and racketeering in a small town. Even though the storyline reminds one of Cinderella and action slows down in the middle there are elements that make the story unique. The description of self reflection, communication between family members, and honesty of children reminds you how love conquers all.

Deltareviewer
Reviewing for Real Page Turners

DESIGNED FOR PASSION by Francine Craft
April 19, 2008

Rating *** (3/5 Stars)

Melodye Carter has always been overweight, and her sister and mother have never let her forget it. Despite their cruel behavior, Melodye has always been her own person and has done quite well for herself. She runs a successful boutique for plus-sized women and had been married with young children until her husband died in a shooting. She's conflicted over her feelings for her deceased husband, however, because their marriage wasn't as perfect as it could have been.

Detective Jim Ryman is helping out with the case of Melodye's husband's murder, and as he investigates the case, he feels drawn to her. There are sparks flying between them, but to start anything now would be inappropriate. Still, he looks forward to spending time with her and her children. His mother helps Melodye out by baby sitting the kids, and through the children he feels he's getting closer to Melodye too.

Jim has his own history. His wife had also passed away and he's not ready to start fresh in a new relationship. But if he ever did love a woman again it would be someone like Melodye. Jim is physically drawn to Melodye and is trying very hard not to cross that fine line.

While part of the focus of DESIGNED FOR PASSION is to find the person who killed Melodye's husband Rafael, the core story centers on Melodye's blossoming relationship with the detective assigned to the case, Jim Ryman. He proves to her that larger women are beautiful too, and one of the main themes of the book is to show that you don't have to be thin to be beautiful. Melodye has a successful career despite her mother's disinterest and lack of moral support. And despite the type of environment she grew up in, Melodye made a name for herself.

Melodye's sister and mother are portrayed as two very mean-spirited people, but by the end of the book it is explained why they became the people they were, and why they treated Melodye the way they did. Nothing excuses that type of behavior, but one will find it interesting nevertheless, and will also feel relief to discover there was a reason for this bad behavior, and was not just a plot device.

One may not feel drawn to any of the main adult characters, but the twin children of Melodye were endearing and felt on the mark. They played a minor role in the story, but I think they added realism to the other characters and showed another side of Melodye as she interacted with her children and showed how she dealt with the death of her husband, and their father. Fans of erotic fiction will be pleased to know there are a few steamy passages in DESIGNED FOR PASSION, although not enough to classify this particular book as erotic. There were some issues with the writing, however; there were moments in the book that the dialogue didn't ring true. Some of the characters, in particular Melodye's mother and sister, come across as flat and one dimensional, but they add to the general story line. Because of that DESIGNED FOR PASSION receives only a 3-star rating. The themes and lessons from the book are important and are what gives the story the 3 stars, but the story could have been written much better. - Courtesy of Love Romances and More - M. Lofton

Melodye Carter is a young, beautiful, full figured young woman who has always been in the shadow of her sister Lucia and her trifling Mother Bettina. Her mother and her sister are both model thin and beautiful and have always belittled Melodye because she is not model thin like them. Her husband was killed 2 years ago and Detective Jim Ryman who is a high school friend of Melodye's comes back to open the cold case. Melodye's late husband cheated on her and also lowered her self esteem because she would not have an abortion when she became pregnant with his twins. She vows never to love nor trust a man again but finds herself falling for Jim no matter how hard she tried to fight it. Jim's wife died along with their unborn child and he always felt like it was his fault and vows not to love again for fear of hurting someone he loved again. Together they come to grips with their fears of love and to uncover the truth about Melodye's husbands murder. Of course her trifling mother and sister again try to interfere and lower her self esteem again but things don't turn out like they planned. This book is full of action and drama and you will be surprised what happens in the end. Once you start reading this story, you won't be able to put it down in order to find out how all the drama ends. Another great story by Francine!

This story has moments of passion, but they are too few, the story drags with minute detail throughout. There is a climactic scene where the identity of the murderer is revealed, but there is no buildup, significantly reducing the effectiveness.
Melodye Carter runs a boutique catering to larger women and in that arena, she is very successful. However, her personal life is beset with problems. Her husband, a man with criminal ties and a player in the field of available women, was murdered several years before. Detective Jim Ryman has been tasked with reopening the case and he has come to interview her. Jim is a widower, his wife drowned while carrying an unborn child. They grew up in the same neighborhood, so have known each other for a long time.
When Jim comes to interview Melodye, their loneliness generates an immediate passion for each other. Although there are many possibilities to explore the aspects of the murder investigation, it is largely ignored in pursuit of their romance, which sputters and fires. Since this avenue was essentially ignored, when the murderer and his accomplice are suddenly revealed, there is no suspense, it just is.
I found this book difficult to read at times, the minute detail sometimes overwhelms the true point of the story. For example, lines like "Jim got up, walked to the dresser and took a condom off the top" occurred too often. I am strongly in favor of safe sex but a line more on the order of ,"We were so hot that it was difficult for us to get the condom on in the proper order." Lines like that maintain the steaminess of the scene rather than reduce it.

There was no flow to the story. I often found myself reading then rereading then re-reread sections of this book just to somewhat understand what the heck is going on.I never felt connected to Jim and Melody and I'm going to go ahead and assume that they never felt a connection to each other because everypart of theis book seemed forced. There was nothing attractive about these characters but I guess that's what you get when you have to meet contractual agreements, right Ms. Craft?

I don't recommend this book to anyone unless you can't sleep and the doctor perscribed medication is not helping. This is the best sleeping pill that the FDA knows nothing about!

Ms. Fayt

Ms Craft has written better than this, there was no passion in this story just an annoying woman who let her mother/sister dominate her selfesteem and never stood up to them.

Review by Carlo Gabbi author of "An Amazing Story"

Melodye Carter is a beautiful busty young woman. She is a widow with twin boys. Her mother Bettina, and sister Lucia, are succesful models but dissociates themselves from Melodye because of her larger figure.
Detective Jim Ryman, who was Melodye school friend,is investigating her husband's killing two years ago. He is visiting her after new clues arise on the murder case.
Meeting Melodye again has rewakened feelings. He thought he was incapable of loving again but he finds Melodye more beautiful that he remembered. Sitting close together they touch legs, and waves of electricity flash between them. He murmurs to her sweet words, letting her know his growing passion. He tells her how beautiful she is, which helps her to gain confidence in herself.
With that casual touch, Melodye finds an unmistakable desire for the hansome man sitting next to her, and install a warm exitement in her. She try to resist to the new born passion, believing she is strong enough to control her senses.
During Jim investigation she reveals that Rafael, her dead husband, had never been faithful to her. He was around in a drunken mood and the day she announced to him she was expecting her twin sons, he reacted to the news by asking her to have an abortion.
Love for him died instantly and never missed such a husband. That day she wowed never to love again.
Jim's and Melodye's love soon become tumultuos affair with their souls enveloped into a gripping passion. They were also confronted with contrasting miseries created by Melodye's mother and sister who desired to divide them.
Francine Craft proves to be a capable story teller presenting Melodye as a strong character. Remarkably she present Melodye's insecurity over her abundant, but glorious curves, and her acceptance of her immage. We see also her tenacius win over the ostracism of her mother and sister.
The author has written a gripping story, compelling the reader to keep on, page after page, in the anxiety to know what happened next. I'm well impressed by this book and I look forward to read more novels written by Francine Craft.

Carlo Gabbi author of "An Amazing Story"

Designed is now one of my favorite books by Ms. Francine Craft. Since I am a plus-sized woman who really loves herself and gets a bang out of life, I could still identify with Melodye's hanging back because of her nasty mother and sister. But the psycological explanations rang true because I feel that behind every bit of human nastiness, there is often a sad story. The woman was a success, but with a bad marriage and a murdered husband, she was hurting. With grown children of my own, those twins Rachel and Randy were the bomb. They reminded me so much my own grandchildren. I fell in love with Jim. The chemistry between those two was explosive and Ms. Craft did a superb job of showing how they held back and fought falling in love although both knew they needed each other's friendship. This book left a pleasant taste in my mouth, and I found it one of the most enjoyable I've read all year.


Saundra Woodard, Silver Spring, MD ---

I got into Designed For Passion immediately. It sweeps you right along with power and passion. Melodye took over my heart even when I wanted her to fight back harder. Knowing a little bit about psychology, I know it can be difficult when those you love push against you. And Jim Ryman is a man I really liked. The grandparents took me, too, and added a warm perspective to the story. I'm a primary schoolteacher, so you know the twins got to me in a hurry. In fact, they remind me of my own.

I've followed Ms. Craft's books for quite a while and this one just makes me know that she's one of the most interesting writers around. For sizzling passion and warmth of storytelling, I recommend this book highly.