Customer Reviews

Ebony Eyes (Love Spectrum Romance)

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

 

 

When I saw that "Ebony Eyes" featured an Asian male and Black female romance, I was excited. While this is a more common pairing in real life (especially in the Caribbean), it is rarely depicted in movies and books. Yet when I began reading "Ebony Eyes," the disappointment began.

Laine Tanizaki is a refreshing depiction of an Asian male. He is emotional and not the least bit stereotypical. I particularly liked how he lashed out at stereotypes of Asian males. Unfortunately, Swanson fails to give the same breadth of character to Corie Rickman, his love interest. Corie is incredibly weak and childish, possessing almost no backbone. In any scene where she does actually stick up for herself, it is only when Laine is present. Interestingly, Corie is an incredibly wealthy Black woman; in fact, she is the sole heir of her family's fortune and property. Let me explain why I point this out.

As I am interested in reading more AM/BF romance novels, I found that Kei Swanson has written two such novels. But in each novel, the Black female protagonist is well off (in her other novel, "A Drummer's Beat to Mend", the woman is a surgeon) and has an incredibly weak and childish character. Also, the Black female's childish character causes many one-sided petty arguments, leaving the reader to wonder how the male can remain attracted to her.

At the end of "Ebony Eyes," and after reading the reviews for "A Drummer's Beat to Mend," I must ask why Swanson cannot create stronger, more well-rounded Black female characters? Must her Black female character always be wealthy and have some obvious characteristic of recent white ancestry (i.e. longer, straighter hair and lighter skin)? Does Swanson believe this is the only way an Asian male can be attracted to a Black woman? Black women, just like Asian men, come from a variety of ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds. Yet Swanson makes no effort to sample this spectrum and to create a believable Black female character, especially one whom readers readers can root for. And frankly, Swanson's description of Corie made me honestly hate Corie's character. It was a struggle to finish the book, as I couldn't understand how Laine could remain attracted to Corie. Lastly, Swanson basically glossed over the issues Corie's and Laine's romance would bring up. Their different ethnicities only became an issue at an expensive, star-studded fund raising event. Otherwise, readers see nothing about the animosity their relationship could face in real life.

Despite some negative reviews, I bought this book and did look forward to reading it. I admire Swanson's dedication to creating a more masculine image of Asian/Asian American males. This definitely needs to be done. But this book proved to be a disappointment because of Swanson's depiction of Corie, a Black female. I'm now reluctant to read her other novel, "A Drummer's Beat to Mend." While Swanson is avidly fighting stereotypes for her Asian characters, she readily uses them for her Black characters.

I liked both of Ms. Swanson's previous books- A Drummer's Beat to Mend and Words of the Pitcher- and I eagerly anticipated this book. The book started out with some promise but I was very disappointed when that fizzled out pretty quick.

Cori is from a wealthy background and she is operating a bookstore in the mall. She is getting over an abusive ex-husband who it turn out is a drug dealer. The ex keeps harassng her for something he thinks she took from him. She uses her bookstore as a haven even going so far as to sleep there. Laine is an undercover cop who is looking to stop the drug trafficking in the mall. He is working undercover as a burger bar employee at the mall when they meet.

As I said, the story started out with some promise of their romance and you could sense the chemistry between the characters but this fizzled.

The author was very descriptive about Laine and his desire to have a permanent woman in his life. He was concerned about his budding relationship with Cori because he could not tell her the truth. He felt that the lies he was forced to tell might come between them.

Cori was portrayed as a silly, whiny girl. When she and Laine had an argument, she reacted very silly and childishly. It was as if the author could not make up her mind whether to make Cori a silly little girl or a sexy woman at times. She acted so childish that I was truly sick of her by page 67 (literally). Cori did not act like a woman who knew her mind and was able to take care of herself. I only finished the book past page 67 because I paid good money for it.

Ms. Swanson has proven that she can write a good hero but she really needs work with the leading women. All of them from her books have come across as juvenile and silly acting at times despite their advances educational degrees. However, of the three books, this book was the worst offender.

There were several inconsistensies throughout the book too. The book often jumped from one thought or scene to another without any cohesive flow and the author was inconsistent about the characters' relationships with their family members. Also, the book suffered from some poor editing as there were some grammatical errors and missing words. This problem though was not as bad as some of the other books by this publisher.

The fact that these characters were an interracial couple was not an issue at all except when they brought it up themselves. In fact, what should have actually been an issue was made way too little of and Cori was actually the most offensive person in the book about their differences. Even when she was trying to make a joke about them, she would say something silly and would irritate me anew.

I was heartily sick of the author's continued descriptions of Cori's flowing waist length hair. It was mentioned almost every other page and I cannot tell you another thing about her physical description other than that.

Laine was working undercover but that was the worst undercover I have ever seen portrayed. He regularly went to visit his father. He carried a police badge. He went in and out of the police station and regularly met with another cop and he did not even do any investigation of Cori. He even went to a karate class where everyone knew him from his real life and he attended a party with Cori where he ran into his own boss. What kind of undercover officer is this? A pretty poor one. You do not keep living your own life while you are undercover. The author clearly should have talked to a few cops or at least watched a move on the subject before writing this.

Cori is living in her bookstore in the mall with her cat directly across from a fast food burger place. Again, I do not know what malls Ms. Swanson frequents, but no mall that I have been to allows this.

Also, after all of the buildup to the undercover mission, it was over way too quick. It was as though the author realized that she only had 20 pages left to go and so she hurried up and tied up the story. That or she was on a deadline adn just threw an ending on because she could not figure out how to fix this mess.

There is alot more that I can say about how disappointed I am in this book but that would require me to continue thinking about it. I just want to forget this absolute waste of cash and move on.

Two stars for the promise it started out with and the fact that one is the lowest. I would have given it one but that honor was given to another book that I reviewed that people should avoid at all costs. See my reviews to be warned about that turkey.

Corie Rickman lived an affluent, indulged, and sheltered life but rebelliously married a man from the wrong side of the tracks. After suffering physical and emotional abuse she leaves and tries to start over again; but her ex has other ideas.

Laine Tanizaki hasn't worked undercover for two years, not since a friend was killed during a drug sting. Though many told him it was not his fault, his conscience continues to bother him. Now, to ease it, he wants to complete the sting by working undercover at a fast food restaurant in a Beverly Hills mall. He did not count on playing the role of knight and rescuing a damsel in distress at the bookstore across the way...

I almost did not purchase this book because of one review but decided to give it a chance. I expected to find Corie irritating, but her character flaws did not diminish or detract from the story for me. I enjoyed the characters, cultural diversity, story, and overall I enjoyed book.

Maybe it's me. Maybe since I waited a year for this book to be written my expectations were just to high because I was completely disappointed and, after reading it, immediately took it to a half price store just so it wouldn't be in my house to remind me of its lost potential.

Don't get me wrong, I understand what Ms Swanson was trying to say in the story. Spousal abuse, drugs, overcoming internal fears are all serious issues but the main female chararcter seemed more psychotic than a person trying to put her life together. She swung from being afraid of her own shadow to acting like an immature child yet has no problem confronting hired thugs threatening her life...all set in a mall.

Also, this book was 30% romance 70% jumbled filler. I enjoy a good story line but ROMANCE is what I'm looking for in a ROMANCE novel and I truly did not feel any chemistry between the two characters; I wanted to but it fell flat.

The other problem I found with this book was the amount of times Ms Swanson repeated the reasons for the main characters purpose. I'm not sure if she is paid by the word but giving the reasons over 15 times tells me that the book is such a snoozer she needs to remind us just why we are reading it.

Save your money on this one Hopeful Romantics but if you feel you need to read it, buy the e-book. It's cheaper.

Undercover narc cop, Laine Tanizaki had noticed the soft-spoken bookseller for weeks when his protective instincts were raised as he noticed her being accosted by a big brute. Instinctively, he knew he had to rescue her, but in a way that wouldn't blow his cover. In the end it turned into a golden opportunity to actually meet her. As his feelings grew, caring for Corie might prove fatal should he let his guard down while trying to maintain his undercover persona.

Corie Rickman was a frightened woman. In an act of rebellion she'd made a horrendous choice that almost cost her life. Now Corie wanted nothing more than to keep the evil away from herself and the people she loved. Trusting a man -- any man would take an extreme act of faith yet feeling safe with Laine, the clerk at the Burger Train, seemed the most natural thing in the world.

*** Swanson quickly engrosses the reader with her deep characterizations and plot in another of her multi-cultural contemporary romances - bravely going where others fear to tred. Born with the proverbial silver-spoon, her female lead Corie, had rebelled by going after a `bad boy' and getting more than she bargained for, so much so, that now she's disgusted with herself for being weak and ineffectual in re-claiming her life. Laine was developed with his own issues of having grown up on the other side of the tracks with an alcoholic father and knowing that even if he could reveal his true self, he could never fit in with the upper echelons of the society she came from. Swanson works magic in developing her characters so that all things become possible as Laine, through his love and patience, manages to give back to Corie her self-esteem and strength in order to re-claim that part of her life she'd lost. Additionally, the sizzling sensuality Swanson conveys as these two finally give into their overwhelming attraction and passion is nothing short of divine. This was a terrific read I recommend.


Marilyn Rondeau, RIO - Reviewers International Organization

This is Kei Swanson's second book about a Japanese man and a Black American woman however both characters are American. The storyline had great potential, working class cop and upper middle class woman but I agree with the reviewers who write Ms Swanson is good at writing about the Asian heroes but her black heroines leave a lot to be desired. Physically they are nothing more than painted white woman - the obession with long straight hair. They come across as whiny, spoilt, silly woman who don't know their own minds despite being highly educated. I doubt in real life a good man would put up with someone like Corie's ways no matter his ethnic background - she could not make her mind up about Laine even tho she kept coming onto him one minute and then pushing him away the next. She was nothing but a tease.
Don't buy this book borrow from a library instead if you really want to gve it a go. Please Ms Swanson work on your black heroines read some books by black romance writers and appreciate the physical variety amongst black woman.

love the fact that it's a am/bw romance *squeals* i've only read up until what amazon allows, but it's soooooooo good if you ask me. I can't wait for it to arrive so I can read the whole thing!!!!

This is the first book in a long that I haven't been able to finish. I love a book with a black woman and asian man as a couple but this was so disappointing. No, it wasn't disappointing, it was just flat out bad. Corie Rickman was rich and well known but annoying, whiny and childish. Laine seemed to be a pretty sexy man but the author continued to make a point of Corie ALWAYS noticing his bulging muscles. He was the worst cop EVER. He's the type of undercover cop that continuously blows operations on a regular basis. It was just appalling. This book seemed nowhere close to being realistic. This woman was living in her mall bookstore with a cat ... No. Did I mention she was childish and whiny? Oh I did? I need to say it again ... Annoying and childish! There were so many things wrong with this book right down to grammatical errors and repeat descriptions.

Just ... No.

Bent on finishing a tough case that resulted in the death of his last partner, Narcotics Detective Laine Tanizaki is undercover as a burger flipper in a mall well known for the trafficking of drugs. Laine doesn't know what to think about the prickly bookseller who causes him to lose track of his true purpose in the mall. Corie Rickman is a woman with a secret past, a past that has found her again and one that is threatening the life she's tried to build since her disastrous divorce. Laine is unsure why a woman with such breeding and class seems to be attracting thugs at every turn but his honor won't allow him to do anything but keep her as safe as possible, even if it means blowing the cover he's worked so hard at. Danger and cultural differences aren't enough to keep a pair of unlikely lovers from exploring an attraction that's inevitable.

Having been eyeing Ebony Eyes for over a year I was really excited when the chance to read and review the story came up. Putting together what some might consider an unlikely match and making their attraction believable I couldn't imagine would be an easy task. The male lead in the story Laine Tanizaki is an Asian American male a couple of generations removed from immigration, who belies the typical stereotypes you hear about the Asian Man. He's interesting, large in stature and not at all wimpy. Laine is however gentle, patient and the epitome of a strong man. A man who understands physical or verbal altercations are not always the best way to handle conflict.

The heroine in the story was someone who took a little bit of getting used to. She's suffering from emotional trauma brought on by the hands of an abusive ex-husband, who happens to also be a drug dealer. Corie's a contradiction of personalities, rich, well bred yet at times comes across as an immature and spineless brat. Kei Swanson was very slow and tender in her build up of the relationship. This is not a story for people who need instant gratification and an immediate love affair. For lack of a better term Ebony Eyes is a "Sweet" romance, with an urban backdrop of danger and intrigue. I enjoyed the story and outside of the heroine's personality being a little less than appealing I think readers will enjoy the blending of this unique couple.

Indy
reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

I believe this is only the second BW/AM romance I have read, and because of that I was definitely looking forward to the read.

Let me first say that the premise of the story was good. The idea of Corie living in her bookstore; considering the money her family came from, was not something I expected, so I was again intrigued by the idea.

I did think however that Corie's character seemed to bounce back and forth a little too much for me on being insecure and scared, yet to waiver, between being a little too insecure and then a little to secure, I hope I'm explaining that well enough. In other words, one minute she seemed to need Tanizaki, then on the other hand it seemed she was ready to be Miss I can handle that myself.

Now I definitely liked Tanizaki's character. He was macho, and strong, and basically seemed like "all that and a bag of chips" (haven't said that phrase in a while.LOL). He definitely appeared to be the type of guy you want in your corner when things were bad, yet he was able to switch to that sensitive caring guy that still had your back when you were down.

I do wish that the HEA had been spelled out instead of it being communicated by Corie of what she thought would happen next. But, overall, the book was good read. I do think that I enjoyed the book more due to the author's portrayal of Tanizaki's character and the storyline itself then I really did the chemistry between Tanizaki and Corie.

I still look forward to reading other books by Kei Swanson.