Customer Reviews

A Gentleman's Offer (Kimani Romance)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Yvette Coulier believes if she were rich all her dreams would come true. Nate Blackwell has a plan to make her wish come true for 30 days. They agree that neither of them are looking to get involved in a relationship nor do they want to get married.
The inevitable sparks begin to fly between Nate and Yvette and they embark on an affair. Nate has a dark secret that can change their lives forever. Reality comes crashing down on Nate and Yvette's fairytale and their future looks bleak. Yvette discover money can't make all your dreams come true and there are some things money can't buy. Can their relationship survive? Well as good as the Black Stocking Society is granting wishes, there are some things that remain in the hands of fate.

I've read the first three books in this series and can't wait to read the last one.

Yvette Coulier is a dog groomer to the wealthy and elite, but she longs to be more than just the hired help. Her life is on the road of ordinary until she gets an invitation to join the Black Stocking Society. This mysterious group of women offer her a chance to live dangerously. Nate Blackwell is wealthy and handsome. He has it all, so it appears. He makes Yvette an offer she can't refuse. It was to strictly be a business deal...no strings attached. During the course of their agreement, sparks began to fly. Their hot and heavy romance progresses quickly because Nate has a secret. Will it be devastating enough to extinguish their fire?

A Gentleman's Offer is a well written story by Dara Girard. Dara Girard's writing style flows without having lagging moments in the story. There are several secondary characters that were well developed. These characters were an essential part of the plot. This is the second book in the Black Stocking Society series. Dara Girard is doing a wonderful job making the society more mysterious with each story. A Gentleman's Offer is a good read.

Reviewed by Tenecia for Urban Reviews

In Michigan pet stylist, some would say just another dog groomer, Yvette Coulier has always been good with animals. When it comes to people especially men she is a failure. She is a bit surprised when she receives a mysterious invitation from the Black Stockings Society as she assumes they are way above her social and financial circles.

Wealthy Nate Blackwell is tired of responsibility for others. He needs a time out from stress. When he meets Yvette in her black stockings at her grooming salon, he offers her a deal. She hires him and he will gain her entrance into high society and pay her tab. She agrees thinking life amidst the elite will be a vacation; he likewise believes life amidst the working class will be a vacation. As they fall in love, each knows that the return of reality will prove a cruel ending unless both of them reach out to the real other.

The second Black Stockings Society tale (see POWER PLAY) is a terrific heated contemporary romance. The lead duet are fully developed with each struggling with stress while the support cast enables the audience to better understand what make Yvette and Nate tick. Readers will enjoy the revelations both attain to include love as she learns the rich and famous have their woes while he learns the working class has their woes too. Dara Girard provides a poignant character study that insists grass is green on both sides of the fence (except my lawn).

Harriet Klausner

I would give A Gentleman's Offer a C- if Amazon allowed letter grading as this book was not horrible, but it wasn't great. Girard's concept of the Black Silk Stockings Club is a unique one, though the lascivious name is misleading since the club appears to comprise of "fairy godmothers" who help young women reach their dreams and their potential. The plot of A Gentleman's Offer was also unique: a wealthy man pretends to (literally) valet an ambitious dog groomer's desire to mingle with high society. However, the execution falls flat amidst the many plot threads Girard attempts to weave into a 250 pg book.

The main problem with this book is the heroine, Yvette. A dog groomer to the wealthy and the celebrity, she is painted as a woman who longs to enter high society. She decorates her home in the manner seen in magazines, follows the society pages, and generally dreams of belonging to the high living, luxurious surroundings of the wealthy elite. This image that is cultivated is shattered by the odd Bohemian descriptions of Yvette, replete with multiple piercings, vividly colored clothing, and streaked hair. Yvette also has an aversion to marrying for money despite professing to not look for love. The hero, Nate is little better, though the reasons for his life being shrouded in mystery serves to add some impact to the "black moment" of the book.

The plot is all over the place, with multiple characters popping in and out of the book who, despite having part of Yvette's life, rarely have any definite impact on the relationship between Nate and Yvette or their character arcs. Time and time again I wished that Girard's editor had used a heavier hand on this book and/or that this book could have been longer as so much was squeezed into this relatively short book--much to the detriment to any emotional impact the plot could have had.

The denoument between Yvette and Nate came completely out of left field, as was the so-called sub-plot regarding fake pedigreed dogs; both were concluded much too quickly and much too unrealistic. In fact, that was the main impression I was left with after closing the book: a lack of realism. Not to say that every work of fiction must be as realistic as possible, but I never believed anything that happened here. Yvette was obsessed with high society yet dressed like a bohemian and needed to be taught etiquette? The scenes of high society read straight out of "High Society 101" and literally lacked color for characters who were supposed to be black. The Paris scenes were lackluster and could have just as easily taken place in any major American city. Nate's ability to act as valet right under the noses of society was unbelievable (which brings me back to my complaint about the society scenes: were they the black upper classes? Don't they all pretty much know of one another?), and ultimately, the whole mystery surrounding his reticence didn't heighten the emotion because it seemed so random.

Oddly enough, despite all the problems I had with this book, I've read worse, and I was able to read straight through the end. A Gentleman's Offer is a pleasant read, and nothing more, yet nothing less.

I purchased this book with great expectations. None of them were met. The story does not flow. The jump from once scene to the next with no explanation as to how they got there. The story is so far fetched that is unbelievable. Half of the way I though about not completing it! I have no idea what publisher was thinking in releasing this book to the public..