Customer Reviews

Reye's Gold (Indigo)

5 star:		(29)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Reye Jackson (pronounced Ray) is on her way back to school after a small break when she literally bumps into Stephen Stuart at the airport. The two laugh over their mishap and get to chatting during their flight. It turns out they are both students at the Unversity in Austin. She is a senior finishing up an degree in education and he is in his third year of Law school. After they land, Reye boldly programs her number into his phone and he promises to call.

This was a great start to the book. Even though this book is the debut book for this author it never really felt that way. She doesn't fall into the first book trap of overtly long exposition and data dumps. Instead the story really, really, flows with a naturalness that allows the story to move.

Stephen doesn't call Reye right away and even though she is disappointed, she is also philosophical about it. No biggee. But the two run into each other on the soccer field where they both play for the Unversity's pick-up intramural league. They are both shocked but pleased to see each other. And it is at this point that the relationship really starts.

Again, I was struck by how natural the story flowed. One thing I think the author did well was to create an atmosphere showing that Reye and Stephen were college students. These two aren't 30 something professionals who approach every relationship with an eye to whether or not it will have a future. They are about-to-graduate students who aren't quite looking to settle down, but are ready to embark on the careers they are training for right now. While they are dating they also study, hang out with their friends, go to parties and navigate this relationship which is new to both of them.

One thing that I thought was refreshing in this book is that it is Stephen who is having most of the adjustment problems. In most IR books where the hero is white, he is portrayed as being genuinely confused about why the AA heroine is generally so resistant to the pairing. But in this case, Reye is the one who is remarkably well adjusted and takes their relationship in stride. It is Stephen who is the worrier, mostly hyper sensitive to his family and friends' reactions.

I also liked the fact that the author did not make him a Super Hero. You know, the guy who all but does back-flips and hand stands for heroine and is so wonderful and reassuring and understanding all the the while the heroine is being snippy and bratty? Nope, Stephen is realistically flawed. He's the brat sometimes. This is not to say that he is a bad character, on the contrary I really liked him. I actually thought he was very nuanced. The author does a great job of articulating his struggle in his own head even when he isn't aware that is what he is doing.

There is also a lot of what I like to call additional flavor to the book. Reye and Stephen have a lot of interest and activities outside of each other. She is working on an internship and we get to see a lot of that, they both play soccer and that plays a large part in the story. There are also some great supporting characters in Reye's brother Sam who is a grad student and in some of Stephen's frat brothers. A minor character also gets a very satisfying redemptive arc that didn't feel at all fake.

of course this book includes conflict and most of it is internal, even as Stephen seeks to externalize it. At the end of the school year he precipitates a break up. What follows are chapters of the 'Great Grovel.' I am always gratified when an author allows a jerky hero to grovel to get back in the heroine's good graces. This author does a great job of it. And Reye doesn't make it easy either. Not only that there were some genuinely amusing parts as her family gets in on the fun.

All in all this was a really nice book. A satisfying romance with just the right amount of angst with a couple that was full of sexy chemistry. And I must say this did not read like a first book. The writing was incredibly polished.

Highly recommend!

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and congratulate Ms. Robinson on her first effort. Thank you for creating such delightful and real characters. Stephen and Reye's attraction to one another is palatable. The love scenes are so HOT! What's with them and closets! The author does a great job of making you feel the heat! While the sex scenes make you fan yourself, the relationship between Reye and Stephen goes way beyond their carnal attraction to one another. The comraderie between them is terrific. Whether it's on the soccer field or in the bedroom these two ROCK!

The storyline is intriguing and relatable. I could not put the book down as I read Stephen's journey to love. Also Reye's growth professionally and personally is admirable. She experienced heartbreak and came out the other end stronger for it. Many young college women can learn from her fortitude.

I have read many Indigo Spectrum novels and this is by far one of my favorites! Please keep them coming Ms. Robinson.

WOW...IMHO this is a surprisingly WONDERFUL debut by Mrs. Ruthie Johnson...I found myself thoroughly CAUGHT UP in the storyline and the witty dialogue throughout...once I started this book I COULD NOT put it down...the SIZZLING and INSTANT attraction between Reye and Stephen...the growth and maturity of the main characters; unfortunately resulting MOSTLY after there break-up is A+...and even some of the secondary cast REDEEMS themselves as the story unfolds...Stephen TRULY comes off as a selfish JERK at times...and even his friends call him on his poor treatment of Reye...and I so ENJOY watching him "BEG" for a second chance with Reye once he realizes he TRULY loves her...BUT will Reye risk her heart AGAIN...read it and find out...DEFINITELY looking forward to reading more from Mrs. Johnson!

I liked this story - and I think that for a debut - it's particularly good. My problem is that I found Stephen very selfish and beyond the "great sex" couldn't figure out what Reye saw in him. He just didn't show much (IMHO) in the way of an endearing personality toward her. I have to agree with the other reviewers that I liked the way Ms. Robinson handled the whole interacial dating issue amongst the families. Even Stephen's stuck up Momma came around. All in all - a good story.

This was an awesome read- and particularly for a debut novel. The characters had depth. I knew the whys/why nots behind their actions and reservations- mainly Stephen. The book was very well-written. I didn't gag at the many stereotypes that one might find in most IR novels because this writer didn't play on them. She did an excellent job at advancing the plot.

There was none of the typical "Black parents despise fact that daughter/son is dating White man/woman". The Black parents in this book adored their daughter's love interest, and the White love interest's father adored his son's Black girlfriend. The mother did, too, a little later.

There was none of the whole "I'm White. You're Black. I'm Black. You're White. GASP! OMG! We're interracial!" Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah...thing going. Tell the story already! And in this novel, the author certainly tells it well.

I look forward to reading more IR romance novels from R. Robinson. She is one of the few who tackles it well. There were times when I forgot that the Stephen (WM) and Reye (BW) were different races. This should be the case with any great romance novel- and particularly interracial ones.

Congrats to R. Robinson for a job well done! I'm adding her to my Favorite Authors List.

Here's an angle to consider. I don't think I've ever read a novel where the woman was White and the man was Black....hmmmm.....Just something to think about.

I have read many interracial romance novels and this is by far one of the best that I have read. I couldn't put this book down. The sexual chemistry between Reye and Stephen is explosive( the closet in the restaurant OMG)!!and the author really does a wonderful job of telling a story. This is the authors debut and I hope she continues.

Let me just say........WOW! The author has done an excellent job with this story. The essence of any good romance is how two people meet and fall in love with each other. The same should also be for IR romances but alas my experience has been less then stellar because many IR authors get two engrossed in the racial differences and forget to develop a realistic, meaningful story of how two people meet and fall in love. Thankfully Ms. Ruthie Robinson has done both and done them extremely well. I believe the story of Reye and Steven and more importantly I saw their complete love story over time and I became invested in the final outcome. Her writing was not bloated with unnecessary fillers but every word mattered and carried you through to a wonderful conclusion. Ms. Ruthie, you knocked this one out of the part and if you continue writing such wonderfully engaging novels you can consider me one of your biggest fans.

I love Ruthie Robinson's style of writing. During my 20's I found myself in the same type of relationship as Reye, so I really could relate to this character's actions. The only quorum I had with the story was, Reye didn't have any girlfriends to talk to? By the second half of story the character of Stephen had lost all appeal for me.I was hoping that Reye would have started dating someone else. I also felt the ending seemed rush, but overall a good. I'm looking forward to reading more books from Ms. Robinson.

This is a wonderful story of true love in 2010. Reye is beautiful, strong, and loving. Stephen is sexy, handsome and weak. Stephen is true to the white male character that does not realize that he has fallen for a strong black woman. I love the story it is heart warming, with real interracial experiences being expressed. I loved this story line KUDOS to you Ruthie. I am married to a brother and he can be weak just like stephen with me his black wife. I look forward to your next book.

Lately I have come across quite a few books where I liked the story but not the characters, this book definently falls into that category. Reye immediately rubbed me wrong with her too forward pursuit of Stephen, continual references to him as "golden", and her constant undervaluing of her own beauty and self worth. Stephen was an entitled, selfish, coward. So why did I even stick it out with this story long enough to finish? Well, I really kept reading to see when the moment would come that Reye would wisen up and toss Stephen out on his butt...or when Stephen would grow a pair and fess up to how he really felt about Reye. Or perhaps I kept waiting on Reye to pickup on the attraction with Joe and move on, so Stephen would see that she was a woman that any guy would be happy to have. Alas, Reye never really wisened up, though Stephen finally did...too late for my taste though. Additionally, I was very frustrated that the author introduced a great character like Joe, rife with possibilities, yet he was wasted, only providing some rather superficial conflict in the story. The ending was sufficient, if not too tidy and predictable. Stephen still got what he wanted, and I suppose so did Reye, though I kept hoping that the author would allow her to really sock it to Stephen...that never came. All in all, this was a decent story.