The Heat Seekers [Kindle Edition]

Zane (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Two couples weather rough times in this latest by Zane (Addicted; The Sex Chronicles) set in swinging D.C. Tempest and Janessa are best friends, out to find "the one" Janessa at local singles' clubs, Tempest anywhere but. Dvont and Geren are their male counterparts. When the pairs meet one fateful evening, Cupid strikes with wildly differing results, pairing yuppie Geren with responsible social worker Tempest and womanizing Dvont with reckless but good-hearted Janessa. Tempest and Geren embark on an emotionally mature relationship, full of the usual testing of boundaries, while Janessa and Dvont begin a passionate and primarily sexual fling that results in the typical half-truths and finally an unwanted pregnancy. Tempest and Geren have to balance their loyalties to their old friends with their budding love for one another, all the while wrestling with personal secrets that could further jeopardize the union. Adding to an already complicated scenario, a young woman being counseled by Tempest is complaining of physical abuse at home. Zane's characters, while well drawn, fluctuate between being sympathetic and painfully superficial, as when they mock the unattractive ("desperate, ugly hoes") and, bizarrely, the short ("watch out for pygmies in there"). For the most part, however, the novel is warm and engaging, stressing the importance of personal responsibility and attesting to the power of hope while delivering the clever banter and sizzling sex scenes that Zane's (many) readers have come to expect.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Product Description

Fast on the heels of her #1 Essence bestseller, Addicted, Zane steams our reading glasses with this smart and seductive novel depicting the volatile, sensual escapades of two unforgettable pairs of lover.

A national bestselling author and formerly a self-published phenomenon, Zane ushers readers into an exhilarating world that is rich with original, fresh characters. There's Tempest, barren from a botched abortion, who is a dedicated counselor at a teen pregnancy center. She unexpectedly falls head over heeels in love with Geren, a man who brags constantly about his desire to have a house fulll of babies. As their relationship blossoms, Tempest is anxiety-ridden over her secret infertility, only to be astonished when she discovers that Geren has a huge secret of his own -- which will take her life in directions she never imagined. To add to the drama, there's Tempest's best friend, Janessa, and her cheating boyfriend, Dvonté. Just as Janessa decides to give the troubling boyfriend a rest and get on with her life by entering pharmaceutical school, she becomes pregnant. When Dvonté turns his back, she has to make a difficult, life-altering decision.

The Heat Seekers is a wonderfully engrossing novel about friendship, love pain, and ultimately the ability to step up to the plate by being a responsible father and partner. A certifiable page-turner, this story delivers all the dramatic goods as it takes readers through a romantic journey in search of total satisfaction and self-knowledge.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 468 KB
• Print Length: 320 pages
• Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0743442903
• Publisher: Atria Books (May 28, 2002)
• Sold by: Simon and Schuster Digital Sales Inc
• Language: English
• ASIN: B000FC0PNK
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (125 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #82,798 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
  • #11 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Fiction > World Literature > United States > African American

More About the Author

Zane is the author of Addicted, The Sex Chronicles, Gettin' Buck Wild, The Heat Seekers, The Sisters of APF, Shame on It All, Nervous, Skyscraper, Afterburn, and Love Is Never Painless and is also the editor of Chocolate Flava and Caramel Flava. She is the publisher of Strebor Books, an imprint of Atria Books/Simon & Schuster, and lives in the Washington, D.C., area with her family. Visit her website at www.eroticanoir.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Too Hot to Handle and Too Cold to Hold, June 20, 2002

By 

The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers (RAWSISTAZ.com and BlackBookReviews.net) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Heat Seekers (Hardcover)

Fans of Zane and fans of literature alike will be able to appreciate her newest venture. The Heat Seekers, the saga of best friends Tempest and Janessa, has all of the humor and drama that has made Zane's previous works smash hits. However, this book also deals with some serious issues, such as unplanned pregnancy.

Tempest has been looking for love in all the wrong places. Harboring her doubts about the male species, she stumbles upon Geren, a man from the fairy tales. But she's been keeping secrets, and the heat from this one could cause her to lose it all. Tempest's best friend Janessa wants the same thing any woman wants. To be loved, to be appreciated. However, when you run with dogs, you're bound to get fleas, and Janessa finds out the difference between a boy and a man.

The Heat Seekers is an entertaining, thought provoking read with many plot twists and turns. The characters are likeable if not deserving of compassion and empathy. The Heat Seekers is complete with cameo appearances by characters from Shame On it All, including Raul, the exiguous entrepreneur, and passing mentions of the Whitfield sisters themselves. In this piece, Zane pays more attention to the serious issues confronting her characters, and less to their shenanigans. The book will have you doubled over in laughter one moment and pondering the decisions you may have made in your own life the next. The Heat Seekers is Zane's most robust work to date, while she proves to the literary world that she's got it like that.

Reviewed by CandaceK

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Really a 4.5...Zane at the next level!, June 18, 2002

By 

TNC Reviews (Lake Charles, LA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Heat Seekers (Hardcover)

I admit it. I'm a junkie for online reviews, and when I read the reviews for The Heat Seekers, I wanted to read it bad. Having been a fan of Zane's for several years, I just had to see what all the drama was about. After I read the novel, I came back to these reviews, and I was pretty confused. Zane has kicked her writing to a whole other level, and this is probably one of my better readings by Zane. I think people expect a writer to stay within the confinement of one genre or style of writing without realizing that a true writer will grow, will mature, and will tackle a variety of styles in his or her writing. That is what Zane has done with The Heat Seekers.

The Heat Seekers involves the stories of two sets of best friends -- Tempest and Janessa, and Dvonté and Geren. Tempest is a headstrong sister who has had a string of bad relationships, but when she meets Geren, a refine, handsome investment banker, she starts to believe that she can have that special love afforded only to soul mates. The problem comes into play when both Tempest and Geren keep secrets that may spell the end of their love affair. Janessa is an around the way sister who wants to try and put her life back on the right track. She lives at home with her parents and brother, and she's ready to get a good job and make a life of her own. At the club, the same night Tempest meets Geren, Janessa meets Dvonté, a playa who doesn't believe in love, commitment, relationships, or children. He's strictly in it for the sex, plain and simple. When Janessa gets involved with him, her life alters in ways she never expected, and she's forced to see who Dvonté really is.

I think what drew me into The Heat Seekers is its tone. It's serious. More serious than any of Zane's past works. This novel deals with abortion, unplanned pregnancies, suicide, the "ghetto" lifestyle, love, lies, and just plain ol' life. I could not put the book down. Tempest, by far my fave character, drew me into the story, and I was eager to wrap up the novel and see what would happen to everyone.

I think a lot of readers might be surprised not to see such an abundance of sex as Zane has had in previous novels, but the sexual scenes and innuendoes in this novel are tastefully done and drew me in just as much as any full blown, graphically detailed scene could. There's something to be said for giving a peek and allowing someone to imagine the rest.

In the end, I was extremely happy to see another facet to the writing of Zane. I hope to see more of this serious, deeper side in her future writings. I think the reason I didn't give this novel a 5 star is because there are still remnants of that Zane we know and love from her previous works. This novel has midgets and other off the wall, 'no you didn't go there' situations. I wanted a full departure, but instead, I received a 3/4 departure, and for me, that was enough.

I'm eager to see what twist in the literary road, Zane will put forth next.

Shon Bacon

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Can't Touch This!, July 22, 2002

By 

Nicole McCurty (Chesapeake, VA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Heat Seekers (Hardcover)

In the latest novel by Zane, we are shown the lives of two friends, Tempest and Janessa. Tempest, a social worker who counsels pregnant teens, has been burned one two many times by the men she has dated. Janessa, a postal worker, is looking for love in all the wrong places. When they meet two best friends, Geren and Dvonte, at a nightclub their lives are changed forever.

Even though the novel was a little slow in the middle, I found The Heat Seekers to be a light, entertaining read. I enjoyed the friendship between Tempest and Janessa. Their interactions reminded me of me and my high school friends. Cursing each other out one minute and crying on each other's shoulders the next was an all too familiar scene. I could feel the romance between Tempest and Geren and cheered them on from the first meeting. I only received a glimpse of the relationships between Janessa and Dvonte and Dvonte and Geren so I was not as vested in them. The story, while a little predictable, was very enjoyable.

I would recommend this book to all. After having read Addicted and The Heat Seekers (with Addicted being my favorite of the two), I look forward to reading Shame on it All and The Sex Chronicles.

This book is actually a 4.5...