Customer Reviews

Unexpected Interruptions

5 star:		(64)
4 star:		(19)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
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Love is a funny and complicated type of emotion, actually it is a choice. You can choose to ignore your heart, or follow your emotional distress, better known as what is right in the eyes of society. Unexpected Interruptions by Trice Hickman is just that, a woman making a choice to love the right way.

Victoria Smalls had always done exactly what people expected of her, but she was never really happy with their choices for her life. Beginning with her father telling her to be a hard-working corporate America business woman, all the way to accepting a proposal from a man that she knew was wrong for her completely. These choices made her finally realize that she had to stop pleasing others and begin to please herself, so she stayed away from men and sex for one whole year.

When Victoria came off that year-long rest, she had two different types of men beckoning for her attention, her heart and her love. Who would she choose? Who would she end up with?

Ted Thornton, the CEO of the company that Victoria worked for has had his eyes on her ever since the first day he saw her. The only thing was he was white and he had no real reason to be in her constant presence. Ted started to think of ways that they could be together, no holds bar. Will Victoria's past hinder them from getting together?

Parker Brightwood, a successful surgeon, came across Victoria's path while on a date. He was so mesmerized by her he could barely focus on his date. Never getting a chance to get her name or number, Parker was overjoyed when he ran into Victoria again, this time not letting her out of his sight for more than a few minutes. Never being one to commit or compromise, will Parker's selfish ways push Victoria into another man's arms?

Unexpected Interruptions is a book that will keep you sitting with your head in the book until you are done. I read an uncorrected proof, and though there were a few mistakes not enough to take away from the goodness of the story. I would recommend this book to everyone wanting a good, quick, exciting read.

Jennifer Coissiere
APOOO BookClub

Victoria Small is a beautiful, confident, thirty-something-year-old female on the fast track to success. She's a Senior Director in HR, has her dream home, a loving family and wonderful friends. The icing on the cake would be the love of a good man. After a one-year man hiatus, Victoria is ready to get her feet wet again.

One night she lay in bed and said a prayer. "God, please send me a good man...please send him fast! Amen."

Another night she lay in bed and said a prayer. "Lord, if it's not too much to ask again, can you send me a good man...and send him fast?"

I guess both prayers were heard, literally, because Victoria quickly finds herself with not one, but two men vying for her affection.

Candidate number one...Parker Brightwood, aka Mr. Gorgeous, is a surgeon. He's just what Victoria asked for - kind, gentle, handsome, educated and knows how to treat a lady.

And then there's candidate number two...Ted Thornton is the very handsome (outrageously so) CEO of a Fortune 500 company. He's just what Victoria asked for - patient, understanding, respectful to others, honest and loves her despite her flaws.

Decision, decisions, decisions! What's a girl to do? How do you choose? Did I mention one of the eligible bachelors is white? Does it matter? Well, it may matter a little more than Victoria would like to think.

Trice Hickman's debut, "Unexpected Interruptions," is entertaining, engaging and enjoyable throughout. This novel not only deals with the drama, pains and joys of love, but also touches on dark underlying issues of race. Trice Hickman is a refreshing new voice and I look forward to reading more of her work.

Reviewed by: Toni
4.5 stars

Love is so abstract. You must be attracted to the person in some way first, right? Well, Victoria Small has establishing her event planning business as number one thing to do on her list. Even though she has prayed for God to send her a soul mate she isn't holding her breath for him to come knocking on her door. In a series of `unexpected interruptions' Victoria gets more men in her life than she ever expected.

Enter Ted Thornton, a power CEO who has his eye set on Victoria. His loveless marriage, business concerns, and inability to get Victoria to see him as more than her boss can make a man do strange things. Ted manages to get Victoria interested in several major projects at work but can he get her to overlook the fact that he's white?

Enter Mr. Gorgeous AKA Parker Brightwood, dedicated surgeon and super sexy black man. Parker is a ladies man that works his magic on the most unsuspecting females. Victoria is putty in his hands but will she allow her trust issues to put the kibosh on their relationship?

Hickman tackles some difficult issues in this chronicle of love. Be ready to ponder these issues: feelings on interracial dating, the age old debate of light vs dark African Americans, when to leave the corporate world and start your own business, and who do you trust in the workplace. It is refreshing to read a novel that discusses underlying issues with meaning. Hickman is one of the few serious writers that will bring respect back to African American literature. I look forward to reading more from this new up and coming literary star.

Reviewed by:
Deltareviewer
Reviewing for Real Page Turners

Victoria Small is a sophisticated, modern woman who wants a good man. Her last romance with her fiance ended horribly when she walked in on him being unfaithful. But until Mr. Right comes along, Victoria is content to work toward opening her own catering and party planning business.

Unbeknownst to her, her boss Ted Thornton has a thing for Victoria. He engineers it so that she is put on a big project with him at their company so they can spend time together. Victoria is very attracted to the handsome, charismatic Ted, but he is married (albeit unhappily) and her boss so he is automatically off limits. Sensing that his failure to take control of his increasingly unhappy personal life is costing him the possibility of a relationship with a woman like Victoria, Ted decides to put his house in order before pursuing Victoria in earnest.

In the meantime, Victoria meets Parker Brightman. The man of her dreams. He's single, handsome, and a Doctor. And although she is warned by friends that he is commitment phobic, they start to date and begin to fall in love.

As her relationship with Parker deepens, Victoria feels that her life should be great. She has everything she's asked for, a loving family, great friends and a fabulous man who loves her. Except, her relationship with Parker is fraught with problems --- her trust issues, his family, their different philosophies. And then there are her growing feelings for Ted.

In the end, Victoria must take long hard look at her assumptions of love and the type of man that really speaks to her heart.

I was a little bit wary of reading this book, even with the glowing reviews it has received on Amazon. I've bought books based on glowing reviews on Amazon and have been bitterly disappointed. There were several reasons for my wariness: 1) This is a first time author with a 2) small publisher. My experience with this one-two combo is that the writing tends to be rough and the editing horrible.

This was not the case with this book. The writing was brisk and polished and the editing was pretty darned tight (with one or two exceptions which I'll get to in a minute).

Hickman does a great job with this first novel. Like I said above, the writing is very polished with a great narrative flow. I really enjoyed the supporting characters, from Victoria's parents to her best friend Tyler to her very vocal secretary. I am a big proponent of secondary characters who are not just window dressing but who are fully three dimensional characterizations themselves.

Since Ted is white and Victoria and Parker are black, this story not only features a love triangle but a potential interracial love match as well. One thing that an author who writes IR romances must decide is how they plan to address the IR piece of it --- do they make it an issue or do they ignore it. I really like what Hickman did in her story. She made the issue lot more nuanced. She actually looks at race separately from skin color in a provocative way.

Victoria is very attracted to Ted but doesn't really consider him a viable mate because he's not only married and her boss but he's also white. And even after the married/boss thing goes away, she still puts him in the "off-limits" category because dating a white man just isn't anything she'd ever considered. There is also Parker. The perfect black man. Except, Parker and his family are all caught up in issues of color. They are the very pinnacle of the black bourgeoisie and are all very light complexioned. There is a subtle intra-racial racialism in her interactions with the Brightmans. And believe it or not, Victoria has bigger problems with skin color vis a vis her relationship with Parker than she does with race in her relationship with Ted.

Also Parker muddies the waters with her relationship with Ted. One is forced to ask the question, if Parker hadn't been there would Victoria had been forced to confront her feelings for Ted earlier than she did? As it was, Parker was the easier, more acceptable choice. He is the one that she is supposed to want. But is he the one that she really wants? Her relationship with Parker is very volatile and as the story progresses it begins to unravel with Parker doing his heroic best to keep it from going south. AS this is a romance novel, Victoria does eventually end up with one guy and gets married (i won't say which one). And to my mind, it was the correct choice, but not for the reasons I think the author wanted.

Therein lies my biggest dissatisfaction with the book. Toward the end, the author very neatly clears the way for one guy at the expense of the other. I thought it was a bit of a cop out. I wished Victoria would have been able to come to the realization of where her feelings truly lay without the big mis-step on the part of the ousted suitor. I think the book would have been stronger for it.

My only other quibble is that there were one or two spots where a good editor or copy editor could have caught some weird word choices that made no sense. And then there was the Unexpected Interruptions typesetting annoyance. Every time the phrase Unexpected Interruptions was used as a phrase in the course of the story (and it was used a few times) it was always in italics. It had the weirdest effect of making me want to give it a musical fan-fare "duhn-duhn DUHN!!!" every time I saw it. So bizarre. And not at all necessary. I know it was the title of the book, but really, italics?

But other than that, this was a really good read and well worth the little extra is cost for the trade size.

I recommend.

Victoria Small is a successful senior director at a telecommunications firm who has taken a year-long hiatus from men. Although she has enjoyed the benefits of excelling in her career, Victoria is planning on leaving her job to start her catering and event planning business. Meeting another man isn't even on her to-do list until she meets Ted Thornton and Parker Brightwood. Ted is a powerful white CEO that becomes a friend to Victoria but longs for something more. Parker is a surgeon that helps Victoria to heal her heart from her past relationship. Victoria is in a state of confusion when she develops different strong feelings for both of these men. Victoria now has to decide if she should take the safe way out and be with Parker or to explore something new with Ted. Who will she choose?

Unexpected Interruptions is an engaging novel by Trice Hickman. Hickman effortlessly told the story of how an African-American woman can find love and friendship in unexpected places. What really makes this novel soar is Hickman's storytelling skills. You can really identify with and feel the emotions of not only Victoria but with Ted and Parker as well. The moral of this story is that you really can not control who you fall in love with. Hickman did a wonderful job of incorporating the issues of race as it relates to the world of dating and long-term relationships. The eclectic mix of secondary characters, which includes Victoria's best male friend Tyler, her wild friend Gigi and her close white girlfriend Debbie, adds just the right amount of variety to this story. There's a good dose of humor and steamy romance that makes this novel soar. Unexpected Interruptions is filled with marvelous, multi-faceted characters and a powerful storyline that will be a sure delight for readers. With this debut novel, Trice Hickman is definitely ready to take the literary industry by storm.

Reviewed by Radiah Hubbert
for Urban Reviews

I haven't written a review in a very long time but after reading this wonderfully written story I had to write a review. Ms. Hickman wrote a fantastic story and I can't believe that this was her first novel. The story flowed well and I couldn't put it down. Since others have done a through summary of the story I will just share what I love about this book. I liked Victoria. She was smart, beautiful and realistic. She wasn't perfect she was human and her character felt real and relatable. She had been hurt in the past but she wasn't bitter or angry. She still hoped to find her ebony knight. Ted was fantastic! I loved that he was attracted to Victoria before he even saw how she looked. He was determined that she would be with him and he never let anything or anyone not even Victoria stop him from pursuing the love of his life. No matter what was thrown his way he never gave up on his quest to win Victoria. He never doubted that she was the one. I liked Parker's character too. He was a dream man. What sista wouldn't want a man like Parker? Sucessful, handsome, a professional who loved Black women? I'd take him! The secondary characters were great too. Especially Victoria's best friend Tyler. Both men were appealing but one had it going on more than the other.

This was a great first novel and I love every minute of it. This book would make a great movie. I highly recommend this book.

Trice Hickman's debut novel Unexpected Interruptions was an unexpected treasure. While surfing the net for new books for my book club I happened upon Trice's website and decided to read the first chapter which she had posted. Within minutes of finishing the excerpt I was emailing Trice to tell her my interest had been peaked. A week later I received a copy of the book in the mail and read it over the weekend and since then I have been singing her praises to all who enjoy reading.

In the story, Trice takes us to a place we've all been: praying for a good man. While some of us wait...and wait...and are still waiting, Victoria Small receives not 1 but 2 men who appear to be answers to her prayers. After ending a relationship that was devastating, Victoria is finally ready to venture out and try her hand at love again. That's when CEO Ted Thornton and surgeon Parker Brightwood both show up determined to win her heart.

Through the course of the book Victoria finds herself torn between two men whom she loves. This poses the age old question, "Can you love two people at once?" I found myself engulfed in Victoria's dilemma. I pitied her in some situations then I envied her in others. I also found myself torn between rooting for Ted then Parker then Ted then Parker. Trice does a great job of pulling the reader into Victoria's world. Throughout the story Victoria goes through numerous emotions and Trice's writing style helps you to appreciate and even experience them all with her.

As you read the story you can tell that Victoria is a smart, savvy, beautiful, independent, positive person who is also a go-getter. But you soon find out that she has inner conflicts that are interrupting her happiness. She has conflicts with her family that goes from "making daddy happy" to "who am I in this skin I'm in". Trice challenges her readers to explorer their own views on topics such as: dating outside your race, accepting your "shade" of blackness, pursuing your dreams no matter the costs. During the story Victoria ends up on a path of self-discovery and as you read this, you will start to discover things about yourself as well.

This novel is very well written. The characters are well developed and intriguing. The storyline is captivating well put together. What I love most is that Trice can be descriptive without being too wordy. Her writing touches on social, racial and even ethical issues. This story brings forth drama and comedy. Unexpected Interruptions is the continuation of the tale we all knew as young girls. When we were young we heard stories of Prince Charming and we all grew up wanting him. Searching for him. Well, this story is fairytale meets real life. Not everyday will be sunshine and daisies and not every man will ride up on a white horse. But maybe he'll be sitting is the same restaurant on an awkward blind date when you see him. Or maybe he works in your building and you've never noticed him. He's out there and he shows up when you least expect him to. He comes in and interrupts all that you know. And this tale is brilliantly told by one of my new favorite authors Trice Hickman. If you read only one good book this year, make that book Unexpected Interruptions.

Nickie J. Rosier, President
Phenomenal Women of Color Book Club
www.pwocbookclub.org

Every so often I will read a book and feel compelled to write a review. I just finished Unexpected Interruptions and I have conflicting feelings just as the character Victoria seems to have in this novel. I would give this book a 3.5 rating but not a 4 rating and definitely not a 5 rating. I will say this...the author is pretty good at evoking feelings from her readers...throughout this book I was rooting for Ted then Parker, then Ted, then Parker...then neither. Victoria admonished Parker for his attempts of controlling their relationship but Ted had strategic moves to control his relationship with her too (she later realized this herself)...he just KNEW that he was going to end up with Victoria. Offering her prestigious positions within the company of which she turned down...Victoria is good at what she does but he mostly offered the position to spend time with her (it's CLEARLY spelled out in the book). She planned to resign but he came up with a plan to keep her at the company just a tad bit longer just so he could have more time with her and get in her heart. This is not necessarily a bad thing but why not let things happen naturally? Don't keep her at the office late to work on projects just so you can eventually worm your way into her heart. I felt some kind of way about that.

Parker...*shakes head.* Ogling Victoria while on a date with someone else was not a good look. Once again the author evoked such a strong emotion from me...I was seeing red but Victoria seemed to like it and eventually loved it (even though he didn't support her business venture). *Rolls eyes.* *Shakes head* at Parker again because well you'll have to read to find out...

About the ending...well for most of the book, I felt that Victoria was truly confused. At one point, I was thinking that for all of her degrees including a MBA, she really needs to get a degree in MANOLOGY. Yes I made that word up. Ted, a good guy he seems....but he's had discretions (including cheating). He really was in a bad marriage but why stay in a bad marriage for over 20 years? I did not understand it. He finally got a divorce after realizing his feelings for Victoria were strong...good. However, I feel some kind of way about the whole Parker/Victoria/Ted thing. As another reviewer mentioned, I feel that the author took the easy way out of the love triangle that was going on in this book. BUT what really has me feeling some kind of way is that Victoria still had lustful dreams of one man while ultimately deciding to be with another...forever....conflicting feelings much? Let's not forget that she was also emotionally cheating as well...I see that author mostly focused on physical cheating but Victoria sharing intimate details of her life with another man was just disaster waiting to happen...but of course the author gave Victoria an out.

This book touched upon many themes from Colorism among the Black Elite to Infidelity...to Corporate Politics. I am okay with this book...I cannot say I loved it or hated it. I will say that contrary to popular belief (based on the reviews), I am not sure the couple who ultimately pledged their love to each other lived happily ever after. Conflicting feelings....

I always hope for the best when I purchase interracial romances, but most of the time I'm disappointed. While this book wasn't perfect, it was a pleasant and fast read.

Victoria Small is a smart, beautiful and ambitious woman with horrible taste in men. She couldn't find a decent man with a map and a compass. After swearing them off for a year, she unexpectedly finds herself with two eligible suitors, Ted and Parker.

Ted is the CEO of ViaTech, the company Victoria works for. He is a few years older than her and white. Parker is a surgeon and is black. "Unexpected Interruptions" details Victoria's struggle between what she really wants and what she feels society wants for her.

The dialogue was quick, witty and realistic. Certain scenes were laugh out loud funny (especially Victoria's disastrous blind date). I liked Victoria and Ted, as well as her assortment of friends. I had a few minor problems with Victoria's emphasis on finding a "good black man". (It's hard enough finding a decent man at all.)

This book also delved into issues in the African American community that are not normally touched on (i.e. discrimination based on skin tone and hair texture, etc.) It was refreshing to read about something that we all know about, but never see addressed. While these issues are addressed, ultimately this book was about Victoria and the men in her life.

Although for the most part the dialogue was quick and witty sometimes it bordered on crude. I found those instances to be jarring and unnecessary. Some scenes and situations were overly dramatic as well, but overall the book worked. Other than those minor quibbles, I found "Unexpected Interruptions" to be a compelling read.

The initial lines of the story grab your attention!! I am so very proud of Trice Hickman for her debut novel. I am eagerly awaiting her next release.

The character, Victoria, represents a common issue as it relates to a successful and strong African American Woman. Should she consider the affluent man of color even though her wants, needs and desires are all present and completely met in a man of a different race?

Well done Trice!! Wonderful read. You've got a fan here.