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A ROYAL VOW Tamara Sneed BET/Arabesque April 2001 (4+) Nathasha Brooks-Harris |
Contemporary Romance |
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PLOT SYNOPSIS: |
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REVIEW #1 (Read Review #2): |
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Abbie Barnes is a beautiful but shy young woman who needs some excitement in her life. An editor at a Los Angeles-based fashion magazine, her life revolves around her work and nothing more. Davis
Beriyia is the new handyman in Abbie’s building. Tall, dark and handsome
doesn’t begin to describe the brother. He’s as nice as he is fine and
Abbie’s interest is piqued. She must have him and she sets herself in his path
and line of vision every chance she gets. Strangely
enough, Davis sees Abbie standing at the mailbox everyday when she thinks that
he’ll be passing that way. She times his arrival and has it down to a science.
He can’t understand why she’s always at that same spot everyday, but he’s
as glad to see her, as she is to see him. They are wildly attracted to each
other and Abbie backs away a bit before her feelings get out-of-hand. However,
she’s out having dinner with her best friend one night when Davis happens to
frequent the same eatery. Abbie nearly loses Davis’s affections when her
feisty friend puts the make on him. However, Davis is flattered, but he only has
eyes for Abbie. Always a perfect gentleman, he asks her to allow him to walk her
home and she gleefully agrees. They are kidnapped on the way home and are taken
to a yacht where they end up en route to Natillas, Bahamas, then the jungle and
St. Moritz. They
embark on the most romantic adventure replete with intrigue, danger and mystery.
Abbie nearly falls apart when she learns that Davis is a prince from Juhatu (in
Europe, near Monaco) and that he took refuge in America in a last-ditch effort
for freedom before he was forced into an arranged marriage. A
ROYAL VOW is a wonderful story that had the potential to be the
book version of the plot of the movie COMING TO AMERICA,
but it didn’t. Instead, it was a tightly-written, well-crafted tale with an
old plot given a new twist. The storyline was paced just right to keep the
intrigue and excitement flowing and the reader engaged at every turn. The exotic
settings of Juhatu, St. Moritz and the Bahamian jungle lend a certain mysterious
flair to the plot. It was quite refreshing to visit some different areas of the
world other than the usual venues depicted in romance novels. The royalty theme
exuded a regal air throughout the story. Tamara Sneed’s name was revered with her debut novel and this sophomore book will keep it at that level—probably elevate it to even greater heights. She is a gifted storyteller with a passionate voice and a flair for the dramatic. Experience this great work for yourself, then keep it in your collection and reread it. Trust this reviewer and treat yourself to Sneed’s wonderful novel; you will never regret it! |
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nathasha@romanceincolor.net (24th April 2001) |
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