FIRST LOVE Cheryl Faye BET/Arabesque August 2000 (4) Melanie Schuster |
 Contemporary Romance |
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REVIEW: |
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Welcome back, Cheryl Faye! This is the Cheryl Faye that readers have been clamoring for. With FIRST LOVE, Ms Faye has returned to the down-to earth, fully realized love story that won her fans and admiration. AT FIRST SIGHT and A TIME FOR US were her first books, along with the novella "Second Chance at Love" in the MAMA DEAR anthology. Last year brought us A TEST OF TIME, which revisited the characters of A TIME FOR US. FIRST LOVE, I think, is a return to the style of storytelling, which has brought me back to AT FIRST SIGHT over and over again. Lena Caldwell is a sweet, shy, sheltered young woman. Her upbringing by strict parents is reflected in her quiet demeanor and unassuming lifestyle. After the death of her parents, Lena becomes resigned to a solitary life of work and church and doesn’t even dare to dream that a life-long romance could be a part of her life. Enter
Quincy Taylor, a sophisticated, urbane man who is a charmer, no doubt. While he stops this side of being a true player, he is
nonetheless a man who likes to live life to the fullest.
When he starts working at the company where Lena is employed, he is as
surprised as anyone to find himself drawn to the quiet, docile Lena. Their
mutual attraction grows and he begins to draw Lena out of her shell.
They fall quietly and madly in love as Lena learns what it is like to
truly be a woman. But just when
everything she begins to truly trust what they are building together, a woman
from Quincy’s past returns, bringing with her sure heartbreak for Lena. FIRST
LOVE is a sweet, captivating story that is profoundly sensual at the same
time. Although Ms Faye never stints on the emerging tender emotions
of both Lena and Quincy, she manages to evoke just the right level of scorching
sensuality. The scene in which Lena
and Quincy make love for the first time is sweet, charming, and blazingly hot!
Just make yourself read up to it—no skipping ahead! One
of the things that Ms Faye does extremely well is show growth and development in
her characters. The way timid Lena
comes out of her shell to the point where she is not only able to accept love,
but to stand up for herself, rings true. You feel as though you are taking the
journey with Lena and Quincy, and you are the richer for it when the trip is
over. The book’s climax is
wonderfully satisfying; if it was a scene in a movie nail tips would be flying
all over from sisters high-fiving each other.
It’s that meaningful, trust me! FIRST LOVE is like a lovely cup of cinnamon tea laced with a little Calvados. Don’t let the warmth and sweetness fool you, it has a nice kick to it, too. This is one you’ll want to savor for a long, long time. |
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1st September 2002 |
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