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IT'S A LOVE THANG Reon Laudat St. Martin's Press September 2002 (3+) Alicia Thomas |
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PLOT SYNOPSIS: |
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| If ambitious journalist Ebony McKenzie wants to land her dream job with a Cincinnati newspaper, she must secure an exclusive interview with the reclusive Ice Cream King, Reuben Renfro. That means working undercover--at his favorite nudist colony. Ebony spies rival reporter Isaiah Malone on the premises--who's out for the same story. Isaiah aims to win--but fate has other ideas. | |
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REVIEW: |
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What happens when you are attracted to the person who going after the same job as you? Ebony MacKenzie and Isaiah Malone are going after a full-time position at the Cincinnati Examiner. The catch is that the position is predicated on getting an exclusive interview with the reclusive businessman, Reuben Renfro. Renfro shies away from the public and has refused all requests for interviews. IT’S A LOVE THANG chronicles the situations in which Ebony and Isaiah find themselves in their pursuit of Renfro. The two writers first meet having tracked Renfro to a nudist retreat. Ebony, the main breadwinner for her household, is supporting her mother, grandmother, and younger sister. She is compelled to be everything for her family because of an incident in the past. Her job at the Butler County Bee has her yearning for two things – more money and more challenge. Isaiah is working for the International Inquisitor and the Weekly Tale Tattler. He writes the kind of stories that makes his award-winning journalist father embarrassed. They can not be in the same room with each other without George Malone constantly attacking Isaiah. It doesn’t help that George is constantly throwing up the accomplishments of Isaiah’s brother, Tarik, in his face. Isaiah desperately wants the job at the Examiner to prove something to his father.
Ms. Laudat weaves very humorous encounters between Isaiah and Ebony as they stalk Renfro for that illusive story. IT’S A LOVE THANG doesn’t transition well between those episodes. It was somewhat hard to believe the animosity between Ebony’s mother and her grandmother, while the confrontations between father and son left me wanting to see the George’s private perspective on their relationship.
The overall story is very good, especially the intrigue near the end, yet I found myself yearning for a little more. I am, however, looking forward to Ms. Laudat’s next offering. |
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alicia@romanceincolor.net (1st September 2002) |
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