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MAD ABOUT YOU Roberta Gayle BET/Arabesques June 2000 (4+) Melanie Schuster |
Contemporary Romance |
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PLOT SYNOPSIS: |
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REVIEW: |
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MAD ABOUT YOU is by far my favorite book by Roberta Gayle. She always creates challenging, smart heroines and sexy, appreciative men who go after what they want with a vengeance and this book is no exception. But this story is so well-crafted and the characters so engaging that it pushes its way past being a sparkling romance into being a captivating, contemporary story of modern relationships. All Regina Primm wants is to
do a good job. She has a small PR
firm that is getting the recognition it deserves and she just wants to keep on
developing business. Regina is
smart, savvy and has paid her dues. So when she gets an opportunity to help publicize a film, a
big studio film at that, she is elated. Even
if it means that she will be dealing with spoiled jock-turned-star Langston
Downs. She has no doubt that she
can handle him—she can do anything!
Langston Downs, as the
publicity goes, is nothing like the man the media has created.
Although Regina thinks that’s just the standard Hollywood line, in
Langston’s case it is perfectly true. Beneath
his brawn and bravado, Langston is not quite as confident as he appears.
He quit college to turn pro and has a few regrets about it, especially
when he meets the intellectually formidable Regina. Despite his suspicion that Regina thinks he not the sharpest
knife in the drawer, he is drawn to her. Regina and Langston both have
a lot of issues that need to be dealt with before they can make a go as a
couple. Reggie, as her friends and
family know her, is a beautiful full-figured woman.
Her sense of security is threatened by the very public nature of
Langston’s career. Hollywood is
nothing if not slavish in its adoration of physical perfection and Langston is a
bronzed god. Her very real concerns
about what she percieves as her lack of beauty are a growing discomfort to her. Langston, despite his real
feelings of love for Regina, is not giving her what she needs to feel secure.
All their problems would be solved, he thought, if she just moved to
Hollywood with him. Unfortunately,
leaving Seattle for California only exacerbated the situation.
When two dynamic people have careers that do not coincide, as well as
deep needs that are not being met, romantic disaster is usually the result. One of the things that I
liked about MAD
ABOUT YOU is the way the characters
talked to one another, openly and honestly, warts and all. Reggie was deeply in love, all right, but not so besotted
that she would accept less than what she needed in a love relationship.
It didn’t matter if it was Langston Downs or Denzel Washington, Reggie
never lost her sense of self and held her ground for what she needed in the
relationship. And Langston, despite having
been spoiled terribly by the media, by huge salaries and a life of luxury in the
public eye, could be taught. I like that in
a man. He was able to learn to see things through another person’s eyes and to
learn how to compromise and put someone else first, which is the biggest hurdle
in the race for lasting love. This couple was attracted to
one another, they talked to one another, and they challenged and defied and
worked with each other to be together. I
really got the feeling that this couple was committed for the long run.
Her dialogue, sense of place and intriguing secondary characters made
this a book that you will not soon forget.
It is safe Four stars and a ½ star for Ms Gayle’s glamorous new photograph! |
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1st June 2000 |
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