 Contemporary Romance |
PAST PROMISES Jahmel West Genesis Press April 2001 (3) Jeanette Codgell |
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At Tolleston College, a prestigious historical black college, Nicole Blakely is the newly appointed Dean of students. The former Dean of students embezzled thousands of dollars in student aid leading to the college having to deal with bad publicity. Along with this, the athletic director broke several rules to attract star athletes, which put the school on a two-year suspension in basketball and football. The college is in financial trouble and on the brink of having to close its doors. Nicole is trying to save the school and restore its good name. She convinces the board of directors to have an auction where amongst other things, they will auction off the first edition of a 19th century Nat Turner interview. Only someone steals the book, while it is under lock and key and just minutes before the auction. Kevin Powell, a retired professional football player, alumni of Tolleston and Nicole’s old boyfriend is at the banquet. After 10 years of no contact with her, he shows up at the auction and upstages Nicole. She is furious, of course and apprehensive of Kevin’s presence and the reasons behind him donating one million dollars to the school. She still hasn’t forgotten how their relationship ended or the broken trust. Later it’s announced that Kevin will be the new athletic director and he and Nicole are to work together to increase enrollment. Kevin’s reasons for returning to Tolleston are strictly personal. He wants Nicole back and he lets her know that. He doesn’t understand why she is fighting the attraction between them or why she can’t accept that what happened between them in the past was for the best. Lord, deliver me from self-righteous ballplayers who think they should be commended for breaking off one relationship before they mess it up by cheating. And he wonders why she doesn’t trust him anymore? Kevin thought he could just show up, apologize and everything would be honky dory. Nicole tries to explain to him that it takes time to build trust, but Kevin wants her and the trust NOW. Someone is trying to taint the schools reputation and deter their enrollment efforts. Every time something happens at the school, like the enrollment packets being destroyed, Nicole suspects Kevin, because these things started with his arrival. She constantly struggles with her feelings for him and the pain he caused her in the past. It’s not often that I read a book and not like the hero or the heroine. As the saying goes, “There’s a first time for everything.” I could not get into either of these characters. He was too arrogant, pushy, demanding, and bossy. She was the quintessential whimpy woman. Every time she objected to or disagreed with him, he would kiss her objections away and she would swoon all over him. Do women still swoon? I found myself cheering for the antagonist, anything that would cause trouble between these two. Every time reality would set in and Nicole was getting some semblance of her real self, she let Kevin drag her back into his world with a kiss or sweet words. She consistently doubted Kevin’s intentions and wondered why she did. Don’t she remember ten years ago when he broke her heart? Towards the end of the book, Kevin turns out to be the man he should have been in the beginning. Of course by then, I really disliked him, so it didn’t really matter. PAST PROMISES’ only saving grace is that it touts HBCUs (Historical Black Colleges and Universities). Being a product of an HBCU myself (Yea Savannah State), I was pleased to see their value being acknowledged and extolled. Despite my grouses, there is a straightforwardness about PAST PROMISES that makes it a very easy read. Ms. West shows some promise, but a tighter plot, likable stronger main characters and her writing will be more effective. |
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jeanette@romanceincolor.net (11th April 2001) |
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