Ms. LeBeau is one of Genesis’ most popular authors and YOUR PRECIOUS LOVE is evident of the talent that makes her so popular.  YOUR PRECIOUS LOVE is a delightful tale that cannot fail to touch the cynical heart.

Three years before the book opens, Angela Etheridge’s philandering husband, Cole, dies and leaves her to raise their son on her own.  On the verge of divorce, Angela takes the insurance money that is left and opens an African-American bookstore, All of Our Best.  And everything seems to be going fine.  Until one day she is called to the Sedgewick Mall.  Her 13-year-old son, Tyson, has been caught shoplifting, and it is only then that she realised that her son is heading for big trouble.

Unexpectedly, her husband’s best friend, retired pro basketball player, Quinton Gibbs, enters the picture.  Angela has no love for Cole or the glamorous life he lives.  In fact, she blames him and his lifestyle for her late husband’s infidelities.

For years, Quinton has felt an intense attraction to Angela and has always cared and felt responsible for her and Tyson.  When Angela asks him to help her and mentor Tyson he agrees, not only because he cares for the boy, but because he wants to be close to Angela.

What develops is a touching love story that sees both of them slowly falling in love.  Angela, however, is hesitant about the relationship.  Not only because Quinton was her husband’s best friend, but she also know how much her son cared about his father.  When Tyson finds them in bed together, her fears are realised and her son starts to act defiant again.

Quinton and Angela are two likable characters, and at the end of the book the reader is sure to feel a sense of gratification that this was a match made in heaven, and that they belong together.

The book, too, has some memorable scenes that are sure to move some readers to tears.  The image of Angela hugging Cole’s mother, Miss Viveca, when the woman finally admits that she is growing up and apologizes for her cruel treatment of Angela.  And the deeply moving scene when Angela and Tyson finally come to terms with the conflict that exist between them.

To say more would be to give away much of the lovely story.  Unfortunately, YOUR PRECIOUS LOVE is a short book.   Only 202 pages, and this is one of the book’s main flaws.  Despite the well-written story, I cannot help but feel that a longer book would have done more justice to these two wonderful characters, and allowed Ms. LeBeau to do so much more.  The final few chapter of YOUR PRECIOUS LOVE seems a bit rushed.  And, to be honest, I really didn’t want the story to end so soon.

Despite this, Ms. LeBeau has written a story that is sure to please her fans and gain her many more.  I, for one, am a definite convert!

wayne@romanceincolor.net

24th April 2001