Unreservedly Perfect!

Every romance novel should be written by Alyssa Cole, and Karen Chilton should narrate them all. The end.

JK not the end, I probably won't ever stop talking about this book. I don't usually like contemporary romance (I usually go for historical and fantasy romance), but Cole's novels are the major exception. Her characters are so real and relatable, and the settings never feel forced or contrived. Some books let you step through a doorway into another world, but this one so closely resembles the real world that it's no work at all to immerse yourself in the story. Every detail is perfect. The pacing is a treat; every time I think things are about to wrap up, there's another twist, offering a few more hours' enjoyment!

Having met several of the characters in previous novels, it was so satisfying to see Nya get her own happy ending, after everything she endured. I also especially enjoyed the bits of folklore sprinkled in, and all of the allusions to a fox or trickster god.

The narration is excellent; Chilton swings easily from African to European to North American accents, and all of the characters' voices are easily distinguishable. It's especially impressive considering many of the countries in the book are fictional, but based on real places/regions, so some of the accents had to be a fine balance of identifiable but vague.

I love that black women take centre stage in such an authentic way in this and Cole's other books. They feel like real women whose lives and and experiences differ in significant ways to mine as a white woman--and I feel so grateful to get a window into that experience--but those differences never made the characters' inner lives, desires, and emotions any less familiar and relatable to me. These are the princess stories that black women (and other under-represented folks, like disabled and trans/non-binary people) deserve, in a market so oversaturated with wispy white women swooning on seemingly every cover. And these complex, realistic, modern black women get their hunky prince in the end, as they damn well deserve!

(OH AND I ALMOST FORGOT: this book is sexy as hell! I loved how tenderly Nya's lack of experience was treated; JoJo never rushed her or pressured her, not even subtextually or passive-aggressively, as is sometimes presented as "romantic" in romance novels and the wider culture. I liked the slow burn that their taking it slow provided, but the book still has a decent amount of steaminess at the same time. Alyssa Cole is a master at her craft, no doubt.)

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