Devyn is the kind of heroine I love to find in a romance. Devyn is resilient, focused, and determined to live her life to the fullest after being knocked down by circumstances out of her control. Despite being treated very badly by a man that she thought that she loved Devyn has managed to remain kind and open to others. After surviving and leaving an emotionally abusive relationship Devyn doesn't give up on herself or find herself in another bad relationship. Instead, Devyn allows herself to grieve what she thought that she had but afterwards, with the help and encouragement of her best friend, Devyn finds herself. Devyn takes back her life by focusing on her work and her own well being. She is able to look back over her bad relationship and see that the signs were there, she just chose to ignore them. To me that shows great personal character for Devyn to be able to see and acknowledge her own weaknesses and blind spots that helped to keep her in that bad relationship. When she decided to focus on herself Devyn takes it a step further than many women would by exercising and learning to love her body through the art of burlesque. AWESOME! Devyn claims and embraces her curves and learns to appreciate herself as a real woman and not measuring herself against a standard that so many women can not live up to.
Nikola is the brother of Devyn's boss and CEO of the company that she works for. Nikola has tried to maintain strict boundaries between himself and his employees but that hasn't kept him from noticing his brother's executive assistant despite all of his efforts to ignore her. After being put in a situation where he will be working closely with Devyn Nikola finally decides that denying himself what he wants is no longer on the agenda. Nikola proves to be a sexy take charge man who also knows how to bend when he is in the wrong.
I really enjoyed the relationship between Nikola and Devyn. Devyn's secret life outside of her professional life is unique and I loved the reaction from Nikola when he discovers it. The only thing that I would have liked to have seen explored a bit more was Devyn's insecurity when it came to sex with Nikola. Devyn is comfortable with her body overall but there is a scene where she is hesitant to do something sexually that Nikola has asked of her that was resolved very quickly and simply. I would have loved to have seen that explored a bit more. Nikola responded well to it but it could have led to a LOT of fun sexiness between them if they would have needed to explore more positions in order for Nikola to show Devyn just how much he enjoys her body. I realize that is a nit picky complaint because the chemistry between Nikola and Devyn is wonderful and well played out.
BLACK PEARL is a very enjoyable debut novel by Tiffany Patterson. Patterson presents a well written romance and I look forward to reading more in the BLACK BURLESQUE series. Patterson makes it pretty clear who the next book will focus on and I am looking forward to finding out just what happened between Devyn's sassy best friend Mercedes and Raul, the sexy Brazilian best friend of Nikola. I am so glad that my book group voted for this one as our group read and I look forward to experiencing what Patterson has in store for her readers next!
Happy Reading!
Monica
This book is also a bargain at only 99 cents!
Synopsis
Black Pearl, Book 1 of the Black Burlesque Series
Monday through Friday, Devyn Williams is executive assistant to the CFO of one of the top finance firms in the country. But Devyn has a secret. At night she becomes Black Pearl, a rising performer on the Atlanta burlesque scene. Devyn's good at keeping these two aspects of her life separate, even from her company's CEO, Nikola.
Nikola Collins, is CEO of Excel Financial Services, the company his father started more than thirty years ago. After graduating from West Point and serving in the military, Nikola assumed the role he'd been groomed for since he was a child, upon his father's untimely death. With his brother, Andre as CFO, Nikola has helped Excel exceed even his father's expectations. But, Nikola has a secret of his own. For the three years Andre's executive assistant, Devyn, has worked at Excel, he's been harboring a crush. Opting to not cross any professional boundaries, Nikola has kept his distance. All that changes when Nikola and Devyn are tasked with working closely with one another. The pair's attraction for one another finally boils over.
Nikola finding out Devyn's little secret is not all she has to worry about. When an unwelcomed intruder from Devyn's past returns, the new couple's happiness is threatened.
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