Giselle Carmichael

I almost gave this an extra star for the sweet earnestness of the (terrible) writing. Then the endless heteronormative vileness was too much. There is a lot of chatter about "this is how all men/women act." Mostly it comes down to how.men are naturally the leaders and protectors of women so when they have a moment of physical weakneas they must act like assholes. You can't fight nature! I rolled my eyes so often I gave myself a headache. Spoiler: Any real woman always wants to have the show more babies of the man she loves. The lack of that desire makes her a monster. You heard it here first. On a first date the guy asks "so why aren't you married with children?" A dead woman is portrayed as a total monster for wanting to succeed as a lawyer and not wanting kids. I say this as a straight cisgender mother who left the practice of law - I wanted to smack this writer. In other matters, the writing is painfully bad. No one on earth has ever spoken the way these people talk. The central roadbump that threatens their relationship is so illogical I am baffled as to how the writer ever thought of it. show less

An ARe Cafe top pick.

Police Detective Taylor Warner is used to being the take charge daughter of the family, but every man she’s ever dated finds her career too intimidating, until she meets FBI Agent Stone Patrick while working a case. Taylor and Stone are attracted to each other, but their careers constantly pull them apart. It’s been months and Stone is finally back in town and Taylor has every intentions of telling him she wants to try and make it work until a bank robbery puts them show more in the middle of another case. Unfortunately this one is taking some time to solve as the bank robbers are proving to be very elusive. They steal moments together and while things are hot between Stone and Taylor, their case is one cold lead after another. Both are impatient to wrap the case and really concentrate on their relationship, but the fugitives are not making it easy. When one of the men targets Taylor, it gets too close to home for Stone. He is determined to close the case and even more determined to win over Taylor because while she’s temporarily staying at his place, he has every intention of making it a permanent arrangement.

Stilettos and Handcuffs by Giselle Carmichael is one of the best, most gripping novels I’ve read in a while. The easy flow of the language and build up from event to event makes it a great and engaging story. The characters are very well drawn and feel lifelike. The dangers they face are compelling and the scenes of suspense so well written, anyone who reads this novel will be caught up in the action as it unfolds. From the very first page I was pulled into the scene and captivated as what started out as a mundane afternoon ballooned into a nightmare. I could feel and empathize with every emotion that went through Taylor because her feelings are so well fleshed out.

Taylor is a beautiful black woman, well respected in her field as a good officer, but when it comes to dating her career choice makes it difficult to form lasting relationship. She is often forced to choose between her relationship and her career. This is very ironic because men are almost never asked to make these decisions. Stone is an exceptional man who loves and accepts all of Taylor, even the side of her personality she hides from the world. With his nurturing and caring spirit, Stone is able to get to the root of Taylor’s problem and help her to free the beautiful woman trapped behind the male-cut clothes and scrubbed face. It is amazing how well suited they are for each other. Stone is bi-racial but outwardly he appears white. He is raised with his father constantly stating that a woman’s place is in the home and a woman like Taylor who wants a career would not make a good wife and mother. Thankfully, he does not buy into his father’s beliefs and realizes he wouldn’t have Taylor any other way. He loves her analytical cop mind but he also loves the softer side she reserves for when they are alone.

I enjoyed this book because there simply wasn’t a dull moment, between chasing the bad guys, getting out of hairy situations, trying to establish their relationship and Taylor learning to let her inner princess out there is just too much fun to find a lull or drag in this story. I will most definitely get the first story that started it all; Eden and Chase’s story The Politics of Love. I’m also curious to learn what happens with baby sister Skye Warner and Principal David Daniels.

~ Susan for AReCafe show less