Book Review: A Brooklyn Love Affair

Title: A Brooklyn Love Affair: Vixen and Gino’s Story

Author: Tya Marie

Genre: African-American urban fiction

Age Group: Adult

Rating: 4 stars

                Vixen Williams has always been known as a woman of many faces. The fiercely devoted one she uses for her best friend, the one of a lover and confidant to her fiancé, and the real one she keeps reserved for looking in the mirror and battling her inner demons. Life is fairly normal for Vixen until her verbally abusive mother reenters her life, dredging up traumatic childhood memories, and bringing a handsome stranger into the mix with her devious antics causing Vixen to reprise her role as caregiver and bread winner.

                Gino Romano is infamous for many reasons: his notoriety for being one of the youngest king pins in New York City, the cold manner in which he handles business, and the notable political ties he’s managed to create along the way through “profit sharing.” However, the most prominent thing he is known for is the ice fortress he has built around his heart. Because of his past, Gino keeps women at an arms length, believing it hard to find one who could accept the scarred past he comes with. Until he lays eyes on Vixen.

                Brought together for all the wrong reasons, Vixen and Gino find a common ground that not only develops into a budding friendship, but sparks a love affair. From the moment they become one they must fight to protect their love from those who plan to destroy it by any means necessary, one of which being the very reason Vixen ran away from home ten years ago in the dead of night.

                Will the forces determined to see Gino and Vixen destroyed win? Or will their love prevail?

                Set in a spicy Brooklyn backdrop, A Brooklyn Love Affair brings to life pain, forgiveness, and the never ending possibility of finding love.

In A Brooklyn Love Affair, Vixen has suffered through a great deal. Worst of all, she’s done so at the hands of her parents. And when her mother resurfaces, all those childhood memories come back to haunt her. I could have nothing but respect for her. She survived a whole lot and she’s strong, intelligent, and caring. Despite all that happened, she still manages to care for people, and I found that astonishing, and very brave too.

Gino is quite different from her. He’s cold, locks others out, and he’s afraid to let anyone in. But he too has suffered, he too has dark demons hiding in his past. Together they form an unique, unlikely, but intriguing pair. I loved how their relationship slowly developed, and how we got to see more of both of them. Each of them is interesting in their own right, but together…Let’s just say I couldn’t put this book down.

The ending was a surprise for me, and I can’t wait for the sequel. This is an amazing start to a new series, and it’s about more than love – it’s about people, their past and future, and how they’re struggling to come to terms with demons of the past.