A Friend and a Lover by Tressie Lockwood

A Friend and A Lover by Tressie Lockwood


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Very good, short but sweet read. Ms. Lockwood is a talented writer, giving the reader the opportunity to see life through Asia's eyes. Normally, 1st person point-of-view is less than ideal for a romance story, but it worked with this book, because of the fact that it was about Asia coming to terms with her fears of being left by yet another man. I could understand Asia's reluctance to get involved after being dumped by man after man. The reasons that the men were leaving her were shocking, but it totally made sense. I liked Asia, and I felt for her. I think her reactions were realistic, under the circumstances.

This book had an element I don't like: I have never been in agreement with women fighting over men. I think it's demeaning both to the women and the men. A man worth fighting over, would never want his woman to lower herself to do that. And a woman should have enough pride not to go to that level. Just my thoughts, anyway. I liked how it was handled in this story, mostly. I liked that she avoided the "Big Misunderstanding" tactic. The reasons behind Asia's boyfriends breaking up with her had an deep and somewhat disturbing aspect to them, that gave this story a little more depth, although this wasn't delved into as deeply as it could have been. I chalk that down to this being a very short story.

Since I'm a serious Anglophile, Ms. Lockwood gets points for Colin being British. And he really was a sweet, considerate guy. He was sexy and gorgeous, but a very good guy. I could see why Asia fell for him. He was the real deal, willing to commit himself to her and wait for her to be sure of her feelings for him.

I'm not much for the modern relationship deal--happy for now, let's see where this goes, kind of resolution--but it fit with the story and with Asia's issues about trusting herself to another relationship. I wish that Colin had come along before she had such baggage, but it worked out the way it was supposed to, I suppose. Even with this story being about a couple who were having a 'no strings attached' relationship, there was enough emotional connection that I was able to enjoy the story despite that (and I knew it along those lines going into it).

The love scenes were steamy, but not excessively descriptive, and certainly not erotic. So I'd recommend this for a fan of interracial romances who doesn't like erotica. If you'd like a quick, well-written, enjoyable interracial romance, this one's very good. Give it a try.

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