Review: Loved the Hero...the Heroine? Not So Much
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 06 19, 2014
It was short. I wanted to love An Involuntary Spark because it was set in Los Angeles--a rarity for most IR books. The beach house the MC rents for the summer is in La Jolla, less than half an hour outside of San Diego and home to some awesome beaches.Unfortunately it violated one of The Fountain Pen Diva's most important cardinal rules:"Thou Shalt Adoreth Thine Heroine As Mucheth As Thy Adoreth Thine Hero."Kian was wonderful. In less than a few pages, I was entranced with him myself. Sexy, smart, a world-traveler, and a surfer. And a man who knows what he wants. Where do I get one, lol? Amiira on the other hand was just "there". Underwhelming. Bland. I prefer my heroines to be fierce and feisty, to know what they want and be fearless in getting it. I like them to feel fully-actualized and I'm bummed that she got shortchanged. Granted this was a mere taste of a longer work, but I can't see myself wanting to see if Amiira puts on her big girl panties. Fine, she just got out of a bad romance, life happens. Sadly, this happens far too often in romance and it's disturbing to me. I will give kudos for the strong female friendship between Amiira and her go-to girl Naomi. Also for no genderfail with the roommate Riley.And I am really past done with "caramel/cafe au lait/cinnamon with long hair" type black heroines as if those are the only kind acceptable in IR romance. It's an endless theme I'm not comfortable with, considering how Lupita Nyongo is slowly changing the face of black beauty.