Review: White HOT and oh so tender at the same time!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 07 31, 2013
White Chocolate is white HOT and oh so tender at the same time! The first novel in Lydia Michaels's New Castle series, White Chocolate is  a story about a young mother's sacrifice and the man who's determined to push past the barriers of her self-imposed rigidity and family strife and win her heart. It's a very touchingly romantic tale with lots of plot dilemmas, character introspection and sensually detailed love scenes.New neighbors Kat D'Angelo and Tyson Adams come from totally different worlds. She grew up the only child of two social-climbing, conservative parents who judge her at every turn. He was raised in the bosom of a warm middle-class family whose members love one another to death (he still reminisces about his younger sister who died of cancer). Tyson's a self-made, successful entrepreneur with the largest house (albeit a fixer upper) on the block. Kat's a single mother to a precocious toddler named Mia and lives in a homey rented bungalow two doors down. Working hard to make ends meet after her parents emotionally and financially disowned her, she's obsessive-compulsive, insecure and full of self-doubt. A regular guy in the world of romance novel heroes, he is spontaneous and sexually confident and has a big heart.  And oh, by the way, Tyson is black and Kat is white.Race is not an issue for the two lovers but, as you can imagine, Tyson's race was cloaked as social unsuitability by Kat's snooty parents. His family adores Kat the moment they meet her and her beautiful daughter. It is with this acceptance and Tyson's patience and unwavering love that Kat is awakened to the pleasures of life. Her best friend, Jade Schultz, gives her the moral support she needs as she wades through doubts about her budding relationship with Tyson and tries to grow the backbone to deal with her parents. Added to Kat's woes is the return of Mia's father, Jeremy Lawson, who abandoned her when she became pregnant. Ms. Michaels's writing style is engrossing and realistic. Her love scenes are titillating and have a true sense of intimacy. She makes Jade and Jeremy the featured characters in her next New Castle installment, All 4 You, and if it's anything like White Chocolate, I can't wait to read it.-Reviewed by Angela