Review: A Fascinating Journey
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 01 30, 2014
"Wantin"  is contemporary- fiction tinged with romance and mysticism. It begins with a tragic death of young Talia Temperance (Jacobs) Parker's parents, the loss of her childhood friend Bodhi and her nanny, a Haitian mystic when she's swept away to Australia to live with her uncle and aunt. Fate continues to be unkind to Talia even as she matures. Suffering the loss of a love that's forbidden, she struggles to find a path forward in her life, and flees the confines of the Parker's home. This is a story of a young woman whose heart has been frozen by so much loss that she stifles love and fears commitment, wanting nothing more than her freedom.From a technical perspective, the writer has woven an intricate and well-written plot that follows this young woman as she climbs from the heights of joy and happiness only to tumble to the depths of confusion and despair with each loss she suffers. Struggling with a desire to find a love that will touch her heart and soul, someone she can love forever, Talia starts a journey that takes her to countries around the world, finding diversion in social interactions and the martial arts, even connecting with relatives from her past. The explicit sexuality in the novel does little to enhance, and rather detracts from a story that's not only entertaining but engrossing.With the exception of Talia and Brad, the other personalities in this short story are not well-developed, like Ethan and Doug the two men who fall for the young seductress and who wallow in self-pity after she rejects them. Toying with the affections of the two makes the character of Talia appear heartless , cold and cruel, even though she is struggling with her own inner turmoil and not in love with either one. Even her lack of forgiveness for a person she calls a friend is unsettling and seems petty especially when Rhonda admitted her lack of judgement and Talia abruptly moves out of the house. Brad's nature is portrayed as charming, persuasive, popular and trustworthy; a man of integrity even when passionately in love. He seems to have a strength of character that is lacking somewhat in his cousin. The novel is short and further character and plot development might have illuminated Talia's personality more and added strength to the plot."Wantin" is a fascinating story of unrequited passion, lost friendship, tragedy and sacrifice which will captivate many a heart. It would be interesting to see if Talia finds the love she seeks so will wait for the next book to find out. I have rated it a 3 but expect if I had more room to move on the scale would rate it a 3.5.