Well this one was a disappointment. Alexa and Drew meet when they're stuck in an elevator together and on a whim Drew asks Alexa to be his date to the wedding he's there to attend. Talk about a meet-cute, right? Sadly, it's all down-hill from there. The banter is clunky and there is a lot of telling, not doing. All these two seem to do is have sex. I have no idea what they see in each other besides their physical attraction to each other. And although they are thirty something professionals (the mayor's chief of staff and a paediatric surgeon, respectively) the miscommunications, and the conflict that result from them, are decidedly immature and could easily be avoided if these two ever actually talked. But maybe I was expecting too much? This book came with a beautiful cover (it actually got bumped up a half star for this cover), a lot of hype and a $15 price tag. I suppose I assumed it would be a little more polished. *sigh* 

All that said, there is actually a lot to like about the book. The heroine is a successful, curvy, black woman and the white hero clearly respects her and listens to her. They have explicitly safe, consensual sex and there are some great points made about privilege. There was just so much about this book that I wanted to like, just not quite enough technical skill to pull it off. 

I'm a bit meh about this book. The basic plot is simple enough; California-girl Charley's father dies, leaving her with a derelict sugar plantation on the other side of the country. Charley heads out there with her eleven year old daughter to try and make a go of things. Of course, when she gets there, she finds nothing but trouble. The story meanders along, introducing us to the characters and the intricacies/politics of sugar cane farming. For me, the farming was the best part of the story and I wish Ms. Baszile had spent more time with Charley actually working the farm. Instead, we see Charley navigate through her relationships with family, including her daughter Micah, her estranged brother, Ralph Angel, and the family matriarch, Miss Honey. The issue here is that the characterizations are not quite fully realized. You feel just enough to get interested in them, but then frustratingly unfulfilled as the narrative proceeds and they fail to acquire any more depth. And that's basically my issue with the book as a whole, actually. There's just enough here to pique my interest, but not enough depth to actually realize it. Still, as a first offering there's a lot to enjoy, and some strong themes running throughout. I would definitely pick up another book by the author.