Review: Xeni by Rebekah Weatherspoon

“…this is a book that will leave you with a smile on your face.”
~ Under the Covers

I read book 1 in the Loose Ends series last year and then somehow I missed that book 2 was released.  So when I found XENI I was excited to dive in right away and I used the #queerblackathon as my excuse to do that as soon as possible.

This is a marriage of convenience trope.  Xeni travels from California to New York to settle her recently deceased aunt’s affairs and finds out that in order to receive her inheritance, her aunt stipulated she has to marry an expatriate Scot that her aunt also left money to.  I don’t know what it is about this trope that always makes it fun to read about, but in particular in this book it was fun because Xeni and Mason took the rules in stride and decided to make the best of their situation and in turn help each other out.  That didn’t mean being angry for being forced into this or resenting a dead relative.  I think the lack of angst in that regard made this story even more fun to read.

The thing that I find the most fascinating and exciting about this book are the characters.  We met Xeni, the heroine, in RAFE and the hero, Mason, comes from another series I need to catch up on by Ms. Weatherspoon and in particular a book I haven’t read yet, SANCTUARY.  Both the hero and heroine are bisexual and this is something that is talked about and discussed quite well in my opinion throughout this book.  And we can’t not mention the cinnamon roll hero, Mason.  I loved the fact he’s not your typical romance hero. Not only is he bi but he’s also plus sized and it was refreshing to see Ms. Weatherspoon break out of the norm that floods the genre.  He’s such a sweetie, he plays the bagpipes, has a sexy accent and cooks for the heroine, and we can’t forget that he can enjoy some pegging.

Which brings me to the sex.  I always expect a certain level of steam when it comes to this author and she certainly delivered with this book.  But I love how the sex always feel organic in a way that drives the story forward and isn’t gratuitous.

That being said, there were parts of the story that felt like the pacing could’ve just been a little better and I lost that drive to keep turning the pages faster.  And there is a bit of totally unnecessary drama at some point that I wasn’t a fan of.

Overall, I can recommend this book if you want something that will talk about real life issues like sexuality and race in a way that feels honest and natural. But most important, this is a book that will leave you with a smile on your face.

 

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[about-author author=”Rebekah Weatherspoon”]

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