Sasha White is back in control of her life. The protagonist of K. Hunter’s novel My Blue Heaven has walked out of an abusive relationship. She’s moving up fast in the law firm where she works. She’s hitting the gym, dropping weight, and showing off her toned body in stylish clothes. So the new man who enters her life — a man who is kind and caring, handsome and wealthy — should be the icing on the cake.
Of course, it’s not that easy. Sasha is African-American, and Joseph Lakes is white. But race is the least of this couple’s problems. Joseph’s big bank account is balanced by a father who sees Sasha as a gold-digger, a view eagerly encouraged by Joseph’s jealous ex-girlfriend.
My Blue Heaven strews enough stumbling blocks in Sasha’s path that it should be a gripping read. Unfortunately, it tosses even more obstacles at the reader, mostly in the form of typographical and grammatical errors that mar nearly every page. Beyond that, My Blue Heaven takes an already dramatic tale well over the top. It’s one thing for Joseph’s ex-girlfriend to be a model — but does she have to be the top model in the world? And even a two-minute Google search would have yielded the information that the ravenous wildlife featured in a key scene of the story hasn’t existed in that part of the world for nearly a century.
Such excesses mar a reader’s enjoyment in what, stripped to its essentials, is a moving tale about a character worth rooting for.
Also available as an ebook.
