Intimate Conversations

by Lauren Brooks

Brooke Freeman is a beautiful and deeply empathetic woman with a history of failed romantic relationships behind her. After her last failed relationship resulted in three children and no marriage proposal, she has given into the societal notion that she is a low value woman, despite her sunny and giving nature. She is deeply devoted to her children and insistent on providing a good life for them. Brooke dreams of having a successful writing career and a romance like the ones she writes about, but as a single mother of three, she believes she’ll never be desirable to a good man. After quitting an exhausting job, she is living off her savings, financially strapped, and hoping to land her first book deal to earn money to stay afloat.

Elijah West is a self-made businessman and reformed player with a past full of mistakes and disappointments. He is thoughtful and successful on the outside but a broken man on the inside. Since cheating on the love of his life resulted in a side pregnancy with a less than favorable woman, his life has been one difficulty after another. He wants to live a more fulfilling life and prove that he can be a man worthy of respect but knowing that his problems are all a result of his own bad decisions, he doesn’t believe he deserves one. As a result, he pours all his time and energy into making sure his sons never make the same mistakes.

When the ramifications of Elijah’s past start to manifest in the life of his children, he’s forced to confront his future for the sake of their well-being. What neither Brooke nor Elijah expected was to find forgiveness and hope for themselves within each other while navigating the ups and downs of life. What they find in each other is a love that reaffirms their strength and soothes their insecurities.

229 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 22, 2025

Reviews

[Tomorrow Mims · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very Good Read!

I kept seeing the ads for this book on IG. When I got back on KU I made it business to read it and I was not disappointed at all. A beautiful love story. Second chance love and a blended family? Yes! Yes! Yes!

I identify with them in some ways and while I know this is fiction and a lot this is over the top, what it gave me is hope. My redemption love may not be like Elijah and Brooke’s but by the love and grace of God it will come to everyone who wants it because we deserve it! There was not a lot of drama between them as a couple and I appreciated that as well. It was THEM against everyone else. Not a lot of books have that and they have their place but this was a breath of fresh air.

I also like the forgiveness part of this as well. Forgiving yourself and the people who caused you harm is so freeing! Taking accountability for actions and standing on it, making a change in hopes of redemption was big in this story.

Lastly, the, babies stole my whole heart, had my eyes all misty and stuff. All of them have been through something and they stuck with one another and welcomed change with a little hesitation, which is to be expected. I love that FAMILY was big here. All those babies deserved it.

[Shades N Pages · Rating 2 out of 5]

. I love the title, “Intimate Conversations,” because Elijah aka Jah and Brooke truly engage in intimate and vulnerable discussions with each other. I appreciate that they are both single parents open to love. Jah didn’t waste any time at all; he recognized that Brooke was the one and acted accordingly. I also loved that the kids were involved; every time they appeared on the page, it made the story easier to read. Some parts of this story made me believe that, despite past mistakes, everyone is deserving of love and happiness. I mean—almost LOL! However, I did want to see more development between the main couple. While there was an undeniable chemistry that gave off instalove vibes, the first-person inner dialogue was somewhat insufferable and dragged on. This could have been better utilized to provide more scenes with the couple together. Additionally, there were several storylines introduced that were never resolved. For instance, the storyline involving Chrissy and her boyfriend was left hanging. Furthermore, mentioning the father who was absent but still engaged in their lives felt like a wasted opportunity. There was no meaningful conversation between him and the children to address their resentment, so it begs the question: why even bring him up? Similarly, what about Brooke’s baby’s father? His mention seemed unnecessary if nothing was developed there. Overall, it felt like the secondary storylines were fillers that didn’t contribute much to the main plot. Coupled with grammatical errors, mixed names, and an ending that left much to be desired, this book had the potential to be a decent story but ultimately missed the mark for me.
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[Vasaunti Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a story of two broken past being the glue and needed peace needed to become whole. You have one right person wrong time and one that’s a giver to the wrong person. They way the genuinely navigate into this new friendship relationship that just blooms to be exactly what each of them need from each other is beautiful to see. Then you have the added background drama that just overlaps, but at the same time tie them in an unexpected connection as well. The blended family dynamic that just warms you from the inside out. There was not anything about this book that I did not love. Feel smile or swoon about. I loved how he knew he messed up a good thing but was never backing down from his mistake or responsibility and was always ten toes down behind his and what was needed. Both of them both just needed someone to see them for who they are at this time and love them in spite of their baggage and they’re brokenness and within that they found and built something beautiful love love loved this book and would definitely recommend it.

[Amena Diakite]

uhh, so this was a DNF for me. idk what it was, but something was missing, and I wasn't really connecting with the story. The initial conversation between the MC felt a bit forced. It was choppy and didn't flow very well. Maybe because I dnf'd at 17% but I didn't get the "intimate" part of the conversations, and that was what attracted me to the book. What I read was a bit elementary. The never-ending paragraphs were annoying. No indentation and long-winded. As someone else stated, there was a lot of unnecessary inner monologue, and I found myself skipping through to get back to the dialogue between the characters. She went from "ain't no d*ck worth blah blah blah" to screwing this man in a week. But sis, I get it. Sometimes, you just have to scratch that itch. I may double back and try it again because, as I said, the synopsis intrigued me.

[Lexi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was amazing! A heartfelt love story that captured my heart. Definitely had my dying of laughter,crying and gasping lol.

Brooke and Jah were everything—two single parents who didn’t think they deserved love but found healing and connection with each other on a chance hike. Their journey to falling in love was so beautiful and effortless. There was no miscommunication, just a natural, organic flow of conversation that gradually blossomed into something deep and real. It’s a beautiful portrayal of Black love and a blended family. And let me tell you, the spice! It was definitely spicing!

[Destiny · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was incredibly difficult to put down. I love a book that has me thinking about the characters and storyline when I have to put it down and this is one such book. The author does a very nice job keeping the story going with contemporary language and relatable characters. I would have learned more about Brooke’s character outside of her role as a single mother and writer. Overall, this is a fantastic book that left me happy and satisfied and with characters I could both relate to and cheer on. Nicely done!

[Latoya White · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this story and I'm actually looking forward to part 2. Jah and Brooke's love was instant but felt realistic. With that being said I almost put the book down because there were quite a few grammatical errors. Also, there was a part of the story where I got a bit confused and needed to check in on character placement. Other than that it felt like a good rough draft. It has the potential to be a really good series. I'm hoping part 2 will be more polished as I'm looking forward to Tanya and Raheem's story!

[Courtney Knight · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good for the soul

This was a great cleanse from everything I’ve been reading. A true love story between two people with hella baggage that at times made them feel unworthy. It was such a pleasure watching Brooke and Jah’s love story unfold! Highly recommend this read if you want a love story without a bunch of drama. I’m ready for Tanya and Reem tho!!!

[Brianna · Rating 5 out of 5]

ABSOLUTELY LOVED!!!

I couldn’t put this down!!!! This love story was so sweet and had me feeling all the feels. Brooke and Elijah were the cutest couple ❤️ P.s. Jah is a top tier Book Bae, he was so understanding and thoughtful! Great job Lauren.

[Raymonde · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love the love story of Jah and Brooke. The only issue I had was that there were a lot of grammatical errors when reading. Towards the later chapters, the character T was mentioned in error when it was supposed to be Brooke.

[Brandi Crowder · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved everything about this romance. Jah was so sweet and such a good dad! Him and Brooke were so good together. I even loved the pieces we got of Tanya and Kareem!! Can’t wait for book 2!!

[LK Still · Rating 5 out of 5]

Intimate Conveesations

Really enjoyed this book. I'm a break reader for Ms. Brooks and I must say it was a great read.

[Alisa · Rating 1 out of 5]

The foul language (d*ck, n**gga, f*ck) used in the book completely turned me off from continuing to read any further.

[LeLe Nolan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I saw this book on Instagram and went to Kindle Unlimited (KU) to read it. I absolutely fell in love with this book. The story is just so soft and sweet. It definitely put me in my soft girl era while reading this. The spice was right, the blended family coming together, the intertwining between one of the sons, best friends, and a baby was genius!

There's a part where all the kids and best friends take a weekend trip, and that really did it for me. That represents having a village as an adult and showing that grown people can come together and create their own stories! Even the mother of the MMC character coming in and they squash their beef and celebrate a holiday together with the new partners was dope to see.

This story was really healing and giving soft life for both FMC and MMC. I adore this book.