SWIRL is a steamy New Adult story about a girl in love with a guy who's off limits at a time in her life where things are very much outside of her control.
After a handsome jerk publicly humiliates her because of her weight, 24-year-old Brianna “Bri” Davis hits an all-time low. With no career, no place to live, and no self-confidence to speak of, Bri has reached rock bottom.
The only stable thing in her crumbling life is the Drip Drop Coffee Shop, where she drowns her sorros in danishes and mugs of delicious coffee, served by an equally delicious barista.
28-year-old Jayce offers Bri a job, but it comes with strings attached: Bri must help him recapture the heart of his ex-girlfriend. She will remake him into a most irresistible specimen so that his ex has no choice but to take him back.
Excited to finally have an income, Bri jumps at the opportunity, especially if working next to Jayce all day is part of the deal. Who cares if the man she's been pining away for has the hots for someone else?
And the ex he's trying to win back? She's more interested in what he can buy her than a real relationship. Why can't Jayce see there's a more deserving woman right in front of him?
Bri can't take any more disappointment. So, going after Jayce is probably a bad idea. But then everything changes, and soon, the steam in Jayce's lingering stare is hotter than the coffee they swirl.
Despite my utter disdain for the cover (which I'll get to later in this review), the author was so professional in her response to my criticism of it that out of courtesy to her I went and purchased her book and read it.
Anyone who takes a gander at my READS shelf will notice I have a fondness for strong heroines. In fact, strong and savvy heroines are nonnegotiable. Weak or pity party heroines need not apply. I have to love the heroine as much, or more than I do the hero. Unfortunately Brianna, the heroine in Swirl, was everything that makes me eye roll. She's plus-sized, self-pitying, unlucky in love, and of course she has a best friend who's gorgeous, skinny and fashionable.
I admit it, when women like Emme, Queen Latifah and Tess Munster have been favorites for years, and personally knowing plus-sized burlesque and fetish models, it's really hard to empathize with a character like Brianna who just seems to have a perennial dark cloud over her head. If it wasn't her weight, then it was being young, overeducated and jobless (like a LOT of college grads these days) and having to move back home with the parents (again, like a LOT of college grads these days). I get it, women do deal with body issues, and college grads are struggling financially, but when I'm reading romance, I want a heroine who doesn't spend pages feeling sorry for herself and who acknowledges she's PHAT--Pretty Hot And Tempting. I need a heroine who MAKES things happen.
So the heroine lost me. Her mother wasn't too bad, but the grandmother needed to be GONE!
Then the hero. Jayce (who was Samoan) just didn't do it for me. He was a nice guy who really cared about Brianna, and they'd been friends before anything else. He had his alpha moments, but he was too easily manipulated by his bitchy wannabe Real Housewife girlfriend. I wasn't quite sure of what to make of a hero who doesn't seem to realize the wrong woman is the one who wants you to do something your heart isn't into. In the Fountain Pen Diva's world, once your ass is dumped, you are GONE! And if there's a I'd want to make sure my rights would be respected, even if it meant getting a lawyer. I did like that Jayce had a really tight knit family.
This was short, sexy and well-edited. The author had an engaging writing style with lots of humorous and geeky moments, but the characters just didn't work.
Now to my issue with the cover. Publishers, listen up:
I realize authors don't have much of a say in their cover art and that there's a serious lack of professional PoC and interracial cover models in the industry. Be that as it may, the utter whitewash of the heroine on the cover was an insulting bait and switch tactic. I get it, you're trying to sell books. But we Black women and WoC readers want to see ourselves better reflected and we're willing to support companies and authors who get that. And frankly, your attempting to attract a certain readership who probably wouldn't read a book featuring a Black heroine is just bad business.
PLEASE stop catering to the racial troglodytes! After all, they're dying off. The smart money nowadays is to showcase more diversity, not less.
This cover (like far too many in this genre) just screams there's only one acceptable look for Black women and defintely anything around Lupita Nyong'o's shade isn't it. In fact, the only way I figured out the heroine was indeed Black was through a quick read of the Amazon previews where she mentions it.
Newsflash to writers and publishers: Black women come in ALL shades and it would be nice if more books actually REFLECTED that reality rather than catering to limiting societal biases. And whitewashing covers just gets you hashtagged hard on Twitter.
Loved this story! Loved Jayce! This is my first read by M.L. Spann, and with all new authors that I read, I never know what to expect. This story left me more than satisfied. What I really loved about this story is it's a different kind of IR Romance because all IR romance isn't BWWM, so this was a sweet, refreshing breath of fresh air.
Brianna, or Bri, is a recent college grad, who like many young adults with degrees, is jobless and still living at home. She's still reeling from a broken engagement, and has no prospects on neither the employment nor romantic front. One of her daily routines is to trek on down to the local coffee shop for some hot chocolate and brooding. Behind the counter is the jokester barrista named Jayce-the sexy Samoan (In my mind the entire time is Roman Reigns...Lawd!)
Jayce got it going on in all the right places except for one: His biyotch of an ex Vivianne. I wanted to beat this heffa down more than once myself. Jayce and Bri hit it off immediately-as friends...initially, but then that friendship blossoms into something deeper. Their courtship is so sweet and real, and at times, awkward, which made reading about them all the more pleasurable.
The story also contains a great host of supporting characters like Bri's BFF Kirsten and Jayce's cousin Keon, as well as Bri's mother and humdinger of a grandmother (Gram-Gram could catch these hands too...)
If you love sweet reads with a dashing hero, a sinister ex, and a sappy HEA, this story is for you. I look forward to reading more from ML Spann in the future. My advice: Click it up!
This is my first book by this author and this is the author's first book.
This is Bri and Jayce's story.
This story had me laughing out loud which I did not expect. This curvy plus sized lady is unlucky in love. All the men she meets are total frogs!! Then it looks likes she has found the real deal when something goes wrong and it looks like Prince Charming is going to end up as another fog! This is why the roller-coaster of emotions happened for me!
This was a good read with sprinkles of good humour too. An enjoyable read!
This was the sweetest story. Why did it take me forever to read this. Bri is so much like me. With all the heartache she been through, I'm glad she found her prince.
This was perfect. I didn't want it to end. I loved all the characters, except Vivi. I laughed out aloud. Her inner thoughts were hilarious. Great storyline, friends before lovers. I will definitely read something else by Spann.
This is my first book by this author and it will not be my last you will laugh at somethings so be aware. I liked this book alot however I felt it could have been a little more in depth but overall great read
Wow, I've never had this many mixed feelings about a book before.
Swirl by M.L. Spann is essentially a contemporary romance between Brianna, a 24 year old girl who lacks self esteem and Jayce, a barista. Bri has had a crush on him since forever but Jayce loves Vivianne who he wants to win back and enlists Bri to help.
Now, there's nothing new about the idea of girl helping guy win the girl of her dreams and I enjoyed the part as well. I also liked how Jayce makes Bri understand the importance of confidence and helps her get comfortable in her own skin. In fact, I was loving the book right upto the point they got together and had their honeymoon phase.
But everything after that? I am still trying to process why literally everyone blamed Bri for not being understanding towards Jayce, I don't think he handled the situation as well as he could have? Vivi and him had history for sure but he did commit to Bri as well so how come his actions were justified by all?
I also didn't like how he continued paying her despite her refusing to work from him, it seemed a lot pressuring to me tbh. His actions might all be in good faith but for me, I found it pretentious and cajoling.
This actually started off good, but ended up a bit of a mess. I didn't remember the book description so at first I was pleasantly intrigued not knowing who the hero was going to be. Brianna's predicament is all too common, no job or prospects right out of grad school. Then she meets a hot guy who turns out to be not at all what she needed. Lucky for her she has a sexy Samoan barista to lift her spirits. All of this was fun, but when the romantic conflict hit things went downhill.
Races for certain characters were described, but for others we just had to wonder. For example, I know Bri is black, but her best friend Kirsten was a mystery, as was Vivienne who is described as a Barbie doll (which I take to mean blonde and skinny) but at one point starts cussing Jayce out in some other language? No clue what she really looked like beyond big boobs.
Jayce was also kind of immature. He wanted to have his cake and eat it to and I lost respect for him. The writing was a little choppy, lots and lots of telling. And whole plot threads, like Kirsten's relationship, were left hanging in the breeze.
Overall, it was a light read, but not really satisfying.
You ever read a book that makes you smile from the very first page? That book was “Swirl” for me.
I loved Brianna and I really related to her. I used to be very overweight so struggling with body issues is something I know very well. She could get a bit gloomy at times but that didn’t bother me. I think that’s part of being young and the frustration you experience when things just don’t work out the way you hoped they would. She did have some sass and spunk, which I liked. She made me laugh too. Some of her internal dialogue with herself made me laugh out loud when I was reading it.
I liked Jayce, he was a good guy but I thought he was a bit thick in the head. There were warning signs all over the place about what kind of woman his girlfriend really was. I don’t want to give any spoilers, but I will say because of his profession it surprised me he wasn’t more suspicious of her and her intentions.
“Swirl” was a fun and easy read. I would definitely read more books by the author! :)
This was such a sweet love story! Poor Bri can't catch a break in her life! Her favorite coffee shop's owner winds up giving her a job and a friendship begins! He's such a nice guy but an idiot when it comes to his psycho girlfriend! She's very manipulative with Jayce. Jayce wants Bri to help him with his relationship with crazy girlfriend! In doing so she realizes she has feelings for him and doesn't want to help, but does. Sweet love story develops with Jayce and Bri. I love her Gram-Gram! That woman is hilarious and crazy!! This was a good book!
I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Swirl was AMAZING!!! I just could not put it down and devoured it in one sitting.
I love Bri! She is so down to earth. I could completely relate to her and all that was going on in her life. And Jayce? SWOON! What a guy! So sweet and caring! I loved the others in the book as well… from Gram Gram to Keon to Darren… I literally laughed out loud many times throughout the book. I really enjoyed reading this book!
M.L. Spann totally knocked it out of the park with this one! I can’t wait to see what she writes next!
This is my first time reading this author and I must say I was pleasantly surprised. Bri is struggling with her weight and finding a job. She has her mother who is supportive and her gram gram who likes to throw boulders at her with her best interest at heart. She has the ever loving friend Kristen who always have her back. Jacey who ends up being her knight and a book boyfriend. Love Love Love this. I fully recommend this. Some minor grammatical issues that did not detract from the story. I will be reading this author again.
I liked this book a lot. Jayce and Brianna were cute and this book was so funny. I really loved how the relationship developed between these two. Even though this was a quick read,the relationship between Jayce and Bri wasn't rushed. The Book was written in such a way that it remained me of those romantic comedies and had me laughing out loud( literally) but still had that element of romance and hot sex that I love in a book. This is my 1st book by this author and I will make it a point to read more of her his work.
Note: I received this book for free in return for an honest review.
I like the premise of this book, and it did well as it promise. Bri is a woman being put down for a lot of bad circumstances (fiancé, job, family) until a friend offered a hand, Jayce is sweet as it can be but friend zone her from the beginning. I like the book and I would love to read more about Keon (love the name) and Darren. I just wish they change the cover of the book , it does represent Bri and Jayce at all.
This book is so cute and darn right funny. I laughed out loud so many times...tears running down my face...such a good,sexy,romantic story. It starts of with a quick hook up and I thought to myself...not another one of those implausible IR storyline...black girl meets rich white billionaire in a coffee and everything turns out wonderful...no...not this story...you will enjoy it to the last drip drop of coffee
What I love is when a book is so solid it could fit within any romance genre. The story is well-balanced with out any unnecessary fillers-it's also hysterically funny. I fought myself laughing out loud. The author infuses this love story with a silliness that is so endearing. Can't wait for more from this author.
Bri is a very realistic and sweet character. I loved her. Jace on the other hand is such a push over. He's willingness to belive Vivian's lies when they could have easily been proven or not, was my least favorite part of this story. It's hard for me to believe he would be dumb enough to fall for her crap. Maybe it's because the men in my family would never would.
Jayce and Bri, what a rollercoaster ride with these two. At times I thought b was too hard on j plus she overlooked so many things. Overall I give this book a 4.5. I liked her gram gram a d mother. Keon and Kirsten were great people as well.#buythisbook
I loved Jayce and Bri's story! I hope Keon and Kirsten get their own story as well as Darren. This book has it all, it will make you laugh, cry and swoon.
I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. Characters were believable and they had real personality. Please keep up the great work. Ill be looking for your next book
You don't know how hard it is to find books about Women of colour -black women- that are actually written in such a way that I want to read it. These books that seem as if they weren't edited or they were written by a teen or something. This book. This book. Uuggh It brightened my year!! I need more books that were actually written by WRITERS and not just people who can write or put pen to paper or turn on a laptop. Thank you. M.L. Spann
Good Read. Interesting characters, interesting story. Friends become lovers. A great hero takes care of his friend by offering her a job, sharing laughter, but breaking her heart by having her help him with his current relationship. She remains his friend and is there with support when he and his current girlfriend breakup. Even though they get together, past girlfriend trouble plagues their new relationship.