A Box Of White Chocolate

by Daamon Speller

What would you do if you met a guy who adored you and possessed all of the qualities you've ever wanted in a man, but he didn't look like you had always dreamed? Thirty-seven-year-old family law attorney Bailey Gentry, an African American woman, found herself in such a dilemma. Exclusive and unwavering in her loyalty to black men, but still single, childless, with no prospect in sight, she begins to reassess if her longstanding "nothing but a black man will do" mantra has been a benefit or a detriment to her love life. A Box of White Chocolate is the hilarious story of one woman's tug-of-war after meeting her ideal man, a guy who is her total package, except for one factor--he is white. Filled with memorable characters and a surprising subplot, A Box of White Chocolate offers a view into the minds of black women who can't or won't exercise their options, at a time when black men are exercising theirs.

Genres: Romance

300 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published February 1, 2008

About the author

Daamon Speller is a former contributing writer for the lifestyle magazines Today's Black woman, Upscale, Heart & Soul, and the Baltimore Sun newspaper. He currently is the author of three novels, and enjoys writing stories with a particular affinity toward the multicultural, 40-and-over audience.

Reviews

[Jazzypom · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bailey Gentry is an African American woman who should have it all: she's a family lawyer, overcame a not so perfect childhood to achieve her dreams and has a best friend. Gentry only has one problem: she wants to settle down, have kids... but only with a black man. Of course, this is better said than done, since most of the 'brothas' that she's come across in her quest are well... trifling. They tend not to be gainfully employed, or live with their mothers, or just out of jail, or doing drugs. If they do have their ish together, they are 'exercising their options'. That is, dating any other women but black women.

This seems to be a problem in African American communities, where the black women are fiercely loyal to their men, not even wanting to date outside the race, whereas to black men, in their aspirations of wanting the yardstick of beauty, tend to date any woman but black women.

So, we find Bailey, who meets a man who ticks all the boxes: employed, employable (important), funny, smart, the whole package - but he's Italian white. The entire book is about how despite the fact that Tony is everything that she wants, because he doesn't fit into the image of her ideal man (he's white, not black, y'all), she makes a stupid mistake and is regretting it ever since.

If you've been reading my review so far, you'll see that this is not a romance novel, not at all. It's the musings of the sistah girl, written in first person and all, and how Bailey feels affronted by black men dating anyone but black women. Because Bailey couldn't appreciate what is in front of her, she throws it away, and moves on from one unsatisfying relationship to another.

I give this book three stars, because it presented itself as some sort of romance novel, when really? It wasn't. It's more a letter from one African American woman to others in her position, those who are looking for something specific, and will miss magic along the way. It's a cautionary tale for *those* women, and since I'm not one of them, I didn't have as much sympathy for the character as the writer probably wanted me to, because I'm down with IR relationships, so I wanted to shake Bailey for throwing away a good man.

On the plus side, Bailey is funny. She's definitely a 'sistah gurl' you could see yourself spending a lovely summer's evening with, chocking on wine with laughter because her sense of humour is out of control. You also get the fact that she's stubborn, and although her best girl, Lisa tries to tell her that she should let go and receive what Tony offers her, Bailey ignores the truth and makes a stupid mistake.

At the end though, we see that Bailey has learnt her lesson... sort of. In that she won't dismiss love from unconventional sources again, because love is love... but she's still holding out for a black man...

For that, I guess, we should be grateful.

[SassyMama · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lackluster Debut

"A Box of White Chocolate", is the debut novel by Mr. Daamon Speller, and I purchased this novel because of the catchy title and the intriguing synopsis, unfortunately, it didn’t meet my expectations. It is just an okay read. I thought the storyline had great potential, and the main character definitely had some deep issues, but I don’t think the author pulled it together effectively. Bailey Gentry’s witty dialogue and sometimes hilarious antics although, entertaining just wasn’t enough to hold my interest. I also found this novel slow-paced and quite long. The BARELY existent romance between Bailey and Tony is lacking in any fire or heat, so despite the intriguing ups and downs of their budding relationship, it’s not a very MEMORABLE romantic tale. While reading this novel, I often found myself desperately wanting to skip a head in order to get to the "GOOD STUFF". I would have to agree with the other reviewer at amazon.com, this is definitely an “unfulfilling” read!

[Vacirca Vaughn · Rating 1 out of 5]

Two words: Don't Bother.

It took me a long time to finish this work--six days is long for such a short work for me. However, I refused to put it down because I must finish everything I pick up to read.

I am not going to say I hated it because that's just not right. I am going to say wow, kudos to Mr. Speller for even getting published in the first place. I am not a hater and I will say that with this novel, the author is one up on me. Still, I am amazed.

It wasn't my cup of tea. Of course, I am only one person.

The dialogue was forced. The characters were annoying. The ending over-the-top. Of course the plot was cliched.

However, I am still learning myself how to improve my writing so I feel kind of bad about this review. I am just being honest. It wasn't my favorite. I do wish the author success in future works.

[Sachki · Rating 5 out of 5]

this was a good book about interacial romance and the hang up that alot of people face no matter what. i learned that u should never miss your chance to love no matter what the outside package looks like. think with your heart and not your eyes.

[T · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! Enjoyed this book. The lead character Bailey reminds me of other women who want a man but has what Rex calls "got-to-be-itis". Sometimes what we are looking for is right in front of us but because the package may be different we miss it. This is definately a keeper for my shelf.

[Theresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book talks about Bailey, how she started dating outside her race. Guess what happens! whops i'm not telling read the book and you will find out. The book is good.

[Barbara DaCosta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full of "gotta find a man" angst, this fun read also has a message.

[Sharon Huxford · Rating 1 out of 5]

What in the world????