Fans of Interracial Romance discussion

Hi fellow readers!

First, don't see that much action here in this group - too busy with life? When I've read a really good/bad book I feel like I need to discuss with someone, people who equally love/hate that book, but I can understand that people don't have time.

Anyway, wondering about your bad reads so far (or ever), the reason for your low rating?

For me, I've read two(!) bad books in a row, the premise for both seemed interesting, but I got so disappointed! *sigh*

First, Shh...Mine by Shannon Dianne which I didn't even finish because the heroine was such a cold, self-righteous and negative person, and then today I finished To The Woman He Loves by Theresa Hodge - again weak heroine - stupid weak, which is the worst - makes me want to rant forever about how much I hate these kinds of characters!

The interesting thing is that these two books have mostly 4-5 stars rating...I must be missing something or..?

So, bad reads, thoughts..?

(Also, if anybody loved those two books I mentioned - sorry for my hate - nothing personal, just different taste!)

Oooh boy... I have quite a few. Theresa Hodge on my list too...

was dreadful. This is a small part of my review "... he still manages to have sex with her and call her by the ex's name. Twice." Full review here

2 stars. Can't remember why (that says something), but all the 5 stars confused me.

was nicely written but was just a tad boring which is a shame as it could have been stonking...

... SUCH a letdown! My short review here

... just juvenile, but it's NOT a YA book...

NO. Just NO. My short review here

I've had some non IR ones too of course.

On the plus side though...

... in fact the whole series including the two non IR books is great and all touch on some important issues.

cute and fun.

ridiculous and hilarious! Highly entertaining.

Loved it. My longish review here

And lastly, on a more serious note, a non-romance which was a fantastic 5 star magical revenge story. HIGHLY recommended.

I have had good luck so far this year with IR romanes. My biggest duds have not been IR.

But I have had a couple of 2-stars.

. - My two biggest issues is that I don't think the author created enough of a conflict to keep the two apart, so it became artificial stuff that made no sense. And the other is that the book i written in two alternate POV one by the hero and one by the heroine. The hero chapters sound like he is a black woman speaking. His "voice" sounded too much like the heroine's.

. -- I really enjoy this author normally. This book was a clunker for me because it felt riddled with cliches and misunderstandings.

Carolin wrote: "Hi fellow readers!

First, don't see that much action here in this group - too busy with life? When I've read a really good/bad book I feel like I need to discuss with someone, people who equally l..."

I can't stand weak, stupid female characters; especially ones who cause pain and/or even death for other characters.
As a reader, one generally wants to like and/or cheer on the main female character, and as such, she has to have some gumption and common sense.
As a writer, I'd rather just kill off the dumb ones. lol

“Broken Promises” by S.K. Lessly...was a 2 star for me. I liked the fact the Heroine is coder. However, she’s still written as weak and insecure (big no, no, for me).
The story was way too long and drawn out- needed heavy editing.

Book I didn't like:

‘Cold Cole Hart’ by K Webster – 1 star
‘Pieces of Me’ by Kirby Elaine – 2 stars
‘Redemption of the Heart’ by Moni Boyce – 2 stars
‘Yearning For Your Touch’ by Abigail R – 1 star
‘The Fall’ by X Aratare – 2 stars
‘The Wedding Date’ by Jasmine Guillory – 2 stars
‘In the Midnight Hour’ by The Black – 2 stars

When things get awkward by Cherry Kay. The book was embarrassingly bad. The heroine was incredibly irresponsible and stupid. Every minor event had her “trembling” or her legs nearly giving out. And there was some ridiculousness with her and the love interest both having green eyes so it made them connect on a spiritual level. I couldn’t even finish it. I don’t think I’ve ever read something that stupid before.

LOL...

Almost every single book written by one Mallory Monroe: They are:
Inane
Idiotic
Badly written
Convoluted
Stupid melodrama
Over the top preposterous plots
Inelegant language used by characters who are supposedly educated
Repetitive paragraphs across stories. Obvious cut and paste
Abundance of silly pornographic scenes that are in no way sexy.
Way way waaaaay out of left field plots that are used to create... heck I don't even know what... Just that they are ridiculous.

Justine wrote: "Almost every single book written by one Mallory Monroe: They are:
Inane
Idiotic
Badly written
Convoluted
Stupid melodrama
Over the top preposterous plots
Inelegant language used by characters who a..."

OMG...LOL
Your list is exactly what I try to avoid in books, especially BW/WM reads. Ugh!

I wrote a 1 star review for a new author and she made a whole blog post about it! I’m not trying to crush your dream but man, it was bad.

Hello,

Here are some of my bad reads, with my reviews (except for the first book, it's a review I just wrote for the post).

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3...

Twisted minds:
I gave it three stars, but it was more 2,5, and even 2 stars. The love interest is ok but all the other men are so racist it's not even funny (she doesn't lay with them but there is flirting and non intentional touching). The idea that she kind of charmed them out of racism with her curves is not a good one, especially since at the beginning they saw her as nothing more than a talking monkey. It ruined everything for me.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3...

Nobody's goddess:
Soooooo looooooooong!

I had to skip through the book at the end. The more I read, the less I liked the caracters. The useless love interest, the not mattering sister, the cruel parents you grow to understand, the cruel lord who could have done everything different, the heroine you can't stand anymore...

And after all this waiting, the end is not even that rewarding, it's just a promise to more waiting.


https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...

The mothers:

I thought the book was about motherhood, or mostly about grieving, mourning. It explores these themes, but it also dives deep into an abortion talk that didn't please me at all.

Nadia, the heroine, is seventeen, young and beautiful, when her mother commits suicide. Out of grief and suffering, she gets pregnant by a stupid low / no life (who took advantage of her). She decides to get an abortion.

THEN
She is abandonned by the guy as if she was a dirty handkerchief and left alone at the clinic.
She's badgered by the guy's mother: because everything is her fault of course, and the guy, who had to beg his parents for the abortion money and who has nothing to offer to anyone, is depicted as the one feeling bad for the loss. He is the good one.
After she finally takes off to a good college to pursue her dreams, all she can think about is the "baby" and the life she could have had with the useless guy.
She even comes back to have an affair with him after he marries... her best friend, and they're still burdened by the abortion.
The best friend, so perfect she is practically holly, gets pregnant (after she briefly cuts Nadia from her life because of the affair) and gets her happy ending.
Nadia remains unmarried, becomes a successful lawyer in a cold city and the way it's told, you can feel the lack of warmth and love in her ending.

Lesson of the book: Don't you dare abort !

Julia971 wrote: "Hello,

Here are some of my bad reads, with my reviews (except for the first book, it's a review I just wrote for the post).

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3...

Twisted mi..."

Of the ones you have listed, I have only read or attempted to read "Twisted Minds" I gave it 1* and for me to do that means it was darn bad.

Justine wrote:

I think it was : /

Julia971 wrote: "Hello,

Here are some of my bad reads, with my reviews (except for the first book, it's a review I just wrote for the post).

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3...

"I gave it three stars, but it was more 2.5, and even 2 stars. The love interest is ok but all the other men are so racist it's not even funny (she doesn't lay with them but there is flirting and non intentional touching). The idea that she kind of charmed them out of racism with her curves is not a good one, especially since at the beginning they saw her as nothing more than a talking monkey. It ruined everything for me."

Hi Julia971:

I read this book/series and enjoyed it because I'm a big fan of strong women that can fend for themselves. I became concerned that I overlooked the phrase "talking monkey" but a search of the book turned up no results. Did you read this phrase in this book or perhaps another book? I wouldn't ever read a (romance) book that refers to a person or people as monkeys. Thanks.

Rosie wrote:

Arg, I had to re-read parts of the book, honestly, I couldn't look it up for long, I may have made a mistake, I read it a long time ago and I was so disgusted by all the "black bitch", "white only establishments" and "nigger-lynching territory", I must have gone from one "animal" insult to the one that stayed i my mind.

Hey gang! Typically, when I abandon or DNF a book, I try as best I can, to write cogent reasons for the negative review. I do the same thing with books rated 1-2.5. Sometimes I rant, unfortunately because of sheer frustration. For 2019, I rated the following IR books -1 and 1 ratings. Most I abandoned/DNF.

Beautiful Liar- Nia Sparrow (-1 ABANDONED)
By Chance, No Choice (Stetson series Bk 1)- Dylan Turner (1 ABANDONED)
Laying Down the AHHHH (Luxembourg Bk 1) (1 ABANDONED)
Stephan:BWWM- Katie Dowe, BWWM Club (1 ABANDONED)

Most, if not all of the books referenced below, I gave poor ratings, and wished that I had abandoned.

Bobby Sinatra:In All the Wrong Places- Mallory Monroe (1 & a rant)
A Walk Through Endurance- Olivia Gaines (1)
Salvation- Nia Wilson (1.5)
Her Sweet Alpha- Thayer King (2)
Super G- Pepper Pace (2.3)

I’m sure I have a few more to add, unfortunately. To Be Continued for the 2 star ratings.

Skhan wrote: "“Broken Promises” by S.K. Lessly...was a 2 star for me. I liked the fact the Heroine is coder. However, she’s still written as weak and insecure (big no, no, for me).
The story was way too long an..."

I'm reading this now and right off the bat when he was interrogating her she rubbed me the wrong way. She came across as so weak, no sense of wanting to fight back, especially since she knows the guy. I hope to finish it today, hopefully it will get better.

Carolin wrote: "Hi fellow readers!

First, don't see that much action here in this group - too busy with life? When I've read a really good/bad book I feel like I need to discuss with someone, people who equally l..."

I also did not like To The Woman He Loves I could go on and on, I concur with you.

Julia971 wrote: "Rosie wrote:

Arg, I had to re-read parts of the book, honestly, I couldn't look it up for long, I may have made a mistake, I read it a long time ago and I was so disgusted by all the "black bitch..."

SassafrasfromAmazon wrote: "Hey gang! Typically, when I abandon or DNF a book, I try as best I can, to write cogent reasons for the negative review. I do the same thing with books rated 1-2.5. Sometimes I rant, unfortunately ..."

SassafrasfromAmazon wrote: "Hey gang! Typically, when I abandon or DNF a book, I try as best I can, to write cogent reasons for the negative review. I do the same thing with books rated 1-2.5. Sometimes I rant, unfortunately ..."



Ok I don’t usually reply just like to read Lol but OMG I agree with all of these you listed and these are some of my favorite authors. I fee like really they were all rushed and didn’t like the heroine . Laying Down the AHHHH (Luxembourg Book 1 ) . I hate to say it but Jeanie Johnson & Jayha Leigh are just refurbishing older books, because I swear I read this before. I just read there new one called FML it was disjointed because unless you read the first one you had no idea who they were or how they ended up together or anything. I am all, about praising and uplifting women but they spend the whole book doing that to basically fill the book. I also hate when they refer you to the older or first book but you can never buy it anywhere. So anyway thank you for letting me rant Damn that felt good.😁and I also concur with your ratings.

I don’t usually bother reviewing books that I DNF unless they really make me angry. That’s been 2 so far this year:

The One You Fight For by Roni Loren had negative descriptions of the heroine’s natural hair. Kept talking about how out of control it was. Girl, no. The author is white, unsurprisingly.

Chance Encounter by BD Anderson I just didn’t like the writing. Not for me. Kept using modern day references for a book set in 1965. Also it was homophobic and I have a zero tolerance policy for anti-gay mess.

Hey Tammi. Some of the books I listed are written by authors I really like and have read several of their previous books which won acclaim from me. Like you, I don’t appreciate unnecessary fillers and insignificant fluff. I also concur with your assessments. 👍🏽

Shan. Glad I didn’t read those. I would definitely have had rants forever. Many writers write about things they have no knowledge of. Therefore they do the research. A few white authors have managed to capture the essence of us. White authors trying to capture the black market, well it would be an interesting discussion, yes? I, too dislike anachronistic language that is very glaring. Reading a book set in, say, the 1960’s with “you go girl,” coming out of somebody’s mouth would irritate me too. I’m not sure I’d give the book a negative rating on that alone. I have written reviews where I have mentioned this no-no. Research!!! Thanks for your input. I’m making notes because I can avoid the aggravation.

I thought it was just me, but lately it's been very hard for me finish many books. It seems that there is no storyline, just a lot of sex that lasts way too long that I end up skipping page after page. The Alpha is so over the top that he comes across as an ass or stalker or sexual predator. It's just too much.

Denise wrote: "I thought it was just me, but lately it's been very hard for me finish many books. Its not seems that there is no storyline, just a lot of sex that lasts way too long that I end up skipping page after p..."

It's not just you, Denise. Two years ago I adopted a policy of not forcing myself to finish a book. If there is something that ticks me off, I don't bother with the book. Time is precious and I refuse to waste this valuable commodity on crap. Thus there are many IR books I don't get pass the first chapter or two and there have even been one or two where the first page sounded the death knell.

I thought the story was ok. There were some things I thought were unrealistic, like he immediately decided to cheat on his wife without even trying to find out what was going on with her. I can't remember if she took up with the other guy was in the first book or the second but that was pretty crazy because she took her kids around dude almost immediately. But there was some highlights of the book because it showed the damage infidelity has on not just the spouse but the children as well. I haven't read a book by this author in quite a while because the quality of her work has gone down hill to me. Just wanted to give you my thoughts on that book. I haven't heard anyone else mention it in a long, long time.

So glad ive found this thread! I want to share my experiences so as to save you all.
Ill look into my stack and list them out soon.

Justine wrote: "Almost every single book written by one Mallory Monroe: They are:
Inane
Idiotic
Badly written
Convoluted
Stupid melodrama
Over the top preposterous plots
Inelegant language used by characters who a..."

Everything you said is true, but LMAO...those books are like my guilty pleasure...

Rosie wrote: "Julia971 wrote: "Hello,

Here are some of my bad reads, with my reviews (except for the first book, it's a review I just wrote for the post).

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3...-..."

Yeah, I thought "Twisted Minds" books were pretty okay too.

Justine & Denise. Once upon a time, if I started a book, whether it was good, bad or plain ugly, I felt compelled to finish it. I tried to read every IR featuring a black woman that was printed. For the most part, I was overjoyed. They were well written, had plausible plots and relatable characters. Plus there were few, if any grammatical and/or editing issues.

With the advent of ebooks, more IR’s BW/ flooded the market, and I gobbled them up. However, I began to see many disturbing things about many of these books. One day, I got fed up (this includes some Non- IR’s too). I decided that I would NOT waste my time on sub-par drivel. It is hard to do. It is equally difficult to write a negative or abandoned review.

But you know, in my estimation, reviews guide readers in making informed choices about whether to read a particular book. It would be advantageous to authors also to note constructive criticism.

I am happy to say that I am much better at making decisions to abandon an IR book. AND, I am rarely apologetic to myself or others. As the saying goes, “it is what it is,” and so be it.

Here are the IR/BWWM books that I rated 2 stars. I just want to add that I absolutely detest books that have misleading titles or those that do not indicate with any blurb or specificity that the book is erotic. I don’t mind if it is erotic IF that suits my needs. Similarly, I am apt to give negative reviews where there is more sex than story, and I don’t cotton to a bunch of fluff (no pun intended) with no discernible substance or plot. Some of the books identified below contain many of these elements. I have written reviews for each of these books.

Always Right - Xyla Turner

Love Remembers (The Clark Brothers #1) - T.M. Pigatt 2.5

The Billionaire’s Demanding Lover (Men of Boston #1) - Alexis Blake
(Will someone explain how one manages to ascertain if a lover is demanding WHEN THERE IS NO SEX)!!!!!!!

Finding Faith (2.5) and Three Wishes - Reana Malori

Passionately Loving Her BWWM Second Chance Romance (Military Secrets Book 3) - Niya James

Asa: BWWM Military Romance (Overwatch Division Book 2) 2.5 - Coco Miller

Big, Beautiful, Mine: BBW, BWWM, Billionaire, Doctor, Forbidden Romance- Ellie Etienne

Wild Chance (Wild Irish Kindle Worlds Novella) - Kendra Mei Chailyn

Kurt: BWWM Romance (Members From Money Book 23) - Katie Dowe, BWWM Club

SassafrasfromAmazon wrote: "I am happy to say that I am much better at making decisions to abandon an IR book. AND, I am rarely apologetic to myself or others. As the saying goes, “it is what it is,” and so be it."

If you are a person where reading is one of the top things you do for leisure and for pleasure, then in my opinion, DNF'ing a book that does not work for you is a form of self care.

Think about it. A bad book gives you no pleasure. Unless you are a student who is required to read a book for class or reading something is a requirement for your job, then why would you knowingly continue to inflict something unpleasant upon yourself? Nobody should ever feel the need to apologize for not voluntarily making yourself unhappy.

Tina wrote: "SassafrasfromAmazon wrote: "I am happy to say that I am much better at making decisions to abandon an IR book. AND, I am rarely apologetic to myself or others. As the saying goes, “it is what it is..."

I totally agree with DNF'ing books. In fact, I've not been able to convince myself to keep reading a book I'm not enjoying or at least still care enough about to want to know how everything works out. Even with ARCs that I've received and didn't care for, I've contacted the giver of the book to let the person know the book wasn't right for me, and I couldn't finish it. Some people are great at reading a book in hopes of its getting better, and obviously, for some, it does. But I'm not among them or rarely so.

I recently had to DNF a book and that's something that's usually been very difficult for me to do. I pretty much gave up on IR romance because so much that I was coming across was poorly written; poo/no plot, characters that lack their own motivations (besides getting with the other character), or annoying characters overall.

The one I just read involved a black woman married to a white vampire and it was such a chore to try to get through I had only made two chapters in within 3-4 days. I finally decided to stop forcing it. There was plot there but you could tell it hadn't gone through an editor, it was rife with redundancies, and the female lead was insufferably childish.

This is an excellent thread because now I know what to avoid. We don't have Kindle Unlimited where I am so once that coin is gone, it's gone and I'd rather have a brutally honest heads up.

Tina wrote: "SassafrasfromAmazon wrote: "I am happy to say that I am much better at making decisions to abandon an IR book. AND, I am rarely apologetic to myself or others. As the saying goes, “it is what it is..."

Let the church say Amen! Preach!

I have no problem DNF-ing a book. And I will make it known why, AND rate it a one. One and done. lol

SassafrasfromAmazon wrote: "Justine & Denise. Once upon a time, if I started a book, whether it was good, bad or plain ugly, I felt compelled to finish it. I tried to read every IR featuring a black woman that was printed. Fo..."

The majority of my books are IR and I'm at the point now where I am so tired of the overly erotic, damsel in distress stories. I love the David Handler (Berger and Mitry series), Tiya Rayne's Lilly series and her book Alpha, Mark de Castrique Sam Blackman Mysteries... all are IR and mysteries which I love. I wish I could find more stories like these. Lynn Emery's books are also good.

Dani wrote: "I recently had to DNF a book and that's something that's usually been very difficult for me to do. I pretty much gave up on IR romance because so much that I was coming across was poorly written; p..."

Like you if it takes me 2-3 days to get thru the first couple of chapters, it's a wrap for me. I can't do it, time wasted.

Denise wrote: "SassafrasfromAmazon wrote: "Justine & Denise. Once upon a time, if I started a book, whether it was good, bad or plain ugly, I felt compelled to finish it. I tried to read every IR featuring a blac..."

I read Where Love is Found by Tiya Rayne. It was a good read plot wise. The grammar was however a mess. This detracted from the overall enjoyable quotient for me.

Denise wrote: "SassafrasfromAmazon wrote: "Justine & Denise. Once upon a time, if I started a book, whether it was good, bad or plain ugly, I felt compelled to finish it. I tried to read every IR featuring a blac..."

I feel the same about most IR books, hate the smut. I now stick to mysteries and Sci-Fi.

I am also crazy about the Berger and Mitry series, I've re-read them many times and will never get tired of them.
I'm going right now to check out the others you mentioned.

Oh, and a Amen to DFNing a book that bring no joy.
Double amen to it. :)

Through the woods by Olivia Gaines was God awful and full of inappropriate awkwardness. The romance was garbage. The supporting characters were cringeworthy not quirky. When the hero knew off the top of his head when the heroine got her 1st period and recited an erotic poem for her that he wrote when he was in high school (she was like 12 or something at the time) I was over it. It was not a sweet love story. It was creepy.

Fated to the Lycan Prince by Marcella Sixx was also no bueno. The grammar was atrocious. Half the time it wasn’t clear whose point of view was being addressed. The characters were one dimensional. The book just got progressively more ghetto. It went from a lifetime movie to a Tyler Perry movie to Maury Povich in a span of a few chapters. Everything was contradictory.

I finished both of these books so you don’t have to. Trust me. Keep it moving if you see either one of them.

Lanie wrote: "Through the woods by Olivia Gaines was God awful and full of inappropriate awkwardness. The romance was garbage. The supporting characters were cringeworthy not quirky. When the hero knew off the t..."

Ouch. Did you leave a review for them or just let time eventually heal your wounds? I struggle with leaving poor reviews. Even for books that deserve them.

Lanie wrote: "Through the woods by Olivia Gaines was God awful and full of inappropriate awkwardness. The romance was garbage. The supporting characters were cringeworthy not quirky. When the hero knew off the t..."

Oh crap. I recently bought Gaines' book, but it's too late to return it for a refund. Dammit! And so, in this case, I will read it and rate it what it deserves. Ugh.

Emotonal wrote: "Denise wrote: "SassafrasfromAmazon wrote: "Justine & Denise. Once upon a time, if I started a book, whether it was good, bad or plain ugly, I felt compelled to finish it. I tried to read every IR f..."

Emotonal the Mark de Castrique Sam Blackman Mysteries was such a pleasant surprise, I don't remember how I found it but I'm glad I did. Can't wait for the next book. I wish there were more books like this out there. I love murder mysteries and detective stories like this and the fact that it is IR is icing on the cake for me. I hope you enjoy the books as much as I did.

Dani wrote: "Lanie wrote: "Through the woods by Olivia Gaines was God awful and full of inappropriate awkwardness. The romance was garbage. The supporting characters were cringeworthy not quirky. When the hero ..."

I did leave a review. Funny though, I only ever do bad reviews. If the book is amazing I give it a good rating and leave it, so others can discover what makes it great. But a bad book? Ugh I have to warn people when it's bad. If it's just a case of I wasn't into it then I don't review it. Not every book is for everybody. But if it's poor grammar, plot holes, inconsistent etc, then I let people know. I hate feeling like an author thinks the reader is stupid or tries the bare minimum.
That said I've read other Olivia Gaines books before and I did expect better from her. Through the woods is just not a good book. It tries to force a love story into a situation that would otherwise be not plausible, not feasible and very awkward.

Lanie wrote: "Dani wrote: "Lanie wrote: "Through the woods by Olivia Gaines was God awful and full of inappropriate awkwardness. The romance was garbage. The supporting characters were cringeworthy not quirky. W..."

I feel like I give authors who I’ve read and had good books before a better rating than maybe the book deserved. I also tend to give good reviews to so so books because of all the books I’ve DNF. I have re-read books have questioned my sanity when I read it the first time.

*sigh* Just finished another bad/1 star book: All Torn Apart byPhoenix Rayne The writing, story line, the f**ked up couple - yes, it was another stupid weak "heroine". I can't seriously say anything good about this book.

Skhan wrote: "“Broken Promises” by S.K. Lessly...was a 2 star for me. I liked the fact the Heroine is coder. However, she’s still written as weak and insecure (big no, no, for me).
The story was way too long an..."

I agree with you. I felt the book went on far too long and needed to be trimmed.