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What Turns You OFF When Reading an Interracial Romance?
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The FountainPenDiva, Old school geek chick and lover of teddy bears
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Paganalexandria **wicked juices bubbling over** wrote: "Mstcat wrote: "TheFountainPenDiva wrBreeding the Black Babysitterote: "Any book with variations of this title:
"My (Secret) White Fill-In-The-Blank". Don't care how good they might..."
only one question comes to me when discussing this book!..........................................................................................................................................................WHY???
"My (Secret) White Fill-In-The-Blank". Don't care how good they might..."
only one question comes to me when discussing this book!..........................................................................................................................................................WHY???
Libertad wrote: "Paganalexandria **wicked juices bubbling over** wrote: "Mstcat wrote: "TheFountainPenDiva wrBreeding the Black Babysitterote: "Any book with variations of this title:"My (Secret) ..."
That was the book that stopped me from looking for free IR for my kindle on my own. If it's not mentioned in our thread, I can't take the chance.
TheFountainPenDiva wrote: "That cover for Breeding the Black Babysitter. Just. No."Indeed...NONONONONONONO. NO!!!
TheFountainPenDiva wrote: "That cover for Breeding the Black Babysitter. Just. No."Scarily, this is part of a series (with equally messed up covers)
Lexi (The Black Babysitter Chronicles)
http://www.amazon.com/Black-Babysitte...
Shawna (The Black Babysitter Chronicles)
http://www.amazon.com/Shawna-Black-Ba...
This thread has taken a turn that has me giggling every time I visit.It took me til just now to actually read the synopsis for Breeding the Black Babysitter
I CANNOT STOP LAUGHING!
Maaahhhhvelous.
That synopsis....I don't know if I should laugh or cry.
"Mike gives Taliyah the stuffing of her young life."OMGoodness I had to cover my face for that one and laugh.
Savannah~Quad-motherin'-book readin' diva wrote: "This thread has taken a turn that has me giggling every time I visit.It took me til just now to actually read the synopsis for Breeding the Black Babysitter
I CANNOT STOP LAUGHING..."
I'm just sayin........you can get all that's been described in 11 pages??
Sounds like the back of a porno.
Connie wrote: "Savannah~Quad-motherin'-book readin' diva wrote: "This thread has taken a turn that has me giggling every time I visit.It took me til just now to actually read the synopsis for [book:Breeding the..."
11 pages of just sex. LOL hahaha I was wondering the same thing.
message 364:
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The FountainPenDiva, Old school geek chick and lover of teddy bears
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Then they want to charge 99¢ for eleven pages???
Right now I am reading
. I am enjoying it so far (I'm at about 30%), but if Bianca doesn't stop with the 'OMG I am so fat, are you sure you want me" shit, I am gonna reach into the book and slap her. Seriously. If you are going to make your heroine plus size either let her be proud of her curves or have her lose some damn weight. But don't make her doubt that the sexy, built, totally hot guy wants her because she's "short and fat."
The more she downs her own looks, the more I am going to envision her as some unattractive wildebeest and wonder why a hot hero wants her too. And that never ends well.
Here's hoping she snaps out of it because I am liking Sergei.
Sorry, Tina. Alas, Sergei is the only thing TO like in that book. I found it odd that she goes aling with him being into her, seems to know it even before they hook up, yet throws up these curveball I'm so fat'isms out the blue on the regular.If Hugh Jackman is sprawled all over me servicing me as I'm sure only Hugh can (and doing it on the regular)- I ain't questioning my attractiveness in his eyes. Not like he's desperate.
Tina wrote: "Right now I am reading . I am enjoying it so far (I'm at about 30%), but if Bianca doesn't stop with the 'OMG I am so fat, are you sure you want me" shit, I am gonna r..."
At that is why I avoid books featuring plus sized heroines. They almost always have that theme, which drives me bananas. Not just plus sized, any book that chick frets about why the hero could possibly be attracted is in danger of being DNF'd.
message 368:
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The FountainPenDiva, Old school geek chick and lover of teddy bears
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Savannah~Quad-motherin'-book readin' diva wrote: "If Hugh Jackman is sprawled all over me servicing me as I'm sure only Hugh can (and doing it on the regular)- I ain't questioning my attractiveness in his eyes. Not like he's desperate..."Hugh Jackman, Chris Hemsworth AND Tom Hiddleston. I've gotta have a harem.
Lol. My harem's gotta have Craig henningsen, silvestre rasuk, and avan jogia. Would avan and silvestre not count though? Since they're technically a men of color?
Heheh! My "free card" is Danish actor Nikolaj Coster-Waldau from Game of Thrones. I bumped into him on the street here in Stockholm when he was going to be interviewed on Sveriges Television. My god...he is tall--I think he's 6'3"--and absolutely gorgeous....I walked right into him and didn't see him at first and then I looked up and realized who I'd bumped into and was speechless. :)
OOoowee! Look at you ladies, trying to scoop up half MY harem. Guinevere- you come near Avan, I'll cut ya!PenDiva- whyyougottabealluponmymanChris? Shameless hussies.
Please add Shemar, Jensen Ackles and Justin Timberlake, and throw on Macklemore. I'm a sucker for that blue eyed soul thing.
Girl if I bump into any 6'3 Danish hotties, I'm pretty sure HE's going to be speechless. And I'll be under arrest.
I teased my hubby about it (he's a 6'1" gorgeous Swede) and he grumbled at me that I had to stop drooling over Danish men. ;)
My bro in law is an American Swede. 6'7 Viking all the way lol. Very sweet man. My hubby is not a viking, but hot just the same LOL!
message 376:
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The FountainPenDiva, Old school geek chick and lover of teddy bears
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Savannah, no need to fear. I'm really all about my heavy metal honeys, most of whom are Swedish, Danish and Finnish lol. But hey, there's something about Hiddleston...Oh, can't forget Oded Fehr. The only reason to watch The Mummy and The Mummy Returns.
I'll leave you to it. Sounds like our man paths wont overlap LOL! I love my Aussies but overall tend to buy American hehe!
Heheh! Now I just thought of another thing that turns me off when I am reading *any* novel: when the writer tells us that the protagonist is working class but keeps describing everything she says or does like she has an American Express Platinum card and an unlimited income. I don't know any working class with an entire closet full of Jimmy Choo or Louboutin shoes. And I don't know any who can do it at the drop of a hat--heck the only person I know who does have that sort of shoe wardrobe is a friend who is a stylist and she gets them as presents from the stores that let her use them in photo shoots. So when the author is telling us the person is struggling to make ends meet but then describes her as jaunting off to Paris for a weekend with her girlfriends when they only just told us she is bad at saving money, well, my suspension of disbelief doesn't stretch that far.
Kim wrote: "Heheh! Now I just thought of another thing that turns me off when I am reading *any* novel: when the writer tells us that the protagonist is working class but keeps describing everything she says o..."This +1000
I might lust after a Chanel bag, but am fine carrying my TJ Max find until I can afford it. If you want the character to be a label whore, at least show her going to sample sales, ebaying, or something if she's working class. Or at least mention the sacrifice of ramen noodle month, for those shoes because that's real life. It's one thing when the writer is trying to paint the character as being irresponsible, but it irks when I'm being TOLD how smart and on it, this character is supposed to be. I do like a little realism in my fiction.
Exactly! Show me she knows how to save. Dropping brand names when you tell me she can't even afford a bus pass, but she has enough money to go on a Nieman Marcus shopping spree? Nope, I won't buy it. Show me she sacrifices so she can have those luxuries, or show me how she saves to treat herself to something nice. Otherwise, don't mention the brand names at all and simply describe the luxuries she wants but cannot have.
Kim wrote: "Exactly! Show me she knows how to save. Dropping brand names when you tell me she can't even afford a bus pass, but she has enough money to go on a Nieman Marcus shopping spree? Nope, I won't buy i..."I'm glad someone else noticed this...I thought I was just a weirdo:) Actually, I don't even keep up with fashion enough for most of the name dropping to mean anything to me, so it gets kind of annoying.
Plus, it seems off to me when the *hero* notices this kind of thing. Really? Do men actually notice if a woman's shoes are Jimmy Choo's are not? Do they care if she has a Chanel bag?
mrsbookmark wrote: "Plus, it seems off to me when the *hero* notices this kind of thing. Really? Do men actually notice if a woman's shoes are Jimmy Choo's are not? Do they care if she has a Chanel bag? "I want one to notice and think, "High maintenance?"
God, yes! And wouldn't it be refreshing if the guy notices it and backs off because he doesn't want a high maintenance woman? And wouldn't it be great if the woman realised that her high maintenance habits are what is keeping her from finding someone because her prospective partners think she won't appreciate the simple things in life?I have a few high maintenance friends here in Stockholm. One just lost her husband because of her high maintenance habits. I may have to incorporate it in a book. He couldn't take how she thought nothing of taking the money they were saving to buy a house to go on a shopping spree in Paris over the weekend. Or how she would turn her nose up at the gifts he gave her for her birthday and for Christmas. She wanted a Birkin bag. He couldn't afford to buy her a Birkin bag but treated her to a day at a very nice spa. She was angry about this and refused to let him sleep in the same room with her for two weeks. Yes. this needs to go in a novel.
Kim wrote: "God, yes! And wouldn't it be refreshing if the guy notices it and backs off because he doesn't want a high maintenance woman? And wouldn't it be great if the woman realised that her high maintenanc..."Kim, I would totally read that book. I think it would appeal to other women as well. There is reason that Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man: What Men Really Think About Love, Relationships, Intimacy, and Commitment and He's Just Not That Into You: The No-Excuses Truth to Understanding Guys flew of the shelves. Sometimes women like to back away from our men bashing and delve into our own issues that are keeping love away. I would also love a multicultural character book in the vein of Waiting to Exhale because everything doesn't have to end in love ever after. Sometimes I just want to go deep or have a good cry with characters I can relate too. It's not always about the fantasy.
Prolific brand name dropping is just bad writing. Period. There is a way to convey wealth and taste without naming every top name designer -- especially trendy ones. Heck, why is it even necessary to describe every outfit anyway?Overall though, all this does is point to the bigger problem with materialism and wealth that tends to preoccupy all romance. IRL, you know how they talk about 1% are rich but 99% are not? Well in romance it is the exact opposite. 99% of the romance you read has one or both of he protagonists as wealthy. And if one of them is poor, then we are assured it is just a temporary thing because they will end up HEA with the rich one.
I get that it isn't sexy to read about someone struggling or holding 3 jobs. But there is a happy medium between hopeless and Billionaire.
Tina wrote: "Prolific brand name dropping is just bad writing. Period. There is a way to convey wealth and taste without naming every top name designer -- especially trendy ones. Heck, why is it even necessa..."Tina, I agree with that too a point, but I also enjoy a little fashion porn. My favorite part of reading historical romances is sometimes all the detail given to flounces, petticoats, corsets, and the ultra girlines that entailed. I don't mind a good outfit breakdown if it's wrote in well, and makes sense. I mood dress myself, so can relate to power suit as armor analogy. I guess it's all a fine line. At the same time, I don't want just overly detailed descriptions of what five characters are wearing in every scene, either.
Tina wrote: "Prolific brand name dropping is just bad writing. Period. There is a way to convey wealth and taste without naming every top name designer -- especially trendy ones. Heck, why is it even necessa..."I agree with you. It would be nice to read about average people once in a while. They don't need to be filthy rich but comfortable without being a millionaire. In books its either you are rich or poor. What happen to the people who are neither? The people who are in the middle? I think that is why I kind of started to like reading historical western because a lot of them worked from sun up to sun down, never got rich, and still got their HEA.
Paganalexandria **wicked juices bubbling over** wrote: "I guess it's all a fine line. At the same time, I don't want just overly detailed descriptions of what five characters are wearing in every scene, either. "Oh definitely. I like to get some description. And depending on how the scene is crafted, describing an outfit is necessary. But it feels like there is an over-abundance. I read one novel (not IR) where the author brand-named almost everything. It wasn't just a condom, it was a Trojan. It wasn't just a car, it was a Mercedes LS. It wasn't just a purse it was a Dooney & Bourke. It was soooo distracting. It got to the point I was waiting for what brand she would shoe-horn in next that i lost the thread of the story.
I hate when they get too specific with Anything. I remember getting annoyed reading
and she REPEATEDLY gave the full brand name of the sweet tea the man drank. I'm not kidding, dropped it like 3 times full title. Why? That's what I don't get. Completely unnecessary overkill. I don't need to know all that.
message 390:
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The FountainPenDiva, Old school geek chick and lover of teddy bears
(last edited Dec 20, 2013 10:03PM)
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I just gotta say this but I facepalm at the mention of Steve Harvey's book. No sane woman in all good conscience should be taking relationship advice from a guy who couldn't keep his first marriage intact. That's like me taking medical advice from a lawyer. Harvey cynically cashed in on the insecurity black women already have about who we are. I won't even get started on his sexism. I remember this same nonsense after that book The Rules. If women are materialistic there's a historical reason behind it. Remember that marriage at one point in time had nothing to do with love and everything to do with land, property, security and ambition. The more land and property a man had, the better of a prospect he was. Sure poor men married, but they still brought something as did the potential wife. Sad to say there are still dowry killings in parts of India. It is only a fairly recent notion of marrying for love. So to be fair women are still dealing with thousands of years of societal tradition. Yes there are more independent women these days and even they struggle with expectations. I've heard men complain about "too much independence" from women.
TheFountainPenDiva wrote: "I just gotta say this but I facepalm at the mention of Steve Harvey's book. No sane woman in all good conscience should be taking relationship advice from a guy who couldn't keep his first marriage..."And just to add my .02 let me say that some of it is an attempt to avoid past mistakes. Too many women have been with men who wouldn't carry their weight, so next go round? Sure they are looking for someone with a few dollars in their pocket and a history of taking care of their business.
And one more thing- some women ARE just trifling chicks who want someone to take care of them. There is definitely that, so I don't want to give the impression that I don't think there is some reality to the idea that women can be materialistic. I know many who are.
Also cringe at Harvey's book. I mean no disrespect, but according to him, only Christians are worthy prospects. My potential suitor could be any religion, heck even atheist(though I know it's not really a religion).
He's allowed to his faith ,and so are all we, but it just comes from a judge mental place.
He's allowed to his faith ,and so are all we, but it just comes from a judge mental place.
Guinevere wrote: "Also cringe at Harvey's book. I mean no disrespect, but according to him, only Christians are worthy prospects. My potential suitor could be any religion, heck even atheist(though I know it's not r..."I haven't read his book, but to be honest I wouldn't have a problem with it if he's simply talking about not throwing a potential problem in the mix. Marriage is hard enough already and IF you have belief in anything that you truly do take seriously and try to live by, I can see how that would be a deal breaker.
Me, for instance I say I'm Christian, but I'm not religious. I was married previously to someone who could be probably be classified as an aethist. This was one more thing that worked against our marriage since there are ways that my faith is definitely important to me and incorporated into how I live my life.
So if the book was geared toward fellow Christians, I see his point. If he was marketing it as for women period-that's a bit high handed of him, sure. Not that I'm a proponent of taking marital advice from ole Stevie boy lol.
Perhaps it is geared toward Christians. But it markets to all women, as if men don't need to work on issues too to be one good partners.
My penpal from Croatia loved his book. It's very popular there, but they're not as diverse religion wise. Harvey makes me cringe everytime I hear him attempt to change women while claiming men can't be changed. He's successful at what he does, but it seems it's at the cost of exploiting female insecurity.
My penpal from Croatia loved his book. It's very popular there, but they're not as diverse religion wise. Harvey makes me cringe everytime I hear him attempt to change women while claiming men can't be changed. He's successful at what he does, but it seems it's at the cost of exploiting female insecurity.
I like Steve Harvey, but then I take him at comedic value and don't try to learn anything when I listen to him lol. I've never been offended by his "man'isms" since I take him at entertainment value only. If women are buying books from ANY man telling them they need to change themselves, then that's on them. I'm not trying to hear anything from a man other than why THEY do what they do because in all honesty, that's the only insight a man can possibly have when it comes to relationships.
In all honesty, I never read Steve's book or saw the movie, but many of my friends loved them both. Like PenDiva, the constant shenanigans and allegations between him and his ex-wife earn my eternal side eye on his insights into the female mind. I did read He's Just Not That Into You: The No-Excuses Truth to Understanding Guys and All the Rules: Time-Tested Secrets for Capturing the Heart of Mr. Right and thought they both offered a lot of common sense perspectives. But then again, I am not the most liberated woman by anyone's measure. Professionally yes, but not in my personal life. I see too many "not for me" mess when you drink that Koolaid. I know my limits. The dumbest epidemic I am constantly seeing are these working women with these useless guys that don't work because they are supposedly "watching the kids", but really playing video games and sleeping with other chicks. I am not talking about the househusbands that are really stepping up;though, that's probably not for me either.
Ya, Pagan. I saw the movie, never read the book. Wasn't impressed with the movie and didn't get the big deal beyond a lot of actors that I do like. I just didn't think the story was engrossing and it played to too many stereotypes about gender. I think that a lot of women get burned trying to NOT be materialistic and end up with jackasses who pull that on them. While they are out being the breadwinner, he's at home....being a kid.
So its a catch 22 type of thing. Females get labeled for expecting a man to be a man. But then again, like I said before there are still plenty of gold diggers running about as well making it harder for the women who don't expect anything other than a guy whose taking care of themselves and able (and willing) to help support a family.
I'm somewhere in the middle with my thinking in that I don't expect a man to take care of ME, but I do expect him to take care of his children and HELP take care of me. I don't see anything wrong with women who just want to be provided for, providing that they are being true homemakers and mothers. I don't get the chicks that have no children but expect a man to take care of their asses though. That baffles me.
Savannah~Quad-motherin'-book readin' diva wrote: "Ya, Pagan. I saw the movie, never read the book. Wasn't impressed with the movie and didn't get the big deal beyond a lot of actors that I do like. I just didn't think the story was engrossing and ..."Yeah Savannah, I can and do take care of myself very well. Everyone in my universe has a function. If you are useless; I have no use for you. You are either bringing me light, laughter, insight, or security. My close friends all fall into one or more of those categories (except the security they offer is emotional). I expect even more from someone I'm romantically involved with. I don't think I'm expressing it right though.
I get it, Pagan! You are a traditionalist in terms of expecting a man to be a man- as am I, for real. I cannot abide a man who expects to be taken care of by a woman. To me that is what defines masculinity at its core. If you can't even provide for yourself as a man, how is that attractive to me as a woman on even a subconscious level. Evolution be damned, at our core we are what we've always been and that's genetically programmed into our expectations as women. We want that guy that can go out, kill a beast and make sure our belly is full at night. I honestly believe that is what nature intended, so who am I to try to rationalize it away, ya know?
message 400:
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The FountainPenDiva, Old school geek chick and lover of teddy bears
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I'm sorry but those relationship books serve two purposes: to make women feel even more insecure and to make the writers filthy rich. How else does Harvey afford those suits of his?
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Fans of Interracial Romance
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"My (Secret) White Fill-In-The-Blank". Don't care how good they might..."
This right here is a damn shame.