Rose from the Bayou by Teryn Williams

Publisher/Date:  Teryn Williams, Sept. 2012
Genre:  Romance, Suspense, Supernatural Fiction
Pages:  220
Website:  http://scarletroselaveau.wix.com/rose

Rating: ★★★½☆ 

Enfant, l’amour est fou…

In other words: chile, love is crazy. Nothing says this better than ROSE FROM THE BAYOU, the bewitching novel from Teryn Williams, also the author of Be the Sun Again.

Set in 1990s New Orleans, the story follows the friendship of Scarlet Rose Laveau and Koral Baptiste. Soul sisters and neighbors since childhood, the women are now 24 and long-time lovers. Their relationship is deeply befuddling, especially to their families. Whereas Koral is sensitive and loving, Scarlet is cold and selfish. Her practices in what some folks call voodoo or black magic, passed down from her mother’s side of the family, constantly label her a bad seed.

Scarlet relishes her otherworldly abilities, channeling spirits and cavorting with the afterlife, which makes her an asset to people who need her assistance. But she what she uses for good, she also exploits to her advantage. Scarlet is a hedonist with a cause.

“My appetite was fierce and something not of this world. I was not born to be slaved beneath a relationship. I wanted to love freely. Love has no face and love had no color and love was androgynous. Or maybe I was speaking of sex because my heart was a deep dark hole that I often searched for a feeling but there was nothing but space looking for more of that same feeling. A space big enough to hold whatever and whomever I wanted to occupy it.”

However, Koral is the solitary soul she allows into her realm, mostly because Scarlet knows she has Koral’s heart on a string. She dominates the dark-skinned beauty, and because Koral doesn’t know her worth, she lets Scarlet control her. Talks her into doing heinous things, anything to keep Scarlet’s love and attention. Besides her grandmother, Nana, Scarlet is the only family Koral has. Their connection is powerful, and Koral wants nothing more than Scarlet’s “undying” love. With the thoughts Scarlet has, that could be the only way for Koral to win her heart.

Koral should be careful what she wishes – she might just get it.

Rose from the Bayou is one of those books with rich character development that pulls you in. You will either find yourself loving and/or hating Scarlet and Koral and the eccentric personalities in this book. Williams’ book could use more editing, but if you’re into dark stories, Rose will be a book that’s just as sweet.

Reviewed February 2013

The Beautiful People: New Orleans by Cheril N. Clarke

Publisher/Date:  Dodi Press, Feb. 2011
Genre:  Gay & Lesbian
Pages:  24
Website:  http://www.cherilnclarke.com

Rating: ★★★★☆ 

Four friends and a vacation is the premise of THE BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE: NEW ORLEANS, the first in an e-book series from Cheril N. Clarke.

Good friends Colin, Donovan, Vanessa and Yen jet-set to a different city every month, where they behold the sights — both of the city and the people.

Donovan is the type-a, men’s fashion designer, accountant Colin is entranced by beautiful faces — male and female; photographer Yen can’t seem to get her vices under control; and Vanessa’s attraction to Yen surprisingly reemerges itself for the business consultant.

Clarke packs a lot of energy into a short read. I enjoyed the friends’ interaction, and can’t wait to see what’s in store for them in the next installment.

You know what they say: what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.

Reviewed January 2012