Description: Khaki has just married Bram, the man of her dreams. There’s just one problem: she hasn’t told him she was born a man.

The Good: I really love that the heroine of this novel is transgender, and I would really like to see even more out-of-the-box characters like this in IR. Ms. Davis does not shy away from going into transgender specifics: for example we’re told about Khaki’s operation, boob job, and hormone therapy; and when Khaki goes home to visit, she still helps her father with the same stuff she helped him with when she was living as a boy. Also the situation was compelling enough for me to finish the book.

The Bad: Unfortunately, though the writer’s heart was in the right place, this book was almost a complete craft fail. The characters were never fully explored. I was aghast that Khaki hadn’t told Bram her origin story before they married, and didn’t feel her character had sufficient motivation to keep this information for him. Bram is uneven as a character, and the motivation for most of his actions, outside of marrying Khaki so soon (she doesn’t believe in sex before marriage) was unclear. The resolution was rushed and rang false, given what we had learned about Bram, Khaki, and her family. Also, there were many instances of characters telling each other memories and stories they already knew, lots of lazy exposition. This story feels like a house with good bones, that needs a top to bottom renovation in terms of editing.

The Naughty: Sweet. Christian. Inspirational. No sex.

Editing issues: Typos. Clunky verging on terrible grammar throughout.

Publisher: Topaz Publishing

Length: 45 pages

Final Grade: D-

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Theodora Taylor writes and reviews interracial romance novels in Pittsburgh, PA.