GOLDEN NIGHTS
Candice Poarch
Dafina Books
ISBN 0-7582-1977-6
April 2007
Multicultural Romance

Paradise Island, Virginia, is setting for this story that contains several people in search of a golden bowl. The missing bowl has a number of people up in arms, one man found in a lake, family members fighting, and friends and acquaintances trying to identify what love really is. Among all of this we find Gabrielle Long, a woman who has taken care of her aunt until her death and finding it difficult to run a business, tend to her family’s needs and carve out time for herself. One of her most difficult issues is trying to identify exactly what happened the night a guest turns up dead and what happened to the family’s heirloom. But in the midst all of this, she finds herself falling for her handsome neighbor and dreaming of all the things they could be doing together. For her Cornell is forbidden fruit because of bad blood between her family and his, but sometimes the best things in life are the ones that you shouldn't have.

Cornell Price has his own issues dealing with his crazy family, starting his restaurant, and fighting the feelings he has for Gabrielle. After all, Cornell has seen love fail too many people in his life to believe in happily ever after, but there’s something about Gabrielle that keeps him wanting her even though he feels that she is going to cause him trouble. Both of them know the estranged history of her aunt and his uncle. The two shared a love/hate relationship that lasted over fifty years, and they couldn’t live together under the same roof. The touchy feelings between Cornell and Gabrielle seem to be headed in the same direction when love sneaks up on them.

In this story Ms. Poarch has woven several lives together, each of which could have easily had their own story. There are too many events surrounding Cornell and Gabrielle’s lives, so you have to pay close attention to what is going on or you could easily forget which storyline you’re following. The other characters in the book are interesting and behave just as many people do when money and family are involved. Overall the story was enjoyable, but a little more focus on the hero and heroine would have held my concentration more.

Reviewed by Lora McDonald
Rating 3