Reviewer: Janet Davies
Title: The Other Face of Love
Author: Elena Iglesias
Publisher: Awe-Struck E-Books Inc
ISBN: 978-1-587496-00-4
Release Date: February 2007
Genre/Sub-genre: Contemporary Romance
Year/Setting: Present Day - Cuba, Miami and Connecticut
Overall Rating: 3.75
Sexual Content Rating: Subtle
Language (Profanity) Rating: None
Violent Content Rating: None
Elena's Website: None found
Against her better judgment, Carolina Perales gets talked into going to Miami to pick up the son of an old friend. Sounds simple enough, but it is anything but. Jorge, the son in question, is actually an illegal immigrant from Cuba who has paid passage to get to the United States. Although this is a moral dilemma enough for Carolina, she is completely taken aback to her instant attraction to Jorge. But is there more to Jorge than what it appears?
When Gonzalo Sevilla overhears an angst-filled lover’s conversation, he decides to take advantage of the situation. The man, called Jorge, does not want to part from his fiancée. That can mean only one thing to Gonzalo – escape. The chance to leave behind a tense, unhappy situation and look for promise in a new land. Only two problems, Gonzalo has to lie and say he’s Jorge, and lying does not sit well with him. The other is the woman who comes to claim him. He wants her.
For a single mom with two kids, a sudden attraction to an illegal immigrant is not on her to do list. She is over the whole man thing anyway. Its way too complicated and Carolina knows her judgment with men is flawed. Gonzalo senses Carolina’s reluctant attraction to him. He is definitely interested in returning such attention. However, how can he do so when he knows he is lying to her? When the truth does come out both Carolina and Gonzalo are faced with the problem of what to do with the other and what they are feeling.
I liked both Carolina and Gonzalo in The Other Face of Love. The characters are written in a realistic manner than makes you identify with their situation. Both of them have made mistakes in the past and both are scared to trust their hearts. There is also the fact the Carolina is a single mom and she is completely aware of her responsibilities to her kids. But what about her responsibility to herself? As for Gonzalo he is completely aware of his good fortune and is not about waste any opportunity presented to him. And I had to admit I liked the way Gonzalo gently went about getting under Carolina’s skin.
The rights and wrongs of the whole illegal immigrant thing got swept under the carpet in this book, and I had to question Gonzalo’s good fortune with a skeptical eye at times. But that’s just me. For the sake of fiction, I guess legalities can be suspended.
The Other Face of Love is a sweet and old fashioned courtship of kinds. There is definite sexual tension that is cramped because of the kids and Carolina’s insecurities. The book is not overtly sexual, instead it simmers with an underlying passion that you know is about to explode given the chance. To me, this book is about not being afraid to take a chance not letting past experiences color your judgment. And who cannot identify with that?
Janet
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