Sweet Talkin’ Lover

Livesay (Love Will Always Remember) opens her Girls Trip series with a smart, witty interracial romance that explores the tension between business and ethics, but lacks the small-town heart readers will crave. Black cosmetics marketer Caila Harris is too focused on her potential promotion to enjoy her annual getaway with her college pals. When their trip is cut short by the death of her grandfather, Caila messes up at work, flubbing her chance at the promotion in her grief. Her boss gives Caila one more chance to prove herself, sending her to Bradleton, Va., to determine whether to close the company’s factory there. Bradleton’s white mayor, Wyatt Bradley, aka Mayor McHottie, is determined to keep the factory running and hopes to win Caila over by getting her involved in small-town life. But he’s not above using their mutual attraction for his purposes either. Though the romance is believable, the townsfolk come off as petty and insular, muddling the story. The framework of Caila and her friends on vacation—the book ends with them planning their next trip—introduces some big personalities who will be back for future installments, but remains tangential to the plot, leaving the reader unsure what to expect from the next in the series. Readers will appreciate Livesay’s protagonists but have trouble connecting with their setting. Agent: Nalini Akolekar, Spencerhill Assoc. (Jan.)