Review of ‘The color of love’ by Radclyffe,
Audiobook narrated by Abby Craden
Emily May is a literary agent born in Singapur currently living in New York. She is about to lose her job, her home, and her friends because she doesn’t have a green card. Derian Winfield is a globetrotter racecar enthusiast who wants nothing to do with her family business. When a family emergency calls her back home to assume a role in her father’s company, she will have to join Emily in order to save the agency from a takeover. What both women weren’t expecting was to fall in love in the process. Could getting married be the solution to all their problems?
I have read most of Radclyffe’s books and I always look forward to her stories. I admit that after reading the blurb I was expecting a different type of story, more in terms of a sham marriage between two women who eventually fall in love. Instead, I found a slow burn romance where the matter of marriage is secondary to the plot and the description of Emily feels more of an American than an immigrant from Singapore. As an immigrant myself, I felt that the character lacked a bit of foreign identity which is a pity because it could have given a more realistic layer to the story.
Despite this initial surprise, I was taken by the chemistry between the main characters. Radclyffe sometimes presents her characters as larger than life (for example, in the Honor series) but in this case, she showcases their contradictions, shortcomings, and virtues which makes the story believable and very appealing. I also liked the incidental description of the publishing industry, something that this author knows a lot about as the owner of Bold Strokes Books, one of the most important LGBT publishing houses.
I’ve read this book when it was released and now decided to listen to the audiobook narrated by Abby Craden. I’m running out of adjectives to qualify her job so I’m going to go or my favourite: outstanding. Ms. Craden is a storyteller, she makes every single audiobook sound natural and generally makes the story much more enjoyable. This audiobook is not available with Scribd or Escape subscriptions but if you like Radclyffe romances, it won’t disappoint. Duration: 7 hours, 40 minutes.
Overall, a very good lesbian homecoming romance audiobook. 4.5 stars.
