Review: My Joy (California Love Book 1) by Suzette D. Harrison

The Blurb

Joy Matthews isn’t afraid of risks. She’s quit her Fortune 500 job and enrolled in culinary school, chasing her dream. Joy wants her own couture cake boutique. Pursuing her dream by day, Joy pays the bills working nights at The Hourglass—an exclusive gentlemen’s club catering to patrons who enjoy "a little extra fine on a woman’s frame." Joy’s catching up to her dream when a chance encounter reconnects her with Quinton Daley, a childhood friend. Mutual attraction throws the proverbial wrench in Joy’s relationship-phobic, happily agnostic life. A goal-oriented woman who "doesn’t do men with Bible breath," Joy sees in Quinton a whole lot of what she likes but doesn’t need. Tall, chocolate-skinned, and born-again, Quinton’s Christianity poses a risk even the tenacious Joy isn’t willing to take. Quinton Daley isn’t fazed. He’s a man of faith who will willingly wait on Joy to come to God…and him. When love and lust heat up, Joy and Quinton face a predicament. Will they indulge? Or abstain? Join this wild mix of custom cakes, a saved, sanctified and sexy man, and an obsessed patron from The Hourglass who’s determined to make Joy’s life a sticky mess. It’s a recipe for a read that’s wickedly witty and delicious. 

My Review

This story is incredibly entertaining. I howled with laughter throughout the book. Joy, my sweetie pie book boyfriend Quinton, and most of the secondary characters were hilarious. The use of Ebonics intermixed with proper language was a wonderful realism of the characters that brought me in to their world.

There was quite a bit of suspense in the story that had me wishing someone would end up injured. That part of the story had me upset – on more than just one level – on behalf of Joy. What I liked was that she took responsibility for her contribution to the drama that entered her life. A super strong woman who knew what she wanted in life, at least she thought she did until Quinton showed up.

The romance between Joy and Quinton had me sighing – a lot. I loved the way they each, especially Joy, grew during the time they got to know each other. An amazing romance that I really wanted to see a happy ending too, but at times wasn’t sure would happen.

Don’t get me started on the delicious deserts Joy created. I wanted to crawl into the book and grab a taste.

This book, as Joy would say, was everything. It had so much in it that I had to take my time and savor it. A wonderful romance that left me longing for Book 2 in the series. I don’t know who will star in it, but I do know that I’ll be reading it.

Be warned that issues got really heavy in this book. Highly sensitive situations brought out quite a bit of seriousness. Just letting you know that you may end up sad and angry at times while reading. Even so, it’s so worth it!

I give this five out of five oven shaped chocolate bars.

I purchased my copy from AmazonUK