The Space Between by Victoria H. Smith
Source: Purchased
Format: eBook (Kindle-Mobie)
Publisehd: October 2013
Indie
Genre: New Adult Contemporary Romance, Multicultral Romance
Sex: Strong Sexual Content (18+)
Available: Amazon (you can catch the entire series on sale right now for .99 cents)
The space between deals with the characters Lacey Douglas and Truman Drake. This is a new adult story, Lacey is 18 and drake is a year older than her at 19 and they are both out of high school...thank god!
The reason why I liked this story so much wasn't only because of the characters, both main and secondart. I also liked the fact that Ms. Smith threw very real life issues at this young couple. They faced many obstacles in this story, so let me get to it.
Lacey who is of mixed raced black/white is working to take care of her sick mother meets Drake at a casting party her best friend Margot throws, the both work at a opera house and occasionally Margort throws these parties (she also sells weed on the side). Drake who is the adopted asian son of a senator of Illinois grows bored at his fathers campaign party got himself into some hot water when he gambled with the
wrong people who works at the country club the party is at. This is how he ended up on the west side of Chicago with Lacey's cousin about to buy drugs. While he's making the deal, he hears the voice of Lacey Douglas and is totally enraptured. After seeing her on stage he makes it a point to get the casting party he hears her best friend and cousin talking about to meet her. I will say sparks definitely flew when these two met. They pretty much acted on the instant attraction between them and were sharing their first heated kiss even before Lacey knew Drake's full name.
The characters -
I will say I had love/hate feelings towards Lacey. She was very judgmental towards Drake at the beginning of the story when she found out that he was from the North side of town. She just assumed he was this very rich spoiled kid looking for a good time in the "hood" and she did something really stupid. She was also like this martyred type of a character, you know. I understood the girl was taking care of her sick mother but at points during the story, I was really like enough already. Yes, your life is hard...yes, you do not come from the best of circumstance, but my goodness. Oh, If I heard I can't be a opera singer because my mom needs me was enough to drive me nuts. She was like one of those folks you feel sorry for because they have a hard life and does the whole don't worry about me, but no really worry about me thing. Don't get me wrong, she was a strong character and she was a sweet girl given the the blows that life kept dealing her BUT there just some things in the story I couldn't connect with her on.
Drake was a little bit of a selfish ass and very arrogant. But was he also a good guy...he didn't let his family's name really make who he was. He didn't go around stating that he was the son of a senator, folks just knew he was. Drake also didn't feel a real connection to his family because he was adopted. His father barely pays any attention to him and his mother...I felt her love for Drake. But she was definitely cowed by her husband. She was the perfect senators wife and that affected her relationship in a bad way with Drake. Here you have this asian kid who was raised by this white family and he didn't know anything at all about his culture. He was in a since lost and while reading this story, you felt that from him right off the back. He dealt with a lot of ignorant people while growing up so it made him a different person that most of the kids his age and in his social circle. I liked Drake a lot, but ya'll already know I tend to be a little bit harder on my females than my males when I'm reading.
The secondary cast of characters was a good add to this story. Margot, Lacey's best friend was a hoot all through. She is the type of girl you would want at your back when some real bad shit goes down. Her cousin Marus was a nice tie in too, I can see him and Drake becoming best friends. Adele, Drakes little sister was a good tie in too and she wasn't annoying even though she was 15 I believe. Lacey's mom even though she was sick, was a strong tie in as well. Drake's parents...ah, I can't say I liked them very much. His dad, I pretty much hated and his mother, I'm still on the fence with. How can you be ignorant and racist and adopt/raise a asian child? IDK.
The Story Itself -
I liked how Ms. Smith threw real life issues at Lacey and Drake and it wasn't just their social and financial background, it was their race as well. They received ignorance and road blocks from both of their worlds. So with the combination of their relationship issues, it all worked out to flow into this wonderful tale of two people facing life obstacles to be together and together they are. I also like the fact the story was told from both Drakes and Lacey's POVs, it gave a good balance to the tale and you didn't get stuck with just one perons voice in your head.
Ya'll know I don't read very much NA stories, but when I do...I like for the characters to have a very adult way to them and these characters had that. There is also nice amount of heat to this tale..I mean a NICE amount of heat, so 18+ please.
The Gist of It -
All and all, I really enjoyed the read. There were some repetiveness throughout the book, like I don't know how many times Drake mentioned Lacey had carmel skin or Adele's angelic face or his mother's porcelin skin or Lacey constantely stating Drake had maghoney eyes. Still this is a good story...so much so, I'm now reading the 2nd book in the series. The characters and story line is intriguing enough for me to continue to find out more about where this couple goes from here.
If you're looking for a sweet NA romance with nicely arrangeed heat, then The Space Between is for you.
