Good morning! I have been a little behind with posting books, so I’m going to get back on track with The Book Catalog.
#5 is Love Unbroken.
Love Unbroken is the first book in the Love, Life, & Happiness series, detailing the beginning of Riana and Shawn's romance. The story takes place at Shaw University, where Riana is trying to navigate life after a huge scandal, while Shawn is working to recover from a difficult breakup. What neither of them realizes is that being paired together for a class project might just lead them to fall in love.
This story, along with the entire series, is special to me because it reminds me of my husband and me. While I've never gone through any type of scandal, I met my husband through a friend in college, and I wasn't expecting to fall in love—just like Riana didn’t expect to fall for Shawn. But it happened. We have been through a lot together, which is why this couple means so much to me. That’s also why there are three individual stories about them as well. 🙂
There are some special elements in this story, particularly in the poems. My husband writes poetry, and it was one of the things he did when we first started dating. Some of the poems in Love Unbroken are actually ones he wrote for me, which makes them very special.
Not only do the characters inspire me, but when I created this series, I was an avid new adult reader. I wanted to tell stories that represented young African-Americans in a positive light, which is something I felt was important to create. I didn’t see many stories with African-American characters in college that were viewed positively, which is why I created this series. After this series was made, I have seen other authors taking this route, and it has been refreshing to see.
If you have not read Love Unbroken, or the entire Love, Life, & Happiness series, they’re all available on Amazon.
Here’s an excerpt from the story, from Riana’s POV. Enjoy!
As the week was slowly progressing, I was anxiously waiting on the weekend to arrive. I went into my Introduction to Journalism class and noticed Shawn sitting in the back of the classroom. Instead of going to the seat beside him, I went to the front of the class and sat down. As if my head had a mind of its own, it slowly turned to stare at him.
“For someone who doesn’t like me, you sure like to stare at me. Why is that?”
“You’re so cocky. For your information I wasn’t staring at you.”
“So what were you looking at? There’s nothing back here but a brick wall.”
“What is your problem? Why are you so nasty toward me?”
“I wasn’t the one who had an attitude the moment someone asked how they were doing. So basically I need to ask you what your problem is.”
Before I could say anything, several students, along with the Journalism instructor, Professor Wilkins, walked in with an armful of papers.
“Hello, hello. I have a surprise for everyone.”
“I hope it’s a good surprise,” Shawn said.
“Well, you can call it how you see it, but it could be a good experience for everyone in here. Now, I know this is only the second day of class, but I already have a project for you.”
“What!” everyone said in unison.
“Hold on, before everyone becomes panicky, hear me out. Since this is a journalism and production class, I want everyone to partner up and do a news story for the university. It doesn’t have to be long, just three minutes and it could be about anything that you think is newsworthy. I want you to choose something that is informative for you and for the student body. The project will be considered your final, so you and your partner will be paired for the entire semester.”
While Professor Wilkins was discussing the project, I glanced angrily back at Shawn. He did have a point; why do I keep looking at him? Shawn rolled his eyes at me as he started to tap his pen on the desk.
“From the looks of it, I think we have our first team. Riana and Shawn, right?”
I looked at Professor Wilkins in shock. “Yes, but Professor Wilkins, why can’t we pick our own partner?”
“Because I see potential in you two. You two should do well on this project.”
I looked at Professor Wilkins and turned to look at Shawn.
Shawn gave me a smirk as he went back to writing.
Great! Now I’m stuck with him for the entire semester!
Check back tomorrow as I reveal the fourth book from The Book Catalog!
Until then, happy reading! :-)
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