#16 DESIGNED FOR PASSION by Francine Craft

Number of Book #16
Date Began and Finished 3/21- 3/26 2008
Genre - African American contemporary romance
Year It Was Published - March, 2008
Publisher - Kimani romance #082
Number of Pages 282
Mass market paperback
Reason for reading: Review by Author's request (Love romances)
Rating 3/5 stars

Blurb or Synopsis: Melodye Carter has always been over weight, and her sister and mother never let her forget it! Despite her sister and mother's cruel behavior, Melodye has always been her own person and has done quite well for herself. She's got a successful boutique for plus-sized women and had been married until her husband died in a shooting. She's conflicted over her feelings for her deceased husband, because their marriage wasn't as perfect as it could have been.

Detective Jim Ryman is helping out with the case of Melodye's husband's murder,and while he gets to know Melodye better, he feels drawn to her. There are sparks flying between them, but to start anything now would be inappropriate. Still, he looks forward to spending time with her and her two children. His mother helps Melodye out by baby sitting the kids, and through the children he's gotten to know Melodye too.
Jim has his own history. His wife had also passed away and he's not ready to start fresh. But if he ever did love a woman again it would be someone like Melodye.

While part of the focus of DESIGNED FOR PASSION is the find the person who killed Melodye's husband Rafael, the core story centers on Melodye's blossoming relationship with the detective assigned to the case, Jim Ryman. He proves to her that larger woman are beautiful too, and one of the main themes of the book is to show that you don't have to be thin to be beautiful. Melodye has a successful career despite her mother's disinterest and lack of moral support. Despite the type of environment she grew up in, Melodye made a name for herself.

Melodye's sister and mother are portrayed as two very mean-spirited people, but by the end of the book it is explained why they became the people they were, and why they treated Melodye the way they did. Nothing excuses that type of behavior, but I found it interesting and was also relieved to discover there was a reason for this bad behavior, and not just an element of the book to make it more interesting.

I had some issues with the writing; I wish I had written these down but there were moments in the book that the language didn't ring true; "who talks like that??" is what I wanted to say. Because of that I'm only giving this book a 3 star rating. I think the moral of the book is important, but the story could have been written much better. I plan on reading another book by this author soon to see how it compares to this most recent one. She's written a number of books and I can't believe someone with bad writing skills would be contracted to write more for one publisher.