Veena’s review of Behind the Curtain by Beth Kery
Contemporary Erotic Romance published by Berkley 02 May 17
I’ve been somewhat jaded with the some of the authors I once enjoyed and no longer put on auto read. However, I found this cover intriguing and sensual, rich with possibilities, making me pick up this book. The inside drew me into a love story beset with cultural taboos and snobbery that divides two lovers who, while being American, come from two very distinct worlds. An interesting tale illuminating the many faces of the people who make up this melting pot we call America.Moroccan-American Laila lives a restricted and protected life very different from the average teenagers she goes to school with. She understands the differences and restrictions but doesn’t feel strongly enough to buck the system she’s born into. Then one summer she meets Asher Gaites and his friends. He slowly but surely draws her out of her cocoon, and for the first time she’s tempted to expand her horizons and experience the forbidden. She’s definitely not brave enough to stand up for what she wants when her secret romance is exposed. So the two lovers are parted and each moves on with their lives, even as they carry their summer romance in their hearts.
Asher has been at a cross roads in terms of what he wants from his future, but the summer and its aftermath sets him on his future path to becoming a Pulitzer-prize-winning journalist. He covers the hot spots of the world and relives his summer romance by learning more about Morocco and expanding his vocabulary, even as he shares the gritty and heartrending plight of the children and families in the war-torn corners of the Middle East.
We pick up with Asher and Laila upon Asher’s return to the US. While both he and Laila have moved on with their lives, neither has forgotten the other or the halcyon summer romance they once enjoyed. Asher is transfixed by the mysterious singer who’s the new sensation in his hometown. Thanks to Asher, Laila has developed her talent as a singer and songwriter and found a way to manage her cultural heritage and her love for music and the art by using a curtain as a part of her act.
As Asher and Laila re-discover and rekindle the flames of their summer romance once again, will they be able to break out of the shackles that once held them back and forge a future together? Can their love bridge the gaps that continue to exist between their very different and distinct cultures? How will each one of them finally confront their families and their pasts and stand up for what they desire? Explore these answers with Laila and Asher as they confront the world and make their choices across the sensual landscape of an unbelievable romance.
Grade: B
See Sandy M’s review here.
Summary:
Cultures clash and passion ignites in the novel that will leave you begging for more—from the bestselling author of The Affair and Looking Inside.
There’s something about this woman…On a break between overseas jobs, journalist Asher Gaites returns to his hometown of Chicago—and allows his friends to persuade him to check out a hot new singer. At a downtown jazz club, he’s soon transfixed by the lyrical voice and sensuous body of a woman who performs behind a thin, shimmering veil…
…That could bring a man to his knees.
The veil gives Moroccan-American Laila Barek the anonymity she needs since she has never been able to reconcile her family’s values with her passion for music. But one man is inexplicably drawn to her. And when Asher confronts her on a subway platform after a gig, he’s shocked to recognize the woman who walked away from him nine years ago…
Laila has never been able to forget the touch, the feel, the taste of Asher. And despite the doubt and fear that wind their way into their lives, they must trust the heat of their desire to burn down the walls the world has placed between them…
No excerpt available.
