The Merchant of Venice Beach by Celia Bonaduce

By: Unknown on Monday, January 06, 2014

Title:  The Merchant of Venice Beach

Author:  Celia Bonaduce

Series:  Rollicking Buns #1

Published:  August 1st 2013 by Ekensington Originals

Page Count:  230

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Shelf:  Review

Rating:  ★★★★

Blurb:

The Rollicking Bun--Home of the Epic Scone--is the center of Suzanna Wolf's life. Part tea shop, part bookstore, part home, it's everything she's ever wanted right on the Venice Beach boardwalk, including partnership with her two best friends from high school, Eric and Fernando. But with thirty-three just around the corner, suddenly Suzanna wants something more--something strictly her own. Salsa lessons, especially with a gorgeous instructor, seem like a good start--a harmless secret, and just maybe the start of a fling. But before she knows it, Suzanna is learning steps she never imagined--and dancing her way into confusion.

Excerpt:

Suzanna was in a panic. After several futile attempts at looking for shoes on-line, it became clear she was never going to have enough alone time to really investigate the subject properly. All the research she did manage just brought about more questions, not less and Suzanna had to admit that she really needed some expert help in finding the right shoes. Now her first salsa lesson was looming, and she had somehow not managed to find the time to go to Dante’s Dancewear. She didn’t know exactly what she wanted, but she knew she couldn’t show up at the studio in the wrong shoes…whatever that meant!

Slipping away from The Bun as soon as the afternoon tea crowd had settled down, Suzanna pointed her Smart Car towards Westwood Boulevard, where Dante’s Dancewear beckoned. Suzanna walked noiselessly into the store, ready to appear confident and assured. After all, she didn’t know everything, but she knew she wanted “character shoes.”

“You don’t want character shoes,” said the stone-faced skeleton behind the counter.

It’s times like these when Suzanna remembered why she never left her comfort zone. When she was managing The Bun or hanging out with Fernando and Eric, curve balls like this were never hurled at her. The little self-doubts pricked at her like tiny toothpicks, but she pulled myself together, arched an eyebrow and breathed… “Oh?”

“A character shoe has a leather sole. You want a suede sole for classes.”

“Oh,” she paused emphatically. And then, because she couldn’t stand not knowing, added, “Why?”

“The suede glides on the wood floor,” she replied, “and a suede soled shoe is lighter and easier to dance in for long periods of time.”

It took Suzanna a moment to let go of her character-shoes-dream, but since her character-shoes-dream was only about a week old, she found she could easily replace it with the new, more dance-centric suede-sole dance-shoes dream. Because, make no mistake, she planned on dancing for long periods of time!

She asked the skeleton to show her some suede-soled dance shoes that would lend themselves to sensuous

“What color?” She asked.

Red? Too showy. White? Too virginal.

“Black!” Suzanna said.

“You don’t want black.”

Suzanna left Dante’s Dancewear a little more unsteady and a lot less sure of herself than when she entered, but she had to congratulate herself. She had bought her dance shoes.

They were beige.

Apparently in the dance world, one referred to “shoes” in the singular. You bought a “shoe” and somehow your other foot magically got shod. According to the skeleton, one did not want a shoe that stood out. One wanted a shoe that blended in. Suzanna argued that the whole point of dance lessons was that she was damn SICK of fitting in. The skeleton replied that she wanted her form and herself to stand out – not her feet.

“Beige hides footwork mistakes,” she said.

So Suzanna bought beige.

Suzanna clicked off the alarm in her Smart Car and hid her clandestine purchase in what was passing for a trunk in the vehicle that was passing for a car. Suzanna wondered briefly if the hot dance instructor would be impressed with her wise choice of a beige shoe. She looked down at her iPhone calendar – she’d find out in less than 4 hours.

salsa.

My Review:

This was a brilliant novel. Bonaduce takes to the world of writing with a flare seldom seen. She creates a vivid yet realistic view of LA that doesn’t border on fame & the entertainment industry. Bonaduce uses wit and intelligent conversation to create a captivating, emotional story for her audience. Her intricate descriptions create a very unique feel for the world as a whole. The story itself was entertaining and comedic while remaining realistic and down to earth. The story centers on friendships and relationships. Reality and real life play into the relationships that develop throughout.

The characters in this novel are also quite well developed. I loved the main characters. It was so nice to see them as friends as well as a couple. It really added a sense of completion to the novel. The natural dialogue in this novel gives you even further insight into the characters and their relationships. I also appreciate how her relationships play out in a very captivating and intriguing manner without ever requiring an adult only rating. Bonaduce easily shows how romance and explicit scenes aren’t inseparable through the intriguing relationships between her characters.

Overall, Bonaduce’s first novel has me quite intrigued. She has developed a tale that will appeal to a wide audience. I can’t wait to continue on with this series & anything else this author’s brilliant mind can come up with.

|  Goodreads  |  Shelfari  |
| Amazon | Barnes and Noble | eKensington |

Connect with the Author:

| Website | Facebook | Twitter | eKensington Author Page | Goodreads |

And now, Enter The Tourwide Giveaway!

a Rafflecopter giveaway