Claiming You by Tina Martin

Series: The Lennox Series, #2
# of Pages: 141
Publisher: Kindle/Amazon
Publication: February 1st, 2016
Source: Kindle Unlimited
Genre: Contemporary Romance
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At 39, Remington (Remy) Lennox married Emory McNeil. They’ve been friends for two years – married for one of those years. He told her the marriage was strictly for business reasons and that they'd keep it between themselves while remaining friends. That the rest of the Lennox family doesn't have to know. What he doesn’t tell Emory is, he’s deeply in love with her. She thinks they’re only friends, but he worships the ground she walks on. Still, he keeps his feelings at bay, that is until he feels like his younger brother, Giovanni is moving in on his territory. Now, Remington knows he must CLAIM his woman and let her know his true feelings. Keeping their "arrangement" a secret is no longer an option. * * * The Lennox Series are all standalone novellas with the exception of Caught in the Storm with a Lennox which is the prequel to Claiming You.

Claiming You is a short yet beautifully written African-American contemporary romance novella. The second in the Lennox in Love series, Claiming You chronicles the blooming romance between Remington Lennox and Emory McNeil. While the two characterize their marriage as "strictly for business," Remy harbors true love for Emory and makes the decision to express his true desires once his brother begins to show feelings for Emory as well. What follows is an exploration of love, friendship, and family.

"I grin to myself. I don’t have those kinds of problems. I hate makeup as much as I dislike dressing up. That’s why, as soon as my butt touched the back seat of his car, the first thing I did was relieve my feet of these stilettos and massage my toes. Next came the earrings."

For the past few months I have been spending a considerable amount of time reading African-American contemporary romances. While I have changed my ideas and attitudes towards romance as a whole, I found that I wanted to focus more on reading romance books that not only feature African-American characters, but also those that are written by African-American authors. Claiming You was an ideal choice in this venture. Character development is a key component to Claiming You since it is a short novella that doesn't really allot time for much plot development. Emory is such a beautiful (yes, beautiful) and dynamic character. I related to her in so many different ways and I loved that she was kind, compassionate, and thoughtful towards everyone she encountered. It's no surprise then that I did not find Remy to be the most compatible for Emory. It is clear that Remy loves Emory, that he is willing to move earth, heaven, and stars for her; however, Emory almost felt too good for Remy's controlling and dominating nature. Where Emory seems to be the equivalent of ease, gentleness, and peace, Remy exudes arrogance, crassness, and roughness. Nevertheless, Martin is able to create scenarios and situations that assists the development of their relationship.

"Well, Emmie is not going to be one of your drive-bys. She’s too good for that, and I won’t let you hurt her."

As with any novella, plot development can be difficult to assess because of the lack of material. That's not to say that Claiming You didn't have a plot; however, I did find that the ending was rushed and that the explanation for the original connection between Emory and Remy was glossed over for the sake of page count. I would have preferred a longer and more in-depth novel that would have explored the beginning of their relationship. This exploration would have prevented the ending from being rushed and seeming thrown together. It was through the reading of this novel that I discovered that I'm not an individual that enjoys when novels leave me wanting more. It makes both the novel and the writing feel incomplete. In spite of these issues that I had, I did enjoy the writing. Martin was able to beautifully capture Emory in a way that made me relate to her in some pretty significant ways. Overall, it could have used a little more editing, but I found the writing to be enjoyable.

"When you love someone, you give them power over you, you know."

While it wasn't the best African American contemporary that I've read over the past 6 months, it was a enjoyable novella and I'm looking forward to seeing what else the author has to offer.