Caught Up in the Rapture

What a great book. The title is certainly self-fulfilling. I was so "caught up," that I didn't put the book down until I was finished. It took me all of three hours! This author's talent blows me away. I thought her first book was awesome, but this one was even better. I love the lead female character, Tracy, and all of her issues because Ms. Riley just explains things so well and when we get to know her, we realize that all of Tracy's hang-ups about love and commitment make complete sense. The character development was very strong in this book. Let's not forget Jacques, the fine-on-the-verge-of-beautiful male character who just exudes sexiness, power and manliness! These two characters jump off the page at the reader. But like another reviewer on this page, I was afraid that I liked Caroline's and Brian's story too much to accept these two characters, but I was wrong. Caroline and Brian have just enough space in the book to keep fans satisfied. The storyline follows Tracy and Jacques through Paris where they meet and have a one night stand. She's so "caught up" that she scares herself and runs back to the States as soon as she possibly can. She's a light-skinned black woman with color issues who never even considered dating a white man, which Jack happens to be. Jack is a ladies' man who is just knocked off his feet by Tracy and this scares him, but he really wants things to progress. They have a chance meeting in Chicago and things take off from there. This is more than a romance, however. The author incorporates political discussion, in-depth conversations about prejudice within the black race and without and there's also an element of danger in the form of Alexander Brickman, whom we met in the first book, At Last---featuring Caroline and Brian. I don't know what people are complaining about because this book has it all: romance, suspense,humor, an intelligent story line and the author can write her butt off! But hey, to each her own, right? So I say ignore the negative reviews (because most of the reviewers seem to want to tell the author what to write)and order this book as soon as possible!

First let me say that I almost got tired of waiting for this to come out. But it was worth the wait! I am totally impressed with Miss Riley as an author! The love scenes in this book are even hotter than those in her first book. I have to disagree with those reviewers who didn't like this story-- it may not be an original storyline but Miss Riley certainly put her own twist on it. Tracy and Jack are wonderful characters and Miss Riley has once again shown some insight into the dynamics of interracial dating. The thrill I got from the storyline of Tracy and Brian in AT LAST is most definitely repeated here. I like it-- I love it! and I say that no matter what the naysayers write... YOU GO GIRL! (also I cannot see anyone reading a book they didn't like no matter how much they paid for it-- couldn't you just take it back and get a refund or a credit or something?) I am waiting for the next book, Miss Riley. Keep them coming.

This book has surpassed its predecessor, At Last. While I enjoyed Caroline and Brian's romance, this one with Jack and Tracy is five times hotter. Caroline was a doe-eyed virgin when she fell in love with Brian, I like the fact that Tracy's character is already sexually knowing and confident. Her and Jack have such incredible sexual chemistry that you find yourself needing a cool drink after reading the numerous passionate scenes between them. The storyline hooks you right from the beginning: a steamy Paris fling, Jack's hunt for Brickman-the criminal genius, who is obsessed with possessing Caroline, and the most important, Jack and Tracy getting to know each other out of bed and falling in love. These characters dealt with a plethora of issues from post 9/11 politics, the color complex within the black community, and racism. Riley put these conflicts in without these issues weighing down the storyline, a talent that other authors of i/r have yet to master. This book was well worth the wait. You will not be disappointed in investing money in this one.

This is a wonderful book and anyone who reads it will feel the same. The characters are great and the story is well-developed. In this book I found a complex story; one that is difficult to find in this genre: so-called women's fiction. I love interracial romances and I don't think I've found one as good as this one yet. I'm including the other book by this author, "At Last," in that bunch and I absolutely adored that book. This book, however, shows the author's growth. I'd also like to say that it didn't have all the formatting and punctuation mistakes as the first one did (thank God for editing). I don't know how much this helps the next person, but all I can say is if you're trying to decide if you should purchase this book, my advice is to BUY the BOOK! You don't want to miss out on this opportunity to read this rare find --- a well-thought out novel with complex, evolving characters! And if you haven't read the author's other novel, buy that one as well, you'll enjoy it.

"Caught Up in the Rapture" is one of my favorite books and I've only just finished reading it! It took me less than 10 hours, that's just how enthralled I was by the book. Ms. Riley has done it again. After reading her first book, "At Last," I was clamoring for this second one to come out. It was certainly worth the wait. Tracy and Jacques (Jack) appeared in the first book and though they hardly appeared in the pages, their presence was certainly felt. Tracy is a fair-skinned African-American woman, who thanks to her upbringing (bitchy, color-conscious, self-absorbed doctor mommy and indifferent-to-the-point-of-neglect doctor daddy)is confused about her place in the world. She's been told all of her life that her fair skin is a privilege and a badge of honor and that to keep the family's honor, she needs to meet and socialize with light-skinned African Americans and eventually she must marry a light-skinned man. Tracy rebels and only dates dark-skinned African American men, believing that they are all she's attracted to. She is determined that she will marry one as well, because she doesn't want to produce any fair-skinned babies who will be as confused and warped as she. Along comes Jack, a fine-as-all-get-out French American WHITE man who, shall we say, forces Tracy to reevaluate her convictions about attraction? They meet in Paris, where she's on vacation and he's on business. After three, lovely platonic days together, the relationship just sort of explodes. Tracy flies home to Chicago, glad that she'll never see him again. What she doesn't know is that he is American and lives in, you guessed it, Chicago. Jack is a ladies' man to his very core and is quite surprised and upset that he can't get Tracy out of his head, even long after she's left. A chance encounter in Chicago (done very nicely, I might add)start the sparks again and the chase is on! In the meantime, Caroline and Brian from the first book are back and I was glad to hear from them again. Brickman, the bad guy from the first book is also back and he's as evil and determined as ever. Ms. Riley's skill allows her to re-introduce these characters without them taking over Jack's and Tracy's story. These two shine on their very own. The characters are greatly developed and their emotions become our emotions. The confusion, anger, happiness, sadness, passion, humor---all of it fairly leap off the pages. I am thrilled that Ms. Riley is a writer and even more thrilled that I discovered her. I'm guessing from the way this book ended -- and I hope I'm right -- that we will hear more from Ms. Riley.