Did "Deceptive Calm" by Patricia Skipper have any depth beyond being a romance novel?

[Dubem Jecinta]

Absolutely. While romance is a component, the book delves far deeper into issues of racial identity, self-acceptance, and historical racial tensions. It tackles the complexities of friendship across racial divides, the impact of discrimination, and the courage needed to confront societal expectations. The book goes beyond typical romance, weaving in significant themes of personal and cultural identity, historical trauma, and resilience.

[Hay-bee Tosan]

Absolutely. While there is romance in the story, the book delves much deeper into issues of race, identity, and personal reinvention. It explores the historical context of the Civil Rights movement and how those events shaped Vanessa’s life. The story offers a thoughtful commentary on societal expectations and individual choices.

[Elijah Miller]

There wasn't exactly a romantic depth in the book. It did a good job with the reflection of the rampant discrimination back in the day.

[Skylar Fox]

I think there was depth highlighting social injustice and prejudice. I felt the author did not spend a lot of time on the romance aspect. I would have loved to see more aside from just sex.

[David Milaham]

Definitely, it was a book that showcased the deep rooted prejudice and racism in the American history. The suffering dealt people of color, and how they made it out.

I also typically enjoyed that aspect of the book too. Given the time period it was set in, the representation of the presence of racial, cultural and even specific religious discrimination was represented properly. It gave the book some extra depth apart from the romance.

[David Milaham]

Even though it was present, I was a bit letdown by the romance aspects it portrayed. I kind of enjoyed the adequate representation of inequality in that time period. The historic events and how they shaped the characters' lives was also another aspect that created depth and showed how the author stayed true to detail in the story.

[Gift Omolade]

I would not call it a Romance novel as that was the least explored element of the book in my opinion. I prefer the racial tension element, the historical aspects, as well as the mystery elements of the book.

[London Baum]

I wouldn’t even call it a romance, there are romantic elements but they are not the central part of the story by any means. Nonetheless, I do think it had depth. It definitely fell short in a few areas but I truly felt for Vanessa and the hand she was dealt in life

[Mellisa Hornes]

I actually don't believe it to be that much of a romance novel. The novel has some romance in it. However, I was more drawn by the mystery and investigative aspects of the book.

[João Ramos]

The romantic element is of secondary importance, so the answer is obvious. The only part of the book that feels like a typical romance novel is the ending with Vanessa and Barry getting together and supposedly
"living happily ever after."

[Brayan Uribe]

I think the author tried by adding all the talk about history and by having set in the 60s-80s but the book didn't have any depth, not even as a romance novel, it was just meaningless thing after meaningless thing happening.

[Qwerty Writes]

I wouldn't say there was any depth to it. I understand the message of the book but it lacked focusing on the character's emotions. Vanessa didn't explore why she didn't like Tod acting 'a certain way' all the time or why she felt uncomfortable. Even more with Barry in the beginning! There were a lot of gaps in her relationships, I won't lie.

[Josephine Carnes 1]

I definitely wouldn’t classify this as a romance. There wasn’t any development in romance at all. I do think that the topics of racism and sexual assault were very well portrayed though and that those were the main topics of the book.

[Jason Felixx]

No , I don’t think it had much depth. In fact, it barely had any romantic depth and that is meant to be its primary.

[Staceyheath]

This book for me was light romance and action packed. The best part was the crime mystery portion of this book. Unfortunately it was fast and ended quickly.