What did you like least about "Deceptive Calm" by Patricia Skipper?

[James Pain]

The aspectnof the book I liked the least was the information regarding the US. It was too much and would dispel non IS citizens from reading

[Louange Masiga]

I agree that there should have been some indication about the extreme sexual content of this book. I was so excited to purchase and read a novel with an interesting plot. But I had to skip around the sexual stuff so much, it was really uncomfortable.

[Dubem Jecinta]

The least enjoyable aspect of the book is the erratic pacing caused by time jumps. While specific events are described in great detail, the sudden fast-forwarding to other scenes can feel disjointed at times. Additionally, there were a few errors that could benefit from another round of professional editing, though they weren’t overly distracting.

[Gerry Steen]

I hated the way that Tod treated Vanessa after they were married. He was egotistical, self-centered and brutal. He was also a racist and sexual predator. I also did not like the way women devalued themselves to be with him.

[Melissa Morton Miller]

My least favorite part of the book was the drastic change in the behavior of Tod after he married Vanessa. He acted as if she was his property and treated her as such, not caring how it made her feel. The way he abused her and expected her to just take it was abhorrent to me. I really did not like how she responded to the abuse, taking it as her due.

[Hay-bee Tosan]

The historical inaccuracies were a significant downside. The misrepresentation of key historical events, such as the timing of Dr. Martin Luther King’s assassination and Governor McNair’s declaration of martial law, made it harder to fully immerse myself in the story. The rushed ending also felt unsatisfying, as it wrapped up multiple story arcs too quickly.

[Elijah Miller]

Some of the sexual Content in the book seemed forced and unnecessary at some point. I think that's all I liked the least. Other than that, it was a great reading experience.

[David Milaham]

I think some of the historical facts were a bit unnecessary because I did not see the point of going into the tiniest detail of some historical events.

[Gift Omolade]

I have very few dislikes. First and foremost, I'm used to graphic books; however, I feel like some of the sex scenes are quite excessive and uncalled for. Not all of the sex scenes in the book need to be that detailed. I also felt like the ending was rushed a bit.

[London Baum]

The rushed ending, the entire book is building to the big moment of her being “found out” after the birth of her son and that happened with 2 chapters left. I would have liked more of the aftermath, what consequences were there for her years of deception? Where did she go, back to Charleston? Does she marry Barry? What does Trisha do? Does Tod actually go to jail?

I also really wanted the implications of the doctor telling Tod’s father BOTH parents have to carry the sickle cell gene for Brett to have it explored more. Obviously we know what that means, but I wanted details.

[Mellisa Hornes]

The ending felt a bit rushed. I wanted more of Trisha, how she ended up, and how she found happiness as well. Also, I wanted to see the aftermath of the consequences of Vanessa's vengeful husband and in-laws.

[Yasmine ZM]

The storyline is good but all the sexual scenes should have been toned down. They were not necessary for the understanding of the story, and neither for the familiarization of the characters.
There was also too much historical facts and historical names; a reader who is not familiar with US History would struggle to keep up. These historical facts were also limited to small less known events, difficult for the readers to get all the references.

[mihaela mitran 1]

I didn't like the deatils about the sex activities.

[Elizabeth Janoski]

Before you read this please understand I do understand the racial statement you were trying to imply with the plot of the book, and I do appreciate the time you took to address issues outside of your own, however I felt I had to address inaccuracies that I have noted, these might also make your literature more consumable to a larger demographic of reader (should it not already be).
Firstly, I personally strongly dislike the racial component, I would hate to make it seem racial, however coming from someone who is black, the dialogue as well as the information on black people is vastly inaccurate. Black people would never continually refer to themselves as Negro's and we don't refer to our demographic as "our race" unless we are joking, or are already on the subject of race to begin with. Black people all know, that Black people are diverse, with race but naturally occurring recessive phenotypes, typically associated with white people, by white people. Though it is largely rarer in the Black demographic, We know that we come with all colors of eyes, all textures of hair (except most American Black), all rays of skin color, all sized of features, all colors of hair (except Black Americans), and all skull frames. This is the case even between two mutually exclusive Black people (even present, and in larger quantities, on the African Continent).
Also there is a contradiction with this topic of race present from the beginning to the end of the book. In the beginning of the book, a person was mentioned as a geneticist (physiologist), which would suggest that they would know that Black people come as diverse as previously stated. However toward the end, when Tod was stated to have slept with a Polynesian, she was categorized in the same demographic as Venessa (an American Mulatto) as having "Black skin," which would suggest that in this case Polynesians and Mulattos are Black people with is a contradiction with Blacks not having straight hair as mentioned in the beginning.
Lastly, light skin and semi-straight (loose curly hair) occur naturally within the American black population. Though I understand the plot line is based upon her looking white enough to pass for the wife of a son in a wealthy family. The mulatto (mixed with white) ideology is necessary in this context. Black born to two set of black parents often do look white enough to pass for white (in todays time and through-out history)
I do appreciate your time!

I totally agree with you. There is a great deal of inaccurate cultural appropriation in this novel.

[Esther-David]

I really did not enjoy the detailed sexual scenes. I also didn't like that they weren't consensual. In addition, I didn't like that Barry and Vanessa were portrayed as romantic and ended up together. Barry forced himself on Vanessa several times.