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

[Hazel Arnaiz]

The book felt more like an American history presentation than a romance story. I don't mind hot, spicy intimate situations, especially if they advance the plot. The graphic sex scenes make it appropriate for adults, and they also felt forced to draw out the romance element. I appreciate that the book makes numerous references to American history, but it occasionally felt like reading a textbook. The historical part could have been appropriate for teenage readers if the intimate scenes were only suggestive.

[Dea Ann Bridegroom]

I think the depth in this story is it has a shallow romance which becomes a story that unfolds into a attempt in murder.

[Brianna Lancaster]

If you consider her love of work romance, then no. I don't consider the portrayal of her relationships romantic at all.

[KRYSTAL Grace 19]

Yes, "Deceptive Calm" offers depth beyond its romantic plot. It explores themes of identity, prejudice, and the complexities of love and relationships. I loved all these themes  

[San Dosua]

I don't think I'd classify this as a romance story, there was definitely so much more depth in the general theme of the book. The discrimination, violence, and abuse that the characters lived through for being black were probably the main topic of this story. In addition, Vanessa has a very traumatic experience with her illegal abortion and almost dies because of it. There was maybe a bit of suspense in the last 30% of the book as well, but not much romance in my opinion.

[Joel Hensley]

I’d say Deceptive Calm had some depth in a few different ways. First, Patricia broaches the subject of running away from your problems, as Vanessa basically ran as far away from Charleston as she could. Yet her past caught up with her. And her feelings were never resolved, so not only did her past catch up with her, but she ended up back where she started like 20 years earlier, which brings up another subject of discussion, & that is being unable to move on from a relationship, whether that’s a first love or true love or, perhaps yet another subject, a love of your life, & how you can have a love of your life even though you’re married to someone else. I think I read somewhere that Burt Reynolds once said in an interview that Sally Field was the love of his life. I think it’s kinda tragic to have a love of your life & never be able to fully explore that love or make that commitment or whatever. I’ve actually known several people who loved other people, but for one reason or another, couldn’t be in a relationship with that person, which brings up another interesting subject, & that is how this modern society has affected relationships. Let’s say you meet someone & they fall for you & you for them, but you or they go off to college somewhere far away or move for work or some other reason. “Love conquers all,” right? Well, in reality, people move on, whether they resolve their feelings or not. It’s almost like society forces you to move on to satisfy its desires. And that brings my rant back to the first point, which is that even though Vanessa had built herself into a household name & commodity in San Francisco, laying on Barry in the hospital bed, she was emotionally back where she started almost 20 years ago. Finally, there’s the lie, which also intrigued me. In my review, I said that people lie for many different reasons, one of them being just allowing people their prejudices & judgments, rather than trying to explain why you’re different from them, & having to deal with the ramifications of that. That is very interesting to me, because I do that a lot, & that made me question whether it was lying or not. Anyway, there are a lot of subjects to discuss here. What are your thoughts?

[Steeve Bowen]

The story does has depth to it, and I felt I was reading something like the Oliver Twist Ask for More.

[Kristine Mariel Diaz]

Yes, the book covers so many themes that romance for me was even left aside. The strength shown by Vanessa was amazing and made me root for her to make a life on her own at the end.

[M Grogan]

Absolutely! I actually wouldn't call this one a romance...I'd regard it as a historical fiction novel with a romance subplot. The historical fiction aspects of this novel shine way more than the romantic aspects. The author includes fascinating historical details and events, and I really enjoyed that aspect of this novel. If you're a fan of Southern history, this would be a great one to pick up!

[Drue Tibbits]

I think it had depth in showing the racism of the 1960s. Younger members of this forum may not understand how blatant racism used to be. So, I think the book has depth in that area. I didn't care for the way the "romance" was portrayed.

[Rohen Kapur]

It had a good history lesson inserted neatly into it. But who gets the date of MLK's death wrong?

[Kim Bilodeau11]

I think romance was secondary to the plot. There were a lot of different themes...racism, feminism, abuse, abortion, etc. that were focused on as well.

[Chisom Miracle Nweke]

I don't think romance is the central theme to this book. And I won't literally be calling it romance, it was just sex scenes.

[Brooks Maine]

I disagree. There was no actual romantic depth. It was more of sex and work

[Alida Spies]

"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder," as the saying goes. Think about the sex scenes for instance. Tod is a user and an abuser and most women would've walked away from that relationship after a month or two. Why didn't Vanessa? She was unsure of herself and her own identity. She even thought it was great when Tod, for once, focused on pleasuring her and not only himself. Trisha was a much stronger character and who knows where Vanessa would've ended up if not for her. Another example is the bigotry of the white males. They're quite happy to indulge in sex with colored girls, but being married to one is taboo! They're even prepared to lie, cheat, blackmail and kill to protect their privileged positions. There are other examples.