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(More customer reviews)Aisha Ford's "Missouri Gateways" is a collection of four romantic stories about the residents of Kansas City and St. Louis, Missouri.
In the first of the stories of the anthology "Stacy's Wedding", wedding planner Stacy is an ultimate professional and in high demand. During the course of overseeing one impending wedding disaster, she loses her keys. The keys are returned to her my Max, longstanding bachelor who is attending the wedding of a friend's child. Though they don't connect at the wedding due to Stacy's skittishness about relationships, Max follows up on his interest and they are soon building a solid friendship. Drama is introduced into the story in a number of ways. Firstly is the presence of Vivian, a woman who attends church with Max and has had her eyes on him for some time. A second, more distracting, story line involves both Stacy and Max's involvement in an online reading discussion group. Their interaction in the group is not as positive as their budding romance. I found the detailed conversations of the book club an unwelcome diversion. The story was written in 1999, but could have well been written in 1959. The characters have chemistry but often respond to each other as you would expect young teens in love to react. It's very quaint. This was my least favorite of the stories in this collection.
The second story "The Wife Degree" focuses on Stacy's little sister Madison, who we were introduced to in the first story. In this story, Maddy comes face-to-face with her neighbor and childhood nemesis. She was teased merciless by Jordan and upon seeing him again is reminded of his unkind words. Jordan, on the other hand, regrets teasing Maddy who has become a beautiful and mature Christian woman. Jordan and Maddy are both secretly attracted to each other. As Jordan agrees to teach Maddy to cook, supposedly to impress a secret crush, they have to decide if they can get over their past and move forward with each other. This was a cute story of two adults navigating rocky pasts. This was a nice, heartwarming tale.
In "Pride and Pumpernickel" we move from Kansas City (the site of the first two stories) to St. Louis, where Dana (Max's little sister) is working tirelessly as the general manager for a series of "Mom and Pop" bakeries. As competition from a larger, popular bakery threatens the success of the business, the owners bring in New York City gourmet chef Ethan to revamp their menu. Dana loves the tradition of the bakery and doesn't think a major overhaul is in order. Though they disagree on the future direction of the bakery, they both agree that there is a definitive attraction for each other.
The final tale of the anthology "Whole in One" is the story Anthony (Dana's brother) and Evette, a golf instructor. When Anthony decides to take golf lessons to improve his game, he doesn't anticipate developing feelings for his golf teacher and fellow church member Evette. Having been unceremoniously dumped by her fiancé several months ago, Evette is gun shy of relationships. Her relationship with God has also suffered. As Anthony tries to get her to attend church more regularly, Evette begins to wonder if she's only an evangelistic project or if Anthony truly has feelings for her. Their growing friendship is greatly challenged when her old fiancé Justin returns to the picture after failing to make it as a golf pro. As old feelings resurface, Evette has to decide whether to go back to the old or explore her feelings for Anthony. This was perhaps my favorite of the all the stories in the anthology.
All of these stories emphasis the relationship both the men and women have with God and how that impacts their budding romances. There is a nice continuity from story to story with continual updates on the lives of characters introduced in earlier sections. These stories have a 19th century feel to them in many ways, with many of the characters having a certain wide-eyed innocence about them. Other than the rough start of the first story, I found each additional story more satisfying.
In my opinion, Ms. Ford's "Flippin' the Script" is a much more enjoyable, modern day romance story. Having read "Flippin" as my first introduction to her work, I can now see how her writing has grown. I'd recommend reading it.
Click Here to see more reviews about: Missouri Gateways: Whole in One/Pride and Pumpernickel/The Wife Degree/Stacy's Wedding (Inspirational Romance Collection)
From the land of the Gateway Arch to the City of Fountains, stirring romances occur in the bookend cities of Missouri. On the sophisticated eastern side of the state, two St. Louis career women aren't convinced that love will work for them: Dana, a tried and true bakery employee, has her doubts about a new coworker who has all kinds of innovative ideas...including those on romance. Evette, a golf teacher at her father's pro shop, just wants to give a young sportswriter tips on the game...but will she end up learning her own lessons in love? Across I-70 on the banks of the Missouri, Kansas City offers a wealth of western warmth - much needed by two women disillusioned by love: Stacy, a professional wedding planner, has seen it all - but doesn't want even a glimpse of romance in her own life. Maddy, in love with Jordan since her elementary school days, appears on the verge of winning her cherished man...but has she changed too much to be satisfied with Jordan now? Love is showing itself in the Show Me State. But when it appears, will these four young, professional, African-American women have the faith to believe in the real thing?
