Blueprints of Desire
A Steamy BWWM Dark Romance Novel
A couple is fast to fall in love, and just as fast to deal with opposition, in the suspenseful romance novel Blueprints of Desire.
In N. Viktoria’s tension-fueled romance novel Blueprints of Desire, an architect and a contractor fall in love despite their opposing business interests.
Van and Simone are forced to work together to build a community center in an underserved community. Van, a seasoned contractor in his late forties, is affronted when Simone’s architectural prowess and vision don’t align with his ideas for the project. Nevertheless, they develop a romantic relationship. They face a multitude of outside influences, including corrupt Mal, who threatens to ruin the project and their careers.
Reliant on fast-moving conversations, the novel starts out with Van and Simone meeting and tussling over their opposing ideas. Their sexual tension is immediately apparent: “Van felt something spark between them, electric and unwelcome.” Their relationship develops with unconvincing speed, though, and it is undermined by contrived tumult: Simone is fast to introduce Van to her parents; a few weeks later, they confess their love, and Simone demands an equal partnership. In a subsequent discussion, though, they don’t seem know “what they are” and say that they need to define their relationship. Further, Simone’s instant faith in Van strains credulity, as when she claims that she knows he is not a violent man, though she knows very little about him at the time. Van is also overprotective of Simone to an off-putting degree, even before they’ve established romantic ties.
Contradictions also undermine the story’s appeal. In one scene, Van states that Simone isn’t wearing makeup on the job site, but after a steamy encounter in a work trailer, Van’s foreman remarks that Van has lipstick on his collar. Later, Van lets his foreman and Simone know that he is going out to deal with a supplier issue; afterward, Simone seems surprised to learn that Van has been gone for hours.
Much of the book’s tension is reliant on the fact that Van and Simone’s relationship is complicated by project crises, as when Mal sabotages their construction orders and contracts. Their fights with competing construction firms are ongoing but formulaic, however. Indeed, repetitiveness sets in as the story continues. The last quarter of the book is protracted, detailing Simone and Van’s continued relationship long after the story’s climax has passed; the ending is too predictable.
In the romance novel Blueprints of Desire, a new couple contends with dangerous career adversaries.
Reviewed by
Jennifer Maveety
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