#BookReview: The Seeing Place by Aziza Eden Walker
The Blurb
Hot-shot producer Thuli Poni is holding auditions for her latest play in Cape Town. Andile Sebe is an up-and-coming star, just waiting for his big break. Thuli casts Andile and challenges him to link his painful past with the role he is portraying, leading him to open up to her. The two fall for each other and a passionate romance ensues. But when auditions open for Sins of the Fathers, the most-watched TV show in South Africa, Thuli turns cold. Will she play a part in Andile’s rise to fame, or will she hinder it? This is a story about how love can triumph against the odds if we stay humble, take risks and are willing to learn. The Seeing Place offers a very different kind of romance - between a powerful woman and a man who wants something only she can offer.
MY REVIEW
The Seeing Place takes dares to pair an older, financially independent woman with a younger male who’s struggling to make ends meet. To boot, the heroine holds the hero’s next career step in her hands. I found this combination to be a refreshing change from the norm.
Set in Cape Town, South Africa, and centred around the world of theatre, the story stays true to the modern African entertainment scene. I could relate with the story and the setting. The main characters are not stereotypical as the author takes an angle that’s not often explored – i.e. a powerful, financially stable woman who has power over the hero.
The Seeing Place takes dares to pair an older, financially independent woman with a younger male who’s struggling to make ends meet. To boot, the heroine holds the hero’s next career step in her hands. I found this combination to be a refreshing change from the norm.
Set in Cape Town, South Africa, and centred around the world of theatre, the story stays true to the modern African entertainment scene. I could relate with the story and the setting. The main characters are not stereotypical as the author takes an angle that’s not often explored – i.e. a powerful, financially stable woman who has power over the hero.
The characters are the strongest aspect of this story. Both the hero and heroine are well-rounded with strong backgrounds that form the foundation of their personalities and aspirations. They celebrate modern-day South Africa without being cliché or whitewashed. They have vices that add to the story and help the reader appreciate their growth over the course of the story.
The cover has an artsy appeal and a very African character, which will attract a certain crop of African readers. However, it does not convey romance and may, therefore, be passed up by non-African romance readers.
*Disclaimer: I received an eARC and voluntary choose to review this book.*
The cover has an artsy appeal and a very African character, which will attract a certain crop of African readers. However, it does not convey romance and may, therefore, be passed up by non-African romance readers.
*Disclaimer: I received an eARC and voluntary choose to review this book.*
Great review. You conveyed my sentiments about it very well.
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