Seasoned

Seasoned. Delaney Diamond. 2020. Garden Avenue Press. 326 pages. [Source: Public Library]

Delaney Diamond is back with another summer romance, and I was ready and waiting for it. I was immediately taken with her style with my introduction to her style with Johnson family a few years ago. I was more than overdue to get away with her latest, Seasoned.

Seasoned is actually a set of three stories, each following a different woman in a close-knit trio. Each woman is having her own struggles with love. Thrice-divorced Renee is a bit of self-proclaimed HOA enforcer and finds herself locked in a battle of wills with her bothersome — yet handsome — neighbor. Adelaide is unwillingly closer to her ex-husband when they have to figure out how to support their young-adult son. And Jackie still pines to add motherhood to her accomplishments that already include being a successful entrepreneur; will an old flame derail her plans?

Renee was initially unlikable for me. Despite her attempts to keep property values high and the neighborhood livable, I thought she was the neighbor from hell. The battle of wills between her and Clive was interesting to see unfold, though. Both were stubborn as hell, and I enjoyed the moments where they had to process their feelings outside the context of their attraction.

Adelaide and Hector’s story was the most enjoyable, for me. As characters, they were the two I could easily see being someone I actually knew or a situation I’d come across. Their relationship, for better or worse, was relatable and realistic. If nothing more, they highlighted the significance of communication in relationships on both sides.

Jackie’s story was a bit messy, but not nearly as much so as I braced myself for. I mean, she was dating a younger man only to find out she’d already dated his father, with whom he had an estranged relationship. She and Tyson were working through the ripple effects of their past, as well as figuring how they would even begin to create a life together with their needs and wants in such drastically different places.

Despite the title, the description didn’t quite clue me in that the three protagonists are mature women; all three were in their 40s and 50s. I found it a bit harder to connect based on their age and how that impacted some of their circumstances. They are closer to my mothers’ stage of life than my own, so the disconnect was to be somewhat expected. Nonetheless, the stories all held themes that are universal, so I latched onto that aspect. And, regardless of my ability to see myself in them fully, I appreciate that the author centered women who are often ignored in contemporary romance. Their experiences and voices are no less valid because they’re not the younger demographic.

Another not-quite critique is in how the identities of the characters played out. For me, part of relating to characters in this genre is knowing who they are. I intentionally read Black romance, or at least interracial relationships between people of color. In this book, ethnicity was treated as an afterthought but then dropped into the story at odd times. It wasn’t apparent from the start that a couple was interracial, but then it became almost central to the story. It felt like the detail was intentionally withheld, when it very readily could have been folded into the exposition.

From the description, it is not made clear that this is not a single novel with these three women at its center. Instead, it’s a set of three novellas, each with a different couple as its protagonists. I normally don’t mind novellas; here, I was actually grateful for it because of the disconnect I noted above. That being said, these characters and their stories could’ve easily stood on their own.

Seasoned continues Delaney Diamond’s line of quality stories. Although I am not the target audience and the character descriptions left something to be desired, I still found these to be interesting and entertaining. I would recommend it primarily to mature readers, but I think anyone with some relationship experience will find something to relate to with each of the novellas.