Out of the Shadow: Imagine Being Braxton Hunte’s Son (Hunte Family #2)

Arell
Rivers
Genre: 
Contemporary

King Hunte, thirty-three-year-old playboy son of a legendary rock star, has serious issues. His childhood friend Trevor is in denial about being addicted to drugs, leading to a series of significant consequences with King as collateral damage. That pops King’s bubble of wealth and privilege, and forces him into an actual workplace, where he meets Angie Russo. The thirty-year-old owner of Russo Real Estate has big career dreams far beyond her humble working-class origins. An opportunity to compete on a reality show about realtors who match buyers with homes battle each other for bragging rights and a generous financial reward offers the perfect step closer to her ultimate goal. Friction with King generates sparks from their first screen test. 

Contrasts between King’s life of spontaneous getaways to exotic locations on luxurious yachts where the idle rich indulge themselves, and Angie’s more relatable existence of deeply emotional family connections and a daily work grind that has her treading water financially offer poignant insights. Unfortunately, for most of their love story, King’s character is too petulant in his feelings of entitlement to seem worthy of smart, hard-working Angie. For more than half of their story King behaves like an annoying man-child while Angie is a fully developed adult from the beginning. Narrative pacing drags in the reality show scenes involving prospective clients. The plotline is mostly predictable except for a twist or two. Celebrating the importance of family is this story’s strength along with moments of humor for fans of cable shows that feature exclusive residential properties and the drama around buying and selling them. 

Cardyn Brooks