Runway Dreams: A Black & White Affair - Book Review

“Runway Dreams,” by T. K. Ambers is a romantic novel about a red-headed beauty named Bernadette Price who was one of two sisters from a wealthy prestigious southern family.  Their wealth came from the Price & Fitz department store, a model agency and the 365th Street Jazz Club which were all family owned.  The three enterprises had been very successful and provided them with a good deal of wealth.  In fact, their model agency was so successful that it was recognized as being top-ranked in the World. The story starts with a spicy scene of Bernadette, the youngest daughter, driving naked at 97 miles per hour down an Oklahoma highway. With Bernadette’s risqué au natural night cruise riveting your attention T. K. Ambers launches into the story of what led up to that titillating event.

Although the family was financially successful, there was strife at home. Bernie, as Bernadette was called by her friends didn’t like her parents’ quarreling but disliked her mother’s blatant affairs even more. Mom’s dalliances eventually precipitated a divorce. The divorce was mainly because her mother, Mariska, had a voracious need for sexual attention and finally got caught by a very upset Mr. Price.  Regardless of the family breakdown Bernie still had about everything a young woman could want. The one thing she still lacked in her life, was a real love.

Bernie decides to place an ad in a local online dating site, and suddenly she finds what she thinks is the man of her dreams, Mr. Martin Day. She sees in Martin a heart of gold, and he sees in her a huge pot of gold.   Against the advice of family, she still wants to marry Martin.

Even after the divorce of the parents, the adult kids, two sisters Bernie and Bell and their adopted brother Alex, work as models in the Oklahoma based family agency.  Though they had a divided family, their mother maintained an active role in their lives. Mariska, the mother, is portrayed as a philandering man chaser. Speaking from obvious experience, she reminds her daughters that men can be a white horse or a zebra in disguise. Between the two sisters, Bell, the oldest and recently out of an abusive relationship, watches as her younger sister begins a somewhat questionable relationship with the "guy she met on the internet." Is he a zebra or a white horse? 

As the story continues to unfold, the Price family tries to be supportive while things begin to spiral out of control in Bernie’s relationship with Martin Day. Just before the impending nuptials, a stranger calls with an ominous message. He claims the groom is a suspected conman which obviously creates even more concern and questions about the upcoming wedding. The thriller part of this story really takes off at full speed right after the wedding.

 If you are looking for a romance novel that is spiced up with murder, larceny, kidnapping and a few other twists and turns, Ambers’ book Runway Dreams has it all.

Sweet and spicy goes hand in hand with spicing up exotic foods, and now T. K. Ambers is adding a little of the same in her novel "Runway Dreams."