Welcome Back, Booklovers! I always get excited when I hear about a book by a Trinidadian author. But I get extra excited when I hear the book is set in Trinidad. I don't think Caribbean Fashion Week is still a thing anymore but I remember at one point there was a big push to highlight people making moves in fashion in Trinidad and other islands. So I was intrigued by The God of Good Looks being set amongst the landscape of the Trinidadian fashion industry. I was ecstatic when I saw the audiobook was included as a May Influencer ALC as a part of Libro FM's Audiobook Listening Copies program.
Bianca Bridge is currently struggling for work as a model after her reputation is ruined when it's revealed she had an affair with the married Minster of Planning and Development. Bianca has dreams of becoming a writer and believes writing an embellished version of her mother's life will get her recognition on the literary scene. In the meantime she accepts a job from Obadiah Cortland, a ruthless makeup artist and entrepreneur who runs a local fashion magazine.
Soon Bianca starts to become more confident and find her voice wanting to push the boundaries of what types of stories the magazine can tell. Obadiah's tough demeanor also starts to change when working with Bianca makes him realize that the persona he's build to survive in the competitive fashion industry is also hindering his ability to connect with the people around him.
First I would like to say that this audiobook was well cast with Varia Williams and Alexis Rodney. They actually got the accents right instead of some the Jamaican wannabe mixes that I've heard in some audiobooks. It added a lot to this story and made the characters come alive and hearing the measured cadence in their voices when it came to certain sections.
Usually two widely different povs styles don't always work but they did here as we get Bianca's voice through diary entries while hearing Obadiah's real time account of events. These felt like real and very relatable people. I could see pieces of people I know in both characters and this novel does a great job painting a very real reality in Trinidadian society. These felt like the very real conversations about the various issues people don't necessarily want to bring out on a world stage. It wasn't sugar coated but it wasn't completely grim either. It's explored in a way that doesn't feel overly preachy.
I can see people have a problem with the romance between Bianca and Obadiah because he is very rude and nasty to her at first. But then when you hear more of his backstory and see the relationship with his sister you start to understand how he became the way he is. And you see how he does take steps to be a better communicator.
There were parts of this book that made me laugh, cry, and made my jaw drop in disbelief at the audacity.
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