Jaded by Kevin E. Taylor

Jaded by Kevin E. Taylor

Fears from the past and paranoia about the future can be a deterrent to finding true love in the present. They can make people gun-shy, looking for faults that aren’t there. They can also blind us to love when it comes and looks you in the eye. Such is the opening case in Kevin E. Taylor’s romance novel Jaded, rounding out my Pride Month reviews.

Joshua Knight, CEO of advertising firm Knight in Shining Armor, is phenomenal in running his business, having recently landed a major account. In his love life, the brotha is dealing with scars from a breakup after finding what he thought was the man of his dreams cheating with another man, and he’s taking it out on subsequent men he dates. Cynical? Check. Jaded? Check. Overthinking? Check. Looking for shoes to drop? Check. Self-sabotaging? Check. As a result, his BFF, author and poet Carlton Bridges, is often talking Joshua off the ledge.

Music producer and songwriter Elijah Monroe is a native of Louisiana, a brotha with Southern values, charm, and manners. Seeing his parents happily married for decades, he wants the total package in a relationship, a man who wants to really know him. Sadly, his brawny good looks have attracted brothas in New York who only want hookups, good times, and flings. His latest disappointment—his commitment-phobe ex Reggie, who just walked out on Elijah when he expressed that he wanted more from their relationship.

Searching for a song in an independent record store that he can’t get out of his head, Josh hears Eli singing it before he actually meets him. Bonding on their love of music, their meeting and courtship is on a different level from that first night. Eli Monroe is everything that Josh could ever want in a man and a husband, yet he is scared that the brotha is “too good to be true” as his mind seeks to sabotage himself and their growing romance. And then there’s the drama that their respective exes bring to the table…

Will Josh overcome his insecurities and accept the gift that is Eli Monroe? Will Eli be free of the toxic words of his ex Reggie and prove to Josh Knight that he’s a keeper?

I loved Taylor’s slow-burn romance between Josh and Eli. Eli’s restraint and his patience, by moving slowly with Josh, makes their love story more appealing. The music he weaves throughout the novel is beautiful—I recognized so many of the songs and the recording artists such as Nina Simone, Nancy Wilson, Mariah Carey, and Natalie Cole, to name but a few. The flavor of Manhattan, Brooklyn, Harlem, and the Village vividly takes the reader there. Josh and Eli’s happily-ever-after and faith journey is complete with all the feels, and I cheered when Josh realizes he has himself and someone else worth fighting for.

Kevin E. Taylor is the founder/pastor of Unity Fellowship Church in Brunswick, New Jersey. He is an empowerment coach and an award-winning television producer. His favorite artist is Natalie Cole, for whom he wrote the discography for her award-winning, bestselling autobiography Angel On My Shoulder. Jaded is available through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and TM3 Publications.

Thank you, Rev. Taylor, for sharing this beautiful, powerful story and reminding us of two magic words for this Pride Month—“Love wins.”