Intrigue/Intriga

Antonio Colon's apartment is right across from the apartment of a very attractive woman. Once or twice, he has seen her undress when she has left her blinds up. He feels pretty guilty about it, but he can't help but admire her attractive shape. One night he goes out with his friend Carlos and meets Carlos's cousin Graciela, who is there with her friend Isabela Santiago. Antonio takes one look at Isabella and realizes that she is the beautiful woman he has seen naked.

Antonio and Isabela dance that night, and they are both very attracted to each other. Soon after they meet in the park and talk, and they realize that they have a lot in common. Both are natives of the Dominican Republic, and they both immigrated to New York City as children. They enjoy each other's company, and both wish for a relationship. But Isabela still fears physical intimacy because of an incident in her past, and Antonio is still distracted because of some problems his sister has had. And even if they can get together, can Antonio bring himself to tell Isabela that he has already seen all of her?

Antonio and Isabela are perfectly nice people. I know people like them, and you probably do too. There is nothing not to like about them. Sure, Antonio sneaked a peek at Isabela, but that was before he knew her, and what was she doing undressing with her blinds up anyway?

The problem is that these nice, nice people don't have any conflict to speak of. He likes her, she likes him. There is virtually no reason for them not to be together, but they are both afraid to actually talk about a relationship. So the crux of the plot is: "Does he like me? Does she like me?" A lot of relationships start out with that kind of uncertainty, but it doesn't make for interesting reading. In between all the wondering, we get to hear minute, uninteresting details about what the characters are wearing and what their apartments look like. In case you're wondering - and I wasn't - Isabela's TV is 27 inches and Antonio's is a more impressive 32 inches.

For those unfamiliar with Pinnacle's Encanto line, each book is printed in both English and Spanish. Intrigue contained many Spanish words and phrases in the English portion. I don't speak Spanish, but I was able to figure out roughly half of them either from context or their similarity to French. My grade was not affected by my lack of understanding, but obviously this book is targeted to Latina readers, and I think it would be best enjoyed by those who speak Spanish or at least took it in high school. For what it's worth, I looked at some other Encanto romances, and they didn't have Spanish phrases in the English portion of the book. So if you don't speak Spanish but are interested in reading an Encanto romance, there are other romances in the line that might suit your needs.

All in all, Intrigue isn't a bad book, but it's not very intriguing either. I once asked an acquaintance how she met her husband. I was expecting a five minute answer, but I got the two-hour version. It was interesting to her, because it was her drama, but it wasn't a two-hour story. Essentially, that's what Intrigue is - a two hour story that could have been told in five minutes. I'm sure it's fascinating to Antonio and Isabela, but it just didn't do much for me.

-- Blythe Barnhill

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