The wait is officially OVER! Finally, Karin Kallmaker's latest novel, "Because I Said So," landed in my hands!!! What a refreshing story of romance with layers of unexpected discoveries throughout the book! Not only that, but the characters, including one of the MCs, Kesa, was of mixed race and culture, different socioeconomic background and circumstances, effectively giving the whole romance perspective a fresh new spin, altogether. As if that weren't refreshing enough, the definition of "family" and "parent" was something quite outside-the-box. Kallmaker, being the brilliant tale-spinner that she is, jumped right into describing, portraying, presenting and contrasting all the nuances of cultural, lingual, socio-economic living that entailed with such fervour that I saw them as another supporting character in this biracial romance. "Because I Said So," was an incredibly fun read with some extra helpings of angst, internal and external, to elevate it to a true romance drama. Plus, I utterly enjoyed Kallmaker's mischievous play with irony when it came to the implications of the "love at first sight" experience! Sneaky! I recommend it to fans who enjoy a richly portrayed, well-written, well-researched tale of romance with a slightly different, eccentric, exotic and an all-around fun, flavour to it! I, for one, had a blast with it!--NetGally- Bugs Cheeky.