Friends, you know that feeling when you’re reading a book and there’s a part of you that wants to keep reading, to hurry up and find out how everything works out in the end, but there’s also that other part of you that wants to slow down and “savor the flavor” (as we say in our family) because you just don’t feel quite ready to leave these characters? 

That was my experience reading What Eyes Can’t See by Paulette Stout. (Note – the novel is Book Three in Ms. Stout’s Bold Journeys Series; however, each novel functions as a stand-alone book.)

I know Paulette Stout through The Best of Book Marketing podcast. She is forthright and funny and generous in sharing her writing and publishing knowledge (as is her co-host Lainey Cameron). So I felt pretty confident I would enjoy reading Ms. Stout’s novel. 

What Eyes Can’t See did not disappoint. The book is long, about 420 pages, but the pages flew by. And, the story absolutely fits the author’s description of her books: “Romance with Passion and Purpose.” 

From the back cover: “A singable, bold and steamy interracial romance that tackles race and class assumptions with raw authenticity and an oh-so-satisfying ending.”

I must also highlight the Author’s Note at the beginning of the book. I was so impressed by Ms. Stout’s commitment to getting her main character, Barbara Washington, right. She “interviewed Black women and women of color to learn about their lived experiences in our society.” She “consulted books that explored the experiences of Black women in the workplace.” And, she “had amazing Black women read many rounds of my manuscript, each providing insight, depth, and texture to Barbara’s journey.” 

My copy has a number of sticky notes. This week I’m sharing some of my favorite passages:

“If I didn’t get to ‘my door’ before the stop, I’d be stuck behind the crush of bodies squeezing out like toothpaste escaping a tube.”

“My whole life was a contortion exercise. Me trying to fit in. Be just as smart. More accomplished and degreed. Agile on any field of play or courtroom. I’d been so busy plowing ahead to become the best me imaginable that I forgot the one inescapable fact that mattered most: I was Black.“

“Rejection in every facet of my life pierced my armored exterior like punched tin.” 

“Yvonne sat at reception. Besides her, Barbara and a few others I saw on the org chart, the company and its board were as diverse as a vanilla shake. Xervo would tank itself with such monolithic thinking. Innovation required a convergence of different ideas, battling it out until the best rose to the top. If everyone had the same life experience and professional backgrounds, where would the breakthrough thinking come from?”

“All my walks began south, toward the glowing arch of Washington Square Park. My Arc de Triomphe. As a child, I thought we owned the park and the arch, telling my schoolmates as much. It crushed me to learn we didn’t. But I still claimed the pale-stone juggernaut for myself. The solidness. The strength. Just seeing it and knowing human hands made it reinforced for me that anything was possible.”

“I was out of work for the first time and no one seemed to care.

“Maybe that was my fault. I projected a fiercely independent persona when I craved a caped superhero rescue. Or at the very least, someone to point me in the right direction and tell me everything would be okay. I’d never felt less fierce, and that scared me more than anything else.” 

“Funny how our eyes instinctively close when savoring something special. Chocolate, coffee, kisses. Keeping them open lets the magic escape.”

“My experiences were so different from theirs, yet underneath, we shared an unspoken knowing, adding context and depth to situations white people couldn’t see. The Black-lived experience spanned social classes, uniting us in ways people of other races wouldn’t understand. While self-preservation demanded we blur colleague slights behind rose-colored glasses, the HD lenses we wore as Black women made their generational ignorance impossible to ignore.” 

“Family expectations had dictated my choices at every turn, often countering my desires and instincts. I’d muted my inner voice for so long, it never occurred to me to let her sing.”

“Purpose warmed me from within, refilling the empty spaces in my soul.” 

“My chest heaved like I’d run a gauntlet. Which I had. I’d lived a professional life as a Black woman, withstanding slights, lewd statements, lost opportunities, tokenism, and dirty glances. I’d never admitted to myself how badly it hurt. I was too busy burying my isolation behind a smile, pretending I was fine. In my heart, I always knew I was playing a part.”

“It was impossible to guess someone’s history and background by looking at them. Know the obstacles they’d overcome. The sacrifices they’d made. The character that shone bright when all was dark. It’s what eyes can’t see.”

“But life is too short to accept what is, as if it must always be.” 

“I squeezed my eyes shut, overcome with shame.

“That’s what I’d been doing all along.

“Wishing to be white.

“The truth exploded every fiber of my being, so hard, I expected my body to careen across the room and smash against the opposite wall. I steadied myself on the armrests, bracing for the oncoming force. Harsh truths are always violent, angry at being ignored for so long. They smash and destroy while making their escape. But escape they must. Once gone, lightness is free to filter in, filling us until we emerge whole.”

Friends, I could go on. Plus, the passages I shared only illustrate one aspect of this novel. The romance between Barbara and Sebastian was … delicious, and spicy. Highly recommend this book, and am so looking forward to reading the other books in Ms. Stout’s Bold Journeys series.

Please note: I am including a link to buy the book that I’m highlighting this week. If you use my link, I do make a small commission on your purchase at no additional cost to you. I am working with Bookshop.org which also sends a portion of the profit to support local, independent bookstores.