Ever wonder if there is a downside to the romance story ideal of the chance meeting that leads to marriage with a beautiful, smart and wealthy man that is ga-ga over you? That is the topic explored in Crystal L. Shaw’s debut, Color Her Red.

Emma has always been a little insecure in her short but happy marriage to Thomas. He’s beautiful, brilliant, and extremely wealthy. Before they started seeing one another, Thomas, a media darling, was caught on camera with many different remarkable women. Why would he fall so deeply in love with ordinary Emma?

As the book opens, we get the answer to that question – apparently her husband and their marriage isn’t what it seems. Pictures of Thomas with another woman have been published under a headline proclaiming that the woman is his mistress. Broken hearted, Emma turns to her friend for solace and a place to hide from Thomas and the media. But once Thomas tracks Emma down, he reveals that the situation is much more complex than a simple affair.

For a debut novel this book is quite good. It’s not perfect, but is easily digested, with likable characters and a plot that flows along well. While it’s billed as romantic suspense, it leans much more heavily toward the romantic side of things. Thomas and Emma have a tough time while he regains her trust and they deal with this harsh twist in their relationship, as well as certain enemies, and the press. And always there are aggressive women making it known that they are available to Thomas. It gives you an idea of what it must be like when you’re involved with an actor or sports figure. There is fun in reading how these problems are dealt with or escaped.

A couple of things were not so admirable. I thought too much power was given to the female antagonist. Apparently she can walk through walls, turn invisible, read minds, and shield herself from injury. What started out as a creepy stalker scenario just got silly after a while. The second thing was pretty hard to get past as well. This book ends abruptly. I’m not talking about “no epilogue” kind of abruptly, I mean the type where you continue trying to turn pages on your ereader and then check the page count to make sure your book isn’t somehow truncated type of abruptly. It was jarring and left me feeling very disatisfied.

While I can’t give this book an unqualified reccommendation, I can say that its OK for an afternoon’s entertainment.