It's not easy going from best friends to lovers, at least not for junior marketing executive Sienna Culpepper and former pro basketball player Tobias Holmes. Cee-Cee and Toby have always found refuge in their relationship, except when Toby experienced the injury that ended his career and their friendship suffered.

But now Toby is back in New Orleans launching a new career as a songwriter and manager for rising stars like Aria Jordan. Imagine Cee-Cee's surprise when her firm gets the Holmes/Jordan account and it is assigned to her! Cee-Cee, or Sienna as she now prefers, and Toby must find a way to work together in spite of their personal differences so that they all can reap the benefits of a successful promotional campaign.

In RELEASE ME, Farrah Rochon, a native of Louisiana, does an excellent job of transporting the reader into a city that she clearly knows well and loves. The setting influences everything from locations to food to Sienna's sister's career as a voodoo priestess. Add to that a sports backdrop and I'm hooked!

The story reminded me of one of my favorite African- American romance movies, LOVE & BASKETBALL, but what I enjoyed most was that this captivating tale explores more of the adult world of these two characters and the obstacles they must overcome as adults to find a way to come together. It also deals with triumphing in the aftermath of a painful and difficult dating experience that far too many young woman undergo. Ms. Rochon handles this situation in a delicate and sensitive manner. I didn't have an opportunity to read her debut novel but I'll certainly be on the look out for more from Ms. Rochon.