In Harlem New York, Mae Malveaux is a wealthy young woman who knows debutante balls, wealth, prestige and traveling wherever her heart takes her. During Mae's girlhood, she has developed a crush on Alice but when its discovered that Alice is pregnant, the two are cruelly separated and lose touch of one another. As time marches on, Mae becomes a cold, cruel and a calculating widow who dares to use people for her own goals, including her cousin's daughter, an innocent musician, a self-made man that is equal to her in power and prestige, and a religious young wife. Will they be able to survive her cruel machinations or will there be casualties in this game of sex and lies?

I read Dangerous Liaisons a few years ago, and UNFORGIVABLE LOVE also stays very close to the original book, but at the same time, there is something beautiful and redemptive in this retelling. The author also focuses on major and minor details, be it a head twist that Mae may do to convey an emotion, to a story of Cecily becoming in sync with nature while away from Harlem, to Elizabeth loving how the bible sounds.

Readers will get to know the characters on a much more intimate scale than Dangerous Liaisons, which is interesting because Dangerous Liaisons is a novel created out of letters, and letters are supposed to convey an intimacy that might lack in modern novels. I also found myself uncertain when it came to Valiant Jackson, who is the equivalent to Vicomte de Valmont, because put up one front outside, but may feel something else on the inside.

For those seeking a wonderful adaptation of Dangerous Liaisons with a twist and a story that takes place in modern America, as well as a story that portrays a non-European culture, don't miss out on