Love in a Carry-On Bag by Sadeqa Johnson

Published by

Sarah Ann

on

February 20, 2012

Love in a Carry-On Bag is the 1st novel by Sadeqa Johnson.

Erica Shaw is sexy, smart, driven, and successful. She has a demanding job working for a major publishing company in New York City. When she can escape from work, she spends all her spare time with her boyfriend, Warren Prince—computer engineer by day and aspiring jazz musician by night. Unfortunately, Warren lives hours away in Washington, D.C.

Desperately in love with one another, but dedicated to their professional dreams and lives, Erica and Warren try sticking it out, but they experience frequent lover’s quarrels and communication breakdowns. As everything comes to a head, Erica and Warren are forced to re-evaluate their priorities, especially if they want to remain a couple.

Love in a Carry-On Bag is engaging because it’s real and incredibly relatable. It’s charming and sweet. Anyone who’s ever been in a relationship, long distance or not, will understand and relate to Erica and Warren and their problems.

I like how the author switches between Erica’s and Warren’s point of view to give us more intimate perspectives. The characters feel familiar, and neither is written to be perfect and mature 100% of the time, which makes them even more endearing.

This book really comes to life in chapter 3, which is called “Publicity 101.” It’s about 20 or so pages in, and describes a full day’s work for Erica at her publishing company. It discusses all her background and interests, which I suspect may have reflected the author’s enthusiasm for her own craft! In any case, I was hooked from that point on.

Love in a Carry-On Bag does focus primarily on the tribulations of long-distance romance. But I thought the settings of D.C. and New York were written so vividly and descriptive. I also loved all the pop-culture, jazz, and literary references sprinkled throughout the book.

Oh, and the sex scenes! They’re gritty, sexy, and real, just like the chemistry between Erica and Warren.

Other books by Sadeqa Johnson include:

Last Updated on December 10, 2025 by Sarah Ann

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