#BookReview: THE SUMMER OF ME by Angela Benson

Years ago I decided I was going to have the summer of Lisa. I sent my daughter to my mother's house, which was just across the river, but still, I had the house to myself. I looked forward to all of the fun and adventure I was going to have in those three months. The first week of summer I went to Crown Royal night at the Black Rep, a local theater company.  Good liquor and a good story are two of my favorite things, so this was the perfect night. My favorite DJ was hosting the event, free Crown Royal was flowing and the play, which I can't even remember at this point, was probably outstanding. Fast forward a few hours and I stumble into the house in my cute shoes and one of the many dresses I'd bought for my summer of Lisa. I didn't bother to turn the lights on because like most people, I have the layout of my house memorized. Lo and behold, I tripped over a pair of Birkenstocks in the middle of the hall, broke my big toe and spent the rest of the summer wearing those same Birkenstocks and walking with a cane while my really cute dresses hung in the closet.

When I read the synopsis for Angela Benson's The Summer of Me, I was sure I would relate to Destiny Madison. Though her exact age is never given, I would guess that she's 25 or 26, based on the age of her kids and the year she left college to have the twins. The twins have the opportunity to spend the summer in California with their father and stepmother and while it scares Destiny to let them do so, she knows that time alone will give her a chance to work an extra job and save money. It's important that she find a house near the twin's father before the school year starts so that the kids can attend a better school and be close to both of their parents, not just their father.  Even as Destiny's need for money leads to her involvement in a slightly illegal scheme, she also finds herself designing a new program for church that has her working closely with Daniel, a handsome pastor and former investigator.

Is the book predictable? Sometimes. Is that OK? Sure. Would I read another book from the author? I couldn't say for sure and here's why. I'm a stickler for time lines and characters that make sense. At one point, the wife of Destiny's ex talks about him finding a 12-step meeting he was comfortable with. Well that's good, but what was he addicted to? Did that ever play a part in his relationship with Destiny? Does it affect his relationship with his current wife? I have no idea because it's never addressed again. It seems to be irrelevant, so why even mention it?

Also, the twins are supposed to be six. They both have cellphones, talk on Facebook, Skype with their friends and make videos. I know kids today are much more technologically advanced than when I was a kid, but I don't know six year olds with Facebook accounts because Facebook doesn't allow it. Who are these other children the twins are Skyping with? Who gives a six year old a video camera? The story line could have made just a little more sense if Destiny was aged by 10 years. Sixteen year old twins doing those things make much more sense than six year old twins doing them.

Like I said, I'm not sure that I would pick up another book from the author, but it's an overall easy read. If you have a few hours on a lazy afternoon, you'll breeze through it quickly.

352 p.
Published: April 2016
Disclaimer: Copy of book received from publisher, opinions are my own.

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New Books Coming Your Way, April 19, 2016

The Summer of Me by Angela Benson
352 p. (Fiction; African-American)

As a single mother, Destiny makes sacrifices for her children-including saying goodbye for the summer so they can spend time with their father and stepmother. Though she’ll miss them with all her heart, the time alone gives her an opportunity to address her own needs, like finish getting her college degree. But Destiny’s friends think her summer should include some romance.

Destiny doesn’t want to be set up…until she meets Daniel. The handsome, warm and charming pastor soon sweeps Destiny off her feet. But is romance what she really wants? Or needs?

As the days pass, Destiny will make new discoveries—about herself, the man she’s fallen for, and the people around her. And she’ll face challenging choices. But most of all, she’ll grow in ways she never imagined, learning unexpected lessons about trust, forgiveness, and the price of motherhood…and truly become the woman she wants to be.

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Before We Visit the Goddess by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
224 p. (Fiction; India)

The daughter of a poor baker in rural Bengal, India, Sabitri yearns to get an education, but her family’s situation means college is an impossible dream. Then an influential woman from Kolkata takes Sabitri under her wing, but her generosity soon proves dangerous after the girl makes a single, unforgivable misstep. Years later, Sabitri’s own daughter, Bela, haunted by her mother’s choices, flees abroad with her political refugee lover—but the America she finds is vastly different from the country she’d imagined. As the marriage crumbles and Bela is forced to forge her own path, she unwittingly imprints her own child, Tara, with indelible lessons about freedom, heartbreak, and loyalty that will take a lifetime to unravel.

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The Blackbirds by Eric Jerome Dickey
528 p. (Fiction; African-American)

They call themselves the Blackbirds. Kwanzaa Browne, Indigo Abdulrahaman, Destiny Jones, and Ericka Stockwell are four best friends who are closer than sisters, and will go to the ends of the earth for one another. Yet even their deep bond can’t heal all wounds from their individual pasts, as the collegiate and post-collegiate women struggle with their own demons, drama, and desires.

Trying to forget her cheating ex-fiancé, Kwanzaa becomes entangled with a wicked one-night stand—a man who turns out to be one in five million. Indigo is in an endless on-again, off-again relationship with her footballer boyfriend, and in her time between dysfunctional relationships she purses other naughty desires. Destiny, readjusting to normal life, struggles to control her own anger after avenging a deep wrong landed her in juvi, while at the same time trying to have her first real relationship—one she has initiated using an alias to hide her past from her lover. Divorced Ericka is in remission from cancer and trying to deal with two decades of animosity with her radical mother, while keeping the desperate crush she has always had on Destiny’s father a secret…a passion with an older man that just may be reciprocated.

As the women try to overcome—or give into—their impulses, they find not only themselves tested, but the one thing they always considered unbreakable: their friendship.

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Under the Bali Moon by Octavia Grace
224 p. (Romance; African-American)

Exotic Bali is the perfect place to stage a wedding. If ambitious attorney Zena Shaw has her way, it'll also be the perfect place to prevent one. Zena loves her younger sister too much to watch her rush into a marriage she'll later regret. But Zena's mission hits an obstacle in the form of gorgeous Adan Douglass, the groom-to-be's brother—and the man who once broke Zena's heart.

Adan was just a college kid when he chose career ambition over love, but years later he regrets it. Now he's hoping to persuade the beautiful workaholic to join him at their siblings' union…and think about rekindling their own. From stunning beaches to magnificent temples, he'll show her everything this lush island has to offer—and hope these magical nights are only the beginning of forever…

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When I Fall in Love by Bridget Anderson
224 p. (Romance; African-American)

Ascending the corporate ladder has consumed most of Tayler Carter's adult life. Now the savvy Atlanta VP and female-empowerment speaker is ready for a well-deserved retreat. A fabulous antebellum mansion turned B and B in rural Kentucky is the perfect change of pace. But her host is no unsophisticated farm boy. Rugged hunk Rollin Coleman is educating Tayler in the wonders of natural food and down-home passion.

Transforming his family's struggling homestead into an organic cooperative is starting to pay off for Rollin. But without the right woman, it's a lonely existence. Until he introduces his alluring new guest to the pleasures of the countryside. And once his small-town community embraces her, can Rollin count on Tayler to leave her fast-paced world behind and together create a place they can both call home?

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