#BookReview: The Man in 3B - Carl Weber

I'm not really sure when Carl Weber started to dislike women.  To be honest, I can't say for sure that he doesn't like them, but his portrayal of them in his latest is less than complimentary.  If I'm being fair, the men don't seem to do much better.  Quite frankly, there's not really one likable character in The Man in 3B.

When Daryl Graham moves into the building, the women (married, single and otherwise engaged) are quick to take notice.  While the women swoon over him, the men admire him.  It comes as a surprise then when he's found murdered.  What isn't a surprise is that the police suspect several of the residents of committing the crime.

The slightly overweight Connie has just been dumped by her furniture salesman husband.  So when Daryl starts to pay her attention and offers to help her with an exercise plan, she's more than willing to let him.  For Benny the electronics genius, Daryl is the older brother he never had.  While his fireman father is busy sleeping with the women of the building, Benny is taking his first forays into adulthood with Daryl as his guide.  Daryl is the one man Krystal never got over.  Even though she's engaged to Slim, she can't get Daryl out of her mind and when he happens to move into her building, she doesn't want to let him out of her bed.

As charming as he sounds, it's hard to imagine that everyone has a reason for wanting to see the mysterious Daryl Graham dead.  They do and now it's up to the police to sort out who killed him and why.

Though Weber's writing kept me interested enough to continue reading the book, I was taken aback by quite a few of his characters comments about women.  For example, when Ben first meets Daryl he offers him advice about the women in the building, saying:

"Take my advice when it comes to the women in this building.  Hit it and quit and don't get too attached 'cause all of em ain't nothing but a bunch of gold diggers and whores."

The usually respectful character of Bennie also speaks ill of women,

"Those damn cackling, conniving, low-life wenches on the stoop were half the reason I hadn't been out of my apartment..."

The blatant and unnecessary disrespect of women isn't limited to men though.  Even Krystal gets in on it, referring to other women as whores and belittling her stepmother, Connie, unmercifully.  As I said, the repeated verbal attacks on women made this book difficult to stomach. Some of the story lines were too unbelievable and it seemed quite convenient that some of the characters just happened to live in the same building.  While I usually like Weber's writing, and I know others will disagree, this one was just too far reaching for me and seems to be his worst work to date.

336pp
Published: January 2013
Disclosure: Copy of book received from publisher, opinions are my own.

Theme: Theme from "227"

#BookReview: The Choir Director - Carl Weber

You know what doesn't work for me? Books that look alike.  Much like Kimberla Lawson Roby's bad preacher series covers, Carl Weber's covers are all starting to look alike. And you know what that means? It means I can't tell the difference between them and I'm probably less likely to read them.  On the flip side, there are probably fans of both authors that appreciate the uniformity of covers because it makes them easy to find in stores and libraries

The Choir Director is the follow up to The Preacher's Son and The First Lady.  Though I don't remember either title, at some point I read The First Lady because a few of the characters were familiar.  The fact that it took me so long to remember them didn't bode well for the book.  Simply put, the story lines are forgettable, as are the characters.

In the latest installment centered around Bishop T.K. Wilson and his First Lady, Monique, the pastor finds himself trying to put his church family back together after the stunning revelation that his married choir director had been sleeping with male choir members and was outted by his wife during Sunday service.  On top of that, the churches board of directors seems to have turned against the pastor and is determined to have him ousted as the leader of First Jamaica Ministries.  Can a choir director from a small town in Virginia really be the answer to all that ails the church?  Well sure.  This is fiction, after all. 

What did you like about this book?
As with most Weber books, this was a quick and easy read.

What didn't you like about this book?
The characters just weren't memorable, especially for this to be the third book in this series.  Outside of the pastor and his wife, I don't remember any of these characters from previous books.  Either they didn't exist or they weren't developed enough to stand out.

What could the author do to improve this book?
Much like Kimberla Lawson Roby needs to do with the Curtis Black series, Carl Weber needs to let this series go.

Published: February 2011
352pp

Theme: Backstabbers by The O'Jays

#BookReview: We Ain't the Brontes - Rosalyn McMillan

Does the title of the book refer to the characters in the book or the author and her famous sister? Frankly, it's hard to tell and by the time you finish this book, if you're able to, you probably won't even care.

We Ain't the Brontes is the story of authors Charity Lavender Evans and her more famous sister, Lynzee Lavender.  While Charity is all love and light, Lynzee is hell on wheels and she's determined to make her sister's life miserable.

Ok, so that's the premise of the book, now let's get into the ridiculousness of it all and why you shouldn't waste your time on it:

1. Repetitive scenes - I swear on a stack of card catalogs that some scenes were repeated no less than three times, causing me to go back to the initial scene to make sure I wasn't just imagining things.  So Lynzee plays Jedi mind games with Charity, Charity gets upset, Lynzee calls back and says, "I'm just playin'!" and Charity is all "My sister really loves me." And then 50 pages later, it happens again.
2. Know your character - So not only does Charity play a doormat to Lynzee, she also plays one to her husband.  So you're a doormat, fine, whatever.  But don't get steel in your spine in chapter 27 and then turnaround in chapter 28 and you're back to being a doormat like your "Ain't I A Woman" speech never happened.
3. If you're going to incorporate real people into your story, get your facts straight - In the opening pages, Charity is attending an awards show with Lynzee and they see Denzel Washington and his wife, Juanita.  Except Denzel's wife's name is Pauletta.  You know whose wife is named Juanita? Michael Jordan (well ex-wife, but whatevs).  So either the male character was originally Jordan and McMillan forgot to change the wife's name later or she really doesn't know who Denzel is married to and in the day of Google, um, really?
4. What in the entire All My Children hell is this? By now I'm assuming that you're not going to read this book anyway, but if you plan to, skip this part because I have a spoiler for you.  Now Charity and her husband Jett have been married for 30 years, but Jett and Lynzee slept together before Jett hooked up with Charity.  Jett and Lynzee had a daughter that Jett and Charity never knew about because Lynzee gave it up for adoption. Following so far?  So then Lynzee tells Charity that if she (Charity) doesn't tell Jett about the child that she (Lynzee) had with Jett, she'll tell him herself.  My reaction as I read it? AND SO? Charity and Jett were headed for divorce anyway, so #1 why should she care about his love child with Lynzee and #2 how does it become Charity's problem for Lynzee to hold over her head?

Like I said, this book was just ridiculous.  Every other chapter was either Lynzee and Charity fighting and making up or Charity and Jett fighting and making up.  The most interesting thing I can say about this book is it left me wondering how much of the story line was true as it relates to the McMillan sisters themselves.

What did you like about this book?













What didn't you like about this book?













What could the author do to improve this book?
There was a time when Rosalyn McMillan wrote fairly decent books.  I'm not sure if the wide gap between her last book and this one was a factor or if a change in publishers caused this one to be so poorly written, edited and lacking.  At any rate, she would do well to go back to whatever formula worked for her before because this isn't it.

288pp
Published February 2011

 

Theme: My Mistake Was to Love You by Diana Ross & Marvin Gaye

#BookReview: The Lies That Bind - D.L. Sparks

If your husband cheats on you, is it fair of him to give you a time limit for getting over it?  That topic was broached the other night on the Black 'n Bougie radio show the other night and the answers varied.  Overall, the panel of male guests said that women were expected to forgive their men, but men were not ready to be so forgiving.  Author D.L. Sparks captures that very sentiment in The Lies That Bind.

Dr. Teresa McCall is married to a cheater.  Of course, let him tell it, he only cheated because Teresa worked so much.  As a therapist building her practice, Teresa does put in long hours.  Donovan knew that when they got married, but now that he's established as a partner and owner in investment banking, he'd prefer if she stayed home and had some babies.  If she can't do that, at least cut back on her hours at work, right?

No matter how much she tries, Teresa can't get past the fact that Donovan was emotionally connected to another woman. So when the opportunity to have an affair of her own presents itself, it doesn't take much for her to give in to temptation.  After all, what's good for the goose is good for the gander.  The only problem is Teresa is in over her head and has no idea of just how much.

What did you like about this book?
It was an extremely quick read.

What didn't you like about this book?
Teresa is extremely naive.  The quickness with which she hops in bed with a stranger seems a great contradiction to the person that she is originally portrayed as.  And I know that doctors make the worst patients, but it was hard to believe that a therapist would allow marital issues fester for two years without either taking steps toward divorce or participating in serious therapy herself.

What could the author do to improve this book?
I never felt like Donovan's side of the story was truly told.  The reasons for his anger, cheating, etc. weren't explored in depth.  Given that his cheating is what drove the story line, it deserved more attention.  The best friend, Renee, seemed to swoop in occasionally to give a dose of advice, provide an alibi and invite Teri to church.  Either fleshing out the characters more or completely removing some of them would have made it a smoother, more believable, read.

227pp
Published January 2010

Theme: Cheatin' Is by Millie Jackson

#BookReview: Platinum - Aliya S. King

If you're old enough to have been reading in the early 80s, you'll remember all of the hubbub over Jackie Collins' Hollywood Wives. Just in case you're not familiar with it, it's the beginning of her steamy series about what goes on in the lives of some of the most rich and famous, but of course, names have been changed to protect the innocent.  Part of the fun in reading her books was trying to figure out who was whom.

With Platinum, Aliya S. King has become the millennium's version of Jackie Collins.  Think Hollywood Wives then replace it with the world of rap.  Think west coast and then replace it with the east coast.  Think scheming and conniving characters, then...think scheming and conniving characters.

Freelance writer Alex Maxwell is engaged to an up and coming rapper.  She's covered some of the biggest names in the industry.  An assignment from Vibe finds her interviewing the wives, fiances and girlfriends of some of the most famous men on the east coast.

Beth Saddlebrook, wife of aging rapper "Z", has been with her husband since she was 15 and he rescued her from her impoverished life in West Virginia.  The mother of four, with another on the way, she's lived a pretty spectacular life.  That's if you don't count the verbal and occasionally physical abuse, along with the cheating and drug use.  As Z's career begins its descent, his behavior becomes more sporadic and Beth is sure he's using again.

Kipenzi Hill is Beth's best friend and a star in her own right.  Working in the industry since she was 3, Kipenzi is more than ready to get out of the game and marry her long time boyfriend Jake.

The elegant Josephine Bennett is married to the hottest producer in the game.  Josephine has everything she ever wanted in Ras.  She's happy with her home and her design business.  She'd be even happier if she was able to conceive.

And finally there's Cleo Wright. Cleo's not married or dating any high powered men.  She merely sleeps with them for blackmail purposes.  Every man that's ever used her is about to have his life disrupted.  She's about to score a big payday with her tell all novel co-written with Alex Maxwell.

What did you like about this book?
This is the perfect beach read.  Though there are some disturbing moments here and there, the story never gets weighed down by them.

What didn't you like about this book?
There's been a lot of speculation on the web about whom the characters in Platinum are based on.  With few exceptions, I didn't like the characters enough to even try to figure it out.

What could the author do to improve this book?
Though I didn't particularly care for some of the characters, I can't help but to think that was the author's intention.  I would still be interested in reading a sequel because King does a great job of leaving the reader in suspense.



308pp
Published July 2010



Theme: All I Need by Method Man featuring Mary J. Blige

#BookReview: Jezebel - Jacquelin Thomas

I'm not much for Christian lit. Not that I'm a heathen, but I prefer to keep my Biblical studies separate from my reading for entertainment. I expected this book to be heavy on Biblical quotes, but it really wasn't and I think I was a little disappointed. Other than a few verses sprinkled in towards the end of the book, one could almost forget that this story was classified as Christian lit.

A modern day Jezebel, Jessie Belle convinces a visiting minister, Traynor, that she is the woman for him. Acting quickly before the women in town tell him otherwise, Jessie Belle and her mother set up a simple plan to hook him. From then the stage is set for Jessie Belle to act in whatever way she deems appropriate, or inappropriate, to get whatever it is she wants. Always staying one step ahead of her husband, she's on the verge of having everything until outside forces get in her way.

The author goes to great lengths to create the character of Jessie Belle for the reader, but little attention is paid to her husband. While his wife is working to improve his stature in the community, the good reverend is blind to her actions, seemingly to the point of being dimwitted. I'm not sure if the author realized she was portraying him this way, but it seems to be a contradiction that a former child prodigy minister could be so naive to everything happening around him. His answer for every argument with his wife is to simply ask God to handle it without bothering to find out what she's really up to. It just didn't ring true with me as a reader.

#BookReview: The Honey Well - Gloria Mallette

Ever since her mother started pimping her to pay the rent when she was 16, Arnell Rayford has tried desperately to separate herself from her mother. Recently engaged to an up and coming politician, Arnell makes the decision to cut her mother loose once and for all. Were it that easy.

Esther, or Queen Esther as she's known to those that frequent her brothel, the Honey Well, is ruthless and stops at nothing to get what she wants. And what she wants is to keep her adult daughter on a short leash by controlling her. Deciding that the only way to ensure Arnell stays under her control, Esther sets out to keep Arnell from marrying her politician boyfriend.

When a handsome stranger from Esther's past comes back into her life all hell breaks loose and no one will be the same when all is said and done.

I've seen this book at the library for years and never picked it up because I really thought I had already read it. I picked it up the other day because my stack felt too light and figured I'd just give it a browse to see if it was worth another read. To my surprise I hadn't read it before! I wouldn't say I love this book, but it was a decent read.

#BookReview: The Million Dollar Demise - RM Johnson

The Million Dollar Demise is supposed to be the last in the series that includes The Million Dollar Divorce and The Million Dollar Deception. Somehow I think there's room for either a fourth book with the same characters or a new series based on some of the existing characters.

For those that haven't read the first two books, let me bring you up to speed. Multimillionaire Nate Kenny always gets what he wants...always. When he finds out that his new bride, Monica, is unable to have children he files for divorce. Realizing that the only way to keep her from getting his money is to catch her cheating, he hires a con man, Lewis Waters, to weasel his way into her life and seduce her. Nate didn't bargain on Lewis actually falling in love with Monica and vice verse. Not only does Monica fall for Lewis, she falls for his daughter. Upset that his plan backfired, Nate sets out to destroy Lewis and uses his best friend, Freddy Ford, to do it. When that plan fails, Freddy seeks revenge on Nate for causing him to lose his house, his fiancee and their unborn child. Meanwhile, Monica learns of Lewis' deception and returns to Nate, taking with her the daughter of the now jailed Lewis, not realizing that Nate is the master mind of her unhappiness. At the close of The Million Dollar Deception Monica has moved back into Nate's house, along with Lewis' daughter, and the toddler that Nate adopted as part of his grand plan to win Monica over. A knock at the door and several gunshots later, Nate and Monica have been left for dead and little Nate is nowhere to be found.

Alright, so The Million Dollar Demise picks up with the previous book left off. Tigers don't change their stripes over night, leopards don't change their spots and Nate Kenny hasn't become an angel. Recovering from his wounds, he sits by the comatose Monica's bedside for weeks while his personal detective searches for Nate, Jr. But when his ex-fiancee', Daphanie, shows up and says she's pregnant, Nate makes plans to dump Monica as soon as she awakens.

On the run from the police in Chicago, Freddy heads down south to his ex-girlfriend's house. When he shows up with a kid in tow, she knows something's up, but she's smart enough not to ask. Recently released from prison, Lewis reaches out to Freddy to return Nate, Jr. in hopes that Nate and Monica will return his daughter to him in exchange.

Loved this book. The ending will leave you begging for more and, with any luck, RM Johnson will deliver.

#BookReview: My Husband's Fiancee - Kaira Denee

Thanks to Dawn over at Dream Relations, Inc. for sending this my way. Let me start by saying that the story lines could have been divided and produced two books instead of one.

The main character is 27 year old reality TV producer, Kimberly Rose, who's caught up in a "love thing" with an 18 year old NBA player. I can't say this is unbelievable, but I can't imagine too many mothers that would be okay with their 18 year old dating a grown woman, even if he's making grown man money.

A former stripper turned producer, Kimberly is stunned when her young hottie proposes to her and her best friend from her stripping days shows up in town. She's torn about whether she should reveal her past and if she should accept his proposal.

The side story in all of this is the reality TV show Kimberly is producing about a married man with a fiancee'. Yes, you read that right. Engaged. Married. Wife. Kids. We're to believe that two women love this man enough to move into a house with him for 12 weeks and participate in challenges that will ultimately help him decide which woman he should be with. I don't want to get up on my feminist soapbox and start spouting, but what the hell???

Anyway, the ladies move in with Eric and basically he's torn between new booty and old booty. For a short while it seems that the ladies might come to their senses and both will kick him to the curb, but eh, no such luck. Someone gets his trifling tail and is happy about it.

I was really bothered by the implausibility of both story lines, along with the proofing errors. I saw "they're" for "their" way too many times, along with "you're" for "your". It's also interesting to note that while we're not told the race of any of the other characters, though assumptions could be made based on names, the writer drops the fact that Kimberly is white midway through the book. I don't know if that was supposed to add something to the story line or not, but honestly it just made me feel some kind of way.

#BookReview: Nappily Faithful - Trisha R. Thomas

After Jake is found not guilty of killing his former business accountant, he and Venus relocate to Atlanta. Hoping to make a new start, he sells his clothing line to his best friend, Legend, and focuses on producing new artists and spending more time with his family. Things haven't been right between him and Venus since she lost the baby she was carrying when he went to trial.

Venus isn't happy with the way things are with Jake and is ready to call it quits until she receives a call from Airic. After a three year absence, he's ready to be a father to Mya, a role Jake has been filling happily.

Newly married to televangelist and speaker, Trevelle Doval, Airic realizes that it's time for him to grow up and be the father that he should have been when Mya was born. Trevelle has convinced him that Jake's recent trial and Venus' brief hospitalization for an overdose have made them unfit parents.

Former prostitute turned evangelist, Trevelle Doval, will stop at nothing to complete her perfect picture as good Christian woman. She's so busy throwing stones at Jake and Venus that she conveniently forgets that she killed her former pimp and abandoned her child in the backseat of a car. It's too bad that the presiding judge of the custody hearing remembers, because she was there to witness it all.

I had forgotten about this series until someone reminded me of it. I'm already looking forward to reading Trisha Thomas' latest, Nappily in Bloom.

#BookReview: God Ain't Blind - Mary Monroe

Annette and Rhoda have returned. Fans of Mary Monroe will remember them from the God Don't...series. Friends since grade school, Annette and Rhoda are as different as night and day. Annette has been faithfully married for ten years. On the other hand, Rhoda has been married for over twenty years and has been having an affair for the last twenty with her husband's best friend.

When Annette's husband begins to reject her after major weight loss, Rhoda encourages Annette to have an affair with a hot, young caterer. Believing that her husband is having an affair, Annette decides what's good for the goose is good for the gander. And that's where the hijinks begin.

Toss in Annette's strained relationship with Rhoda's daughter, the original bad seed; blackmail from her lover; problems with her employees, and you have the makings of a good read.

#BookReview: Basketball Jones - E. Lynn Harris

I haven't read an E. Lynn Harris book in a minute. I only picked this book up because I was running short on something to read. While some of his other books have had more sex scenes than I could ever need, this book seemed to downplay them. This is the story of two men that meet in college and become partners. While one goes on to play for the NBA and marries a woman to divert attention from his close male friendship, the other becomes his kept man. The ballplayer is blackmailed by someone threatening to expose him, it turns out to be his wife and a queen, blah blah blah. It was something to read on a lazy afternoon, but I wouldn't run out to pick this up unless you have absolutely nothing else to do.