#BookReview: Loving Donovan - Bernice L. McFadden

When you choose to love someone, you agree to take on all of their baggage, knowingly or not.  The day Campbell chose to love Donovan was the day she took on the voice of ghost in his head, a domineering and ever present grandmother in his ear and a life time of watching his father just exist.  Indeed, Campbell took on much more than she knew.

Growing up, Campbell watched her father cheat on and leave his wife for another family.  As a teen mother, Campbell watched her daughter's father leave her.  As an adult, Campbell watched her best friend give herself away because the man she loved didn't love her enough.  With all those factors working against her, it would be easy to write off men, to write off love altogether.  Yet Campbell still believes in love and, though she's hesitant to seek it for herself, she's willing to take a chance.

Donovan had no business looking for love.  In all fairness, it feels like he knew that, but then he met Campbell and, for a time, logic and reasoning escaped him.  Everyone is entitled to love, but Donovan had things in his past he needed to work through before bringing anyone else into the picture.  Having been loved the wrong way in the past and the present, it's no wonder that he doesn't know how to accept being loved well and right.

Though both Donovan and Campbell come from "broken homes," Donovan's demons are more difficult to overcome.  In great part, it's because he's faced with one of them daily.  We often hear or experience mothers raising their daughters and loving their sons.  One of Donovan's biggest problems is that he's been raised by a weak father and an overbearing grandmother.  Shrouded in her love for Donovan is a need to keep him broken down enough to stay with her and, should he find the strength to leave, playing on his insecurities and fears enough to make him stay.  I find fault with Solomon, Donovan's father, as well, because its his weakness and his mother's forked tongue that is to blame for the demise of his marriage to Daisy and drives him and the young Donovan back to his mother's home.

The underlying reason for Grammy keeping first Solomon and then Donovan so close to her is selfishness and her fear of being left.  Being domineering and demeaning drove her husband away, but that's not enough to make her change her ways.  Instead, she directs her attention at Solomon, at first building him up, only to break him down later when he dares to love Daisy.  And when Donovan dares to love Campbell, she steps in and begins to slowly whittle away at the confidence that Campbell's love has given Donovan, planting seeds of doubt.

I've spent this year going back and listening to McFadden works that I've previously read.  I've heard and learned something new from each book by listening that I didn't get from reading and Loving Donovan is no exception.  Perhaps it's because there's a tendency to skim pages when reading that you can't do when listening.  However you choose to, you absolutely must give McFadden's works a try.

226pp
Published: January 2003

Theme: Hello Like Before by Bill Withers

#BookReview: Please Look After Mom - Kyung-Sook Shin

Would it take your mother's disappearance for you to realize how little you knew of her?

"Do you remember asking me a while ago to tell you something that only I knew about Mom? I told you I didn't know Mom.  All I knew was that Mom was missing.  It's the same now.  I especially don't know where her strength came from."

It's not until your wife goes missing that you even see her as your counterpart.

"Before you lost sight of your wife on the Seoul Station subway platform, she was merely your children's mother to you."

"Before she went missing, you spent your days without thinking about her.  When you did think about her, it was to ask her to do something, or to blame her or ignore her.  Habit can be a frightening thing.  You spoke politely with others, but your words turned sullen toward your wife.  Sometimes you even cursed at her.  You acted as if it had been decreed that you couldn't speak politely to your wife. That's what you did."

When 69 year old Park So-nyo goes missing, her husband and her children come to understand how little they knew of her and how much they took her for granted for so long.  Born into poverty, she married a man that she didn't know, or initially love, yet raised five children to become productive members of society.  Yet, like many adult children, she became an afterthought as they became successful, seen as an annoyance by some.

Still, their successes were all built firmly on the foundation that she set for them.  The eldest son for whom she saved and sacrificed to send to school; a younger daughter that was sent off to live with that same son to receive an even better education; the daughter who tries to manage being both a pharmacist and a mother to three, while wondering how Mom managed to raise five children and make it seem so easy and natural.

"Since she went missing, I often think: Was I a good daughter? Could I do the kind of things for my kids she did for me?  I know one thing.  I can't do it like she did.  Even if I wanted to.  When I'm feeding my kids, I often feel annoyed, burdened, as if they're holding on to my ankles.  I love my kids, and I am moved - wondering, did I really give birth to them?  But I can't give them my entire life like Mom did.  Depending on the situation, I act as if I would give them my eyes if they need them, but I'm not Mom."

Over the course of this short read, each member of the family reflects on the role Mom played in his/her life, realizing that not once did they see as anything other than their mother.  And as mothers sometimes do, she downplayed any problems she had the few times that anyone asked.  Ultimately, it's the inability to express her pain (and her family's willingness to overlook it) that leads to the disappearance of Park.

"So why did we think of Mom as a mom from the very beginning?  She didn't have the opportunity to pursue her dreams and, all by herself, faced everything the era dealt her, poverty and sadness, and she couldn't do anything about her very bad lot in life other than suffer through it and get beyond it and live her life to the very best of her ability, giving her body and her heart to it completely.

256pp
Published: April 2011

Theme: Acknowledgement by John Coltrane

#BookReview: Where Did We Go Wrong? - Monica Mathis-Stowe

Ahhh, to be young and dumb.  You couldn't pay me to go back to those days.  Reading Monica Mathis-Stowe's Where Did We Go Wrong? certainly did nothing to make me miss them.

Joy, Maxine and Gabby have been friends since their days at Morgan State University, though I'm unsure as to why Joy and Maxine have tolerated Gabby's foolishness for so long.  If you were to look up the word golddigger in the dictionary, you'd find a perfectly posed picture of Gabby.  And she's not ashamed of it either.

Never mind that she was in a relationship with a good man, when the opportunity to hook up with a pro football player came along, she hopped on it.  The day he signed a $ 75 million dollar contract was the day she stopped taking birth control.  The fact that he was already married with kids was just a small stumbling block.  When Gabby wanted something, nothing stood in her way.

Former teacher and current homemaker Maxine has the perfect family life, if you're on the outside looking in.  But she sees her attorney husband sinking them deeper into debt as he tries to keep up with the Joneses.  They can't afford their home, cars or any of the other luxury items he insists on.  Things would be much more manageable if he would allow her to go back to work, but Trent doesn't want the mother of his children to have to work, like his own mother did after leaving his abusive father.

Joy's fear of her mother has kept her from being truly happy.  Mind you, her mother isn't abusive, but she is very opinionated and, in her opinion, Joy has no business thinking about any man until she's completed her doctoral program.  She and her longtime boyfriend Allen have been sneaking around behind her mother's back since they were teens, but Allen is tired of being her secret.  If she can't be open about their relationship, he'd rather not be with her.

While Joy and Maxine seem to have each other's backs, they also have Gabby's, even though she's undeserving.  Joy and Maxine are likable enough characters, though Joy does make some rash decisions that I really questioned, but Gabby? This chick is the skankiest of all skanks.  The way she schemes and plots against others without any remorse is unconscionable.  Like Mitt Romney, even when it's obvious that she's playing a losing game, she continues to play it.  I don't know how the two of them tolerated her in college and beyond.

I'm eager to read the sequel to the book because I'm interested in finding out what happened with Joy and Maxine.  More than anything, I want to know if Gabby has changed at all and, if she hasn't, has karma finally slapped her in the face.  I can only hope so.

242pp
Published: May 2012

Theme: What About Your Friends by TLC

#BookReview: Falling Together - Marisa de los Santos

We're all familiar with the poem that states, "People come into your life for a reason, season or a lifetime."  From the first day they meet as college freshmen, Pen, Will and Cat are sure that they're destined to be in each other's lives forever.  Within their symbiotic relationship, Pen is the caretaker, Will is the thinker and Cat is the carefree spirit that makes the friendship work.

As adults, their friendship continues until the day Cat makes the decision to leave the group, with the request that they not try to find one another in the future.  Though Will and Pen try to make their friendship work without Cat, she's the missing piece of their puzzle and so they too agree to end their friendship.  But not a day goes by that Pen doesn't think of her friends and wonder if she's left an empty space in their lives as they've left in hers.

The day an email arrives from Cat asking both Pen and Will to attend their college reunion because she needs them, both are hesitant, but it's Cat, so, of course, they'll attend.  Except Cat isn't there, at least not physically, her husband is and he's the one that needs their help.

Cat's presence is felt so strongly throughout this book, though she's mostly spoken of in third person.  As much as Will and Pen adored her, I came away from this book disliking her immensely.  Pen and Will, but especially Pen, have had so much faith in her and remembered so many good things about her.  I'd agree with them that she was a light-hearted free spirit, but she was also selfish and unfeeling.  You certainly can't expect your friends to be the same way they were years ago, but to be dismissive of them as if they never played an important role in your life is cruel.

Looking back, Cat played the child to adult-like Pen and Will when they were students.  So she expected them to take care of her until she was ready to take care of herself and when she was ready to do that, she no longer had any use for them.  Like parents that sometimes fall apart when their child leaves the nest, Will and Pen fell apart without Cat.  I think that's why I dislike her so much.  It's her departure that interrupts their lives for years until she summons them.

I didn't expect to be so drawn in to Falling Together or to become so heavily invested in the characters.  Marisa de los Santos tricks the reader into caring about the characters by making them fully developed multi-dimensional characters.  This was my first read from her and I can't wait to delve into more from her.

384pp
Published: October 2012
Disclaimer: Copy of book received from publisher, opinions are my own.

Theme: Somebody That I Used to Know by Gotye

#BookReview: South by Southeast - Blair Underwood, Tananarive Due & Steven Barnes

I'm always surprised when my Twitter followers are shocked to find out that Blair Underwood writes.  Okay, really, the man is like a fine wine that just gets better with time, but he's more than just a handsome face.  In addition to being an actor with a long career that I've been drooling over since his LA Law days, he's the co-author of the Tennyson Hardwick series.  Yes, series.  South by Southeast is the fourth in a series that started with Casanegra, In the Night of the Heat and From Cape Town with Love.

To bring those of you who haven't read the previous books up to speed, here's a quick recap.  Ten is a gigolo turned actor with a side order of private investigator.  His wheelchair bound, retired police captain father and his nurse turned girlfriend, Marcela, live with him in a house he inherited from a former client.  When he's not rescuing kidnapped babies or pining over his ex-girlfriend, but still a good friend, April, he's guardian to Chela, a fiesty 17 year old that he rescued from his former madam.

Life is finally on track for Ten.  He's been handpicked by the famous director Gustavo Escobar for a part in his next zombie flick.  Temporarily relocating the family from Los Angeles to Miami is just what the doctor ordered.  Marcela will get to see her family, the captain will get to relax and Chela will have a chance to shed her LA baggage in a city where no one knows about her past as a prostitute.  But trouble has a way of finding the Hardwick clan and it's not long before Ten is thrown back into the role of protector and private investigator.

I don't know how the three authors work out writing amongst themselves.  Perhaps one of them writes the outline, someone else does character development and the third fleshes out the meat of the project.  What I do know is they seem to work seamlessly together.  Even though the only character that we have an actual image of is Tennyson, it's not difficult to imagine what the others look like based on the descriptions we're given.  Because of that, it's easier to visualize each scene as it plays out.  It's like the books are written as a screenplay, but without the stilted directions and scene set ups that you'd see in an actual screenplay.  It was reported back in August of this year that Blair Underwood signed a major development/talent holding deal with Universal Television.  Let's all keep our fingers crossed in hopes that we see Ten, Captain Hardwick, Marcela and Chela gracing our television screens in the near future.

384pp
Published: September 2012
Disclaimer: Copy of book received from publisher, opinions are my own.

Theme: Quimbara by Celia Cruz

#BookReview: Count on Me: Tales of Sisterhoods and Fierce Friendships by Las Comadres Para Las Americas

The concept of friendship that goes beyond everyday acquaintances is nothing new.  Count On Me serves to remind us of those friendships that are so strong and so important that the only word that can define them is comadre.  Told in twelve narratives, Count On Me highlights the friendships between co-workers, neighbors, confidants and complete strangers.

In Carolina De Robertis' narrative, Every Day of Her Life, we see her and others step in to complete the book of a classmate turned comadre who died before she had a chance to finish her novel.  Though completing someone else's work can be a tremendous amount of work, the deceased Leila taught Carolina and those around her so much about living and loving that they felt the need to complete her love letter to her home country of Lebanon.

In Crocodiles and Plovers, Lorraine Lopez describes her symbiotic relationship with Judith Ortiz Cofer, the mentor she initially rejected, who would eventually push her to recognize her own talent as a writer.  In return, Lorraine drives Judith around and offers her conversation or silence, depending on what she needs.

Comadrazgo fosters mutual benefit, not dependency.

My favorite narrative comes from Esmeralda Santiago in the form of Las Comais, in which she speaks of the relationship between her mother and her comadres.  From dona Zena, the praying comai, and comai Ana, the teller of dirty jokes, to dona Lola, the midwife, Esmeralda's mother was surrounded by her closest confidantes.  I think I was so moved by this story because it reminded me of my mother and what she calls her O and Ds, oldest and dearest friends.

My mother has known Barbara, Elena and Deidre since junior high.  They attended high school and college together and pledged the same sorority.  Growing up, they were a constant presence in my life.  Even today as retired grandmothers, they still hang tight, getting together for birthdays, holidays and no reason in particular to share a meal and catch up on what's going on.  A few years ago we threw a surprise birthday party for my mother.  Her O and Ds helped out by telling her they were going out to dinner and bringing her to the venue.  Another friend was miffed because I left her out of the planning and proudly told me, "I'm one of your mother's oldest and dearest friends."  I'm sure I may have appeared rude when I told her, "You may be one of her friends, but you're not one of her oldest and dearest."  Simply put, she was not a comadre.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and highly recommend it to anyone that has ever experienced the comfort that comes in knowing you have a comadre that will stand by you through thick and thin, love you when you're wrong, applaud you when you're right and glow with happiness in celebration of your accomplishments.

272pp
Published: September 2012
Disclaimer: Copy of book provided by publisher, opinions are my own.

Theme: You Gotta Be by Des'ree

#BookReview: Luther: The Calling - Neil Cross

Fans of the BBC miniseries are no stranger to the brooding figure who observes crime scenes with his hands stuffed in his pockets.  But they'll learn in Luther: The Calling where that habit came from and why lead character, John Luther, does just that.  In this prequel to the miniseries, Neil Cross introduces John Luther before we, as television viewers, come to know him.  And in introducing him this way, Cross ties up some loose ends that we weren't even aware of before.

Neil Cross will tell you that he can't imagine anyone else playing John Luther.

I've said elsewhere that the moment Idris Elba put on that coat and strutted into the room -- a big man with a big walk -- it became unimaginable to me that anyone else might ever have played the role.  Idris made Luther.

 And as you read Luther, you can clearly see and hear Idris Elba in every thought, word and action of the character.   If you've not seen the show, please know that my love of Idris does not cloud my opinion of it.  It is simply one of the most brilliantly written and acted shows I've ever seen.

DCI John Luther has a lot going on.  Though he's married to his college girlfriend, Zoe, his intense focus on his job distracts him from said marriage and home life.  But through this prequel, we learn that John has always been focused and always, somewhat, distant and withholding.  As Zoe can admit, she may not know him as well as she'd like to.

So I tell him this, all about myself.  Then I ask him about himself, and he tells me about books.  As if he's made up of all these books he's read, or was going to read.

But it's his intensity that allows DCI Luther to excel at his profession.  As he tracks down a murdering kidnapper, he pulls out all stops to locate the missing children and figure out just who the kidnapper is.  While he has all of that going on, he still takes the time to assist an elderly man that's being harassed by a couple of thugs who feel he's blocking a high dollar real estate deal.  Because that's who John Luther is.  As much as he's able to serve and protect others, he can't get a grip on his personal life.  And that could ultimately lead to his downfall.

I highly suggest fans of the miniseries give this a read as it offers a lot of insight into Luther and provides background about his friendship with Ian Reed, whom you'll remember from season one.  One character that really impressed me, that I don't recall seeing in the television series, is DS Isobel Howie.  She fulfills the role that we see played by Justin Ripley in the series.  But where DS Justin Ripley is just a fringe character in the book, he plays a major role as Luther's subordinate on TV, and DS Howie disappears altogether.  I would have loved to find out what happens to her character.

For those wondering if you can read this book without seeing the series and still be able to follow along, yes!  This lays the groundwork for what's to come in the series.  If you've seen the series and you wonder if you'll be bored with a prequel, no!  Like I said earlier, this serves to tie up loose ends you were unaware of and provides more background on the complicated character, Luther.  For lovers and newcomers to the show, this book is well worth a read.

336pp
Published: September 2012
Disclaimer: Copy of book provided by publisher, opinions are my own.

Theme: Paradise Circus - Massive Attack

#BookReview: HALF OF A YELLOW SUN by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Set in the late 1960s, Half of a Yellow Sun looks at southeastern Nigeria before, during and after the Biafran war.  Through the eyes of Ugwu, a 13 year old houseboy; Odenigbo, a university professor; and Olanna, the professor's fiancee', readers are given an up close glimpse of the affects of war.  To a lesser degree, we see them through the eyes of Kainene, Olanna's twin sister, and Richard, an English writer who's in love with Kainene.

When Nigeria's, which gained its independence from Britain in 1960, boundaries were initially created, Great Britain failed to take into account the 300 different cultural and ethnic groups comprised of 60 million people.  It was almost inevitable that groups would clash.  For economic reasons and cultural, ethnic and religious tensions, the mostly Igbo inhabited, oil rich area of southeastern Nigeria chose to secede and create their own state of Biafra.  The result of this secession was the Nigerian-Biafran war.

While Odenigbo is most involved in the call for revolution, backed by Olanna, it is really Ugwu that observes and notes the changes that the household goes through over the course of three years.  He serves as a witness to Odenigbo's gatherings of other intellectuals to discuss the state of Nigeria.  He witnesses the arrival of Baby in an already tumultuous household.  And he serves in the Biafran army, giving a firsthand account of the atrocities of war.

As a British expatriate, Richard stays in Nigeria to do research for a book and because of Kainene.  Though Olanna is seen as the beautiful and intelligent twin, Kainene is the ambitious and business savvy twin.  Richard loves her direct way of speaking and falls hard for the sharp-tongued woman.  To a degree, their lives are less affected by the war, but affected nonetheless.

Through her writing, Adichie portrays every facet of emotion in her characters.  From the fall and rise of Odenigbo to the meltdown of the long suffering Olanna, the new found humanity of Kainene and the steadfastness of Ugwu, Half of a Yellow Sun is not just the story of Biafra, it's the story of her people.

448pp
Listening time: 19 hours
Published: September 2006

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#BookReview: Pretty Boy Problems - Michele Grant

...by God, I would do him on a bed of quesadillas at high noon in the middle of Times Square...

A bed of what, where and at what time? Now you know when a man is worthy of a public display and a description like that, he's got to be all that and a bag of chips (Munchos, please).  Okay, I really just took it back to the 90s with that phrase, judge me if you must.

In her latest book, Michele Grant offers us Avery Beau Montgomery.  From the moment we first meet him, it's apparent that Beau is a scamp.  With his pretty boy, model good looks and his flair for sprinkling his sentences with French (falling back on his Cajun roots), Beau is the man you call on for a romp in the hay.  If you're looking for anything more than that, you'll just be waiting, unless you're Belle Richards.

From the moment he sees her, Beau plans to get the gorgeous southern belle, Belle, in bed.  But Belle's not so quick to fall for the okey doke.  She knows Beau's kind when she sees them.  And as a former model herself, she's heard more than enough stories about Mr. Hit 'Em & Quit 'Em.  Now that they're working on a project together, it's going to be pretty hard to resist the charms of one Beau Montgomery.  If anyone can do it, it's Belle.

Fans of Grant's work may remember Beau's family from her first novel, Heard It All Before.  Beau is the older brother of Roman, one of that book's main characters, who is now married to Jewellen.  I was glad to see Roman and Jewellen make appearances.  I was even happy to see old trifling Renee.

It's rare to see romances that are told from the point of view of the male.  Though Grant does give Belle a voice, it's obvious that this is Beau's story to tell.  Readers are the first to know that he's not as confident and secure as he always appears to be, at least in the arena of love, he's pretty confident and secure in everything else.  But he's not arrogant and I appreciated that.  Had he been, he wouldn't have been likable.

As a reader of Grant's blog, Black N Bougie, and Twitter follower, @onechele, I'm familiar with her catch phrases, but it's always amusing when they pop up in her writing.  A few examples are bullshiggity and 'the Facebook,' but my absolute favorite, because I'm pretty sure it came from Michael Jackson's This Is It is

We do this with love.  It's all with the L-O-V-E.

Well played ma'am.  Well played.

320pp
Published: July 2012
Disclaimer: Copy of book received from author, opinions are my own.

Theme: Once in a Lifetime Groove by New Edition  

#BookReview: Ada's Rules: A Sexy Skinny Novel - Alice Randall

I know several people who loved this book. I've watched them gush over it and wondered, did we read the same book?  I didn't dislike the book, but I didn't love it like they did.  The biggest problem I had with it was that I couldn't decide what it wanted to be, a work of fiction or a diet guide.  I get the feeling that the author really wanted it to be both, but what if the reader only wants one or the other?

Ada Howard is a preacher's wife who has managed to pack on a few pounds over the years.  Her husband, Lucious, or Preach as he's called, says he loves her as she is, but his distance and lack of lovemaking lead her to believe otherwise.  When she receives an invite from a long ago boyfriend to her 25th college reunion, she decides to get in shape.  If Preach doesn't want her, maybe Matt Mason will.

How did Ada get out of shape to in the first place? The same way a lot of people, especially women, do.  Burdened with caring for elderly parents, raising two daughters of her own, running her own business and being a wife, Ada neglected herself.  As Ada begins her journey to her new self, she transforms not only physically, but mentally and spiritually.  And because she has a spirit of giving, she can't keep the things she learns to herself.  Her daughters, the families at her daycare center and everyone around her benefits from the changes she's making.  The only person that doesn't seem to realize how good the changes are is her husband.

While I can appreciate the author wanting to share her guide to weight loss with readers, I really wish she'd written this as either two separate books or the fictional part up front with tips for weight loss in the back or vice versa.

352pp
Published: April 2012

 

Theme: Let's Get Physical by Olivia Newton-John

#BookReview: A Wish and A Prayer - Beverly Jenkins

Like returning home for a family reunion, Beverly Jenkins takes readers back to Henry Adams, Kansas and its town members.  We first met them in Bring on the Blessings, grew to love them in A Second Helping and were amazed by them in Something Old, Something New. 

In Bring on the Blessings, we learned of this town that had been founded by freed slaves after the Civil War.  When the mayor put the struggling town up for sale on eBay, Bernadine Brown, the ex-wife of a multimillionaire purchased it and began to turn the town around.  With Bernadine's help, town residents were able to foster and adopt needy children from around the country and bring them to a place filled with love and history.

In A Second Helping the residents and kids prepare for the adoption process and readers are treated to a history lesson about an August 1st parade.  If you're as unfamiliar with it as I was when I first read about it, here's some background.   Most of us are familiar with Juneteenth, which is celebrated on June 19 to commemorate the abolition of slavery in Texas, the last state to free their slaves in 1865. August 1st celebrates the abolishment of slavery in the British empire in 1834 and was celebrated throughout towns in the United States up until 1927. To this day it is also celebrated in Barbados, Bermuda, Guyana, Trinidad & Tobago, Jamaica, Anguilla, The Bahamas, Turks & Caicos and the British Virgin Isles.

With Something Old, Something New the town prepared for the wedding of mayor Trent July and his high school girlfriend, Lily Fontaine and a few of the adopted children began to wonder about their birth parents.  As Lily and Trent moved forward with wedding plans, they were challenged with assisting their foster kids with making the transition from the new home life they had come to love to being an extended family.

A Wish and A Prayer finds the town doing battle with the neighboring mayor who insists on trying to bring a big box store to their area and wants Henry Adams to pay for it.  Riley Curry, the former mayor and hog lover, shines the spotlight on the little town when he wages a full battle against the county to keep his prized hog and involves a PETA-like organization to assist him.  And Preston Miles finally has a chance to meet his birth mother.

As with any Jenkins' book, there's a historical lesson to be learned and there's no exception with her latest.  Readers are told of the Black Army Corp of Engineers during the building of the Alaska-Canadian Highway.  Not only does it serve as a lesson for the children of town, but for the reader as well.  Jenkins always finds a way to make books entertaining and educational.  If you've not visited Henry Adams yet, there's no time like the present.

320pp
Published: April 2012
Disclosure: Copy received from publisher, opinions are my own.

 

Theme: Already Alright by Yolanda Adams

#BookReview: The Wedding Wallah - Farahad Zama

Mr. Ali of The Marriage Bureau for Rich People is still up to his usual antics.  As we saw in The Many Conditions of Love, the follow up to Marriage Bureau, the marriage bureau has taken on yet again a smaller role.  Though it was the focus of the first book in the series, it now only serves as a point of reference to tie the various characters together.

Aruna, who we initially met in Marriage Bureau, is happily married.  Even though her husband is a doctor and she can afford to be a housewife, she continues to work at the bureau and sends her salary to help support her parents and younger sister.

Rehman, the son of Mr. Ali, is heartbroken following his broken engagement to Usha.  Her family would have preferred a son-in-law with a safe profession.  Rehman tried to stay on the engineering path, but with so much unrest going on in the countryside, he feels that his talents would be put to better use by helping those less fortunate than himself.

Pari, the Ali's niece, who we met in Many Conditions is a recent widow with an adopted son.  She knows that her status as a widow limits the number of men that may be willing to marry her, but she's in no rush to remarry.  She agrees to think about a proposal from the handsome Dilawar, but he seems to be harboring a few secrets that could potentially end any thoughts of engagement.

When several characters in the book are kidnapped by a group of Naxalites, everyone is forced to come to grip with truths and consequences.  Moving more slowly than Many Conditions, which moved much slower than Marriage Bureau, I have to wonder if Zama is running out of steam.  While I can appreciate him using the books to bring awareness to social issues, I  think it's time for him to explore either another series of books or different characters to get his point across.  Although Marriage Bureau was hilarious, The Wedding Wallah falls painfully short.

352pp
Published: April 2011

 

Theme: Mauja Hi Mauja from the Jab We Met soundtrack

#BookReview: Diamond Life - Aliya S. King

When I read Platinum back in 2010, I couldn't wait for a sequel.  The author, Aliya S. King, did a great job of making you dislike the characters you were supposed to and like the characters that you should.  When I added up which characters I liked and which I despised, I came up with only a handful that I could tolerate.  It doesn't matter, because King brought most of them back for Diamond Life and introduced a few new ones.

In my review of Platinum I mentioned Jackie Collins' Hollywood Wives.  Platinum definitely gave me that kind of vibe as it focused on the women in the lives of the rappers, producers, etc.  If Platinum was Hollywood Wives-like, Diamond Life is Hollywood Husbands.  Though we were introduced to the men in the last book, and some had prominent roles, readers really get a chance to meet them this go round.

Birdie and Alex find themselves dealing with Birdie's new found fame.  Beth and Z are dealing with Z's post-rehab views on life.  Josephine and Ras find themselves adjusting to life with a new baby, while fending off an unwanted (by one) and wanted (by the other) intruder in their lives.  And Jake is having a hard time putting his life back together following the tragedy that befell his beloved wife Kipenzi.

I love that King has taken time to develop both the male and female characters.  Often times, one group tells the story from their point of view and the reader is left to draw their own conclusions as to how the other side thinks, feels or reacts.  With so many characters and story lines, it might be difficult for another author to develop both and keep readers interested in so many, but in King's capable hands, readers find themselves totally and completely immersed in everyone's story.

This was truly a can't put down book.  I've already stalked ask the author if we'll see more of these characters in the future.

So it looks like while we may not see everyone, there's a small chance that we may get to explore the Jack and Lily story line.  I'd also like to see more of Beth and Z.  They were the one couple that really had too many loose ends for me at the end.  I wasn't very clear on where they stood and King didn't give any big hints either.  I guess it's up to each reader to interpret as they choose.

416pp
Published: February 2012
Disclaimer: Copy received from publisher.  Opinions are my own.

 

Theme: The Originators by Jas & Jay-Z

#BookReview: Substitute Me - Lori L. Tharp

Thirty year old Zora Anderson has floated from place to place and job to job on a whim.  Moving on when things become too much to handle, she finds herself in New York with a place to stay, but in desperate need of a job.  The college-educated daughter of upwardly mobile parents, Zora realizes that she's not living up to the goal her parents have set for her.  Even still, the former au pair in France decides to give being a New York nanny a try.

Kate Carter is headed back to work after an extended maternity leave and the search is on to find the perfect nanny.  She has regrets about leaving her infant son home with a stranger, but figures the ad she's placed will guarantee a perfect fit.

Substitute Me: Looking for a nanny who will take care of my six-month-old baby as if he were her own.  Five full days a week.  No cooking or cleaning required.  Must love children and be prepared to show it.  References required.

Raised in a working class neighborhood, Brad Carter is hesitant to bring in a nanny to watch his son, Oliver.   While his and Kate's jobs afford them certain privileges, he's unsure that this new situation meshes well with the way he was raised.  As Kate begins to work longer hours and Brad becomes more accustomed to Zora's presence in the house, it seems that the 'substitute me' is beginning to take on additional duties that have nothing to do with baby Oliver.

It's important to note that while Zora is black and the Carters are white, their races are not necessarily the central issue.  It seems to me that the issue is one woman completely giving power over her life to someone else and then questioning it when that person steps in and does a better job at it.  Kate and her mother make racially charged comments about Zora, but if they were being honest with themselves, they would realize that her race has nothing to do with the situation Kate finds herself in. 

In Jodi Picoult fashion, Lori L. Tharp has crafted a nanny story that gives the reader all sides.  Often the story is only told from the point of view of the nanny.  In Substitute Me, you really get a chance to learn the characters and understand that perception really is reality.

What did you like about this book?
It really made me think beyond the obvious.  As a black woman, I think I see race first sometimes and sex second.  This book made me realize that in this case, while race played a small part, overall it was not caused the real conflict.

What didn't you like about this book?
Zora's relationship with Keith isn't as fleshed out as I would have liked to see it.


What could the author do to improve this book?
 I don't know that I love the cover of the book.  Nothing about it screams nanny lit or anything else that would grab my eye.  If I saw it in the bookstore, I would assume it was a thriller/murder mystery just based on its darkness.

368 pp
Published August 2010 
Disclaimer: A copy was provided by the publisher.

Theme: I'd Rather Go Blind by Etta James

#BookReview: FAIRY TALE FAIL by Mina V. Esguerra

We all know someone who's in love with the idea of love, right?  They're living life like a Disney fairytale, walking around with birds singing in their ears and bunny rabbits and squirrels following them like Snow White or Cinderella.  And then reality hits and they realize they're not Snow White or Cinderella.  They're not even Sleeping Beauty, who I always felt was the most boring Disney princess, but I digress.

Ellie Manuel loves love.  She's lived her whole life believing that her Prince Charming exists and that he'll come along and sweep her off her feet.  Well that doesn't happen.  What does happen is she falls for her friend, coworker and current Prince Charming, Don. Though working in the same office could be a testy situation, Ellie is happy to see Don day and night, until things fall apart.

You know how when you break up with someone and you share common friends, someone gets the friends when you split? Imagine that your coworkers are your friends, your only friends.  So how does one deal with a break up where she's suddenly the odd woman out at work and in her personal life? She changes departments.

Set in Manila, Mina V. Esguerra gives readers another quirky chick to cheer for in Fairy Tale Fail.  Ellie's journey from sappy dingbat to savvy adult is an absolute pleasure to watch.

What did you like about this book?
 Like her other books, Esguerra set this book in her hometown of Manila, so readers unfamiliar with customs and the culture are introduced to new and fun facts.

What didn't you like about the book?
At times, the story line was predictable.


What could the author do to improve this book?
 Other than the predictability issue, not much.

110 p.
Published April 2010
Available in Kindle format only


Purchase: Amazon

#BookReview: The Taste of Salt - Martha Southgate

Everybody has something that they're trying to hide or that they're ashamed of or would like to pretend never happened.  In a family where addiction is your legacy, it's a safe bet that if you don't confront the issue head on, it's guaranteed to rear its ugly head sooner or later, and probably when you least expect it.  And so it is with Josie Henderson and her family.

I love breathing underwater but still being safe, held, protected.  I love the weightlessness.  I never feel that the rest of the time.  Life weighs a ton.  That's why I love the water.  Nothing weighs anything there.

A marine biologist, Josie has always loved the water.  It's her escape from everything that ails her, anything that weighs her down.  As a child, the water was an escape from the destruction alcoholism brought to her happy family.  As an adult, it allows her to keep that same family at bay in Cleveland while she works in the Northeast.  But you can't run from your problems forever and when Josie's brother Tick sinks into the depths of alcoholism himself, she's forced to return home once again.  And just like that, the weightlessness that water gives her is taken away.  Back on dry land, life once again weighs a ton.

While Josie is quick to point out her father and brother's addiction, it takes her much longer to realize its affect on her.  She goes to great lengths to avoid anything that will weigh her down.  Though she's married, it's apparent that her husband loves her much more than she loves him.  Having kids would weigh her down, so even as she's approaching the time when her biological clock should be ticking out of control, she has no desire for them.  And when the weight of being in an interracial marriage weighs on her even slightly, she seeks something easier, something that weighs less.

Told from the perspectives of Josie, Tick and their parents, Ray and Sarah, The Taste of Salt is simply amazing.  Watching Ray's drinking spiral out of control so much so that it costs him the family that he dearly loves and to watch Tick do the same years later is scary, but makes you ask why would he follow his father's path knowing where it would end, having experienced it as a child.  What makes Sarah love so hard and for so long? And at one point does Josie realize that the water can't save her from everything.

What did you like about this book?
Martha Southgate's book always make me think. While I can easily breeze through works by other authors, I find that I have to give myself time to read, think and savor each word with her.

What didn't you like about this book?
I can't think of a thing.

What could the author do to improve this book?
Nothing.

288pp
Published September 2011

Theme: Aguas de Marco by Antonio Carlos Jobim & Elis Regina