2016 Carefree Colourful Women Beach Reads

Summer is just around the corner. I know the calendar says it doesn't start until June 20, but if you're like me, it starts somewhere around Memorial Day and doesn't end until Labor Day. While some people prefer mysteries, thrillers or biographies for their beach reading, I like to keep it light. I'm sharing some of my favorite reads that pair nicely with a refreshing pina colada or Bahama Mama. Or maybe you're not planning to hit the beach this summer, but you need a palate cleanser after some of the heavier books you've been reading.  I've got you!

Some of my favorite books are about women of colour just having fun. Too often we get saddled down with other people's problems and take on the burden of the world. All you'll find in these selections are carefree, colourful women who sometimes get caught up in quirky situations, bad romances and silly schemes. All of the books are about women of colour from around the globe and were written by women of colour from around the globe. Happy reading!

The Broke Diaries: The Completely True and Hilarious Misadventures of a Good Girl Gone Broke by Angela Nissel
The Awesome Girl's Guide to Dating Extraordinary Men by Ernessa T. Carter
Imaginary Men by Anjali Banerjee
Life in Spades by Frances Frost
Waking Up in the Land of Glitter by Kathy Cano-Murillo
Confessions of a Call Center Gal by Lisa Lim
It Ain't Easy Being Jazzy by Quanie Miller
A Pinch of Ooh La La by Renee Swindle
Chore Whore: Adventures of a Celebrity Personal Assistant by Heather H. Howard
Sexual Healing/Let's Get It On by Jill Nelson
Losing To Win by Michele Grant
Fairy Tale Fail by Mina V. Esguerra
Year of the Chick by Romi Moondi
The Bollywood Bride by Sonali Dev
One Flight Up by Susan Fales-Hill

#BookReview: Imperfect Bliss - Susan Fales-Hill

In what's a clear departure from 2010's One Flight Up, Imperfect Bliss falls short of what I expected from someone that once wrote for The Cosby Show, A Different World and Linc's.  Today's television networks rely heavily on reality TV and that's the world that Fales-Hill plunges us into with her latest.

The overly dramatic Forsythia and mild mannered Harold have successfully raised four daughters.  Well, successfully may be a bit of a stretch.  Oldest daughter Victoria is just this side of becoming an old maid.  Second eldest daughter Bliss, a recent divorcee, has returned home with her four year old daughter, Bella, in tow.  Third daughter Charlotte desperately seeks attention in all of the wrong places.  And youngest daughter Diana is about to turn everyone's world upside down.

Diana undoubtedly grew up watching reality TV shows like The Bachelor, so it shouldn't have come as a shock to anyone in the family when she announces that she's been picked to star in her own reality show called The Virgin.  Always ready to claim the spotlight that is rightfully hers, Forsythia is on board from day one, but the rest of the family, especially Bliss, isn't so sure they want their everyday lives broadcast across the country for eight months.  It doesn't matter.  Eventually all of the Harcourts are swept up in the madness of The Virgin, whether they want to be or not.

There are a lot of story lines going on throughout the book and, honestly, it was hard to muster up a care about any of them.  I found Forsythia to be highly annoying with her obsession with skin color and her perceived idea of perfection.  Watching her reject her grandchild and anyone else didn't meet her standards of perfection was painful.  Charlotte as the promiscuous bad girl seeking her family's attention seemed very stereotypical.  Interestingly, the daughter upon whom the reality show is based, almost gets the smallest story line.  It's interesting that Fales-Hill would choose to build the book around Bliss, given that Diana's appearing on The Virgin is the basis for so much of the family drama and interaction.

Imperfect Bliss really could have been a much more enjoyable story  had it taken away several of the distractions in the forms of Forsythia and The Virgin and spent more time focusing on Bliss' relationship with her father, daughter and the men in her life.  I would have also loved to see more attention paid to Victoria.  In my opinion, her story line was the most interesting of all.

304pp
Published: July 2012
Disclosure: Copy received from publisher, opinions are my own.

 

Theme: We Are Family by Sister Sledge

#BookReview: ONE FLIGHT UP by Susan Fales-Hill

This is what Sex and the City would look like if they ever tried diversity, well diversity beyond Blair Underwood.  Remember the season he played a sports doctor and hooked up with Miranda of all people??? Can we just take a moment to appreciate the chocolaty goodness that is Blair though?   Can we?!?!?!  Okay, I was having a moment there, but I'm back now.

So what was I saying? Oh yes.  One Flight Up is a look at the lives of four friends in Manhattan. Graduates of the elite Sibley School for Girls, Esme, India, Abby and Monique seem to have it all, but each has secrets that they share with no one, not even their best friends.

Attorney India has enough on her plate trying to keep up with her mother's latest divorce attempt and her own whirlwind romance with French chef, Julien.  So when the love of her life stumbles back into her world, she's forced to re-evaluate quite a few things.

Abby  loves literature, but being married to a sculptor who's always on the verge of being discovered means someone has to support the family financially, so she runs her family's art gallery even though it's not her passion.

She's always played with fire, but her friends have no idea that Esme is dangerously close to getting burned.  A spoiled woman of means, she treats Manhattan as her playground and the men in it as her toys.

Though she was their tormentor at Sibley, Monique has managed to work her way into the world of the trio of friends.  She's still as brash and rude as she was at Sibley and being a doctor has only added arrogance to her list of characteristics.

Susan Fales-Hill has worked on several award winning shows from The Cosby Show and Different World to Linc's.  A Manhattanite herself, with a true global flair, it would be great to see a mini-series or network series from Fales-Hill based on these characters.

What did you like about this book?
These women are fabulous! It's rare to see colorful chick lit that features not just one, but three women of color.  Each of them is successful in her own right and boldly claims what is hers with no apologies.

What didn't you like about this book?
As fabulous as their lives were, some of the situations seemed a little unrealistic.

What could the author do to improve this book?
Make it a series please.  I'm seeing Sofia Vergara as Esme!

368pp
Published July 2011



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