Review-Breaking the Tied that Bind

Breaking the Ties That Bind by Gwynne Forster
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Kendra is a 30-something woman, working a dead-end job at a restaurant. She desperately wants a career in communications and has finally scraped together enough money to enroll in college. Her main problem is her mooching mother, Ginny, who does nothing but beg Kendra for money and will go through any means to get it from her. As Kendra's career and relationship dreams start to come true, she wonders if she will ever be able to break free from Ginny or if she will always be holding her back.

I've read a few Gwynne Forster books and I've noticed they are all quite similar in that she has a very old-fashioned way of writing. The way the characters speak is really not how people of today speak and that's kind of hard to get used to while reading. The characters always seem a little too impersonal and it's hard to really feel connected to them. I didn't really connect with Kendra at all, or feel sorry for her when it came to Ginny. The romance that she has with the college professor was just kind of meh to me, as was the whole book.

View all my reviews
Source: Library Challenges: Outdo Yourself Challenge, Support Your Local Library

Review-The Available Wife Part 2

Available Wife Part 2 by Carla Pennington
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A few weeks ago I read The Available Wife, the prequel to this one, in which we are introduced to feisty Niquole, who is running her own record label. She is unhappily married to Germaine, and they have two young sons. She gets her needs fulfilled by having an affair with a man named Kingston, who has some secrets of his own. Niquole is definitely a character and I couldn't read fast enough to see what kind of troubles she would get herself into and how she would get out of them. The Available Wife ended with a cliffhanger, and I was glad that I was able to find and read Part 2 not too long after. This one picks up where the other one left off, and Niquole is up to her same tricks, sneaking and scheming to get what she wants, no matter what the cost. I liked this one even better than the first. Niquole hooks up with a younger man, whom I really liked her with. The whole book was great, and my only gripe was with the way it ended, since that means there will be no Part 3 and this series is complete. Definite must read.

View all my reviews

Source: Library Challenges: Outdo Yourself Challenge, Support Your Local Library

Review-Crush

Crush by Michele Grant
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Crush is an anthology comprised of three novellas. The first, White Mocha, was written by Michele Grant, whom I've never read any of her books before. White Mocha is about a workaholic named Jayla, who begins a steamy love affair with a coffee shop owner. Although a bit predictable, I enjoyed the characters and this was the only story in this collection I liked.

The second story was Wanted: You by Lutisha Lovely, whom I've read a few books by but never been too impressed with any of them. Lois is the homely, shy, and conservative secretary of a prominent, handsome lawyer. He begins receiving erotic letters and emails, which embarrasses Lois, since she is very much in love with her boss. Throughout the story we meet a bevy of women that the letters could be from. This story started out very promisingly and I was dying to know who the letter-writer was. However, I hated the ended, so much so that it ruined the rest of the story for me.

The last story was From One Lover to Another, by Cydney Rax. I've read a few of her books and have liked them. In this story, Lorraine has recently broken up with her hip-hop, gangsta-loving, ebonics-speaking boyfriend Posse, however she hasn't been able to completely let go. She still takes his calls and thinks about him often. She starts seeing one of her coworkers Wendell, but learns that even that isn't a match made in heaven. This story was pretty boring the whole way through and I didn't like Wendell, and I definitely didn't like him with Lorraine.

All in all, this collection of short stories is a fast read, but will not leave a memorable impression at all.

View all my reviews

Source: Library

Challenges: Support Your Local Library, Outdo Yourself Challenge