Review-A Good Excuse to be Bad

A Good Excuse to Be Bad by Miranda Parker
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

When I saw this on the library shelf, I was excited to read it because the description sounded interesting:
"Smart, gorgeous, and too tough for her own good, bail recovery agent and single mom Evangeline Crawford moved to the burbs for a quiet life. Fortunately, it's not turning out that way...

Angel has to admit she's feeling restless. The only excitement in her new life is her schoolgirl crush on the town's new pastor, Justus-too-Hot-to-be-Holy Morgan. But a fateful encounter and a job gone wrong at Club Night Candy in underground Atlanta is about to change all that... Soon, Angel's trying to save her divazilla twin sister from her big mouth and a scandalous murder charge, and probing a church cover-up--with none other than Justus by her side. But Angel has one more pressing concern: will Bella be ready for kindergarten? Only time will tell for this bad girl gone good whose days are once again far from boring--and hopefully far from numbered..."

Unfortunately, that description was the best thing about the book. It was a struggle to finish, as the story line was boring and repetitive and none of the characters were particularly interesting. It did pick up at the end, which bumped my rating up to a 3, but not much else was good about this.

View all my reviews
Source: Library Challenges: Outdo Yourself Challenge, Support Your Local Library, 2012 Mystery and Suspense Challenge

Review-Another Man Will

Another Man Will by Daaimah S. Poole
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Daaimah S. Poole's books are very hit or miss for me, but this one was a definite hit!

We have three sisters--Crystal, Yvette, and Dana, who are all looking for the same thing--a good man.

Crystal hopes she's finally found one in the guy who's had a crush on her since childhood. Dana crosses the color lines and ends up falling in love. And Yvette bounces back from her loser ex-husband by hooking up with a sexy older man.

I thought this was a really cute story that kept me interested from start to finish. All three characters were very likable and relatable and I enjoyed reading each of their stories. I definitely recommend this funny and engaging tale.

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

Review-Got a Right to be Wrong

Got a Right to Be Wrong by K.L. Brady
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed reading "The Bum Magnet" and couldn't wait to pick this one up and see what was next for crazy Charisse.

At the end of "The Bum Magnet" it seemed as though Charisse's long string of bums had finally come to an end. She met and fell in love with Kevin, and now they are one week from their wedding day. However, Charisse then finds out something about Kevin that makes her wonder if he is just another bum to add to her collection. Along with dealing with that, she also has her crazy family members in town for the wedding, as well as her best friend Lamar who is looking to replace Kevin as soon as he can.

This was a fantastic follow up to "The Bum Magnet." K.L. Brady does a fantastic job of making all these characters come alive and is able to keep what could have been a typical "baby mama drama" novel into an exciting page-turner. I couldn't wait to see what Charisse would do next.

I look forward to reading more of K.L. Brady's books.

View all my reviews

Source: Purchased

Challenges: Outdo Yourself Challenge, 2012 E-Book Challenge

Review-The Bum Magnet

The Bum Magnet by K.L. Brady
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I won this paperback last year from a giveaway by Diva's Bookcase and finally got around to reading it.
Charisse Tyson calls herself a bum magnet, because that's all she's seemed to be able to attract-bums. Throughout this funny and engaging read, we find out about all the bums Charisse has had to deal with--the playa playa who secretly had eight kids, the pretty boy with a wife on the side, and the deadbeat who made out with another woman in Charisse's car while she was out watching his kids. Now she meets a new guy named Dwayne, and wonders if her bum magnet curse will finally be broken.

I really enjoyed this story and I liked Charisse and all the other characters. It was a tad predictable at times, but still kept me eagerly turning the pages to read more. A great debut for author K. L. Brady.

View all my reviews
Source: Won Challenges Outdo Yourself Challenge

July Review Round Up

Should Have Known Better by Grace Octavia
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Dawn believes she has the perfect marriage, until her sorority sister from college comes to visit and decides she wants Dawn's husband for herself.

This one was just okay, didn't really like the characters, although the story line was intriguing enough to keep me reading.

View all my reviews
Source: Library
Secret Obsession by Kimberla Lawson Roby
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I have enjoyed every Kimberla Lawson Roby book I have read and this one was no exception. Paige has lived in her sister Camille's shadow all her life and she is sick of it. She has devised a devious scheme to take away everything her sister loves, starting with her husband Pierce.

This was a very quick read as I couldn't wait to figure out what Paige would do next. The only criticism I have is that Camille and Pierce were just way too naive and stupid, unbelievably so. Still, a very good read.

View all my reviews
Source: I own this
Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man: What Men Really Think About Love, Relationships, Intimacy, and Commitment by Steve Harvey
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I know I'm a couple years late on this one, and I still haven't seen the movie, but I'm glad I finally read this. Harvey fills this relationship manual with very straight-forward advice that's very easy to read. Most of it is common sense, but it was nice to hear it from a man's perspective. I also like that he kept the little personal stories and anecdotes to a minimum and the ones that were included, were interesting to read.

View all my reviews
Source: Library
Fast Break by Regina Hart
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was excited to pick this book up since it combines two things I love: romance and basketball. Plus the main character, Jackie Jones, has the same name as my mother. Jackie is the new owner of her family's team, the Brooklyn Monarchs, who are the worst team in the league. She is not too happy when she finds out that Marcus, a former NBA championship player, has signed on to be the new coach. Even worse, she wonders if he is part of a plan to sabotage the team so they will have to relocate to a new city.

This one started off really slow, and I wished there had been more romance, and less of the basketball behind-the-scenes meetings. Those parts really dragged the story down, but the romantic parts with Jackie and Marcus definitely made up for it. If this is the first in a series, I look forward to reading more.

View all my reviews
Source: Library (although I realized after reading it, that I had also already downloaded a free copy to my Nook)
Guilty Pleasures by Donna Hill
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Jake and Eva Kelly are happily married--happily married con artists, that is. They've sailed along with no problems, until one day they end up conning the wrong couple.

This is another one that I wish had been more romance and less thriller. Once I got over that part though, I did enjoy reading their antics on the cruise ship, while they tried to out-con the people after them.

View all my reviews
Source: Library

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

Review Round Up

One Way or Another by Rhonda Bowen
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This book was just okay. Toni Shields is a no-nonsense, career-driven woman who has no time for a man in her life. However, she can't fight the attraction she feels to Adam Bayne, a friend of her brother's who runs a group home for wayward boys.

I really liked all the characters, but would have liked to read more about the romance between and Adam and Toni, and less about the boys' home and Adam's past troubles. This was definitely more of a contemporary Christian fiction book, than a contemporary Christian romance.

View all my reviews

Source: Library

He Was My Man First by Nancey Flowers
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I wrote out a review for this but GoodReads ate it and I don't feel like typing it again, so I'll just say this was definitely an enjoyable, action-packed read.

View all my reviews

Source: Library

An Accidental Affair by Eric Jerome Dickey
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

EJD's recent works all seem to follow the same pattern (at least the last two I have read.) Someone commits a crime, then spends the rest of the book on the run. All the characters are the same, just different names.

In this one, writer James Thicke, flies into a violent rage, attacking Johnny Handsome, who had sex with James' wife, famous actress Regina Baptiste, on camera. James then flees away to an apartment complex, where he gives a fake name and has sex with many of the women in the building.

As I said, all the characters in these books seem to act the same way. And, just like EJD did in Tempted by Trouble with continuing to repeat Eddie Coyle's full name all the time, he does the same thing in here, with repeating characters' full names over and over (in this case, Regina Baptiste), I don't know why this bugs me so much, but I wish he would stop.

This was not a bad read at all, but again, I like the diversity and uniqueness in EJD's earlier works, that seems to be missing from his newer novels.

View all my reviews

Source: Library

Review-Do You Take This Woman?

Do You Take This Woman? by R.M. Johnson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

In this story we have Pete and Wayne who have been friends since childhood, they grew up together and call each other brothers. They end up both falling in love with the same woman, Carla. Pete saw her first, but Wayne is the one who ended up engaged to her.

However, Wayne cheats on Carla with another woman, and Pete runs to tell Carla. She then falls in love with Pete and they end up married. But that doesn't mean that Carla and Wayne are finished with each other.

This book started off very slow and I did not like any of the characters. Seriously, I thought they were all idiots and didn't understand why they would continue to participate in this little love triangle. Pete was the biggest idiot of all, since it was apparent to me that Carla never loved him, and she was better off with Wayne.

The book did pick up a bit towards the end, although it was a tad predictable. A quick read, but will leave you more frustrated than entertained.


View all my reviews

Source: Library

Challenges: Outdo Yourself Challenge, Support Your Local Library

Review-White Lines

White Lines by Tracy Brown
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

White Lines is an urban love story about a teenage girl who is addicted to crack, who falls in love with a drug dealer.

Jada left home at age 16, and soon got caught up in a world of drugs and prostitution.  She quickly becomes addicted to crack cocaine, but is able to get herself clean.  She then meets and falls in love with Born.  Born grew up with a drug dealer for a father, and as he got older, began to follow in his father's footsteps.  He and Jada fall in love, but she keeps her past drug addiction from him.

This book definitely kept me on the edge of my seat.  I enjoyed all the characters and I couldn't wait to find out what would happen with them: would Born find out about Jada's addiction?  Would she be able to stay clean or would she slide back into the comfort of the crack?

A definite must read and I can't wait to read the sequel White Lines 2: Sunny, which recently came out.


View all my reviews

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

Review-I'm Telling

I'm Telling by Karen E. Quinones Miller

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


This story had a very good premise, but was not executed well.



The main character is Faith, who when she was younger, witnessed her stepfather sexually molesting her twin sister, Hope.



Fast forward to when they are adults, Faith is a successful book editor with a loving boyfriend named Henry. Hope, on the other hand, has spent much of her time out on the streets, doing whatever she can to get drugs. Their mother takes Hope in, but throws her out once she catches Hope sleeping with the mother's boyfriend.



This story was all over the place, and the characters were never really developed. Although Hope was obviously very messed up after having been molested as a teen (since she thinks it was her fault) it was never fully explored in the novel. The ending seemed very rushed and forced, although the summary on the back of the book makes it seem as if that's a major part of the novel, when it really only ends up being about 3-5 pages at the end. I'm not sure what the purpose of Faith's friend and business partner Ann was, or her relationship with Carol. I know that it helped set up the ending (which I could see coming from a mile away) but their story was unresolved and I don't know why it had to be mentioned anyway.



Almost gave this two stars, but it did keep me interested enough to want to see what would happen, so I gave it a 3. Definitely not a must read, though.



View all my reviews

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

Review-Off the Chain

Off the Chain by Candice Dow

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


London is a young woman who just wants to love fashionably and take care of animals. Unfortunately, she flunks out of veterinarian school and is living on her best friend's couch. Things start to look a bit better for her when her friend helps her start a dog walking business and her mother gets her a job as an administrative assistant. That success is short-lived, though, when her friend kicks her out. Londod doesn't know what she will do, until her boss offers her an opportunity she can't pass up: become a call girl for his escort service. AKA a prostitute.

I really liked London as a character and thought the author did a good job of making her relatable, even though one would think a prostitute isn't really someone the average person can relate to. There were plenty of twists and turns in the book to keep me hooked. I always enjoy Candice Dow's books and this one was no exception.



View all my reviews

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

Review-Say Amen, Again

Say Amen, Again by ReShonda Tate Billingsley

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Say Amen, Again is apparently a sequel to some other books written by Reshonda Tate Billingsley, although you don't really need to read them in order to follow this book. This one is the typical two-women-fighting-over-one-man novel, only the twist here is that the man is the pastor of a prominent church, and plus both women are pregnant with his baby. His wife, Rachel, does her best to get this mistress Mary, out of their lives.

Their story really was of no interest to me, I was really more interested in the subplot, which involved Rachel's brother Jonathan. In the previous books, he had come out as a gay man, and is now living with the ramifications of that, mainly his meddling aunt who thinks he should "pray the gay away." He is also a high school counselor and is currently counseling a confused young man whose father bullies him around about being a sissy.

While I liked Jonathan's story, as a whole I wasn't too impressed with the other story lines or characters and really have no desire to read any of the other books in this series.



View all my reviews

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

Review-Scandalicious

Scandalicious by Allison Hobbs

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This was a pretty good book, that chronicles the events of three main characters. The first is Solay, the owner of the cupcake shop called Scandalicious. Solay is currently going through a love drought and decides to hire a male escort to relieve some of her pent up feelings. Deon is her hired male 'ho, and while the loving is good, Solay finds herself falling for him.

Melanee is one of the employees at Solay's shop, whom butts heads with Solay when she wants to put some new cupcakes flavors on the menu. Melanee seems like a shy, quiet, and plain young girl, but underneath that exterior is a freak. She is in a BDSM relationship with her "master" Colden, who leads her through all kinds of freaky things in the book.

Last up is Lincoln, an attractive man who thought he had the perfect marriage with two little kids, but then he finds out his wife has cheated on him with some common thug. Lincoln sets out to find who this man is and make him pay.

The book was pretty good and kept me interested, although it was a tad confusing. I didn't understand Lincoln's storyline in relation to Solay and Melanee's since it had nothing to do with them and the cupcake shop, so it seemed kind of tacked on, until it finally came together at the very end. The whole ending seemed a bit rushed.

All in all, an okay book and I did enjoy the characters. I am looking forward to reading more books by Allison Hobbs.

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



View all my reviews

Review-Diary of a Mistress

Diary of a Mistress: A Novel by Miasha

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I began reading Diary of a Mistress last Saturday morning. I figured I would read a couple of chapters before getting out of bed and starting my day. Well, about two and half hours later, I had finished the book. It was so good, I couldn't put it down and just had to keep reading to see what would happen.



Angela is a woman who has had no problems with sleeping with married men. She's mentally unstable due to her poor relationships and has been in and out of mental facilities. During her latest stint in one, her therapist tells her she should keep a diary to help her air out her feelings. Angela does--writing all about the relationship she's had with a married man named Carlos.



Monica, Carlos' wife, thought they had the most beautiful, wonderful marriage, until she receives the package in the mail that contains Angela's diary. At first she is skeptical about it, but then too many things to Angela writes about add up to things that have actually happened in Carlos and Monica's marriage.



The book was full of twists and turns that I didn't see coming and kept me on the edge of my seat. I couldn't wait to see what Monica would do and what would be the outcome of Angela's little plan. I definitely enjoyed this one.



View all my reviews

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

Review-Mama Dearest

Mama Dearest by E. Lynn Harris

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I read a few E. Lynn Harris books years ago (Invisible Life, As I Am, and something else) so I was somewhat familiar with Harris' writing styles and his characters. This book is about Yancy Braxton, a former Broadway diva who is struggling to get back on top of the game. Derailing her plans is her mother, Ava, who has recently been released from prison.

The story is very slow moving, although it does make you want to keep reading to see what Ava's plans are for Yancy and just how low she will go. I wasn't a fan of any of the characters, especially Madison B. I'm not sure why, I just didn't like her at all.

There were also a couple of grammatical errors such as tense changes in the same scene (one second it's in the past tense, the very next sentence it's in the present tense), things like that drive the English major in me crazy.

All in all, not a bad book, it just takes awhile to get into. I might have enjoyed it more if I had read the previous books about Yancy right before this one.



View all my reviews

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

Review-The Hot Box

The Hot Box by Zane

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Zane has always been one of my favorite authors and this book definitely shows why.

The two main characters are Lydia and Milena, two best friends from a small town. Despite living in the small town, Lydia has big dreams and hopes to one day make it big in New York City or Hollywood. For the time being, she's stuck working part-time as a cashier at Food Lion and living with her safe but boring boyfriend Glenn. To spice things up a bit, she's also been sleeping with Glenn's best friend Phil for years.

Milena had planned to have the perfect life. She was going to marry Jacour, a hot shot baseball player. However, she learned that he slept with some strippers at his bachelor party so she called off the wedding and went into seclusion, swearing herself off from men. That is until Jacour comes back into town and she has to find a guy to pretend to be her boyfriend, so Jacour doesn't think she needs him. Enter Yosef, a man she literally finds in the street.

As always, Zane creates colorful characters that you can relate to and a spicy, steamy plot that makes you want to keep reading. I enjoyed the little twists at the ending, especially Milena's. A definite must-read.



View all my reviews

Source: Library
Challenge: 100 Books in a Year

Review-If You Walked In My Shoes

If You Walked In My Shoes by Gwynne Forster

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



In this story we have Coreen a successful business woman who has a secret: years ago when she was a teenager she was raped by a classmate, and she gave the baby up for adoption. No one knows this, including her husband Bates and his two sons. Coreen and Bates already have enough strain on their marriage, due to her blossoming career.

Frieda Davis is the child that Coreen gave up all those years ago, and now, as a grown woman, she has vowed to find Coreen and get revenge on her for giving her up and causing her to spent years being sexually abused by her foster father. She comes up with a plan to ease her way into Coreen's life so that she can make it miserable.

The premise of this book sounded really good, but unfortunately did not live up to that. It dragged on in many parts and not one of the characters was likeable at all. The only thing that kept me reading was to see exactly what Frieda would do when she finally met up with Coreen and even that was a letdown. This is a generous 3-star rating.



View all my reviews

Source: Library
Challenges: 100 Books in a Year

Series Sunday Review (5)-In Between Lies

Series Sunday is a weekly meme hosted by Literary Marie. Here is my Series Sunday pick:

In Between Lies by Shawna Hill

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


In this story, we have Savannah, a successful career woman who has been hurt by love before. She cautiously enters into a relationship with Kevin, a handsome weather reporter from the local news. Kevin seems like the perfect guy, but of course he's hiding a secret: namely his ex, a crazy, stalkerish woman named Naomi. Even though Kevin is happy with Savannah, he can't resist slipping back into Naomi's bed.

This was a typical crazy-woman-stalks-man-and-his-new-woman story, but there were a few twists and turns along the way. It started off a bit slow and it took me awhile to warm up to the characters of Savannah and Kevin, (also there were quite a few grammatical errors that made the teacher in me cringe) but the story line did keep me on the edge of my seat and wanting to find out just what would happen next. I enjoyed the cliffhanger ending and I look forward to reading the next installment in this series, to see what crazy Naomi will do next.



View all my reviews

Source: downloaded
Challenges: 100 Books in a Year, Contemporary Romance Challenge, E-Book Challenge, Show Me the Free Challenge