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Reviews by Shani
Dayum, that's hot! , April 4, 2008
By Nayberry "ShaniReviews" (Opelika, Alabama) - See all my reviews
This is my type of book...Beginning with the first page Mo Flames puts her reader in a choke hold and doesn't let go until the last page. Desiree has every woman's fantasy when it comes to her choice of men. Well, not quite because two of the men are bad for her in different ways, but Derrick can be her "forever after" man, if she lets him. Will she? Mmmmm. After the whippin' he put on her at the air port, I would. (Gotta read the book to see what I'm talking about.)
This book takes you through one sexy scandal to another, and you will not be disappointed. Mo, I am anxiously anticipating the sequel to ONE AINT ENOUGH because I don't like the way you left a sista hanging in the end. I gots to know the outcome, ASAP, like yesterday!! Move that pin, girl. Faster...
Keep doing what you do and you got a new fan here.
Shani Greene-Dowdell
Author of Mocha Chocolate: Taste A Piece of Ecstasy and Keepin' It Tight
Overall: 4.5 stars*****
Content: 5 stars *****
Flow: 4 stars****
Imagine you loved a man enough to push that tiny thought to the back of your mind that he had been molesting your daughter. Now, imagine your daughter growing into a woman and thinking that mommy's man having sex with her was just a way of life. In Barbara Grover's Even Numbers, told by a fly on the wall, James is an ER doctor and offers Dominga the world on a silver platter, and she gladly accepts it but with a hefty cost. Her daughter, Olivia.
If only we could be a fly on the wall we would know the travesties that are happening to children every day. We have to protect the kids at all costs. Ask them questions, check them to make sure they are not being molested...and believe them if they say they are!! I recommend this book for all women with children.
The First Lady by Carl Weber
To get the bishop's heart some women of Jamaica Ministries are down for anything! I enjoyed reading this book as it was definitely one of Weber's better works. I had to read a few chapters and put it down in order to absorb all of the drama going on in The First Lady, but in the end I was glad that Bishop TK Wilson chose the woman he did. This was a great read. Recommended!
5 stars
*****
Cross My Heart by Anjel was a phenomenal debut! Singer Kia Haughton and rapper David Green have been friends since they were kids. Though Kia was overweight as a teenager, David was protective of her and secretly admired her from the sidelines. However, neither crossed the line of their friendship. After being separated as adults, David is assigned to rap on a song with Kia and they are thrust back into each other's worlds. Except this time it is different. Kia has shaped up to be a sexy 21-year-old vixen and David is as fine as ever. Can they both hold back feelings that have lied dormant for far too long?
A night in Kia's bed changes it all, but the two will have nothing close to a fairytale ending. A misunderstanding…a marriage to another woman…an unexpected package. This love affair will keep the pages turning and the sheets warm.
I read the book in 2 days, could have been 1 if I didn't have to work and sleep. I highly recommend Cross My Heart by Anjel as some great leisure reading for the relationship drama lovers and hopeless romantics.
He's A Keeper by Leila Jefferson
I won't give away the ending but Toni really has some trials to go through before she makes the decision to keep living how she is and probably end up dead OR start a new life for her and her three children.
If you love Wahida Clark's work you will be glued to HE'S A KEEPER. Definitely a page turner...5 STARS TO LEILA!
5 STARS!
Where some people get love wrong is they believe they can make love happen simply because they want it. WRONG!! A Time For Love by Linda R. Herman dispels this idea through the heartwarming journey of 22-year-old Tyanna. She goes from being the live-in other woman one day to kicked to the curb the next when Jay, who is 12 years her senior, decides he wants his wife back leaving her and their 4-year-old daughter to fend for themselves. It is not until Tyanna goes through a series of life-changing events that she truly has her time for love. This is definitely highly recommended read for anyone who enjoys a good inspiring story about redemption, forgiveness, and love.
DEFINING MOMENTS by Jacquelin Thomas
****
3.5 stars
The highly anticipated Defining Moments follows up the heart wrenching story Prodigal Husband, which is one of my favorite books by the way!! In Defining Moments, home wrecker Sheila Moore returns but with an ailing disease that takes her through life altering changes, but not without the help of God and His #1 tool ...Nicholas Washington. Nicholas spends the better part of the story trying to convince Sheila to forgive Jake Madison, the man who broke her heart when he chose his wife Tori Madison, and to accept God as the first steps to overcoming her illness. Nicholas has his work cut out for him as he opens up Sheila's heart to love man again, and eventually to experience the love of God.
Though Defining Moments' slow pace with focus on forgiveness and faith did not match it's page turning prequel, Jacquelin has managed to weave together an inspiring, yet not preachy, tale that I am glad to have a part of my book collection.
SIDELINE HO by CJ Domino 
4 stars
****
In C.J. Domino's SIDELINE HO, Nikole Freeman is as scandalous as they come giving new meaning to the word backstabber and her best friend for life, Bebe, is not excluded from her wrath. Nikole has no problem spending borrowed time with married men who in reality don't treat her all that special. Just when she finds a man who is ready to give her everything she wants, needs and more - exclusively - her past rears its ugly head threatening her only real chance at stability.
C.J. Domino did a good job of putting together a story with just the right blend of drama to keep the pages turning.
MY HUSBAND'S GIRLFRIEND by Cydney Rax |
 | IF IT AINT ONE THING...IT'S ANOTHER - The Anthology presented by DivaBooksInc.
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FROM A CATERPILLAR TO A BUTTERFLY, by Renetta Randle
****
4 stars
FROM A CATERPILLAR TO A BUTTERFLY is the beginning of a series chronicling a young girl's experience of abandonment, kidnapping, physical and sexual abuse and teenage pregnancy. In this first installment, Renetta takes the reader on a journey into her life from birth until she graduates from high school. Quickly, the reader enters Renetta's turbulent childhood and witnesses the effects that a troubled childhood has on teenagers. By the end of this read, I was left wondering if her stepfather (the molester) was ever brought to justice and if he ever abused her siblings.
The book could have benefited from editing for typos and grammar, but the message Renetta presented is of such importance and so powerful, I would recommend FROM A CATERPILLAR TO A BUTTERFLY as a continual effort to spread awareness of child abuse and molestation.
HOLY HUSTLER by P. L. Wilson
****
4 stars
Goodlove is the perfect last name for this family, as all three sons and their father are dealing with some sexual issues. Reginald is embezzling money from the church in order to live it up on the weekends with his sexy escorts. Damien's marriage to Michelle is nothing more than an agreement on paper because he is chasing every single skirt in church on Sunday, and his wife knows it. His infidelity leaves him and his wife in some very peculiar, even fatal, situations. Barry is truly in love with Amy Blackwell, the daughter of another prominent pastor. Barry has every intention to spend the rest of his days with the pure and beautiful Amy as his wife. There is only one problem - Sissy - a sexy Sunday school teacher that his flesh could not deny. Sissy's main objective is to become Mrs. Sissy Goodlove, so she sets some plans in motion to make Barry her husband, by any means necessary. Can you say crazy drama!?
HOLY HUSTLER is a bold and daring story that sheds light on subjects many Christians are uncomfortable speaking on publicly. Unfortunately, although HOLY HUSTLER is fiction, a lot of the shortcomings entertained in this book are real issues in the church.
P.L. Wilson did a very good job of creating a page turner from the beginning to the end. While HOLY HUSTLER leaves unfinished business for each of the Goodlove men, don't fret P.L. has a sequel on the way.
*****
ALL I EVER DID WAS LOVE A MAN by Sharon Denise Allison-Ottey (Review and more!)
Four stars
ALL I EVER DID WAS LOVE A MAN by Sharon Denise Allison-Ottey tells the story of Sabrena Collins, a single mother who leaves her verbally abusive husband and finally gets her life together. She finds a job that provides for her two daughters. She has a great friend, Rach, who is like a sister to her; and she has a piece of a man, Steve.
Steve starts out as a good man, but soon becomes wishy washy. Sabrena can't depend on him for anything...except to tell a good lie when he's caught awkward situations. Sabrena is in love with Steve despite the heartache he causes her. After a visit with her gynecologist, Sabrena breaks it off with Steve for good. It's a follow-up visit that will send her world into a tailspin.
For me, ALL I EVER DID WAS LOVE A MAN was a slow read, but a necessary one. The reader will be taught through experience the importance of protecting yourself when you suspect your lover is not monogamous. It also touches on AIDS among married women, which as of the 2005 statistics was on the rise among African American women.
(Here is an interesting article that I found on Let's Talk Honestly's website last week. The thing that stood out the most to me is the fact that blacks account for 56% of the new AIDS cases while we are only 13% of the population.
Also, the fastest growing age group in the AA community is 14-24. This is not only a statistic; it's an epidemic!! )HIV rate continues to climb in African American community
ATLANTA — More than 25 years into the AIDS epidemic, HIV continues to soar in the black community, accounting for more than half of the newly diagnosed infections in the U.S. in a recent yearly assessment by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
At the same time, health officials say, the African-American community has been slow to acknowledge the problem, prompting the CDC and grass-roots organizations to mark a yearly observance to bring attention to the epidemic.
Wednesday is National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, a national effort designed to mobilize blacks to get tested, educated and treated for the disease. Well-known African-Americans — including Tony Dungy, head coach of the Super Bowl champion Indianapolis Colts; entertainer Patti LaBelle; Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill.; and former Secretary of State Colin Powell — have joined the campaign by taping public-service announcements to run on radio and television.
Of the roughly 1 million people estimated to be living with HIV in the United States, 47 percent are African-American, according to CDC statistics for 2005, the most recent year for which numbers are available. Though blacks represent only about 13 percent of the U.S. population, 56 percent of the newly diagnosed cases in 2005 were African-Americans.
"The ability to manage this terrible disease has improved and more people are living healthier and longer lives, but African-Americans have been diagnosed late and are not availing themselves to treatment," said Dr. Kevin Fenton, director of the CDC's National Center for HIV, STD and TB Prevention. "The stigma within the community has prevented people from getting tested and accessing services needed to help manage infections."
African-American women are disproportionately affected, and black men who have sex with men have a much higher rate of infection than men of other backgrounds who have sex with men, Fenton said.
"HIV is closely associated with socioeconomic disparity in our country. Poverty, poor access to services and lack of knowledge all factor into this," said Fenton. "Stigma, homophobia and lack of open conversation in the black community have further compounded the problem."
To increase early detection of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, the CDC recently issued a new policy recommending that HIV testing become a routine part of medical care for Americans 13 to 64 years of age. It should be given much like a cholesterol or blood-pressure test, the CDC said, adding that patients should be allowed to refuse the HIV test if they choose.
Illinois state Rep. Mary Flowers recently introduced a bill in the Illinois legislature that would include HIV testing in routine physical examinations that Illinois students take before entering school. HIV tests would be administered during school physical exams, just as tuberculosis tests and vaccinations are given.
Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day is an important part of a comprehensive awareness program to stop the spread of the disease, according to supporters, and it helps to get the message out.
"Black people are going to have to take responsibility for themselves in this epidemic," said Debra Fraser-Howze, president of the National Black Leadership Commission on AIDS. "We have to make some serious decisions, a decision to first talk about the epidemic and a decision to own it. It is ours, with 56 percent of all new infections."
While there has been progress in confronting the disease in the black community, Fraser-Howze said, much work remains in getting the subject to the forefront in churches, schools and community groups. And while much attention has been given to the epidemic in Africa, not enough has placed on the problem in black communities in the United States, she said.
"We are in a quandary because we as African-Americans have to be concerned about what is going on in Africa. But at the same time we are concerned about Africa, we have to be concerned about South Central Los Angeles. Both have to be addressed," said Fraser-Howze. "Funds are dwindling and everybody is taking money to Africa when African-Americans are dying in this country."
THE STREET LIFE SERIES by Kevin Weeks
* * *
2.5 stars
THE STREET LIFE SERIES Is It Suicide Or Murder? by Kevin Weeks introduces Teco Jackson a.k.a. Homicide a well-known trouble maker in West Philly. Grand theft auto is Homicide's crime of choice. That's until he hooks up with Bashi, the leader of the Strictly Business (SB) crew, and moves on to a bigger and better hustle - drug dealing. When Bashi chooses Homicide to be his second in command, dissension in the ranks takes the crew through a drastic turn of events that even Bashi didn't see coming. When Bashi turns up dead, Homicide goes after the killer the only way he knows how. Will the killer be friend or foe?
Kevin Weeks has a good story line topped with a fresh style to bring to the street lit arena. I felt there was unnecessary information in the book that didn't necessary keep the plot moving forward. The book would also benefit from editing for smoother dialogue. All in all, Kevin's originality bursts throuigh the pages of this book, so I predict a better second installment in this series.
