Urban Fiction Stories-What I've Been Missing!

From The Extreme

2011-05-19T15:56:00.000-07:00

From The Extreme

Renea Collins

The title of this book was right on point! Our main character, Rachel, was raised by a single mother along with her older sister. Their mother basically ‘ran the streets’ and left the two girls with whoever would take them. This carelessness in child rearing caused the girls to be physically, sexually, and mentally abused. Their mother wasn’t stable and even allowed men to beat her in front of the girls. Needless to say, growing up in this kind of environment led to a difficult adulthood.

I had to come back from the extreme myself after reading this book. Don’t get me wrong, the story was heartbreaking and very inspiring. But the author was kind of all over the place with the storyline going from the present, flash-backing to the past, and then back to the present again. This story has a very personal tone, so I’m not sure if it is autobiographical or not. Our protagonist in the story frustrated me to no end. She states several times in the book that she will never treat her children the way her mother treated her. But she does just that by leaving them with whoever would watch them while she chased after the latest man. The author doesn’t give much info as to whether her two daughters suffered the same fate as she did when she was young, which is something that I was very curious about throughout the book.

Growing up the way that she did, it is not surprising that Rachel would have issues with close relationships. She runs behinds men, scouring the streets late at night with her children when they don’t come home, searches sneakily for evidence of their unfaithfulness, and even tries to kill the women involved. The main character is basically reflecting on her life and realizes her past mistakes, but blames it on the lifestyle she lived before she became a Christian. But what I found particularly appalling is the little disclaimer she places near the latter part of the book. She is basically forewarning us that the rest of the story will make no sense whatsoever. Rachel kept making the same mistakes over, and over, and over again and then the conclusion to all this? For me it was the letdown of the century. This, like a few of my last reviews, is an urban Christian novel, so despite all of the drama, there is surprisingly no cussing!

I would suggest this book to readers. The author uses the story as a platform for those having trouble overcoming all of the struggles in their life. Enjoy! Happy Reading!

A Man's Worth

2011-03-27T00:30:00.000-07:00

A Man’s Worth

Nikita Lynnette Nichols

Well, in this story our "hero" Randall sees Amaryllis in a shoe store. Randall has a serious foot fetish, and Amaryllis has beautiful feet and a beautiful face to go with it. They hit it off and soon Amaryllis moves in with Randall. But there is a problem. Randall is a devout Christian and Amaryllis is not. In fact, Randall’s best friend, Cordell, is a pastor. He does not at all condone the relationship, and because of this Amaryllis hates him. Randall is deeply in love with Amaryllis and can not see how evil and deceitful she is.

This story is quite entertaining. Like Paris with Helen of Troy, and Samson with Delilah, Randall is positively whooped. He pays all of Amaryllis’s bills-even when she is extravagant-and puts up with her bad temper and smart mouth. Randall doesn’t listen to his mother or his best friend, but continues to live the lifestyle that is contradictory to what he says he believes. But yet he still attends church, sings in the choir, and counsels with people in need. Because of his “love” for Amaryllis, he is blind to see her faults and how she sabotages situations around him. The end result is much damage in Randall’s life and in the life of those around him.

There are some laugh out loud moments in this book, Amaryllis is quite funny and terribly trifling. The story somewhat takes on a turn in the end basically develops into sort of a cliché happily ever after.

This is an urban Christian novel, so it is geared towards a specific audience. Everyone may not be able to understand some of the “church” jargon, like why people have titles such as “Apostle” or “Evangelist”. I do like the author’s approach in the story and her sense of humor is portrayed through her characters. I personally don’t like the way that Pastor Cordell handled Randall’s less than holy lifestyle. I mean, what kind of good advice can a hypocrite give or what kind of a good example can a hypocrite be? But I suppose there is such a thing as “church politics”. But that is neither here nor there. It’s a good story and I recommend it. Happy Reading!

You can also follow me on Twitter (I think I'm addicted) @MissLevisa

Vee

Unconditional by A.C. Arthur

2011-02-26T17:09:00.000-08:00

Unconditional

A.C. Arthur

Genesis Press, Inc

Its been a minute, but I did recently read Unconditional by A.C. Arthur.

Abigail, or Abby, is an interior designer who has spent her adult life building her career and making a name for herself. So she is still single and doesn’t date much. Mason, a successful doctor and her older sister’s brother-in-law, comes into town during the birth of his niece and the match-making begins. Despite the tension between the families, sparks fly between the two, but threatens to come to a complete halt when Abby is diagnosed with a serious illness.

I must admit, I wasn’t too enthralled by this book. I’ll comment on a few things. During her sister’s wedding, Abby was feeling a little uncomfortable during all of the picture taking, stating how she knew she would never be pretty. But Mason was all over this woman like she was a clone of Halle Berry! I would appreciate it if an author would not put out such insinuations and then leave us hanging by not building on it. It didn’t take long at all for the lust between these two to build, so I was a little confused as to why if Abby wasn’t physically attractive.

There was a lot of predictability during this story. An example would be Mason’s reluctance to commit emotionally (although he had no qualms committing sexually). Abby had the nerve to be surprised at this, apparently not knowing that this is the norm when you sleep with a man you hardly know. But Mason seems to come around when he finds Abby’s life in danger. Mason also seems to have some kind of secret life going on that the author tried to build anticipation for, but you will most likely correctly guess what it is before it is officially presented in the story-like I did! And is it normal for a woman to encourage her sister to date her brother in law?

Abby’s illness and her journey through it will inspire some. Otherwise, it was pretty much a run of the mill romance novel. Not much else to say about this story. There was not a whole lot of excitement, drama, or humor. I’ll try to find a better one for you in the near future. So until next time…Happy Reading!

Vee

Fixin Tyrone by Keith Walker

2011-02-09T22:09:00.000-08:00

Fixin’ Tyrone

Keith Walker

So I recently read “Fixin’ Tyrone” by Keith Walker. The main character, Mia is a single mother of two who takes care of her younger sister while building a successful career. The father of her older son, Tyrone, is about to get out of prison after 6 years for selling drugs, and the father of her younger daughter died in a shooting related to drugs. But she somehow managed to overcome that and work her way through college and now apparently makes almost $100,000 a year. She is currently dating a man, but drama soon unfolds surrounding his fidelity. Then Tyrone gets out of prison with the intention for them all to be a nice happy family, regardless of who she is dating.

I will compare this book to these patent leather, bow tie, peep toe, 4 inch heels that I bought. Now I am no stranger to heels and I got a lot of compliments when I first wore them. But after a few hours of tripping over my feet and having sore toes, I was done. As soon as I got home, I kicked them off. That is the way I felt about this book. Towards the end I must say that I rushed through it just so I could say that I finished it. It seemed like a good story according to the summary, but after stumbling through all the drama, it became painful after a while. I really didn’t like the heroine in this book at all. For someone who is apparently so successful, I found her to be indecisive and caring only about appearances.

While Tyrone was in jail, she referred to him by terms such as “thug” and “bastard”. But when he gets out of prison, she is busy grinning in his face and focusing on his muscles. I think she starts leading him on by not being straight forward about not wanting an intimate relationship. And let’s be real people-no matter how good a man looks, if you saw, with your own eyes, him selling drugs under a tree in the HOOD, would you still invite him to your house and let him hang around you and your children?? But when a great guy shows interest in her and takes her out, she has the nerve to get mad when he calls to check up on her when she doesn’t call back after 3 weeks. And then she breaks up with him because one of his ex-girlfriends threw a brick through her window! Let’s weigh this on the scales:

Great guy, Good job, Never married, No children, Crazy ex-girlfriend

vs.

Ex-convict, Jobless, Repeat drug offender, Multiple stays in prison, STILL selling drugs.

Hmm….seems like a no-brainer to me!

I also didn’t see her focusing much on the traits and qualities of these men. She seemed more concerned with their material possessions, their looks, their career, and how good they were in bed. I found some scenes in this book to be unbelievable; the author didn’t really draw me in to the point where I felt that the characters were genuine in some situations, but you be the judge. These types of stories are what made me previously refuse to read urban fiction books. But if you’re into over the top drama-then you’ll enjoy this book! I think I need a break after this one, so I’ll be reading some Edgar Allen Poe for a little while. Until next time….Happy Reading!

Vee

The Man In My Basement by Walter Mosley

2011-01-30T13:48:00.000-08:00

The Man In My Basement

Walter Mosley

This week I finished The Man In My Basement by Walter Mosley. This week I also added Mr. Mosley to my list of favorite authors.

Our protagonist Charles Blakey is a black man in his early 30s. He is also unemployed and without money to pay the mortgage on the home that has been in his family for generations. He now lives in that home alone, with no real ambition in life and no definite plans to change his situation. His remaining relatives and long-time friends have gotten tired of his antics and he no longer has anyone that he can really depend on. Charles likes and thinks about alcohol a little too much, but is actually quite intelligent and reads many books on various subjects while he is alone in his big house. Mr. Blakey and his home have captured the attention of a white “businessman” named Anniston Bennet.

One day Mr. Bennet comes and offers Charles a lot of money in exchange for allowing him to live in his basement for the summer. Charles initially declines, not quite trusting this white man and realizing that his basement in its current state was in no shape for human habitation. During this time, Charles becomes motivated and scrubs his entire home spotless. He cleans out his large basement and finds several antique family items, and at the urging of one of his few friends, contacts an antique dealer to determine their worth.

But finding himself desperate and intrigued, Charles agrees to allow Anniston Bennet to live in his basement for the summer. Anniston is quite thorough and has very specific instructions on how Charles is to arrange his living quarters, but makes it worth the while with the great amount of money he gives Charles. I was totally unprepared for how Anniston Bennet wanted to live in the basement. The exchanges between the two during Anniston’s occupancy are eye-opening for Charles and he finds himself reflecting inwardly on his life, his decisions, and his past. These reflections cause the doubts and fears that are deep within Charles to give birth, nearly driving him over the edge of reason.

I like just about everything about this story. Mosley is a master storyteller and quite deserving of all of the accolades he has received. I am not sure if Walter Mosley would even fit in the category of an urban fiction author. What I do know is that his books (the two that I’ve read so far) make for enjoyable reading time. Happy Reading!

Vee

Something on the Inside by T.N. Williams

2011-01-19T20:26:00.000-08:00

Something On The Inside

T.N. Williams

Urban Christian distributed by Kensington Publishing Corp.

**SOME SPOILERS**

Well, I finished the book Something on the Inside by T.N. Williams in one day. Our heroine Celia has the “perfect” life. She has a good looking husband who is crazy about her, well-behaved children, a good paying job, a nice house, and nice cars. I suppose you can say she is living the American dream. But of course, that would make a boring story. It does not take long for the drama in this story to unfold. Celia returns earlier than expected late one night from a business trip. Excited to see her family, Celia enters her dark house and goes into her bedroom to find her husband, Khalil, in bed….with their 13 year-old daughter Kaleia.

So of course, from there on I am hooked. Khalil gets a beat-down from Celia, and then Celia promptly leaves the home with her daughter and younger son Caleb. Dealing with the turmoil and emotional stress of what she witnessed, she hides herself and her children away from the world for a few days while questioning her faith and seeking for answers within herself. She then moves in with her outspoken, liquor-loving twin sister Alicia. Alicia has never shared any warm feelings for Khalil and wastes no time in telling Celia exactly how she feels about the situation and what she should do. But Kaleia states that her father did not do anything wrong to her and refuses to talk to Celia about it. She is afraid that her father will go to jail and refuses to do or say anything that may put him there. Khalil also denies that anything inappropriate happened and gets upset that Celia has left their home with the children over a misunderstanding. With Khalil’s vehement denial and Kaleia’s silence, I begin to question several times if Celia really saw what she thought she saw… But Celia continues to rely on her faith in God to get her through this difficult time. She does make a few foolish mistakes along the way, but is determined to find out the truth and protect her family.

I really enjoyed this story. Williams’ characters came alive on the page and I was drawn into their lives. While reading this book, I found that I was talking out loud to myself in exasperation of the situation that was going on-which is a good thing. It shows how much I was into the drama!

But I did have a few problems with the story.

Let us, for instance, put this story in a real life setting. What would a woman really do if she walked in on her child being molested? She would probably do what Celia did-get violent with the perpetrator. Then the most likely next step would be to get the cops involved, get the pervert arrested, take the child to the doctor, so on and so forth. Not so with our heroine. She instead runs away with her children and hides them in a hotel in another city without telling her friends or family why. Meanwhile her husband is telling everyone that his wife is just being unreasonable after an “argument”. She does eventually take her child to a doctor, albeit several days later. She tells the doctor exactly what happened, and the doctor refers her to a therapist. Now, I’m not too familiar with the law, but aren’t they required to report those incidents to the authorities? Then when she finally went to the police (in Chapter 17!!) she was told that she couldn’t press charges because her underage daughter had to fill out a statement accusing the alleged abuser according to state laws. Sounds a little off? Yeah, I agree!

Another incident in the story that I found weird was when Celia revealed to her pastor (with her husband Khalil in the room) that Khalil was molesting their daughter. Khalil of course denied it, and there was a brief exchange of anger between the two. The pastor replied by saying that there was “a lot of emotion in the room” and that they should pick up their Bibles. Seriously dude? A woman just told you her husband was sexually abusing his own child and you respond by having them flip through scriptures? Hmm…

But I did enjoy the book and would definitely recommend it to others. There is even a sequel-which I will most likely review in the near future. Happy Reading!

Vee

Urban Fiction Stories-What I've Been Missing!

2011-01-17T15:58:00.000-08:00

I guess it all started with a Tavis Smiley interview I saw with Damon Wayans. Besides being completely marveled at how good Mr. Wayans looked at 50, I was impressed that he wrote a book called The Red Hats. I looked up some of the reviews on Amazon and was prompted to buy it as soon as possible. That was a great decision! That book was hilariously funny and I enjoyed it thoroughly. One of my co-workers saw me reading and when I finished it (in one day) I let her borrow it. This resulted in the book being passed around the entire department.

So from then on, we just started swapping books. Most of my co-workers were into reading urban fiction books. Now I must admit, I wasn’t into those kinds of stories. Being African-American myself, I thought the “drama” portrayed in those books were too “beneath” me and was more into reading literary classics like Edgar Allen Poe, Agatha Christie, and Alexander Dumas. Then I started reading Toni Morrison and realized that I forgot how in love I was with the African American sense of humor. Then a co-worker handed me the first book in Mary Monroe’s God Ain’t series, and I was hooked.

I suppose that I should ask for forgiveness in ignorantly thinking that these stories were only about baby mamas and baby daddies, gossipy women in hair salons, loud mouthed teens and the drug dealing thugs they love, and gold digging femme fatales and the games they play to get what they want. It is far from that. These stories are about real-life situations that hit close to home. When the book is well written (and believe me I’ve read some bad ones) I am able to fully identify with the characters and am drawn into their world. I am so engrossed with these stories that I often finish reading them in one day. Now the stories about drugs and gang violence-not my cup of tea so I pass those up. But I am now treading my way through Walter Mosley’s works, laughing out loud at Keith Thomas Walker’s characters, and being inspired by T.N. Williams.

I was recently in Wal-Mart with one of my nieces over the holidays and we stopped in the book section. It made me happy that my younger adult niece was so into reading books and she practically squealed when she saw a book in a Carl Weber series and begged me to buy it for her. We then had a conversation with an older woman about the author Zane and she stated: “When you finish one of these books, you need a man with you!” Then I saw it! I myself squealed when I saw T.N. Williams’ Peace of Me. Now I had been debating with myself for a few weeks on whether to buy this book online or wait until it actually showed up at a bookstore. So of course, I had to deny my niece the pleasure of her Carl Weber book and bought Peace of Me for myself.

My love of reading has been rekindled. And the book reading among my co-workers start so many interesting converations. So I guess I should say, don’t judge a book by its cover, or don’t knock it ‘til you’ve tried it. I know those are totally cliché, but by me being more open-minded, I have discovered a genre of writing that has given me more entertainment that I’ve had in a while.

Vee