Psst! She Reads Trashy Novels...
September 26, 2005
Review: Gettin' Merry, Anthology
I've been reading Monica Jackson's blog lately, and I like her entries enough that I figured I might check out her writing. Being the cheapskate I am, I headed to my local library first to see what they had. The only book they had in stock was the Christmas/Kwanzaa themed anthology
Gettin' Merry. Now, before I go any further, you must understand that I
hate Christmas-themed romances. Hate - hate with a passion I usually reserve only for the Republican party -
hate.
I liked it.
The first of the four stories, The Wish by Francis Ray, was my favorite. This story about how Nicholas Darling and Andrea Strickland fall in love in a small, nosy, superstitious Texas town is sweet and sappy, and I liked it from start to finish. Ray has a deft hand for characterization. She conveys a lot about her characters and their backgrounds without ever making it seem like an information dump. Not only could I understand why these two characters fell in love, I was rooting for them all they way.
The second of the four stories was Homecoming by Beverly Jenkins. I love Beverly Jenkins. She wrote the first black historical romances I ever read, and she will always be a groundbreaker and a role model in my mind. That said, this story didn't quite do it for me. I liked the characters, Lydia Cooper and Grayson Dane, and the premise of old lovers finding each other again is tried and true. The thing is, the story was just a little too old school Trash from the Past for me.
The prose for the love scenes was a bit purple and a couple of plot elements just plain disagreed with me. [Spoiler] Lydia worries that she can never be a wife because she is barren, but an epilogue tells us that the happy couple had a kid a year later. Can't people have the Happily Ever After with adopted kids, or no kids at all? I hate the "child=life fulfillment" mentality, and I didn't need to know that Lydia was fertile to imagine her and Gray having a happy loving life.
The third story, The Way Back Home was Monica Jackson's entry. In addition to the holiday setting, this story featured another one of my personal pet peeves - the tragic mulatto. Though I've known my fair share of biracial folks who didn't feel like they belonged anywhere, and though I went through a stage like that myself (for about two weeks, when I was 12) , it still annoys me to no end to read about characters who spend all their time agonizing over their racial identity. (Here's a hint - though white folks you know may tell you that "You're not like other blacks," and say it like a compliment, you do notice how they will never, ever say your cafe-au-lait ass is white? Black America is a rainbow of colors and experiences. Just because you've got "good hair", a white parent, or come from the suburbs, doesn't make you "not really black" it just means you don't fit into the stereotypical boxes into which white America has been trying to shove black America for centuries.)
Anyway, rant aside, this story grew on me. Anne Donald, the heroine, is a biracial woman who was raised by her mother's white family, and never had anything to do with the African-American community. A rare burst of courage that inspires Anne to ask a visiting lecturer, Dr. Trey Fraser about how she can get in touch with her blackness, sets Anne on the path to finding her father's family, true love, and, ultimately, herself.
Anne annoyed me in the beginning because she seemed so timid and wishy-washy. Trey was a paragon of intelligence, community activism, Kwanzaa knowledge and general hotness. I couldn't understand what he'd see in a dishrag like Anne. Still, if Trey had any flaw, it was that he was too perfect. While I eventually grew to like Anne, I never really connected to Trey as a character.
Even though Anne annoyed me at first, the things that made me really like this story were Anne's growth as a character, and her relationship with both her new family and her old one. The happy scenes at the end felt natural - like Anne had worked for them, and deserved them. I was smiling and sniffling a little when I finished. I was surprised that such a short story had taken such a strong hold on my emotions and imagination.
The way I figure it is, if Monica Jackson can write a holiday romance (yuck!) about a confused biracial woman (ugh!) and make me like it, the woman has talent. Another thing I like about this story is that Anne is a plus-sized heroine. There aren't enough plus-sized heroines in Romanceland. I will always root for the big girls. I guess I've got enough evidence to go out and plunk some cash down for a full-sized Monica Jackson novel. She writes a good blog, and a good story.
The last story in the book, The Seventh Principal by Geri Guillaume was my least favorite. I am not a fan of love stories told from the man's first-person point of view, and this story wasn't compelling enough to make me put aside my dislike. Another strike it had against it was that it was set in a high school. While I might have a weakness for televised teenagers who fight demons or crime, I am not fond of high school stories in general.
The Seventh Principal did have a rather interesting premise of a High School principal reuniting with his high school sweetheart to stem an incipient race riot at their highschool in a small Mississippi town during Kwanzaa. Guillaume did a good job of establishing the layers of history that connected all of the characters to their town. She also deftly handled the flashback story of the lifelong love that kept the hero and narrator, Barret, and the heroine, Kirby, constantly swinging back into each other's orbits.
I can't help but think that a reader other than myself might enjoy The Seventh Principal much more. It just wasn't for me.
Overall, I enjoyed Gettin' Merry. It's a fun, fast read, and if it can put a little Christmas and Kwanzaa spirit in my cynical, grinchlike heart in the middle of September, it can do the same for you any day of the year.
Posted by sk ::
9/26/2005 ::
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September 10, 2005
Review: New Rules by Bill Maher
Bill Maher is a funny, funny man. Even though his friendship with Ann Coulter, and "dating relationship" with Karrine "Superhead" Steffans have completely eviscerated whatever weak and limping respect I might have for his judgment, I cannot deny that he knows how to bring the funny.
New Rules is a collection of the "New Rules" from Maher's weekly HBO show Real Time with Bill Maher. This book will be most appreciated by those who, like me, lead sad and lonely lives bereft of cable TV. Not that I can feel too sorry for myself - if I had cable I'd spend all my time watching Trashy TV shows instead of reading Trashy Novels. I prefer to read. Anyway, as the New Rules all originally aired on Real Time, they might not be so new to folks with cable.
New Rules is not the sort of book you want to keep and cherish forever. Many of the jokes are topical and will become dated. It's a pretty quick read. The combination makes it the perfect library or bargain table book.
New Rule
News organizations have to stop using the phrase “We go beyond the headlines.” That’s your job, dummy. You don’t see American Airlines saying “We land our jets on the runway!”
Posted by sk ::
9/10/2005 ::
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September 06, 2005
Review: Nervous by Zane
I have been hearing all this talk about Zane. How she's a self-published success story, how her stories are so hot they scorch the page. So I had to go pick me up a copy of one of her books.
Now, usually when I think of erotica, I don't think of plot - who does? But that's also one of the main reasons I'm not a huge fan of the genre. Nervous, however, had enough plot for three books and a telenovela. And I loved it.
The main character is a shy Atlanta professional named Jonquinette. Jonquinette leads a dull life and has never had a boyfriend. Little does she know that her alternate personality, Jude, more than makes up for Jonquinette's self-imposed doldrums. Where Jonquinette is a shy woman who is "nervous" around men, Jude is a self-assured nympho who can - and does - get any man she wants.
While Jonquinette is worrying about her unexplained blackouts and nervously attempting to seek psychological help, Jude is living it up and layering on the drama like a thick pastrami sandwich. You don't have to guess which personality was my favorite - I will always vote for the bitch.
Zane's writing style is spare, but effective. Don't be expecting phrases like "the dewy flower of her womanhood" because such terminology is refreshingly absent. No purple prose here, just red-hot text. The characters talk like real people. The descriptions are sexy, earthy and to the point. Nervous is soapy, sexy fun. Go get a copy, and lather up.
Posted by sk ::
9/06/2005 ::
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September 01, 2005
Review: The Coldest Winter Ever by Sister Souljah
The Coldest Winter Ever. I have to admit, I was a bit wary of this book when my little sister recommended it to me. She said it was her favorite book, and I wanted to know what she was into, so I gave it a try. How surprised was I to find that I adored the selfish, ign'ant, triflin' narrator, Winter Santiaga?
I've always been a sucker for anti-heroes and unreliable first person narrators. This tale of the rise and fall of the family of a New York drug dealer is pure juicy goodness. The narrator, teenaged Winter, does not ask you to like her, or to pity her, but you do anyway. Souljah creates a voice for Winter that reminds me all-too-well of young girls I know. And it was Winter's strong, cold voice that made me sympathize with her despite her (many) flaws. I knew she was mad, bad and dangerous, but part of me couldn't help but think, Wouldn't it be something if this triflin' bitch got everything she wants?
The writing style is still a little rough in places, but this book is a good read, and tough to put down. When the sequel comes out, I plan to steal my sister's copy the instant she sets it down.
Posted by sk ::
9/01/2005 ::
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