This book was interesting and really wasn't the type of book that I stop and read, so this was a first for me.  The book starts off really weird because I have no idea what's going on but, the next few pages make it pretty clear.  I never really  knew what I was in for, but I am very glad that I read it.  I felt like you were watching a young girl blossom into this strong independent woman.  Her family and the choices that she made really made her who she is. You are introduced to Shae Byrts who is a young girl who is not living the good life.  Her and her family have a mix of love and hate that come together in the worst way.  Her mother is an alcoholic who forces Shae into a motherly role for her siblings.  Mrs. Byrts is nothing nice to her family and you really only see her doing two things in this story.  Leaving to get drunk and yelling at her kids and those two combined make for a nasty tale.  In this house, she also lives with her grandmother and three brothers and each of them have their own story that will touch your heart in some kind of way and you will start to understand Ma Violet and Toby's character as they progress.   What I have noticed with each of them was that they were all suffering from something within the family.

The authors brought all of my favorite characters back for a whirlwind of a ride in the Cartel 4 by Ashley and Jaquavis.  If you haven't read the first three I suggest you close this tab, go and read them and come back at me.  All the hidden unanswered question are revealed and a few surprising characters return for some eye popping reveals In the privacy of his home Carter keeps his relationship with Mia a secret from his family and for good reason really. He accepted Mia and all her ways and didn't know how to present that to his family.  I loved how the authors showed the boundaries of Carter and Mia because even though she came back, Carter wants to trust her and Mia would follow him to the ends of the earth.  They have magnetic pull to each other because their hearts were in it from the very beginning.

After reading this book, what can I say I am a sucker for drama?  This book did more than just pull me into the story of Wisdom but I felt like there was more realness in this book than any book that I have read.  Honestly, I don't know whether this book was based on a real story or not, but as the situation and the drama unfolds, it's almost if most of this book was based on a real story.  I don't know if it was or not but Jabar is on author that we should keep our eyes on in the future. At the start of this book you are introduced to five people who are playing chess, so to speak with the street game of hustling.  The book just starts off dirty with Wisdom, Dank and Dammoe having a standoff with this cat name Bam.  Things take a turn for the worse and Bam pays with his life.  The boys think that they got off scot free and life goes back to normal for them.  Detective Brown has a different theory for the murder of Bam and gives his theory to Captain Smith who has ulterior motives.  On the other side everything seems to be going well for Wisdom and is crew.  Money is rolling in and people are eating.  This is also where you start getting introduced to each character and the type of person that they are.  My favorite one was Sky and not because she was the only female character, but she was the one was level headed and knew that the streets had her man, but always hoped for the best.  Hoping that he would get out of the game.

Ok, so this book was the finale of all the Naughty series by Brenda Hampton and it didn't fail to excite me.  Instead of the book being titled Naughty and a number, the author took a different route and decided to call it Jaylin's World and it fit perfectly with the story.  The chapters don't all center on Jaylin, but the characters do and I have got to say, I am going to miss this little journey.  I mean, I have read all of the books and loved every single one of them, but no, there were no tears.  More like a round of applause for giving Jaylin, Scorpio, and Nokea the ending that they deserve. So the book starts off a few years after the last one and Scorpio is married with two kids and her husband is not all that cracked up to be marriage material.  Scorpio accuses him of cheating on her and we don't know for sure whether he is or isn't.  They are on the road when this happens and they get into a bad accident that seems to have more of a major impact on her kids and everyone is rushed to the hospital.  If you missed out on what happened between her and Jaylin well, this is where you find out.  You also find out that she is still holding on to a secret that will soon come to light.

Yes, another Zane book.  You're right another one of her heart stopping, stomach clenching, hand clapping book.  I put this as another one of her legendary books that she wrote a long time ago.  I just don't think it gets enough credit where credit is due.  Next to the sorority, this book was another one that was pulled out of her infamous book Zane Sex Chronicles: Shattering the Myth.  I got to say, if she ever wants to pull from any more stories, feel free.  I will be the first one reading them. This book takes us into the life of Jonquinette, Jon for short and she is suffering from dissociative identity disorder with a twist. If you read the excerpt at the beginning of the book, then you know what I mean.  You start off meeting Jon and see that she is a timid little thing who really keeps to herself.

You meet the characters in this book while they are coming out of relationships that ended horribly. Their relationships start with dating a person that is same race.  Tammy is through with black men altogether and for good reason.  She was the type of woman who looked past a man's demeanor and just fell in love with the man. Terrell is a genuinely nice guy who respects the gentleman's code, but when it comes to his racist girl, Tasha.  He just can't win so they break up and Terrell starts to think that he could have been missing out on something on the lighter side of life.  Now Penelope on the other hand is having no trouble in the relationship area because she is not in one, but you do see her reason why she loves black men and I got to say, it's very true.  I wasn't even going to argue with her about that. Fast forward to nine months later and Tammy has done a complete move for a change of scenery.  Still swearing off men all together except for one.  She gets a phone call from her Mika with some bad news.  Terrell is loving the whole date outside his race things and I can't blame him.  After Tasha, I could see why.  You also see how each of these characters start to become connected to one another.

You meet three young ladies in their high school years and already, they have a plan mapped out for their future and are working hard to obtain it.  They seemed to be three girls who were friends, but not really friends.  But they stayed close throughout the years.  They each end up finding the men in their lives and from here you start to see their lives unravel.  I feel like any woman can connect with these character in some kind of way.  Gladys is in relationship where she finds herself being more of who she know she is.  Rhonda is a know it all who thinks she deserves everything with no moral compass. Shayla wants what she always dreamed about in a marriage.  You see these girls each getting what they want.  Later on in the future we see that the lives that these girls want are within their grasp. Shayla married Titus who was all about her from day one and you see that their marriage really isn't what it seemed tobe.  Titus is not treating her like a wife and he has the worst reason why.Meanwhile, Shayla is venting to Rhonda about how messed up her marriage and you would think that this woman is her best friend and should be encouraging her to fight for her marriage and she does, but in her own messed up way.  Rhonda is crossing boundaries and thinking she has every right to do it but to me, I couldn't stand her.  Gladys is making moves of her own when she is invited to a party clear across town and meets the one man that she let get away.

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