RIM's Review of Black Beauty by Elaine Flowers

RIM's Review of Black Beauty by Elaine Flowers



Terri is as close to a saint as you can get. She is what everyone wants in life, a loyal friend. To Terri she has never really felt complete. She has always had the feeling she was missing something in life. That missing link is her real family. She is there for everyone else but who will be there for her? Will she ever meet her real family and learn about herself or will that stay a mystery to her?


Wendell is a male stylist with sex appeal. He is what many call a ladies’ man. He has a secret love with someone. With all the women that want Wendell he has his eyes on a prize that is very close to him in more ways than one. But how long can his secret stay a secret from his coworkers.

Naomi is the chick that is not to be messed with, a hothead. She is all about the money and she does not handle it correctly. For every hothead there is a chiller, and the chiller for her is the person that she will need when things get a little too hot for her to handle. Will the “chiller” be there for her or will she go through this one alone?


Elaine Flowers does a great job when it comes to the descriptions in the book. I wish there was more dialogue between the characters to keep the reader interested. At times it feels like the author takes away from the book with all the illustrations that are given. On the other hand the Flowers does a great job with combining all the relationships in this book. Reading this book has given me a real feeling of the actual beauty shop. This is great book for those that are into descriptions.


Book Rating: 3 Stars

Reviewed by Patrice Smith

For Readers In Motion Bookclub

RIM's Review of Inner Journey Home Letters to My Son, Love Dad by Malcolm Baptiste

Inner Journey Home Letters to My Son, Love Dad by  Malcolm Baptiste

As any parent that has a child you want what’s best for him or her, even when that means neglecting yourself of things or pushing past your own capacity. However some parents’ capacity is small because their own parents couldn’t get past generational issues, which then get passed on until someone can break the pattern.  In this story a father reaches out to his son that is now incarcerated and tries in his own way to encourage him and yet explain to him why things are they way they are.

Correspondence between father and son is a series of letters from the father’s prospective starting with the son’s court appeal trail date until the day they take a family photo.  In efforts to ease the son’s time in jail, the father starts from the beginning, his beginning, describing to his son the relationship with his parents, mostly his mother.  In efforts to make a son a better man she teaches him in a cruel way how to be man, talking negatively about him and worse yet to him, telling him things like he is worthless and will never be anything.  Later in life when the father becomes a drug addict he hears all the things she told him like a tape player and fights daily to prove her wrong and prove to himself he is worthy of all the good things life has to offer.

In need of help to get clean and stay clean the father enters rehab. In rehab he addresses all his issues from the negative tapes of his mom, the need of the drug, dating, and his own mental state.  Through some of the exercises in group therapy the father finds salvation and journaling. He begins to journal his life’s experiences in and out of rehab, in efforts to connect to his son he sends him excerpts of what he has written and what he feels about life and most importantly he constantly conveys his love for his son.

Readers probably would like to have liked to see more dialogue between the father and son. All the reader knows is that the son does respond to the letters but not aware of what he says. However readers can appreciate the honesty of the father, because most parents want to protect their child or children by not telling them what could essentially keep them from harm’s way.  So often we need help but to afraid to reach for it. A father’s love versus his attendance seemed to be an issue but in this case his love superseded his lack of attendance and a son sees a life outside of the 8 by 10 he is in.

My Rating 3 ½ stars
Review by Karen Reynolds
Review for Readers In Motion Bookclub

RIM's Review of Trouble Ahead… Trouble Behind… Patiently Waiting My Turn - by Anthony Stubbs

RIM's Review of

Trouble Ahead… Trouble Behind… Patiently Waiting My Turn -

by Anthony Stubbs 

People are sent to prison by society as a means to reciprocate any loss and to try to get a person to conform to society’s rules and laws. That doesn’t always happen, as in the case of Tony “Scorpio” Starks. Scorpio was sent away on a seven year bid and instead of diminishing his criminal abilities, being incarcerated actually improves his abilities. Scorpio comes home and within days is completely submerged once more into the criminal world. Since it’s finally his turn; will Scorpio come out a winner in the game or will he fall victim to the game again?

 I feel the need to be extremely honest in this review.  The author has an extremely plausible concept and characters you can relate to but it lacks plot, setting, time, and details. For example Scorpio goes from talking to his friend eating lunch, to being released from jail, to a welcome home party, all on the same page. There is nothing in a believable sequence of events and that goes on throughout the whole book.  Even understanding this is fiction, it’s not believable fiction. The lack of time references makes it   seems as though everything happens overnight, when in reality there is a process.  At times it felt like the author was trying to impress the reader with the command of vocabulary by the placement of excessively large words that take away from what is being read. There were also many editing issues which also took away from the overall presentation of the book.  Because of the issues stated the reviewer at this time rates this book one (1) star. However, it is also the reviewers opinion that with improvements this has the potential of a five star read.

Rated 1 Star.

RIM's Author of the Month for June- Aleta Williams

RIM's Author of the Month for June

Aleta Williams

1. Tell us about yourself.

I'm Aleta aka West Coast DivaHotPen. I self published my titles through my company "Alana's Book Line!" Writing for me is more of an hobby; a stepping stone to get to where God is trying to take me. My calling is to give inspiration to young ladies and women who can relate to where I come from. I went from being a motherless child... to an angry teen...a gangster chick.. .and now I'm a diva out to please the Lord and uplift others. I write true2life street tales with an inspirational bang. I feel in order to be a voice, a voice that's heard, and understood I have to give the real and its gets no realer then the tales I write. I thank you for taking the time to get to know me and I pray that my titles will serve you a satisfying course.

 

2. What part of your book was the hardest to write?

The hardest for me is the sex scenes. Its like I'm getting so personal and I don't like that. So I have to forget that I'm writing for an audience. Kind of hard to do, but I try.

3. Which of your characters is your favorite?In Salty ( my latest novel) it would have to be Pam. Pam is the type of chick that is loyal to those around her. However, when she gets played she can be a cold bitch.
In my debut it will be Lana. She shows us how she went from a gangster chick to a God loving Diva. She left the hood and found her way. The person she was yesterday she is not today.

4. If you were to do your career as an author again, what would you do differently, and why? Lots of Research. Less money on marketing. That's it.

5. Have you ever been surprised by a controversy among fans or reviewers - for example, you created a character without thinking too much about what people would think of him, and found some readers loved him and some hated him? Yes. I did not think people would not like her. I thought they would respect her game and feel sorry for her, but most thought she was a heartless bitch. LOL..When I think about it from their stand point they are right. But at the same time there was a reason she was the way she was. She has issues, inner demons and a lot of pain she was struggling with. There are plenty of Pam's in the world.

6. What are your favorite authors/books?Karen Williams-All
Tracy Brown- White Lines
Wahida Clark- Thug Series
New Author LaTonya West- Crazy In Love

7. If you could have dinner with one person, dead or alive, who would it be and why?My Godmother. I sure miss her. She was always an inspiration to me and still is. I will always admirer her strength.. I would love to hear her say she is proud of me. And go around the church and her friends saying "My God Daughter did that, now what?" LOL....She was a mess.

8. Do you recall how your interest in writing originated?I have been writing all my life. When I was a kid, I had big dreams of becoming a rapper/singer and while, I can't sing, I can rap and write songs. I pushed that to the back burner for years. I forgot I could write poems and what not. One day I wrote a piece for the church that received a lot of praise and right after I started college I did a lot of writing. Then one day my husband came to me with the concept of writing a script and he was doubtful that I could pull it off . I took that as a challenge and configured my characters in my Debut ZipCodez.

9. If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor? Karen Williams. Strict but a very very helpful and genuine diva.

10. What would you like to say to your readers? I thank God for you. I write for you guys.. Stay Blessed. Oh, and spread the word. :)

All of Aleta Williams' novels can be found on Barnes and Noble, Amazon, and at her website ww.alanasbookline.org.

Salty: A Sassy, Grimy, and Envious Ghetto Soap Opera

ZipCodez 90002*90220 A Watts and Compton Tale

Codez2Codez (A Watts and Compton Saga) 

RIM's Review of Keeper of My Soul by Keshia Dawn

RIM's Review of Keeper of My Soul by Keshia Dawn

How many times can a marriage survive the same problem? Keithe would like to know after all these years of being married to his wife Michelle. Yes, he loves her but he has to love himself and the Lord more than all this woman has put him through.

he believes that through enough faith for the both of them, things will get better., wants to be a successful husband. Though he has heard rumors around the courthouse involving his wife, without direct concrete proof he is not about to move on. Granted her, Keithe

Michelle, is a successful judge but even more successful as an always on the prowl cougar. In her heart of hearts she does love her husband, she just doesn’t know how to show it. Due to her lack of emotional ties growing up, she proceeds to do her dirt and still try to hold onto the marriage any way she can, even lying about a very living past.

Stoney is a confused young woman growing up with no mother. Instead, she was raised by her schizophrenic grandmother, which leads her to daily question her own sanity and worse yet take medication that is not hers. Once her grandmother passes away, Stoney is ready to move from little city to big city in a quest to search for the mother that abandoned her and her grandmother. What Stoney didn’t expect were all the lives involved and the road it would lead her down.

As these lives intertwine like vines, the lies that they each have based their life on do as well. When all that has been done in the dark comes to light, will a lost child be found, a husband finally honored, and a wife ready to submit to the full idea of marriage, just not the aspects of partnership?


My Rating 5 STARS *****
Review by Karen Reynolds
Review for Readers In Motion Bookclub

RIM's Review of Dying for Success by Garrick Wade

RIM's Review of Dying for Success by Garrick Wade

Deandra has two main dreams in life. Her first is to be the best parent to her young daughter and the second is to be a famous dancer.When trying to achieve her goals she meets a young, sexy, man by the name of Kwame. At first, he was just a sexy face that she could not get her mind off, and then with a second chance meeting while shopping, he becomes a man of interest. She has a feeling that she has met Kwame at another place in her life. Is Kwame the man to give her the motivation to pursue her dream? In addition, where does she know Kwame from? Is there drama in the future for this new couple?

 

Kwame is a very successful man. He wants for nothing. He meets Deandra and is very smitten by her. He falls in love with this around the way girl. Kwame is dealing with a situation from his past, that will greatly affect the relationship with Deandra. Will this situation resolve itself with love or will there have to be bloodshed to bring there union together?

Daniel aka Fresh, is and up and coming player in the game. He loves the world of money, cars, and girls. One night changes the life of this want-to-be player . A family is murdered and a close relative of the decreased has now sent out a hit on the person who did the deed. Daniel’s girlfriend who happens to be pregnant. How will Daniel deal with everything that is going on? Will the love for money be his downfall? Is blood thicker then water when he has to choose being between the street life and the love of his sister and having a new baby?

Starting very slow in the beginning but leading to a much thrown together ending. From the readers standpoint seems the author was going one way with this story then decided to go another angle. Some parts of the book gets you hooked to the action that is going on but the next thing that happens in the story places you into left field and leaves the reader wondering where did that come from. I wish the author would have given more interaction with the main plot of the character. I say it is a good read, but if the author had taken out some parts of the books that seem to be just “fluff”, it would have been a great read.

My Rating 3 STARS ***
Review by Patrice Smith
Review for Readers In Motion Book

Meet the RIM Admin and Support Team!!!!

Meet the RIM Admin

and Support Team!!!!

Readers In Motion Bookclub is a place where the readers’ passion is appreciated and the drive of the independent author craved. RIM is a place where known authors as well as aspiring authors can come and get honest feedback by people that respect their work. We are a family and we want every member to feel welcome and important. We have monthly chats on featured books which we collectively chose and the end of the year. We try to have authors attend the chats if possible. Our past guests include Essence Bestselling Author, Wahida Clark, author of the highly acclaimed book, Thug Lovin’, which is the fourth addition to her Thug series and Mike Sanders, author of the highly acclaimed book, Thirsty. At the end of the day we want RIM to be known as the place where readers, authors, and poets can come and share their excitement for literature.

Meet Our Founder

Author Elizabeth Lashuan

Author Elizabeth Lashaun is a resident of the Chicago, IL. Lashaun is a mother of a young son and author of two novels; Inconvenient Love and In His Absence. 

1. What was the book that started your love for reading? The Addy Series by American Girl when I was a child.
2. If you were stuck on an island what three books would you bring? I would bring Thin Ice, White Lines and the Bible.
3. Where do you get most of your books? Amazon for my kindle.
4. What is you title on the admin team? I am the founder.
5. Why did you join RIM? I created it. Lol because of my love for reading and wanting to discuss great books.

Meet Our President

Patrice Smith

Patrice Smith is a native of Charleston, SC and the mother of a son. She is an an avid reader and is love with her Nook tablet.

1. What was the book that started your love for reading?The book that started my reading fire was Every Thug Needs A Lady. I was thinking hell they put stuff like this in books.
2. If you were stuck on an island what three books would you bring?If I was stuck on the island the three books would be my son's baby book, Congratulations by Darrien Lowery and Diary of a Stalker by Erica Parks.
3. Where do you get most of your books? I get all of my books from Barnes and Noble.
4. What is you title on the admin team? I am the President.
5. Why did you join RIM?It was so neat to meet men and women who has the same passion that I has. Ones that had families and other lives. People that can get together and discussion books, family, happiness, sadness, and anything else.. Like a second family.

Meet our Vice President

Karen Reynolds

Karen Reynolds sends greetings from Toledo, OH and a proud auntie to her niece and nephew. She has a evil mind with a great heart.

1. What was the book that started your love for reading? I have been reading since I was the age of three but what got me back to reading was In My Bedroom by Donna Hill.
2. If you were stuck on an island what three books would you bring? Bible, Art of War, and a Dictionary
3. Where do you get most of your books?Amazon
4. What is you title on the admin team? Vice President baby
5. Why did you join RIM? I wanted a place to discuss books with people that loved books as much as i do.

 

Meet our Admin Staff Member

Author Lekecia Bri' Monae

Lekecia only respond to Kecia and she is coming  from Providence, RI. She has five child that She loves to death. She is also the author of the My Brother's Keeper series and Teenage Love.

1. What was the book that started your love for reading? The Chamber by John Grisham.
2. If you were stuck on an island what three books would you bring? I could never narrow my collection down to three, there are too many that I love.. So I'mma need to grab my kindle and pray the good lord helps me find a way to make electricity...LOL
3. Where do you get most of your books? AMAZON 
4. What is you title on the admin team? I don't have a title.. I'm just there lol, I am apart of the administration team.
5. Why did you join RIM? Honestly I Love to Read and and was asked to join the day the RIM was born and I've been down ever since. RIM is my extended family, we had some good times as well as bad but all in all. I know the TRUE RIMers are folks I would lie for, cry for and spend a night in jail for. Just make sure someone the outside has the bail money..

Meet our Support Staff Member

Author KR Bankston



Author Kr Bankston brings us greets from the Atlanta, GA. She is happily married and the author of the Thin Ice Series. She is known to have the women fighting over the men in her novels also she has mad crazy killing scenes.

1. What was the book that started your love for reading? Flowers in the Attic by VC Andrews, Are You There God, It's Me Margaret, by Judy Blume.
2. If you were stuck on an island what three books would you bring? Roots, Autobiography of Malcolm X, In His Absence.
3. Where do you get most of your books? Amazon (kindle).
4. What is you title on the admin team? I'm apart of the support staff. I am hear whenever I am needed.
5. Why did you join RIM? To meet new people, network with new authors, find a voice for my work, read new books BEFORE they were released. Lol..

Here is the support structure of Readers In Motion. Get to know these ladies. Because through out the month of May we will be asking questions about their interview. Each correct answer will get you an entry in a drawing of a $10 gift card to amazon or Barnes and Noble. If you would like to be apart of the Readers In Motion (RIM) family feel free to send us a inbox message on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/#!/ReadersInMotion.