Publisher/Date: AuthorHouse, Oct. 2004
Genre: Romance
Pages: 432
Rating:
Just when you think everything is going right in your life, something happens to turn your world on its axis.
This is never more evident than in MOVING FORWARD IN REVERSE, S. D. Lewis’ sequel to Changes, the novel that followed sistahs in the life Lelani, Jasmine and Moe. The ladies and stud are back, but this time things have truly changed.
The story begins on what’s supposed to be Lelani’s wedding day. She was to get married to L. D., but instead leaves her at the altar. Lelani’s not sure she loves L. D. anymore. Evidently, her mind can’t get past Moe and the night they spent together recently.
But Jasmine and Moe are still going strong, resolving their issues and making it work. Jazz is well aware that Moe used to be a playa, but it still intimidates her. She feels as if she has to compete with other women for Moe’s attention. It’s only a matter of time before she lets that insecurity break up the good thing she has with Moe.
And now that Moe’s a bachelor again, she’s on the prowl. She and the dumped L. D. spend their time gaming hoes and hitting the club. Despite how much Moe tries to shake her off, her heart still remains with Jazz.
Complicating things are the new characters that enter the women’s lives. Lelani begins dating someone new, a shady stud named Kylee. Moe is happy about her surprise visitor–her brother, David, whom she hasn’t seen in years. And Jazz meets someone who might just take her mind off Moe.
These women all made some serious mistakes in Moving Forward. It seemed like they had finally gotten their lives together, only to unravel them with their insecurities. Lelani is still as naive as ever, a woman who’s book smart but totally dumb when it comes to relationships. She flops from L. D. to Moe to Kylee. Jasmine’s no better, sleeping with others when she knows Moe is the one. And Moe just returns to her wicked ways even though it hurt her to be without Jazz and her daughter Rikeena. For all the growth the characters made, they regressed in others.
Lewis has a knack for crafting characters that are flawed and real, but Moving Forward wasn’t as good as Changes, the novel that introduced the tantalizing trio. There were just too many characters floating around to keep up with. Plot twists that were introduced were dropped or not fleshed out.
However I’m still looking forward to Lewis’ follow-up book, as the ending to this novel kept me wondering what the next installment has in store for them.
Reviewed September 2005