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Rain by Monique P. Howerton

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Publisher/Date:  Hersay, Sept. 2002
Genre:  Supernatural
Pages:  206

Rating: ★★★½☆ 

Right in time for Halloween comes a book that combines the afterlife, black lesbianism, romance and the gay family. It’s here, all combined in Monique P. Howerton’s supernatural story, RAIN.

Rain is the tale of Monica Walker and her unrequited love (or so we think) for Pia, a woman who stole her heart when she was 16 years old. Monica was introduced to Pia and her extended “family,” but the two women had this connection, a deep affinity for each other, not withstanding a fantastic sexual attraction. Lovers for years, everything changed when Teri steps into the picture.

Monica and Pia loved each other, but Pia, being older and wiser, thought it could never work with someone so young and innocent to the world. So she finds love with Teri, a womanizing stud who couldn’t remain monogamous to save her life–literally. It’s because of her infidelity that she and Pia both contract AIDS. All the while Monica stands by and knows she could give Pia a better life. Monica has done everything she could to make Pia see that they are soulmates; Pia does realize it–when it’s too late; her fear simply kept her from knowing an unconditional love.

The constant rain described in the novel, almost a character itself, was a metaphor for the sadness and drama that ensued.

Here’s where the supernatural part comes in. Monica, who grew up with supernatural powers, fights to protect Pia’s soul from evil forces that come for her. If you’re into supernatural fiction tales, then this part will grab you. If you don’t believe in the afterlife, you will just read it for what it is.

Howerton’s writing is unique, despite the grammatical errors. Rain is quick read, but the story does use a reverse plotting element, flopping from the past to the present, and you will sometimes find yourself trying to figure out what’s exactly taking place at times. Elements are revealed as the story progresses, but in the beginning, names and details are mentioned without much explanation. But Howerton does deliver a different type of story–and that’s always to be applauded.

Reviewed October 2005

Undercover by Laurinda D. Brown

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Publisher/Date:  Strebor Books, Nov. 2004
Genre:  Contemporary Romance
Pages:  384
Website:  http://www.ldbrownbooks.com

Rating: ★★★★½ 

I wanted to give UNDERCOVER five stars. I really did.

After all, she is the author of Fire & Brimstone, a great lesbian novel for today’s generation. The drama that ensued in that book was simply off the chain! Chris and Gayle kept it real.

Undercover is another story. This sequel of sorts continues with Chris, with even more drama this time, and has enough characters and twists to keep your attention. Yet what kept it from being a 5-star review was simply the timeline of the plot. There were times the plot jumps from one year to another with any transition to know what was going on. Some parts were cohesive, others came out of place.

But despite that, I still resumed my infatuation with Chris, the intelligent, determined woman confident in her sexuality. She reintroduces old friends like Rudy and Gayle, with whom Chris finally makes peace with, while presenting new faces, like Amil and Nathaniel.

This time around, Chris has gotten herself involved in an online affair with Amil, a doctor engaged to a successful entrepreneur. The ladies began with a friendship that turned into something more even without having met. Chris has a feeling it’ll never work, as her instincts warn her that Amil will never leave Manney and the comfortable life they’ve made. Only in a chance business meeting do they finally see each other face to face–and the fireworks begin.

Iyesha, Chris’ sister, has problems of her own. Lil sis is married to Nathaniel, a former drag queen who gave up the life after his lover Patrick leaves him for the Lord. The two become friends after his glorious heyday (or gayday), slowly falling into a relationship. In the beginning of their marriage, Nathaniel has convinced himself to become a heterosexual, faithful husband. He tries to be what Iyesha wants for a while. Pretty soon, though, he’s back to his former life (on the down low), and their marriage is never the same.

Every character’s life intertwines in this enjoyable novel about love and self-acceptance. Chris definitely has come a long way from the chaos of Fire & Brimstone.

Well done, Ms. Brown!

Reviewed October 2005

Bliss by Fiona Zedde (Sept. 2005 Pick of the Month)

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Publisher/Date:  Kensington Publishing Corporation, Aug. 2005
Genre:  Romance
Pages: 297
Website:  http://www.fionazedde.com

Rating: ★★★★★ 

The tagline on Fiona Zedde’s debut novel, BLISS, reads, “Every woman wants it.” If “it” is based on the steamy scenes found within these pages, then Zedde ain’t never lied.

Zedde’s book is a tasty, colorful journey to a woman’s sexual satisfaction. Bliss Sinclair, an uptight accountant, lives her life by the numbers. She has the boyfriend, the good-paying job, and a spacious apartment–the things some define as success. But no one knows that her relationship with Yuen isn’t as great as it seems. And no one knows how she lays awake a night, suffering from bouts of insomnia. What’s missing in her life is passion: passion about her boyfriend, her job, her life.

That is until she meets Regina, an author who chronicles her sexual experiences through her books. They share a flirtation that leads to Sinclair dumping her boyfriend. Regina teaches Sinclair the pleasure of woman, and opens her up to a buffet of sexual indulgences Sinclair never thought she’d savor. Then as quickly as she came, Regina dumps Sinclair, telling her that a month is her limit with flings. Sinclair is heartbroken, believing that she had found the woman of her dreams, someone who had taken her to sexual heights she’d never climbed before.

To get away from the disaster she calls her love life, Sinclair takes her father up on an invitation to Jamaica. Days later, Sinclair returns home to the roots she abandoned after her mother was killed on the island. After her death, her grandmother took her to the States, and she never looked back. Now she’s reintroduced to her homeland–and her father’s new wife, a stepbrother, and a half-sister she never knew she had.

Lydia is the daughter her father illegitimately conceived, and the girlfriend of the woman Sinclair finds fascinating. Sinclair would never dream of taking her sister’s lover, but Hunter is tantalizing with her perfect ebony skin, sleek body, sensuous lips, and long dreadlocks. Sinclair and Hunter become friends through Lydia, and share a connection.

Everything changes, though, when Lydia and Hunter decide to mutually separate. Soon Sinclair and Hunter slowly act on their growing attraction. It isn’t long before their lust blossoms into deep affection. Despite her joy in finding Hunter, Sinclair is still scared–to fall in love and to leave love behind. She’ll be returning to America soon, without Hunter. Or does she?

Bliss is a novel you’ll want to read in one sitting. Zedde’s writing is intensely stimulating, as she brilliantly captures the spirit of the island. And the sex scenes were detailed so vividly, you could envision every touch or stroke. You will root for Sinclair and Hunter, as you can tell they truly belong together.

Zedde leaves nothing to the imagination, but with each page, makes you wish for that “it.”

Reviewed September 2005

A Deeper Love by Shonia L. Brown

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Publisher/Date:  Writer’s Club Press, Sept. 2002
Genre(s):  Romance, Self-Love
Pages:  216
Website:  http://www.nghosibooks.com

Rating: ★★★★★ 

Completely spellbinding, A DEEPER LOVE is the thoughtful, affectionate tale of Angel written by debut author Shonia L. Brown. The introspective novel will move you from beginning to end.

Angel is a recently-dumped woman whose girlfriend, Val, left her for a white woman. Feeling down, she heads to a local lesbian club to drown her sorrows. Ironically she meets Kim, a friendly white girl who manages to drag her to another club, there Angel meets Paula. Beautiful and voluptuous, Paula helps Angel recover from Val. She’s a breath of fresh air from the rubbish in her life.

Together they build a slow relationship, and while courting, they discover each other’s pasts. Angel tells Paula about Val; Paula shares her family issues and being closeted. They attempt to help one another through their pain, all the while falling in love. The two are inseparable, or so it seems.

As love arrives, it soon vanishes. Paula is called away for a family emergency back home, and she disappears from Angel’s life. Paula cuts all ties and communication with Angel, leaving her devastated. At first Angel doesn’t know what to do with herself. But, through her solitude, Angel learns to depend on herself and look within for happiness. She becomes stronger in Paula’s absence and a better person. It took losing someone to discover all the love she needed was within herself.

Brown created a believable read with A Deeper Love that surprises you on many levels. It portrayed the discovery of new love, as well as the heartbreak of losing it–and all of it changes you for the better. By the end, Angel unearths a deeper love, and is ready to give herself fully to a worthy woman.

Reviewed September 2005

Moving Forward in Reverse by S.D. Lewis

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Publisher/Date:  AuthorHouse, Oct. 2004
Genre:  Romance
Pages:  432

Rating: ★★★½☆ 

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

My Woman His Wife by Anna J.

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Publisher/Date:  Q-Boro Books, Dec. 2004
Genre(s):  Contemporary Fiction, Drama
Pages:  240
Website:  http://www.askannaj.com

Rating: ★★★☆☆ 

Scandalous folks abound in Anna J.’s erotic thriller, MY WOMAN HIS WIFE, the tale of a possessed woman who’ll stop at nothing to get Jasmine Cinque, a married mother of two.

Blame it on Jasmine’s husband. After five years of marriage, kids and careers, the romance and spark has died in James and Jasmine’s marriage. Where they used to indulge in all-night, do-it-anywhere lovemaking, now the couple is lucky if they manage to get their groove on for more than five minutes. But after weeks of creative, persistent begging, James finally convinces Jasmine that a little menage-a-trois with sex kitten Monica would be the perfect pick-me-up.

It’s new and bizarre to Jasmine to be with a woman at first, even with her husband by her side. She’s not that into it at first, but then realizes that Monica can touch her better than her husband. She’s surprised that a woman could make her climb the walls.

Jasmine is now going back for more–without her husband. But as much as she loves how Monica makes her feel in bed, she doesn’t want it to go too far. She loves her husband, no matter how good (or bad) things are at home. But Monica has other plans. She wants Jasmine to herself, and her crazy ass will do it by any means necessary.

Trust me, Monica is capable. She involves everyone in her plot to snare Jasmine, even without their consent. In her plan, Monica attempts to become pregnant by James make Jasmine leave him, and even manages to strong arm Jasmine’s secretary, Shelia, to set James up.

I have to give Anna J. her props. My Woman His Wife has some off-the-chain sex scenes; you might need to have your lover by your side when reading the steamy tale. However, while My Woman wasn’t entirely bad, there wasn’t much plausible about it. How could these people not know that one was sleeping with the other, including the husband and the wife?

And it’s hard to believe that Monica, even as fine as she was, could make everyone fall under her spell, when they all had some notion she was crazy. You also didn’t get a real feel for any of the characters except Monica, whose troubled background was greatly detailed.

You almost feel sorry for Monica…but not quite.

Reviewed September 2005

Fire & Brimstone by Laurinda D. Brown

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Publisher/Date:  Strebor Books, March 2004
Genre(s):  Contemporary Romance, Religious
Pages:  240
Website:  http://www.ldbrownbooks.com

Rating: ★★★★½ 

FIRE & BRIMSTONE is the tragic story of Chris and Gayle, two “bag ladies” carrying heavy sacks of unresolved issues.

In the beginning, there is Chris, an intelligent woman with two degrees – in English literature and French – from Howard University. Just as she was set to take the world by storm, she becomes pregnant. While waiting for boyfriend Trey to grow up and become a man, she moves home to Memphis to raise her daughter. Chris thinks it’s only a matter of time before he proposes and she has the perfect life: a doting husband and father (unlike her own deadbeat dad) and a beautiful baby. It doesn’t quite work out that way, and Chris begins to explore an attraction for women she’s harbored for years.

Chris first begins seeing Carol, a white-trash woman with a penchant for dark meat on the side. While that ends sourly, Chris meets Gayle.

Gayle is a story and a half. She’s got some deep-seated issues from her childhood. Totally opposite from Chris, Gayle is impressed because Chris is unlike anyone she’s ever dated. Never has she been with a college graduate or a woman so confident. It boosts Gayle’s morale, especially since she’s been in and out of trouble with the law and acts as if the world owes her something.

They begin dating seriously, and everything is cool at first. Gayle moves in quickly with Chris and her daughter, getting to know each other but not knowing the real story behind their facades.

Then things turn ugly. Really ugly. So much drama transpires in the novel from this point. Gayle began stealing from her job in order to get the things she thinks Chris deserves. When both ladies get caught up in unwise schemes, Chris finally realizes who Gayle really is, and the women twist in and out of each other’s lives like a tornado, leaving one another destroyed in the wreckage.

As the title Fire & Brimstone suggests, religion plays a part in the women’s relationship. Gayle, the minister of music at her church, spends a lot of time in the Lord’s house and moving the masses with her heavenly voice. What bothers Chris is that Gayle can run up and down the aisles on Sunday, then raise hell throughout the week. Not one for attending church, Chris doesn’t understand what religion is about. It’s only when the unexpected happens that she figures out what God’s been trying to tell her – Gayle’s not the one.

The message of the dramatic story is one of redemption. Both women had to be freed from the shackles of their pasts in order to claim their future. Whether homosexuality is acceptable is not the crux of the novel, but about accepting oneself.

Brown’s Fire and Brimstone reveals heart and soul, and the wayward routes we take to salvation.

Reviewed September 2005

Changes by S. D. Lewis (Aug. 2005 Pick of the Month)

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Publisher/Date:  AuthorHouse, Aug. 2003
Genre:  Romance
Pages:  268

Rating: 4 out of 5

CHANGES is the revolving story of 20-somethings Lelani, Jasmine and Moe, players in the game of love–all at different skill levels.

Lelani is the rookie, a mere virgin to both love and sex. Best friend Jasmine has had her share of rocky relationships, including a strained one with her baby’s father. And Moe is the stud extraordinaire, who’s had more women than she can count (or keep up with). These unique women are looking for different things from love–until their paths cross in several different and dramatic ways.

Jasmine, who says she’s bisexual, begins a sensual flirtation with Moe, who regularly visits Jasmine’s self-owned salon to deliver FedEx packages or to get her hair hooked up. They have a great first date, and although Moe believes Jasmine could be “the one” to make her give up the game, Moe still can’t let go of her wicked ways.

Meanwhile, Lelani is looking for “the one” herself. She thinks she may have found it in L.D., Moe’s best friend. The pair meet one day when Lelani is distraught and strike up a quick friendship that gradually turns into something more. But all the romantic dinners and picnics in the park dissolve after Lelani asks to meet her mother; L. D. simply can’t take it there because of the ex who still has a piece of her heart.

This is when the drama erupts. There’s a lot of back and forth, but the story ends happily, with everyone getting their relationships intact, even playa-playa Moe.

Lewis has created a credible plot in Changes that keeps you riveted. She manages to give each woman a distinctive voice, as each woman has her own story to tell and changes to make.

Reviewed August 2005

Considering Venus by D. Gisele Isaac

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Publisher/Date:  Seaburn Publishing, June 1998
Genre(s):  Romance, Mature Lesbians
Pages:  144

Rating: ★★★★☆ 

Even as the lines appear, the hair turns a little lighter and the all the children are gone, a woman still needs love.

That’s the underlying message of CONSIDERING VENUS, D. Gisele Isaac’s story of love between two middle-aged women.

Antigua-born Cass is the lesbian who falls for Lesley after they reunite at their 25-year high school reunion. Only one problem: Lesley is a straight woman recently widowed with three adult children. Seems unlikely that they’d fall in love–but they do–despite the fact that Lesley hasn’t figured out if she’s gay or straight, that she was married to a man for 23 years, and her grown children are very dependent on her.

They pursue a relationship in spite of all the barriers. Everything seems wonderful at first. Cass knows this is love, and while anxious and unsure at first, Lesley relishes their time together. That is until her children discover their affair; they selfishly scold her for becoming a “lesbian”–a badge they scorn her with like a scarlet letter–and accuse her of forgetting their father.

An interesting thing about Considering Venus is that Lesley’s sexuality is never defined. It’s just love between two women–with no barriers.

Isaac has written a lovely book, with just the right fusion of prose and poetry make it a joy to read.

Reviewed August 2005

Dancer’s Paradise by Terry B.

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Publisher/Date:  NHouse Publishing LLC, May 2004
Genre(s):  Romance, Identity
Pages:  320

Rating: ★★★★☆ 

What’s interesting about DANCER’S PARADISE is that author Terry B. fashioned the story from the lives of several real-life women.

A dancer at the Dominique St. Claire Dance Studio, Debrena Allison Allen joined the Sisters of Soul (SOS) troupe with long-time ally Lorrie Cunningham. Debrena and Lorie have been best friends since both were 10 years old, meeting at an audition held at a local recreation center. Through the years they’ve shared the love of dance and a hidden attraction. Despite Lorrie’s protests that nothing will change between them, Debrena doesn’t want to tinker with their friendship.

Debrena is a confessed bisexual (although she doesn’t care for labels) with an occasional hankering for punanny, but says she prefers men. Lorrie, who’s always been sure of her love for women, thinks Debrena is fooling herself. She tries to convince Debrena to be herself and trust the people that love her to know the truth. But it’s hard for naive Debrena to confess what’s truly in her heart, even to herself.

To prove it she becomes involved a relationship with photographer Choice Fowler. He introduces himself and they soon find themselves in a passionate relationship. She enjoys the sex, but it’s not really where her heart is. Her love is really for Lorrie though her stubbornness blinds her to it.

As an author, Terry B. wrote a captivating novel with Dancer’s Paradise. He taps into the mind of woman with such a genuine voice, and Debrena is a character that shows great emotional growth by the novel’s end.

Reviewed August 2005