Our
Review:
Imani Book Club Rating:
4.0
If you are up on your
pop culture, this book will look familiar. Wrapped within these pages is
the story of rappers, their wives, music producers, singers and all the
salaciousness of the entertainment industry.
Alex is a freelance
journalist, who is writing a story about the wives of some of the most
recognizable rappers in the business. She is also ghostwriting the memoirs
of a woman who has slept with some of the most successful names in the music
world. Yet, she finds herself questioning her own relationship with an up
and coming rapper, Birdie.
Behind many of the
successful rappers, there are women at home learning to deal with the fame
and all it entails, which includes the indiscretions, drugs, alcohol and
money. Beth is married to Z, who in his prime was one of the hottest
rappers around, but not only has his career flat lined, his addictions have
taken over leaving Beth trying to keep her family together as she is
pregnant with another child. Josephine is a successful wedding dress
designer, but she is married to one of the hottest producers in the
business. She wants a family, but she also wants her husband to be
faithful, which is not an easy feat since his mistress is writing a tell-all
book. Kipenski is one of the most successful singers around, but she has
had enough of the industry and she is ready to start a family and settle
down with her longtime love, Jake, a successful rapper. Their relationship
has always been a secret, but not at Kipenski’s wishes.
With familiar pop
culture references, readers are immediately drawn into the drama in each of
the character’s lives. There is a little of everything in today’s music
industry in this novel. I mean there is teen domestic violence, drug
addiction, infidelity, jump-off tell-all books and how the music world truly
works. The author also references well-known entertainers as well. I could
tell you the pop culture references, but what fun would that be?
This is a book you
will not want to put down. The main characters have depth; however, some of
the minor ones do not have the requisite background to fully understand
their motivations. There were some over-the-top moments, which had me
questioning the believability of some of the things happening to the
characters. Although the pacing is well done, there are moments because of
the numerous characters; the plot’s flow seemed a bit disjointed. Enjoyable
and worth the time to read, my only true fault with the novel is there seems
to an opening for a sequel. If that is the case, I hope it doesn’t take too
long before it too hits the shelves.
Submitted by Cashana
6/10
