Baggage Claim

Rating:
Summary: Running Out Of Time
Review: Baggage Claim is a hilarious novel of one woman's quest to be married. Being brought up brainwashed by tradition, Montana Moore was taught you weren't a woman until you were married. When she gets the shocking news that her youngest sister Sheree is getting married, Montana is forced with thirty days to find a husband while she flies miles around the country as a flight attendant.

Strangled by her fears of other people's perceptions, Montana races to find love everlasting from city to city and state to state while her love was there all along. Talbert has done a stupendous job creating his characters. They are comical and the emotions of the characters draw you in.

Although I enjoyed this book, I became quite irritated with the repeating of words to emphasize the emotion. It wasn't so much as redundancy as it appears to be his style of writing. I thought there were far too many clichés as well as sentences that rhyme. It is definitely great stage writing, but for literary purposes, it was a bit much. However, I am not turned off by Mr. Talbert's work. I would surely pick up another novel written by him.

I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a little laughter as they wind down at the end of their day. This book will keep you turning the pages as you giggle your day to day grim away.

Stacy Campbell
R.E.A.L. Reviewer

Rating:
Summary: Always A Bridesmaid, Never A Bride
Review: Renowned playwright, David E. Talbert makes a grand entrance into the publishing arena with debut release, Baggage Claim. Talbert's quick-witted dialogue and zany characters provide front row entertainment for an otherwise preposterous romance.

According to the women in Montana Moore's family, you are not a lady until you marry and not a woman until you have birthed at least two children. At thirty-five years of age, flight attendant Montana Moore is neither and with meager prospects. Baby sister, Sheree, announces her engagement to a promising physician and this sends our protagonist on a thirty-thousand mile expedition, with thirty days to charm a potential suitor into her fiancé. With the aid of cronies, Sam and Gail , Montana is whisked off to the Big Apple for an overdue makeover and begins her search high in the friendly skies from New York to California in search of prince charming.

Whom will she choose? Damon Diesel, a P. Diddy wanna-be; Reverend Curtis P. Merewether and his colorful wardrobe; pompous Councilman, Langston Jefferson Battle III; or Quinton Jamison, brandishing trinkets and a trip around the world. The clock is ticking as Montana finds her prospects are as wacky as her plan and true love could possibly be worth waiting for.

Outrageously funny...witty and charming, Baggage Claim is a must read. From the onset, Talbert lured me in with the prologue and captured me with chapter one. Talbert's debut reminds me of the adage, "never judge a book by its cover." I highly recommend Baggage Claim. Chick lit does not get any better than this!

Reviewed by Nicki Lancaster
APOOO BookClub

Rating:
Summary: Hilarious
Review: This book was so funny. I found myself laughing out loud and looking around to see who heard or saw me, because I was truly into the story and forgot where I was. The characters were written so vividly. I could see this as a movie.

Rating:
Summary: A flight to marriage
Review: Wickedly funny and wonderfully told, BAGGAGE CLAIM is a divine debut into the literary world by playwright David E. Talbert. Montana Moore is not only a flight attendant, but she's carrying enough baggage for two or three other people: baggage in her personal life and also in her family life. She is 35 years old and on a mission to find her a husband in 30 days or less using her connections to fly the friendly skies.

The women in Montana's family are obsessed with the idea of marriage and have come up with a ridiculous tradition of putting pressure on any woman nearing thirty who remains unmarried. Montana's the only one left and the noose around her neck starts to tighten as her mother just finalized her fourth marriage and her sister unexpectedly announces her engagement. Montana loses all sane thoughts, dismantles her theory of men and their similarity to various pieces of baggage, and gathers her flying buddies Sam and Gail for a master plan.

Sam and Gail have major work to do, but manage to reinvent Montana and get her ready for the flight of her life, as they go through her address book selecting men who will make marriage material for her. After checking the airline schedules, they are able to find out when the men will be taking flights for the holidays and in order to make the project work, Montana is set up to "accidentally" bump into them. Imagine it. Five different men, in five different cities across the United States; all with a history. From an imitation P.Diddy to a spineless minister, to a wealthy millionare and an attorney, she hopes to find "the one" who will help her break the "Moore Family Curse" and arrive at her sister's engagement party with an announcement of her own.

Getting from point A to point B in BAGGAGE CLAIM is outright hilarious. The dialogue of the characters intertwined with the proposterous plan of finding a fiance' by flying through the friendly skies will keep you reading this book from cover to cover. Talbert has a knack for bringing these characters to life and what a great transformation it was. I fell in love with some of the protagonists and felt a sense of loss as the story ended. He did a wonderful job of showing the reader that sometimes traditions are not always what they're cracked up to be and that they should not always determine how you run your life.

Reviewed by Tee C. Royal
of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers