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Summary: ANOTHER PAGE TURNER BY GLORIA MALLETTE
Review: Although the story was not inspired by some true life event. Arnells story with her mother is not something that's unheard of.
This story was a perfect example of the power of mind control. As I was reading, I kept thinking of what I would do if I were to find myself in Arnell's situation. At times I thought she really loved her mother but as I read further, I realized what appeared as love was actually insecurity,being that she had no one else to turn to but the very person who hurt her and made her life miserable.
When it comes to Gloria there's never a disappointment. But this Honey Well, I'd have to admit was the best I've read, so far.
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Summary: Disappointed & Disgusted
Review: As an avid reader of a variety of books, both fiction & nonfiction, Christian and not, I was very disappointed with The Honey Well. While I thought that the story line had a great deal of potential, the seedy, graphic and vulgar language with unnecessary cursing, was distasteful. The only reference to Christianity the book makes is the fact that a pastor frequented the Honey Well and attempted to condemn the ladies upon learning that his son was engaged to the owner's daughter. Rather than show the characters being ministered to, encouraged or supported in the midst of their dilemmas, the book declined to new levels of deceit. While I encourage anyone in their gift, this was one piece of Christian fiction that I was not impressed with.
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Summary: SECRETS REVEALED
Review: At the age of 16 life for a young girl should be spent shopping and talking on the phone about boys,but not for Arnell. Now that she is a grown woman she still harbors secrets of her pass. At an early age she was forced into the lifestyle of prostitution by her own evil mother Queen Esther. Using her daughter to help her pay the rent became her way out of poverty not only did she use her own child but any young girl she could manipulate. Arnell is engaged to be married but with this secret she's afraid that her evil mother will tell her fiance what really goes on in that house.
Arnells' past is haunting her but what she will found out is that Queen Esther has some skeletons in her own closet as well. Who will tell the truth and who will get caught up? This is one book that will kept you reading I know I did. Great book!!
After I finished this book I asked myself what kind of mother would sell their own child to get rich? Even though this book is not based on factual events you better believe that there is someone out there who has gone through something similar.
LaTONYA
R.E.A.L. REVIEWERS
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Summary: THIS BOOK IS TO HOT TO HANDLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Review: Caution when reading this book be sure to wear gloves because it is to hot to handle. Gloria malliette has done it again. Once again she wrote a book that captivate your attention from the moment you read the first word. She wrote the story so vivid that at times i had to remind myself that this was just a book. I was so angry with Queen ester that at times i just wanted to wring her neck myself. Queen ester was out to destroy her daughter arnell's life she did any and everything she could to con arnell into doing whatever she wanted her to do. The things that she did to her daughter arnell i wouldn't even do to my worst enemy. Esther had a heart of ice nothing mattered to her but the almighty dollar and she would do anything to get it even if it meant harming her own daughter. This book causes us to face the harsh reality that things like this actually happens in real life. Also it proves the saying what goes around comes around to be true because esther definetly got what she had coming to her. If you have not read this book yet you do not know what you are missing GO OUT AND GET THIS BOOK I GUANRANTEE YOU WONT BE DISAPPOINTED
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Summary: Great from cover to cover
Review: From the moment I started reading this book I was enthralled. I love that Mrs. Mallette writes about real issues, and child prostitution is a real issue, and the consequences of the decisions people make. Queen Esther was no honey of a mother, and her daughter, Arnell, suffered from a weak backbone, but that was to be expected when she had a evil, conniving, and controlling mother who prostituted her from the age of 16. Queen Esther could not have been my mother, but I know that there are real mothers like Queen Esther in the real world. My girlfriend said that if she had been Arnell that she would have long ago escaped her mother's clutches, but Arnell had been with her mother alone since the age of three, and everyone isn't strong enough to fight off the one they love, especially if it is one's mother. If I had not heard the true story of Kenneth Kimes, a 30 something year old man who did everything his mother told him to do including seduce women and kill people, I might have had a problem with Arnell, but poor self esteem will often tie a person to an abusive marriage and a controlling parent. By the end of the book, Arnell broke her mother's hold over her, whereas Kenneth Kimes never did. He's in jail. I loved the Honey Well. As well, I loved Shades of Jade, Promises to Keep, and Weeping Willows Dance. Mrs. Mallette writes books that are quite different from the type of books put out by most black authors today. I can't wait for Distant Lover. Kudos to you, Mrs. Mallette, for the fine array of your titles that grace my book shelves.
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Summary: Queen Esther--Unforgettable
Review: Gloria continues to amaze me with each book that comes out. She has a way of taking a difficult subject and writing about it with ease. From the very beginning of the story, some women will be able to relate to the plight of the daughter. Many have been there and done that: had to use sexual favors to stay afloat. When you add the mother Esther, who has to be one of the most self-centered characters ever portrayed in books, into the mix, the novel becomes a real page-turner. This is definitely a good selection for anyone looking for something different. As always, her writing is excellent and flawless.
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Summary: PHENOMENAL!!!!
Review: Gloria Mallette has done it again! This book is fabulous. Queen Esther is someone who will never be forgotten!! Great book and highly recommended.
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Summary: Read this book!!
Review: Gloria Mallette in the short space of four novels has managed to establish herself solidly among peers writing for the African-American literature set. With her first three novels (Weeping Willows Dance, Shades Of Jade, and Promises To Keep) Ms Mallette has done nothing to dispel that she shouldn't be a member of the club. Her fourth and current work confirms it. Now comes The Honey Well, which in my opinion, is easily the author's best work yet. It provides a subject matter rendered familiar in our society but unconventional by anyone else at this point writing about it. Every now and then you may come across a novel that will hold your rapt attention and allow artistic value to augment a good story - The Honey Well is all of that and more! Unlike the usual spate of books being churned out by authors of color, which tend to entertain but not be overly satisfying, I think the way this story is told it gives new meaning to dementia, decadence, and disillusioned goals in the eyes of how we see how money and power governs one of the main characters. This is a story of vaginal monologues and penile projections...armed with stimulating foreplay, the usual call & response interaction that brings it to a rousing climax! The Honey Well is deep. It resonates by taking a look into an authors' imagination about the world's oldest profession and a woman's prerogative to exploit, demean, and cater to self-serving goals. Esther imposes her will on her 16-year-old adolescent daughter, Arnell with a vile and unfathomable request to sleep with their old Jewish landlord, so as not to be evicted. This request manifested into reluctant career for Arnell, and a profitable one for Esther. The fact that Arnell became a high priced prostitute and Esther became her pimping madam gave a compelling reason for wrongs to be shifted, and rights to be uplifted as Arnell goes about taking control of her life subsequently. The Honey Well is the name given to a brothel by its distinguished customers and serve to be central point of the novel. The Madam is 'Queen' Esther who vows to keep the upper hand on anyone who threaten to 'mess with my money". Esther easily manages to be the character you'll love to hate. What type of mother would force her 16 - year daughter to be introduced to prostitution, or one that would defy the laws of morality involving familial order and ethical decency? With great insight, imagination and a remarkable eye for detail, the author breathes life into her characters. Listen as she describes her brood and her place of business: "The Honey Well is a classy house, in a classy neighborhood. My girls are attractive, well groomed, well polished, and have at least a high school diploma...and a few have college degrees. None have ever stood on street corners, and none have ever used drugs. They are all ladies! Each have at least a two-room suite or a large single room in this mansion, and they can use this address as their legal residence. Even those less-cultured individuals who consider my establishment the oldest profession would have to agree that it has class!" I couldn't fine a negative about this book, other than the fact that it ended too soon! The authors' attempt at a subplot could have been enhanced, but to do so would have taken away from the ambiance of the story itself. Albeit, the well-developed scenarios gave credence to the other characters that are reinforced, complex and flawed, the abusive mother-daughter relationship was depicted to show contrast. However, the characters of Esther and her daughter Arnell are so strong that the supporting cast is rendered cameo-like, but the author manages to show her skill at blending them seamlessly within the fabric at hand in weave an outstanding storyline. The dysfunctional realm reaches record lows as introductions of blackmail, revenge, backstabbing, and double-crossing lines of deceit adds flavor. Battle royals are fought throughout. This is truly a page-turner, which forces you to want Arnell to triumph and bring order to chaos. This writer is rapidly becoming a favorite of mine. The Honey Well just shows how important it is to think out of the box and find topics that can be the genesis of a good story. This novels flow with imagery and color. I'm looking forward to what is next on her palette.
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Summary: Awesome
Review: Honestly, I'd give this book 6 stars if I could. A truly awesome story of hurt, pain, and betrayal that will have your head spinning. Gloria's throne atop the literary world justs keeps getting higher and higher and I know this story added a couple more inches to it. "Queen Esther" stands out as a character I won't soon forget and truly gives new meaning to to the term "a mother's love". Hats off to you, Gloria.
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Summary: A mother's love
Review: I finished reading this book in one day. I had to see if Arnell would ever become strong enough to get her mother out of her life. When Esther asked Arnell to sleep with the landlord, I knew that that would not be the last time. Esther pimped her for all she was worth and then some. That's the kind of mother's love we can all do without. In a weird way, Esther really did love her daughter. You must read this novel.
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