Renee and Jay

Rating:
Summary: I'd give it fewer, but
Review: I really wanted to like "Renee and Jay," but that was utterly impossible. Like a lot of romance novels (which I don't consider this to be), the sex seems to come too fast, and many situations seem wholly unbelievable.
Renee and her mama were stereotypically drawn, as were Giovanni and his father, and Renee's father just seemed like something tacked on to extend the story (unnecessary).
I hope that with Mr. Murray's next book, his characters will be more realistic and sensible.

Rating:
Summary: Kept me reading,but..........
Review: ... Renee [came] across as a spoiled mama's girl.Sometimes I just wanted to smack that girl,she was so mean to Giovanni. The scene where she and her best friend Colette set up poor Giovanni in the restaurant was indicative of her somewhat teenage behavior. I found it difficult to believe that two 26 year old women would indulge in such a childish prank.And find it funny. I wish that Giovanni had been more assertive and really let them both have it. As it was, he came across as somewhat of a doormat.He was just toooo happy that Renee was seeing him. Also,Renee's mama,while a very funny character,was just a little too much. As a contemporary of hers,I can tell you that her decision to have Renee by herself and keep the father out of the picture was really unbelievable. Are these college educated black women?! Please! They don't act like it. But on the positive side ,there were some laugh out loud moments in this book and the author has a very easy and readable style which kept me entertained even when I was shaking my head over some silly behavior by Renee or some other character. Maybe his next book,which is excerpted in the paperback edition that I read,will have more realistic and sympathetic characters. I for one intend to find out.

Rating:
Summary: laugh out loud!
Review: I don't think that this book was intended for any serious reading. this book was a complete comedy with a love story mixed in. I absolutely loved all the characters and I thought for a first novel Mr. Murry shows alot of promise and I expect great things in his upcomming novel. I believe that this book provides a little laughter in a much to serious interacial novel market

Rating:
Summary: In a word - DEMEANING!
Review: This book was Extraordinaryly unbelievable! and Very Sad!. It makes me sick to think that someone is writing junk like this and calling it a romance novel or any novel for that matter. I cannot believe I purchased this book. I kept trying to give the author the benefit of the doubt, hoping that it would get better, that Renee would begin to speak like she had a degree or any intelligence at all. Renee and her friend reminded me of the characters in BAPS, the movie. I've seen the word sterotypes written in some of the other reviews. It think this book goes beyond stereotypes. It becomes demeaning in the first few pages, "she white" instead of she's white, come on, is that supposed to be funny. I am so upset that this book is sitting on the shelves with other great authors of interracial romance novels. The author should be ashamed to have written something like this. Beyond that it didn't even make sense. We have a 26 year old female that acts more like 16 and a supposedly grown man who acts like a lap dog. DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME OR MONEY ON THIS if you respect yourself as an African American and are a somewhat intelligent human being. The only people that could have enjoyed this book are those that can relate with the characters in the book. I give myself and many of my sisters more credit than that.

Rating:
Summary: Mr. Murray is great
Review: I think Mr. Murray did a great job with his book, and I also wanted to point out what a good job he is doing being my english teacher [haha], and a dad to those 2 cute kids, and just a general nice guy. Even though sometimes in class he ignores our questions [okay, it's funny], he has a lot of spark and wit and funny ideas that will hopefully one day turn into good books like this one. Oh and by the way, I think that anyone has the ability to be sassy, or obsessive, or overly concerned, or condescending, so maybe it's not a racial thing at all. Or maybe tomorrow in class Mr. Murray will yell at me. I hope not.

Rating:
Summary: really a 3.5
Review: I liked the book, it was a good love story...........but i was gettin' kinda tired of Renee sayin' "my people this and my people that" at first it was funny then it got annoying.I did get offened on some parts. I would have to agree with one of the reviewers, it was alot of stereotypes in there. I don't think his wife is like that though. The book was origanally for her. but a little hint jj, make sure you ask a different black woman her opinion before putting it on bookshelves. All in All jj muray did a good job on the love part. And Renee's mama was crazy, I loved her character.

Rating:
Summary: Doesn't make the cut
Review: This book is a hot mess. First and foremost, the author takes stereotypes to the extreme.
Renee is portrayed as a uneducated, arrognant, narcissistic, cold-hearted, loud-mouthed, harsh-mouthed, insulting (fill-in-the-blank)! I have never been so offended by a book. It only makes me wonder if the author's wife is this way---I sincerely hope not!
Giovanni, is portrayed as this passive, lap-dog, submissive, always-willing-to-please, slave, who doesn't think for himself. He is constantly ridiculed by Renee's harsh and insensitive comments. He is also stereotyped as this smelly, dirty, Italian.
This book is beyond believable. Renee is stuck on some "my people" trip the ENTIRE book. African-American people (me being one) don't go around always saying "My people this...and my people that..." If she's so stuck on my people then why is she wasting her time with a white guy. If she claims to love him so much why is she insulting him so much. It comes to the point were you're cheering for Giovanni to leave her.
All the African-American people in this book are foul-mouth, loud-mouth, ignorant, nasty adults. Renee supposedly has a BA in business, but why is she working at the cable company answering phone calls. Renee's mother is also this extremely controlling, sneaky person, albeit, mother's like this can exist in real life, but this mom went to the extreme by testing her daughter's urine to see if she was pregnant and making her not see her fiance for over 4 months "just to see if they're love is strong enough". How old are they again?!
This book would probably appeal to a teenage audience, mainly 14-17 year olds. It is not satisfying enough for an adult-reader, who has read extraordinary interracial romance books by author's like Sandra Kitt or Gywnn Forrester.
Once again, all I could think of as I read this book was that I certainly hope his wife is not like this in real life, because if she is I'll be praying for you. On the bright-side of things (if that exist) the author has written some funny scenes that'll make you laugh-out-loud at times. I believe that Mr. Murray has some strengthens in his writing but he needs to make a tremendous amount of improvement if he wishes to be a credible author. Writing a book is hard work, so I give the author credit, but since Amazon.com has given us an opportunity to review I've chosen to voice my opinion. If you must read this book, buy it used as I did for [a cheaper price].

Rating:
Summary: Hilarious!
Review: This book had me laughing out loud on the subway! While people thought I was a nut, I was cracking up over the romance between Jay and Renee. Her relationship with her mother was equally hilarious! I cannot wait for Mr. Murray's next book to come out. Bravo, Mr. Murray! You have written a smart, funny and absolutely romantic book.

Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable
Review: Renee and Jay is an enjoyable read, but there are some aspects of the book that leaves alot to be desired.

I like the fact that Renee is a modern black woman, but many times throughout the book, I found her overbearing, bossy and arrogant. From the beginning of the relationship, she seemed to be the one in charge - ordering him to do this and that, snapping her fingers at him, calling him "boy" all of the time and just being rude sometimes even. I did not particularly care for her mother of her best friend. I thought that her mother was super nosy and bossy - constantly pushing herself in her daughter's business - its not like Renee was sixteen or even eighteen years old - she was twenty-six for goodness sakes and was still afraid of her mother - she basically hinged her relationship with Jay on what her mother would have thought, not what she felt. The worst thing that her mother did was to test her daughter's urine behind her back to find out if she was pregnant! Ugh!

Also, what was the point of sleeping with the guy and then refusing to let him hold her hand or kiss her in public? or in front of her own friends and family? I thought it was just another power trip on her end as she had to establish that she was in control of the relationship.

Now as for Jay - he was entirely too passive for my taste. The only thing that he did with some backbone was to stand up for them when some men called him a "n-lover" Other than that, Renee had him on a leash and I was not entirely convinced of their attraction for one another - and the poem he read her - puh-leaze! I just could not reconcile the pale fellow with such little personality writting such a poem and meaning it!

I still read the book in less than two days because it was a funny read and I'm a fan of interracial romance and there are so few to choose from. I hope that I can see an improved writing style on interracial romance in the future by this author.

Rating:
Summary: This Is Why I Need to Write an Interracial Romance Novel
Review: I don't know where to start with my criticism of this book.

I suppose I was hoping for something with a lot less dependency upon trite stereotypes of black womanhood. I was trying very hard not to be offended at yet another white male fantasy of what black women are about, even one written by a man in an interracial marriage.

Renee, for all her supposed education and sophistication, was a tiresome character, and her personality was far from being amusing. In fact, she came off rather ignorant, especially when it came to trying Italian cuisine for the first time. I mean, did the woman live in a vacuum? It seemed that Renee had never enjoyed a pizza or spaghetti before. If Roanoake, VA is that backwards, I for one most certainly wouldn't want to live there.

Renee's views of Italians came off as biased and prejudicial. Her comments about Giovanni having a "smell" that she found distasteful was bothersome. Does the author really believe that most black people in America have never been around Italians? Has the author ever lived in New York, or somewhere a tad more cosmopolitan?

To me, Renee came off as selfish and far more concerned about what other people might think about her growing relationship with Jay, and less about her own true feelings. I was very disturbed by her refusal to allow Jay to hold her hand or bestow a kiss on her in public because she didn't want anyone to see them together.

In many ways she was petty and juvenile, and if I had been Giovanni, I'd have married someone who had their heads on a little straighter than "sister girl" Renee. Renee's overbearing mother and best friend left a lot to be desired as well.

Giovanni was too typically the "romantic" hero and he could have used a lot more guts. The entire "hip-hop" poet aspect, also left me feeling a little unsure. It seemed almost contrived somehow, as if the author was trying to convince the reader that Giovanni's interest in Renee was sincere.

The only decent characters with any sort of warmth and likeability were Giovanni's father and sister, who was a lesbian. Their reunion was probably the most touching moment in a book rather bereft of them.

Being in an interracial relationship myself, Renee's behavior just reinforces my belief that some people simply are not emotionally mature enough to handle going against the grain. For myself, the only happiness I care about is that of my partners' and my own. The rest of the world can go hang.

I will say, in spite of my disatisfaction with much of the novel, I still read it in two days, the only reason being the lack of interracial romances in general.

This book has also given me impetus to write an interracial romance of my own, because it shows me the mistakes NOT to make.