Near Perfect

Rating:
Summary: Could have been perfect-
Review: "Near Perfect" opens with feisty Roxanne happily married to famous football player having everything she could ever want, except one thing....a baby. Everything seems near perfect until unexpected tragedies strike. In true sister-friend fashion her girls are there for support; but this time, Roxanne needs the support of her childhood friend more. Roxanne knows her friendships are strong, but are they strong enough to withstand all this and more?

"Near Perfect" is authored in true Sharon Mitchell style. It is well written and entertaining. As usual, she pulls you into her characters lives, has you experience their happiness and heartaches, desires and disappointments. This book will take you through relationships that have thrived on deception and jealousy and a world that is filled with illegal marriages, illegitimate children and ironically love.

"Near Perfect" was labeled and promoted as the "long awaited follow-up" to "Nothing But The Rent", so Sharon Mitchell fans waited anxiously to find out what happened to that sassy foursome of friends. Unfortunately for us, it didn't quite meet its claims to notoriety. For example, in the opening chapters not only did Ms. Mitchell introduce new characters (Roxanne' husband and her best friend); she started writing about them and their connection with the "familiar" characters as if we (the readers) knew there had been a preceding relationship. I actually had to re-read "Nothing But The Rent" to make sure I hadn't forgotten anything.

Fortunately for first time Sharon Mitchell readers, they will be able to read a wonderful book about friendship and love. Unfortunately for those who are adept Sharon Mitchell readers "Near Perfect" wasn't quite as perfect as it should have been.

Rating:
Summary: Warmhearted Romance With A Twist
Review: "Near Perfect", a 325 page novel, is a good read. I read it because it was my book club selection of the month and really enjoyed it. I have been told that it is a follow-up to "Nothing But The Rent" which I have not read. I did not get the impression while reading it, that it was a sequel. It ended with a strong possibility for a follow up book...probably titled "The Other Side of Perfect".

"Near Perfect" finds Roxanne and Jamal happily married for 5 years. The only thing missing is a bouncing bundle of joy...which they are having trouble conceiving. Jamal does not have the usual characteristics of most NFL stars. After one night out at a strip club, Jamal combines alcohol, medication and fatique...which are ingredients for disaster. I was hanging on the edge of my seat as the story unfolded. Did Jamal actually have sex with the stripper, Honey Brown? Did he father a child from a questionable one night stand? Did the stress from his deadly secret lead to his untimely death? Do we women really teach men how to treat us without realizing it?

As the story did unfold, Roxanne needed all the support she could get. Her dysfunctional family fall short, but her girlfriends pick up the slack. Eventually the story takes a suprising twist as Roxanne's best friend Linc (also her husband's best friend) has to decide what to do about his strong attraction and desire for her. Can best friends become lovers and grow together? Well, if there is a follow-up...that would be the central issue and why I previously stated it could be titled "The Other Side of Perfect."

Rating:
Summary: Warmhearted Romance With A Twist
Review: "Near Perfect", a 325 page novel, is a good read. I read it because it was my book club selection of the month and really enjoyed it. I have been told that it is a follow-up to "Nothing But The Rent" which I have not read. I did not get the impression while reading it, that it was a sequel. It ended with a strong possibility for a follow up book...probably titled "The Other Side of Perfect".

"Near Perfect" finds Roxanne and Jamal happily married for 5 years. The only thing missing is a bouncing bundle of joy...which they are having trouble conceiving. Jamal does not have the usual characteristics of most NFL stars. After one night out at a strip club, Jamal combines alcohol, medication and fatique...which are ingredients for disaster. I was hanging on the edge of my seat as the story unfolded. Did Jamal actually have sex with the stripper, Honey Brown? Did he father a child from a questionable one night stand? Did the stress from his deadly secret lead to his untimely death? Do we women really teach men how to treat us without realizing it?

As the story did unfold, Roxanne needed all the support she could get. Her dysfunctional family fall short, but her girlfriends pick up the slack. Eventually the story takes a suprising twist as Roxanne's best friend Linc (also her husband's best friend) has to decide what to do about his strong attraction and desire for her. Can best friends become lovers and grow together? Well, if there is a follow-up...that would be the central issue and why I previously stated it could be titled "The Other Side of Perfect."

Rating:
Summary: EXCELLENT
Review: An excellent novel that keeps your interest from begining to end. Much blessings to Ms. Mitchell

Rating:
Summary: BREATHLESS
Review: BREATHLESS...That's exactly how I felt after completing this novel. Boy, I tell ya...That's a welcomed feeling.

A little skeptical about purchasing this one, since it was the follow up to "Nothing But The Rent", which was not one of my favorite or most memorable reads, to say the least. But I was curious all the same.

To the reviewer that got discouraged, when the story-line stopped going in the direction she wanted it to, simply remember that not only is this a work of fiction, it mirrors actual day to day life for the average person. Things don't always turn out the way we would like.

To the author, if she get the chance to read these...this stems from you previous novel "Nothing But The Rent", but focuses primarily on Roxanne....Does that mean we can look forward to future novels based on the other three main characters?? Also, can a sista get a follow up to Sheer Necessity?? I loved that one also.

This was truly a pleasurable read. Actually one of my favorite reads for 2001. I highly recommend this to everyone.

Many blessings to you Ms. Mitchell...I look forward to your future endeavors!

Rating:
Summary: "B"OOORING
Review: Hmmm! I noticed that many of reviewers gave "Near Perfect" a good rating. I don't know if they read the same novel I read because this book was no where near good. It was BOOORING. It took me six weeks to read this laborous read. The only reason I endured the entire novel was due to my policy to finish any novels I begin. In my opinion, the storyline was wavering. One minute its about Jamal and Roxy then Jamal suddenly dies and Link discovers his overwhelming love for Roxy all of a sudden (eventhough he has know her for twenty plus years). This novel "only" gets interesting in the last seventy-five pages. I kid you not. This is a novel not worth reading they are to many other things to do.

Rating:
Summary: A very good read
Review: I found this book to be a good read. But first I forgot about the ladies in Sheer Neccesity. Yet, they really come through for Roxanne in this book. Her mom was as ditzy as ditzy could be. ALl she wanted to do was be happy and avoid the worst if possible and that wasn't going to happen. As for Linc, the long-suffering brother, I felt that he handled his feelings for Roxanne well to a degree, but he waited far too long and kept us wondering whether or not he would have confessed his feelings to her. Then you have this young sister(Honey Brown) who causes a big stink with Roxanne's family. All she could do was put up some bravado and talk a lot of crap when she should have had the simple grace to tell the truth from the get go. Yet despite that
Roxanne goes away feeling peace with the encounter. It drags at first, but as the plot thickens, it gets real good.

Rating:
Summary: A little bit predictable...
Review: I had never read Sharon Mitchell before so I decided to get this book when I couldn't find the prequel to it.
I really like her writing style and the story was interesting but I could pretty much guess what was gonna happen before it happened.
There was on twist in the story that I did not predict AT ALL and that was exciting.
Overall, it was a good read but I wish it wasn't so predictable.

Rating:
Summary: Read in One Day
Review: I just enjoyed the storyline of this book. In real life, there is so much drama with athletes being unfaithful to their spouses with "groupies" but this had a surprising ending.And it exposed an African American couple who were in the limelight as positive people which, at times can be very lacking in our community. I say positive because they were not just characters who lived the "rich and famous lifestyle" but were also involved in community service, assisting those less fortunate. But the fact that the media tends to try to dig up the worst when tragedies happen is very realistic. Sharon Mitchell is a wonderful writer. I have read all her books, and like the way she makes her stories so realistic that you can relate to the characters and the settings.

Rating:
Summary: Almost Great Book---Very good read!
Review: I really enjoyed this book, the only reason why I gave it four stars is because I thought it somewhat left you hanging at then end. One plus is that Ms. Mitchell draws you into the characters. You feel like you could be Roxanne. You actually start to feel what she is going through. It's wonderful...I love books that draw you in that way, but then at the end you want more. The other thing is that I wished Roxanne had found out what happened that night. OHHHH the other thing I really wished would not have been included is the one line when she asks herself was there a medium available at the spa since she was confused and needed consultaton. I would have jumped for joy if Ms. Mitchell would have made Roxanne consult God in addition to everyone else under the sun. Near Perfect's entire plot is summarized in about 2 1/2 pages in the last chapter. Don't get me wrong I would recommend this book to everyone, but I sure hope there is a sequal. I would really want to know what happened to the main characters after all was said and done. Near Perfect really was a good book.