Sydney :

Rating:
Summary: Extremely Entertaining!
Review: I was so engrossed in this story, that I missed my stop on the subway. Excellent story of a brave soul. A must summer read.

Rating:
Summary: Getting off the merry-go-round
Review: Life is often what you make of it. If you allow people to control you and dictate how you respond in life, you will become battered and disillusioned. In SYDNEY, we meet Sydney Bingham who is trapped in an abusive relationship. Ken Minister has been abusing her for years. Sydney lives in constant fear of receiving another beating from Ken. When she discovers that he is cheating, she finally wants off the merry-go-round and does what she has to get off. This decision will put her in a precarious predicament, which will help to shape her move from Atlanta to Chicago.

In Chicago with a new job, very little money, a will to survive and some emotional baggage, Sydney strikes out to shape her own destiny. Her first real friend is Todd Henley, a gay cocktail server. Todd brings with him his ability to be just like a dear sister friend and some much-needed laughter into her dull existence. He is also instrumental in getting her to push past some of her emotional trauma in order to give love a try when she meets Clayton Moron, the man of her dreams. In fact, she has to pinch herself to make sure it isn't a dream. However, some leftover baggage and a little boost from Todd may cause her to lose this love of a lifetime. Will she be able to hang on to it? Or, will she lose her man and her best friend?

C.S. Kirksey has written a wonderful story about recovering from abuse and finding yourself while neatly packaging it in a love story. Each unforgettable character added a unique twist to the story. Kirksey vividly weaved each one into the story and invited readers to walk with them as they lived through love, anguish, joy, heartache and hatred. I loved how she began the story with Sydney staring into a cup of tea as she contemplates her life with Ken as going around in circles. Kirksey later ends with Sydney staring into another cup of tea realizing that with growth and healing, her life was no longer moving in circles. This was an astonishing story, one that left me wanting it to be drawn out just a little bit longer.

Reviewed by Brenda M. Lisbon
of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers



Rating:
Summary: Great Summer reading
Review: Sindey is a great story about a young lady faced with making some tough changes in life and facing these changes head on. It is really quite a funny story. You will laugh out loud at the characters in this novel. No doubt, you will also be able to identify with the main character as she experiences love, heartbreak, great friendship and a host of other emtions on her journey through life.
Once you start this book, you won't be able to put it down.