Friends and Lovers

Rating:
Summary: A must read!!!
Review: This is the first novel that I have read by Eric Jerome Dickey and I loved it. The characters were so real and believable. The way that the author put so much life into the characters was awesome. He is a great author and I look forward to reading more of his works. I would defintely recommend this novel to my friends. This novel stuck with me and I commend the author greatly for a job well done.

Rating:
Summary: *** EXCELLENT ***
Review: By far, this is my favorite E. Dickey book. Though his characters are pretty much the same in all of his books, this was a little better.

Debra was the good one of his two leading ladies and it saddened me that she had to be the one to lose someone. However, the story was excellent and I look forward to picking up his latest, "Liar's Game."

Rating:
Summary: Okay...i was disappointed!
Review: Fellow readers, and lovers of free verse! This book is a good book, but you have to really be willing to expericne emotions such as hate through out the story. You have to be ready for let downs. I was apalled at this book, and ho the ending came about. The main character is Shelby, and her boyfriend Tyrel, i think that this either needs a sequel or something, cause you just don't leave your audience hanging on after they have made such a bold attempt at reading the book in the first place. The story was good, but by the end you are so angry with some of the characters you almost don't want to finish it. But over and all it was a pretty good concept, and the character's were set up great. So...if you are willing to go the extra mile, then you'll enjoy this book.

Rating:
Summary: i did not know this book was going to be good
Review: this was a good very book. i had this book for about two years and never read it. i leant it out to a few people and there the ones who forced me to read. anway it was a real story and i recomend anybody no matter male or female because the book has vies of both sides. there were some parts that were so real that it brought me to tears i loved tyrell and shelby's relationship also debra's and leanord there should be a follow up book.

Rating:
Summary: A Wonderful Book
Review: I read this book about two years ago, and I thought I put a rating on it. Anyway, this was a wonderful book about two couples who were struggling in their relationship and succeeded. My heart went out to Debra and Leonard. Leonard died at such an early age, but I was happy that Debra had something that would always remind her of Lenard. I liked Shelby and Tyrel too. Shelby's cavern was her dimples, which I thought was so cute. I truly enjoyed this book and was glad I purchased it many years ago.

Rating:
Summary: WOWII What a great book
Review: This is my all time favorite book by Eric. I have read this book again to refresh my memory after I let a friend borrow it. The way the author writes make it seem that you are right there with each character.

I actually finished this book in on day because I had to see what would happen with Terrell & Shelby and Leonard & Debra. They put the word friend in friendship.

I laughed, cried, and felt the pain that each of the characters felt with things that were going on in their life.

If you have not read any of Eric's books, I urge you to go out and pick up one if not all, you will not be disappointed.

Rating:
Summary: Better than average beach book...
Review: as a rule, i don't read the back of book jackets or look inside and read the book flaps, because i don't want to know the synopsis of the story. but i could tell just from the title, that this was another black love story in the vein of "waiting to exhale."

just like terry, dickey has his pulse on the african-american community; he knows brothers and sisters; he knows how they talk, what clothes they wear, what cars they drive and all the name brands that innundate their exsistence. like his other novels, "friends and lovers," is very contemporary; the use of pop culture references will make this book dated after a few years. but most writers are doing the same thing, so that is a moot point. dickey knows how to spin a good yarn and it was this talent that kept me engrossed in the book.

however, the book only deserves 3 stars, beacuse while the story was interesting enough to hold my attention, there were a lot of flaws, especially with the plot. dickey tells us about tyrel's relationship with his dad. and the scenes he shows of their relationship are sketchy at best. it would've been great if he could've devoted one chapter to just tyrel and his dad talking things out, not necessarily a " happy ending " type resolution, but at least showing them on the road to progress. we know tyrel is a mack, because of his dad's behavior, however i sympathized with him because he was searching for true love of all the characters, i found shelby the least appealing ( i'm sorry, she was a conceited b**ch..) she wants so much to be viewed as a "victim." she may have been college-educated, but she had a g.e.d mentality when it came to picking men. she's also irresponsible and selfish. if my woman had an abortion without consulting me, i would've kicked her out of my life. I'm not trying to be a moralist, but a man helps make a child too. shelby thinks all men are dogs and yet she dates richard, because he's successful, but she doesnt care about him, leading him on. there's more but i wont give it away. read the book. i didnt like the plot twist regarding leonard; he was the most likable character in the book. debra is a "good christian woman" and yet, she's a racist. though when you discover why, you feel her pain. Eric Jerome Dickey will probably never be compared to Richard Wright or James Baldwin( he's not literary or high-minded enough);he probably doesn't care with all the loot he makes from his books.but that's okay, his style is fine and it suits the masses. overall, its a better than average beach book.

Rating:
Summary: Friends and Lover
Review: I thought this was a great book to read. I always enjoy reading Eric J. Dickey's books. Once you start this one you don't want to put it down.

Rating:
Summary: I laughed, I cried, I enjoyed!
Review: I cannot begin to praise Dickey's work on this book. The characters pratically jumped off of the pages and into my room. If this book was made into a movie it would certainly surpass "Waiting To Exhale" ratings at the box office. I became attach to every character. I felt their every emotion. Leonard's situation really caught me by surprise. Now that I think about it in retrospect in the way the chapter titles bounced back from one character to the other it seemed forthcoming. All I can say is that this book sent me on an emotional rollercoaster. I have recommended this book to all of my close friends. This was my first time reading one of Dickey's books and it certainly will not be the last. Keep up the great work.

Rating:
Summary: WHEN IS THE MOVIE DUE? WAY TO GO EJD
Review: Eric is an AWESOME writer and won me over as a fan along time ago. Page after page I couldn't wait to see what would happen to Shelby and Tyrel. When Leonard and Debra's marriage suffers a dramatic twist, they all come to see that true love can exisit between friends and can be better the second time around. This book seemed to be so real, it was as though I knew these people. I felt like I was part of the story. This book will restore your faith in love and show you the true meaning of it. This would be an EXCELLENT movie and I hope to see it on the screen one day. I always look forward to reading Eric's books.

My biggest kick came when Cheaters was release and as I was reading it, there was my nickname "Toy"....I couldn't wait to meet Eric, when he came to Houston and I look forward to seeing him again when he does his tour for Liar's Game. The excerpt on it sounds AWESOME!

Continued success Eric and keep those BESTSELLERS coming.