Reviews for Sisters and Lovers

The average rating for Sisters and Lovers based on 2 reviews is 4.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2017-02-19 00:00:00 William Monk Sisters and Lovers PLOT: Is the story of 3 sisters (Evelyn, Charmaine, & Beverly) and their problems with the men in their lives. Evelyn is going through it with her husband Kevin because he wants to start his own black based law firm. Which she opposes because it took them long enough to get where they are. Besides he's just made partner. Kevin doesn't think he's being treated fairly at his firm. But then he starts spending time with a new friend more and more and hanging around a mysterious investor C.C. Who is this C.C? Beverly keeps getting stood up and finds out that new lover has been seeing his ex-girlfriend. Although she cuts him off and ends it, deep down she realizes that no one can take his place. But will it be too late before he walks out of her life and accepts a new job near his hometown? And Charmaine is stuck with a husband that lies all the time, and may or may not be using drugs. She goes back and forth but will she leave him alone once and for all? Remains to be seen. MY THOUGHTS: Books like this are just sad to me! Sighing! Tho they are based in TRUTH. The relationships between African-American women and men have declined even further since this book was probably written. And this was written before social media became a thing. But this is what we as black women have to deal with. Men like the ones portrayed in these very pages. Men like (Charles) who think it's ok to give us derogatory comments about oral sex. Men like (Clarence) who think they can just feed us any old bs, neglect their word, and just charm our clothes off, and not deliver in any other department. Even with supposedly "good ones" like Kevin, sometimes they don't listen and become blind to things like another women's attraction because they think it's innocent. Then for whatever reason, it's jealousy or we're somehow making it up. Instead of listening to our instincts. Then we're the ones in the wrong. Evelyn and Charmaine had their differences of opinion about dating a white man but presented with the limited choices we have today I was told by a friend that we'll have to if we want to be married. Black men in this weren't quick to offer Beverly anything lasting. They're often quick to spill fluids on a regular basis and drop children out of marriage but not even quick to donate their sperm. Which struck me as interesting because they give it involuntarily without being asked. I really wanted the author to make Peter a good man (though flawed). Because she made him look a little insane showing what side of the argument she falls on. Though she might have been trying to say all men have their issues. I wanted Peter to show Beverly (and be an example to us Black women) that even though we wanna stick by our black men and fight in their defense (sometimes) that it's ok to date outside our race. Sometimes you have to step away from what you know to get a different result. So Peter's character was wasted in that he could have brought a deeper message that all men no matter what color are the same. We also have to deal with men like (Byron) that they've barely taken us out and want sex immediately and have a stable of side chicks. Men who think why tie myself down to one. Only unlike with Byron they don't always make their intentions known up front and later on down the line we find this out. At least Byron was honest about his intentions. I wish more men would be (no matter what color). I wasn't really crazy about what Vernon represented and that's that because there are so few choices we have to accept things we aren't happy with because it's better than the alternative. I mean why do we have accept men that cheat on us with their ex-girlfriends? Because what? It's either them or nothing? And then there was the abuse from some of the men that made me cringe. Clarence frequently curses at Charmaine. Kevin while in anger grabbed Evelyn and then she says later he dunked her head under running water once before. It tried to play that lightly like she laughed about it but that wasn't funny to me. And it sounded abusive. The water may have been hot. Although to be honest the women themselves annoyed me. Evelyn annoyed me because she sounds like a snob going on and on about how she won't get a house in a rich neighborhood and not wanting to lose her *things*. (These women reminded me a lot of the main ones on Soul Food. Same situation wife that doesn't believe in her husband wanting to try something that's out of the box.) I was thinking well maybe if you believed in your husband he wouldn't have turned elsewhere. (Even though unlike in the movie he doesn't cheat but I half expected him too). Charmaine frustrated me because she's so insecure that because having a man is better than having no man at all she's willing to accept just anything he throws at her. Until her kicking him out is redundant and tiring. We know she's gonna let him back at some point. And I bet by the next book he'll be back. Somehow. But then again the sad thing is Charmaine represents a lot of black women today. Willing to just hold on to nothing to justify in their minds that's having a man. IT ISNT! And I've been there. I hate to even read about it. Beverly frustrated me because in the end she *does* settle. Just like her sister. Rather than being ok to spend her birthday alone or having the courage to ask her family she goes crawling back to Vernon. Although there's nothing wrong with second chances it would have been stronger to just have her go out alone and have fun. Leaving the book on the message that you determine your own happiness! Although I do agree Vernon was the best of pretty much all the men after him. I also didn't like Charmaine at times because her character was offensive to me because she used "Bama" like it was a derogatory & I'm from there so that turned me off a little to her. We aren't all country. There were some other plot points that need to be mentioned. One seeing black men with white women & seeing black women with white men. (Sighing) This isn't shade to the men of my race but the ones I've encountered (and let me be clear they aren't ALL like this) I would have NO problem seeing them with a white woman. I'd feel sorry for the white woman more than I'd be mad at the ex for "betrayal". (Snorts) GOOD LUCK! Do I feel offended as a black women? NO! Because you love who you love. And it would bother me ZERO if I were out and the man I choose was white and a black man gave us the eye. WELL where were you when I was single and having to deal with your brothers that were about bs? This men TREATS ME BETTER! And sometimes I think they don't realize it's like that. It's not that we *intentionally* want to go to the other side. That should be an eye-opener for them to tighten up and not to hate on the white man who intends to MARRY US! Do black men even still do this and give us crazy looks when they see us out with white men like we're traitors to them? The other issue was how white women are seen as more beautiful than black women. YES! Even YEARS after this book was written the lighter is better still sadly holds true. We see it all the time on television and movies where we aren't represented enough, at all, or are taken and made to look more white. But I find it amusing that sometimes white ladies have taken our features and looks and tried to claim them as they're own and we all know where it originated. SISTAHS! RATING:8 I think that this book spoke on a lot of ugly truths. But truths aren't always pretty. These men represented a small percentage of black men (and Petter a small percent of white). But regrettably sometimes as black women this for some of us is our experience. No relationship is perfect but this book does give an illustration. If you haven't dealt with a black man like one of these you probably know a girlfriend or family member that has. If not count yourself lucky. It just shows today how hard it is for single women to find a great guy no matter the color so it's a good book. I appreciate it's realness!

Review # 2 was written on 2019-08-11 00:00:00 Lorraine Worthley Connie Briscoe's SISTERS AND LOVERS is a beautifully written story about love, family heartache, and hope. The book follows the stories of 3 sisters each living in different areas of the same city, Washington D.C. They meet rarely and when they do they talk about their problems which revolve mainly around "men". Evelyn, the oldest successful sister with a good husband and two great kids seems to have things going downhill in her life and the secure life she has built is about to fall apart. She and her husband Kevin have made lots of sacrifices to accomplish what Evelyn considers as "a nice and secure life", which Kevin seems determinant to "throw [it] out the window and start it over" with the law firm he wants to have. Charmaine too is having issues with her husband who's a drama queen, he neglects his words and never keep his promises. All he cares about is his clothes and all he's good at is burning money on clothes or unwanted things in the house, besides, he uses drugs from time to time. Sometimes I can't have the nerve to read the book when it's about Charmaine and her man Clarence, both are a horn in the ass and irresponsible parents. I think the mature character out there is embodied in Beverly. She has high expectations when it comes to men and she would never settle for anything than what she wants even if she has to spend the rest of her days alone. However, she kind of surprised me because at the end of the book she does settle for what she used to refuse. At some point, Beverly frustrated me especially on family get-togethers, Sundays and birthdays where she finds herself alone and readers too are experiencing this loneliness with her and it's like she's calling silently for a man to chase off this loneliness. Connie Briscoe has a funny way to tell ugly truths about the African American way of life in the early 20s. the plot is somewhat predictable but in a good way because everything about it is meant to make you smile and then get pissed of so yeah.