After The Dance
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- $7.99
Publisher Description
It's Her Game . . .
Here's my deal--I'm not knocking myself out to find Mr. Right anymore. As far as this thirty-something sistah is concerned, it's now about reciprocity, not romance. A brother doesn't have to whisper promises he won't keep or make me any kind of commitment. All he needs to do is respect my boundaries, rock my world--then step the hell on before anyone gets too attached. That's why the last man I need to be trying to hook-up with is my next door neighbor, Carl.
But He's Breaking All The Rules . . .
Who does Faye think she's fooling? She and I both know all that talk she does about game-playing is little more than a big front. Besides, playing by the rules won't necessarily keep us from falling in love. And if what's been going on between us lately is any indication, I'm thinking at least one of us is already halfway there. . ..
"After the Dance is a fast-paced delight with a plotline so intriguing and dialogue and characters so real, I had to keep reminding myself that I was reading fiction. It is an easy read with NO dull moments. I was hooked from the first page to the last. This is a five star new story from a five star new author!" --Mary Monroe, New York Times bestselling author
"Unique, interesting characters and sharp, crackling wit laced with occasional pathos make this first novel a genuine winner." --Gwynne Forster, author of Getting Some of Her Own
"With its Southern charm, impossible-to-resist characters and hilarious take on relationships, this book is a must-read!" --Tu-Shonda L. Whitaker, Essence bestselling author of The Ex Factor
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this lively debut romantic novel, Johnson creates an intimate portrait of two unlikely characters as they navigate the beginning of a relationship. In alternating first-person chapters entitled "Him" and "Her," we hear from pharmacist and cynic Dr. Margaret Faye Abrahams and her neighbor, Carl, a paycheck-to-paycheck single guy with three kids to support. Faye and Carl are just getting comfortable with each other when Faye's ex-boyfriend Scoobie reappears after a 12 year absence. Scoobie, now better known as Chef Vernard Payne, celebrity chef and cookbook author, admits to having been "a low-down, dirty dog" who once emptied Faye's bank account and abandoned her when she got pregnant, but claims to be a changed man who wants to make things right. Faye is willing to forgive and forget, but only because she and Scoobie share a painful past. As she tries to make the relationship work, she learns that Scoobie plans to mold her into someone she isn't, which, as Faye puts it in characteristically straight-forward urban language, is "some kind of skinny-ass Stepford wife." There's no surprise ending here, but Johnson's humor, control of voice and down-to-earth characters will likely capture the hearts of readers, regardless of their familiarity with this genre.
