Red Light Wives

Rating:
Summary: Spectacular!!!!!!!!!
Review: I truly enjoyed this book about different women ,their lives and their circumstances that put them in their current "job positions". Mary Monroe is a very talented author who keeps the reader enticed with words. This story made me laugh,cry and get angry. I went through the whole gammut of emotions. This story shows how anyone could end up being a Red Light Wife.

Rating:
Summary: Depressing......
Review: A book about women who become "working girls"....the part about Helen, whose mentally challenged, is just sad and sick......put the book away half-way through. It was just too depressing.

Rating:
Summary: Good story , how it really ends
Review: Again Ms. Monroe has taken reality and added bits of her seasoning to it and brought it to a simmer and served it out to the pubic to read. I for one am very pleased with this work because I like the ending because I find it to be realistic , I founds many parts to be humourous , and parts to be sad and so darn realistic. I have read most of her books and althought the character in the "Upper Room" stands out more in my mind I am quite statistfied with this novel and do not regret a dime of my money spent on it. The only question I have is when is her next novel coming out?

Rating:
Summary: For the most part, I enjoyed this book, but...
Review: I actually did enjoy this book. I think the author does an excellent job at weaving the lives of the characters together, and painting a vivid picture for us of what's actually going on.

The downfall of this book, and the reason why I only gave it 3 stars, is that I think the author tries a little TOO hard. She often tries to pour too many deep subjects and heavy material in at once, and it gets to be overkill. She could've ligthened up a bit on some characters, and let us into others a bit more.

Overall, it's a good book and a pretty good read.

Rating:
Summary: What was the point?
Review: I could barely get through this book. I found myself speed reading halfway through just to get a sense of completion.

I do not understand the point of this story. Yes, they were prostitutes, yes they had painful life and familial experiences but this book was just a narration - no story, nothing to sink your teeth into.

What a disappointment. I am just glad it was a library book and I did not spend my precious dollars.

Rating:
Summary: very different
Review: I have been a fan of Ms.Monroe's books and I must say I enjoyed this book immensely. I love the way she weaves the charatecers into the story and the most memorable for me would be Helen. While she is not glorifying or putting down one of the oldest professions in the world she does show us the ups and downs of the women who choose this life for whateever reason. I highly recommend this book...definite page turner.

Rating:
Summary: Not Mary Monroe's Best
Review: I love me some Mary Monroe books but this book was a disappointment. All of the African-American authors seem to go from just telling a story to defining character's lives. The only book I have read recently that did not do this is The Coldest Winter by Sister Souljah.

I read books because I want a story that will keep me engrossed. I don't want to read chapter after chapter of the character's lives being interwoven by ME into the story. I want the author to interweave the characters and the story together for me.

In this book and so many recent books, I have had to ask: "who is that again?" Anyway, this book is a good book but I could not become totally engrossed in the book because I had to constantly remind myself who each character was and what each character's point was in the storyline. This required too much thinking on my part.

As for the story itself, it is about the lives of Rockelle,Lula, Ester, Megan, Clyde, Rosalee (her mother), Helen and their tricks. Even though I just finished reading the book, the only clear characters to me were Megan (the mother of Clyde's daughter), Clyde (the pimp), Helen, and Ester (a woman abandoned in a trash can as a baby). Rockelle, Rosalee and Lula almost seemed interchangeable to me. Although their lives were totally different, these were just three characters that were hard to keep straight when reading the book.

I definitely would say that this is not Mary Monroe's best book.

Rating:
Summary: The dirt's been swept
Review: I read a book that had a story about prostitution, but it was a mother who prostituted her own daughter. These women all have their own stories to tell as to how they ended up selling their bodies. It's really sad. I felt sorry for them even though they are fictitious characters, somewhere in the world, these women are real. Also, I gotta tell you to check out the novel LUST OF THE FLESH. It's about a district attorney who gets caught up in a web of deceit, lies, lust, love, murder, mystery, suspense, betrayal, romance and sex galore! Is he really the biological father of his wife's promiscuous teenager daughter's infant son? Or has he been set up? It's a compelling, riveting story that offers enlightening messages throughout the novel. Enjoy your read!

Rating:
Summary: She gets better and better
Review: Mary Monroe, is an excellent writer her southern twang and down home situations are so real. All of her books are good and she always somehow incorporates former characters in to each book. Keep up the good work I love it!!

Rating:
Summary: Satisfied
Review: This is a satisfying read. How do you handle the cards that life deals you; if your spouse leaves you with three kids to take care of or if you left orphaned...to die in a dumpster? The author weaves a story of four women that struggles to put their lives back on track, hurdling big obstacles. Each character tells their story of how she ended up working as call girl. I liked that in spite of a bad situation, having to sell yourself for money, just to take care of you own, that in the end they all made the most of it. Each woman found her voice, gained strength, and took control of her life and found love and support. This is my first Mary Monroe book ever, and I am sure it wont be my last!