Shameless Hoodwives: A Bentley Manor Tale

Another great book. If you like the first one, you'll love this one. Fast pace well written. I can't wait for the third one on the men of Bentley Manor.

Wow!! After finishing the last page of this book that is all I can say. The second novel in the series is as good as the first. Miz Cleo and Miz Osceola are still all up in everyones business with their bats close by in case someone gets out of line. Bentley Manor still remains a place of hopelessness, despair and poverty. Most residents would give anything to escape the drug dealers, violence, filth and crackheads.
Miz Cleo's drug addicted grandaughter Takiah arrives after fleeing DC and the abusive hands of her husband/pimp. Miz Cleo takes her in and tries to see help in the good Pastor Eddie. Only the Pastor has a different type of healin on his mind...
Princess is in pure hell in Bentley manor..her mom Queen's only concern is the never ending stream of drug addicts/abusers/perverts she brings into her bed. They make Princess' life a miserable. Queen barely keeps food in the apartment. Her only respite is her singing and BFF Lucky.
Woo Woo (Lexi's sister) is torn between two lovers, her husband and her "man on the side) Hassan. Although her husband is straight laced and successful, Woo Woo can't help creeping with Hassan in Bentley Manor.
Keisha is tired of her crackhead hubby Smokey. He sells everything out of their apartment and beats her butt whenever he feels like it. Thank goodness for Shakespeare, he takes care of Keisha's kids and sends her to school for cosmetology. But is that all Keisha wants her husband's brother for?
Shameless Hoodwives is HOT!! This book is so good I hated that it had to end! Can't wait for the next in the series!!!

Just who in the hell will be able to depart Bentley Manor without being emotionally scarred for life? Keisha, Takiah, Princess and Woo Woo are the latest group of young women who are plagued with awful memories of a place they used to call home.

Keisha - married to a drug addict and mother of four, is barely hanging on to her sanity. Quilt ridden with the fact that she was able to quit her habit, while her husband Smokey still uses, she fights to keep her family afloat. With Smokey stealing everything but the kitchen sink, she continues to encourage him to clean himself up regardless of the vicious beatings and multiple trips to the hospital.

Takiah, a dope fiend who escapes her deranged husband/pimp, with her infant in tow. She lands right back at Bentley Manor to live with her Grandmother Cleo. Takiah leaves one abusive relationship just to be to be mistreated by the beloved Pastor Meyer.

Woo Woo - is a prime example of how an individual still possesses that "hood" mentality, long after deserting the hood for the suburbs. Now living a charmed life that most women would kill for, she continues frequent to Bentley Manor due to her lover, Hassan.

My personal favorite, Princess, has the voice of an angel. Her mother, Queen chooses to ignore the signs of abuse by the different men who frequent their home. Princess is shy and withdrawn and believes she'll never be capable of being a normal teenager. Encouraged by her best friend, Lucky to sing at a local talent contest, which she wins, life seems somewhat sweeter. However, just as her dreams of becoming a famous singer are becoming a reality, tragedy strikes and she's left all alone.

"Shameless Hoodwives" is a dynamic read complete with drama, destruction, hopelessness and surprisingly, a bit of humor (who would name their child Hawkina ... LOL).

If you're looking to be entertained, this IS it. Meesha and De'nesha, your latest effort IS deservingly worthy of five stars. One of the best of 2008.

SHAMELESS HOODWIVES takes readers back into the lives of the tenants of Bentley Manor, an Atlanta housing project. Miss Osceola and Miss Cleo are still keeping watch over their neighborhood. Miss Cleo receives a surprise when her drug-addicted granddaughter shows up on her doorstep with a six-month-old child. Miss Cleo enlists her pastor to help her niece turn her life around. Seventeen-year-old Princess is trying to stay focused in school as she anticipates her eighteenth birthday. She plans to leave her unstable home environment because her mother cares more for the lecherous, no-good men she invites into their home who prey on Princess. Gifted with an incredibly talented voice, Princess hopes to use it to get out of the hood.

WooWoo marries a dentist, which allows her to fulfill her dream and leave Bentley Manor. The problem is creeping with her lover keeps drawing her back. Caught between maintaining her secret and being happy, she must make a choice. Recovering addict, Takiah, is married to Smokey the crackhead whom readers were introduced to in Desperate Hoodwives. Smokey's brother looks out for his brother's family. When feelings develop between Takiah and her brother-in-law, it takes a lot of willpower to keep things from getting out of hand.

Oftentimes sequels to books are not as good as the originals, but I must say SHAMELESS HOODWIVES is better than its predecessor. Readers are introduced to new characters, as well as revisiting old ones. Needless to say, if they want the background of the older characters, they will have to pick up Desperate Hoodwives as this information is not shared. Diamond and Mink cover a wide range of issues: drug addiction, sexual abuse, homosexuality and infidelity and I experienced a gamut of emotions ranging from laughter to tears while reading the book. Diamond and Mink deliver a compelling hood tale that is a true page-turner.

Reviewed by Paula Henderson
of The RAWSISTAZ(tm) Reviewers

Although desperate hoodwives was my all time favorite this is a good book also. The book is fast pace and at times had me saying what did I just read.