The Word on Street Lit: Kiki Swinson, Endy & Noire
Featuring Kiki Swinson, Endy & Noire
By Rollie Welch, Cleveland P.L. -- Library Journal, 04/15/2010
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Heard any good street lit lately? Recorded Books offers several new street lit titles in its Griot Audio line. Teri Woods’s Dutch, Janine A. Morris’s Drama 99 FM, and Zane’s Total Eclipse of the Heart highlight selections geared to an African American audience.
In other street lit news, Joy Deja King, after a legal battle with Triple Crown Publications, has bought back the rights to her hugely popular “Bitch” series—Bitch (Part I), Bitch Reloaded (Part II), The Bitch Is Back (Part III), Queen Bitch (Part IV), and The Last Bitch Standing (Part IV)—and re-released the books last month under her own King Production imprint along with her new title, Trife Life to Lavish (Part II). A bitchin’ good time awaits.
Pick of the Month
Swinson, Kiki. Wifey 4 Life. Melodrama Pub. (Wifey, Pt. 5). Apr. 2010. 256p. ISBN 978-1-93415-761-9. pap. $14.95. F
Working her groove in tropical Anguilla, Kira Walters is enjoying the loving attention of Donovan, a guy without extra fat on his sexy body. Her island pleasure ends when her realtor calls to close a house in Houston. It’s a setup, and Kira is forced to return to her running ground in Norfolk, VA, a place where the drama of her first marriage ended with the death of her drug-dealing husband. Swinson knows about building tension, as Kira is kidnapped and must outwit a group of thugs. But once free, like any girl from the streets, she’s all about deadly revenge.
Verdict Swinson is at the top of her game with this fifth series installment (after Still Wifey Material), which has the feel of a hard-boiled detective novel in the style of Robert B. Parker. The contrast of the sunshine of Anguilla with the darkened streets of Norfolk pummels readers’ senses. An open-ended climatic scene suggests a sixth book. Let’s hope so. Until then, re-purchase the whole set.
Antoinette, Ashley. Moth to a Flame: A Street Novel. Urban Bks. 2010. 291p. ISBN 978-1-60162-263-1. pap. $14.95 F
Flint, MI, (pop. 112,900) sure has a lot of stuff going on, little of it good. Seventeen-year-old Raven Atkins, daughter of Flint’s big-time gangster Benjamin Atkins, falls hard for local thug Mizan. Blinded by the streets' glamour, Raven doesn’t see that Mizan is manipulating her so he can move in on the city’s drug business. Although warned that Mizan is trouble, Raven becomes the moth to Mizan’s flame and gets burnt…more than once.
Verdict Ashley Antoinette is one half of the celebrated writing duo Ashley and JaQuavis (Dirty Money; The Trophy Wife). Her solo effort covers five years of abuse, murder, and backstabbing swirling around Mizan and Raven’s relationship. Shocking scenes are scattered throughout, but the story bogs down with details telling us every single move made by the characters. Yet, this title was recommended to me by a teenage employee at my library. She said, “It’s good, really good.” The author’s name will definitely generate reader interest.
Endy. In My Hood 3. Melodrama Pub. 2009. 295p. ISBN 978-193415762-6. pap. $14.99. F
The characters who first appeared in previous titles in Endy’s series (In My Hood; In My Hood 2) continue the saga centered on 15-year-old Nyeem, dreaming of NBA stardom. He carries the sins of his father, Ishmael, a legendary Newark gangster. Ruthless assassin Black Widow slumps top players, but all hell breaks loose when she knocks off kingpin Big Roy Jones. Hundreds of bullets fly, and dozens of bodies fall.
Verdict Endy flashes back to previous scenes in the series to help explain the current backstabbing, but readers may become confused if the narrative is happening in the past or present. More murders happen here than in any slasher movie, several very creative. The ultra-violence keeps the pages turning with street shoot-outs in broad daylight, but the story is fairly predictable. Still, Black Widow’s bloodthirsty Rottweiler is a scene stealer, and Wahida Clark’s foreword will attract readers.
Hilton, Erica. The Diamond Syndicate. Melodrama Pub. 2010. 265p. ISBN 978-1-934157-60-2. pap. $14.99. F
Diamond Reed is raised as a selfish brat and grows to be a manipulative cougar seducing Newark thugs for money. She even pulls in her own son, Dante, to move product as he dreams of leaving the hood the legal way. Diamond runs scams from false welfare claims to phony insurance settlements. When anyone becomes suspicious, her boytoy Trey goes to work murdering any opposition. This Ma Barker-esque gang leader is one of the least likable villains in street lit. When asked why she plays men, she voices her greedy attitude. “Girl, I gotta get me a man with some real money. I can’t keep messing around with these bums that keep giving me chump change.”
Verdict Diamond is outrageous, and the sex is nuclear-hot between a forty-something and a parade of guys in their early twenties. Like a praying mantis, this female has several lovers murdered, a trait that will either thrill or appall readers. A sudden shift from the street to a lengthy and melodramatic courtroom scene slows the last third of this promising title by the author of Ten Crack Commandments and Dirty Little Angel.
Monay, Michelle. Hood Richest. Triple Crown. 2010. 215p. ISBN 978-0-9825888-7-1. pap. $15. F
Jayah Carter, the 17-year-old daughter of Miami drug lord Jay Carter, is the baddest chick in the city. Bold, fly, quick to fight, and all street, Jayah never loses in her quest for more money—a potential lover drops $76,000 on jewelry for her in one afternoon. Still, her hood haters scheme to take her down. Styled as the memoir of fictional Jayah, readers are pulled through her last year of high school into womanhood as she hooks up with Cheno, Maine, Rico…the list goes on.
Verdict Debut author Monay’s strength is her ear for street slang: “The chick’s blood type, I know, was Type H, meaning 100 percent hater.” But there’s way too much designer name-dropping. Still, a soap opera backstabbing theme, multiple baby mamas, beaucoup profanity, and Triple Crown’s name will draw readers. On the other hand, many editing and grammar flaws will annoy seasoned street lit readers.
Noire. Unzipped: An Urban Erotic Tale. One World: Ballantine. 2010. 269 p. ISBN 978-0-345-50879-9. pap. $14. F
Unzipped here means someone has flipped out, and Pearl Baine is one such chick after her father and family perish in a fire ordered by psycho gangster Mookie. Pearl, who became a top FBI operative while her twin sister remained addicted to the street, uses her attack skills to wreak revenge. She doesn’t get mad but gets even as she wields a mean blade without mercy.
Verdict Steer readers who crave ultra sex and violence in their stories to Noire’s (Hittin' the Bricks; Hood) latest book. Pearl’s mission is oddly noble, but the only pause in her bloody revenge is getting her swerve on with steamy sex. This rawest of raw street lit will fly off the shelves.
Pynk. Sexaholics. Grand Central. 2010. 304p. ISBN 978-0-446-17958-4. pap. $14.99. F
Four women find themselves in rehab for sexual addiction, but like Amy Winehouse, these babes say no, no, no after one session. The women zoom into more trysts ranging from voyeurism to living out wild fantasies; the men in their lives can’t complain, as group sex is a preferred romp. Their fast-moving life in and around Los Angeles comes with a bill to pay. Can these wild women be saved before jealousy disrupts their fantasies?
Verdict I am not saying this title is porn, but the hookups give Penthouse Forum a run for its money. Outrageous sexcapades pile up as the story moves along, and for this reviewer there’s too much information. Pynk’s erotica (Erotic City) doesn’t quite fit into the street lit genre, as her diverse cast of characters—a Puerto Rican woman, a Caucasian, and African Americans—seem to have unlimited time and wealth to fool around. Plus, there’s an absence of crime. Caveat emptor, this one is X-rated.
