Was given to me to enjoy.

I have read this book in the past. I will release as a RABCK.

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

This book was released as a RABCK. I hope this book enjoys it's travels.

What a surprise to find this book in my mailbox today. Thank you so much, Busyangel. You are an angel.

SPOILERS:
The premise of the novel is a promising one: Brie, Bode, Sela and Callie are four best friends brought up together to think of one another as siblings under the watchful eye of Mama Pearl. They all meet back up as Callie plans the wedding of the century to the affluent Wyn. An affluent man in South Carolina has a daughter named Callie, ostensibly an only child. He unofficially adopts Bode Jessup, so Callie can have a brother. He also brings two young girls from disadvantaged and dysfunctional families, Brie and Sela, to be Callie's playmates, but they end up spending most of their time in the Parker household. The author starts out with Brie not wanting to attend the wedding because she shot and killed a boy in the line of duty. But after she arrives in South Carolina, this thread isn't addressed again. It is like it just disappeared.

As Callie's mother is a sick woman and her father is a busy man, the roost is ruled by Mamma Pearl, a larger than life African American woman. She becomes the center of the universe for these three children, who look to her as a mother figure and love her dearly. Mamma Pearl also loves and cherishes these children, sacrificing her life to their well being.

When they are all young adults, however, intrigue and turmoil bubble under the surface, as their true feelings for each other begin to emerge on the eve of Callie's wedding. The catalyst for a great emotional catharsis is the tragic accident that leaves Callie in a coma on her wedding day. As events unfold, shocking family secrets are revealed, ripping the blinders from their eyes, as all was not what it seemed. The secrets about Bode and Callie are especially ludicrous. I was left thinking how could someone not be aware of his/her own race? Someone was considered to be black..I hadn't even realised that he was supposed to be black...then he wasn't! A little blonde girl was considered to be white and was really black...perhaps it's my ignorance of these matters, but how could these situations not be obvious?

The sex scene between Wyn and Sela was totally out of place in the book. I felt like the author needed to put in a sex scene, so she just threw it in.

All this being said, it was a decent read.

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

Enjoy! off to steviegray as a RABCK for Keep Them Moving, RABCK, and One Word Title release challenges.