Connie Briscoe

If you enjoyed Peyton Place (which is on my to-read list), you'll enjoy the trashy and entertaining P.G. County. It tells the tales of the upper-class Blacks of Prince George's County, Maryland and those who strive to be upper class. P.G. County is full of family secrets, back stabbing, love triangles, affairs, and crime. It's a guilty pleasure. (If you're curious about classism and colorism among African-Americans, you'll find this book even more fasicnating. If you like P.G. County but want better writing, I suggest Bestey Brown and The Wedding.… (más)

Jolene is ridiculous in this book, and the Jolene hate is worse than ever. Still, the growth of Barbara is gratifying, the womens' friendships with the Countess are lovely (up until the reveal at the end), and Pearl's interactions with her new family are so authentically awkward that her eventual successes are even more satisfying.

Pearl does become a bit of a Mary Sue in this book, but her breakthrough with her daughters is what will keep me coming back to reread it time and again. The main negative in this book is Bradford. He acts exactly the same as he did in the first book, but because he told Barbara that he's faithful now, the reader is supposed to believe him. BUT - the reader doesn't know they're supposed believe him until the end, so everything he says is just interpreted through the lens of Barbara. If the goal was to set Barbara up as an unreliable narrator and make the reader rethink all of their previous conceptions, that goal really is achieved. But I wish it wasn't at the cost of taking a badass woman and making her the villain.

Feminist rubric:

Positives
1. Barbara's growth towards independence and self love: So the book may not end the way I would like it to, but Barbara's journey is so sweet and honest and powerful that I would still mark this as a positive. SPOILER: I love that she doesn't end up with Noah. I don't love that she ends up with Bradford again after learning what he did to the Countess (GAH), but I can appreciate that she is there because she wants to be rather than needs to be.
2. Chapters 30 and 33!
3. Characters are racially and/or culturally diverse without being stereotypes and without that being their main characteristic.

Neutral
1. Fewer strong parent-child relationships: Pearl and her daughters are great. I'm frustrated that Jolene becomes a terrible mother in this book, or at least, an absent one, since that was her love for her daughter was her most humanizing characteristic.
2. Pearl and Patrick's relationship: Pearl and Patrick are pretty great together, but I just hate the scene where she decides to "fight for her man."
3. Language about men deprives them of autonomy, e.g. "keeping them," or "stealing them." Pearl does lay down some sense in chapters 30 and 33, but then the seduction scene with Jolene and Patrick really does make men seem like they completely lack autonomy.

Negatives
1. Virulent misogyny and slut shaming towards Jolene ALL THE TIME. From what I knew of Jolene, I just don't see her going through with the terrible thing she did in this book. I would have much preferred that she change her mind halfway through and work to come to an understanding with her new extended family. In the first book, Briscoe sets Jolene's humanity up so well by telling us about her pregnancy and showing her with her family. There is so much material there! I'm sad that it's wasted just so everybody else can band together over a common enemy.
2. Appearance generally tied to male approval or disapproval: I believe Patrick says something like "I like a little extra sugar on my brownie," when referring to Pearl's weight. No. Pearl is allowed to be whatever weight she wants to be. She doesn't need your permission by learning what level of weight you prefer. GROSS.
3. It seems unrealistic that Lee wouldn't need counseling after what she's been through. I would have preferred a more sensitive exploration of her transition to her new life.… (más)

It's nice to follow up on the three sisters from "Sisters and Lovers," and I found the sequel even more engaging than the original. Still, the relationships in this book are problematic, and I'm not sure whether the author knows so, or whether the end is intended as happily ever after. Kevin and Evelyn growing apart gives Evelyn the needed room for developing independence. This independence is a theme in a number of Briscoe's books, and it's one of the reasons I read her over and over again. But this particular deployment is unconvincing. Kevin's actions and transformation are so confusing that Evelyn's independence seems contrived. As for Charmaine, she and Tyrone never demonstrate an ability to talk about how to set boundaries with Tyrone's daughter, and the armistice between his daughter and Charmaine at the very end seems like a deus ex machina to make the relationship appear healthy. Beverly's story is definitely supposed to be the happiest of the three, and it very nearly is. But the secret her fiance kept seems more serious to me than it does to her and her sisters.

Relationships are hard and complex, and that complexity is well shown by this novel. I just worry about the disparity between the tone and the message.
I marked it four stars, because it's a book I'll read over and over again. The dialogue is delightful, the story is well written, the chronological structure is smart and effective, the characters have grown and changed since the first book, and the relationship between the three sisters is a thing of beauty. But none of their partners are Prince Charming, and I just hope that they, the author, and the other readers know that.

Feminist rubric:

Positives
1. Womens' success outside of romance: The womens' work lives are highlighted less than in the previous book, but they are still definitely working women whose jobs do more than just provide a change of scene from interacting with their partner.
2. Consensual sex: The sex is consensual, and the women are active instigators rather than passive recipients. No slut shaming, no sexual hang-ups, and no forcing themselves to do things to please their men. These women are genuinely confident and comfortable with their sexuality. Love it.
3. Positive relationships with other women: The sisters' relationship is the biggest strength of this book. There is much more understanding, kindness, and support than in "Sisters and Lovers." I loved Valerie and Beverly's relationship in "Sisters and Lovers," so I'm sad that had to be sacrificed on the altar of romantic drama, but the sisters' strengthened relationship makes up for it.
4. Passes Bechdel test.
5. Characters are racially and/or culturally diverse without being stereotypes and without that being their main characteristic.

Neutral
1. Self love not explicitly discussed.
2. No discussion of systems of oppression or toxic ideals (e.g. kyriarchy, beauty myth).

Negatives
1. Virulent misogyny: Briscoe does give Valerie a chance to explain her side of the story and gain some of the reader's compassion, but her explanation is weak and used to characterize her as a fundamentally untrustworthy friend rather than a person who made a mistake. Even in cases where the characters are so black and white and the hatred is justified, I don't need misogyny in my romances. I get it, like, everywhere else.
2. Non-consensual relationshipping: There are few examples of couples working together to make changes in their relationships, and the main dynamic for Charmaine and Evelyn's relationships is that of a constant power struggle.
3. Appearance generally tied to male approval or disapproval.
… (más)