Cydney Rax

Ms. Rax pulls the reader in with her wonderful storytelling and great pacing, as explosive secrets upend the characters’ world. I enjoyed how the story becomes complex as more characters were introduced with their own agendas to muddle the issues and throwing curves to the unsuspecting characters. Kiara strives to have the American Dream, if only her husband is more attentive to her and their son. Blinded by this quest, she does not see that her husband is a womanizer and I just wanted to show more shake her until she got some sense. Rashad is not a likable character as even he acknowledges he is selfish when in reality it is his immature behavior that sets off a chain of revenge moves. I am so waiting for Rashad to get his comeuppance. The flawed secondary characters cleverly serve to create havoc on each other as well as Kiara and Rashad. While I was engaged in the storyline I would have liked a little less of the same angst being visited again and again.

IF YOUR WIFE ONLY KNEW is the first book in The Love & Revenge Series trilogy. The emotions and betrayals run deep in this story as the characters express their vulnerability and hurt. This book is perfect for book clubs as the actions invites readers to figure out what they would do in the various situations. I commend the author in the building of tension and suspense and taking this book to a point where I am clamoring for the next book.

I recommend this book to fans of Cydney Rax and readers who enjoy storylines with a dramatic flair. show less

Reading this book reminded me of something that my Gramma used to always say. "When you look for trouble, it gets in your face." Kiara is hellbent on snooping on her husband's dealings. She allows her anger to propel her to another level, and even more drama ensues. The characters in this book actually remind me of some people I know, who stop at no lengths to "check" their S/O, then act shocked and appalled when they find what they were searching for. When you look for drama, you find it, show more and this book is certainly no exception to the rule. It's full of drama, laughs, and is a thrill read. I'd definitely recommend this book to anyone who's looking for a "ripped" from real life read. show less

Kiara Eason has her suspicions that her husband of 10 years is cheating on her and decides to put her marriage on the line to prove it. What she uncovers sends her life in a tunnel wave of shock, deceit, and a boat load of drama.

If I could think of a few words to describe the characters in this books - they would be messy boots, tit-for-tat, childish, and full of drama. As much as I want to say these characters are unbelievable, I do know a few women that will check their phone bills for show more incoming and outcoming calls to keep an eye on their significant others. I also know a few women that will try to "set up" their men to see if they will fall for the women bait.

People can try to deny it, but there's a small part of everyone that loves to witness drama just as long as it's not in their lives. Then again some of us create the unnecessary mess in our lives. We are living in the days where reality shows rule the airways, so we know there's an audience out there for it.

As readers find out when you play with fire, you will get burnt. If you are a fan of The Real Housewives franchises/Love & Hip Hop franchises, this will be the perfect read for you. show less

** spoiler alert ** Title: My Married Boyfriend
Author: Cydney Rax
Date Read: September 11th - September 28th, 2016
Date Reviewed: September 28th, 2016

Introduction: I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads. I wanted to read a soap-opera style novel with lots of love, angst and drama, and I definitely found it! My Married Boyfriend is the second of three novels by Cydney Rex in this series. The book was easy to pick up without reading the first novel, but there were some show more aspects of the novel that took me some time to connect (Rashad's mistresses and their children). Reading the first novel would be easier for the reader, but you can easily pick this book up and figure it out as you go along.

Spoilers Ahead?: Yes.

Quick Summary: Rashad has many women in his life, and a lot of drama as well. His wife kicked him out, leaving him unable to see Myles or Kiara in all her pregnant glory. Alexis, and his daughter Hayley, are friends with Kiara. And of course, his other mistress Nicole wants to marry him and is pregnant with his child. This novel follows mainly Nicole, but Rashad, Kiara and Alexis as well.

Evaluations: I found this novel to have a fast moving pace, but it lacked in sophistication. I found this book almost to easy to read, and the twists and turns that happened were far to obvious. This book is definitely great if you want to turn your brain off and read a steamy yet dramatic romance, but it's not for anyone who's looking for a sophisticated or complicated read. I found myself loving some chapters and hating others, and it became a love-hate relationship with the novel. But, that's of course, just my opinion. Looking at other reviews, readers who are into romance and soap operas LOVED this novel. I am not a major fan of romance/soap opera styled stories, I enjoy reading them in between my psychological thrillers, horror and young adult sprees.

Plot: The plot is fairly simple - Rashad has children with three women, and he has to juggle them. Kiara is his wife that he is divorcing, and she is pregnant (possibly with his child). Alexis is his baby mama and she has Hayley who is about two years old. Nicole, who is a little crazy, is currently pregnant with his child. Oh, and all three work together in Kiara's office. The plot follows your typical soap opera plot line - Rashad potentially cheating, Kiara keeping his kid away from him and keeping the father of the child a secret, Nicole cheating on Rashad, Rashad finding out, and so on. It's incredibly easy to follow, and it's slightly predictable. That being said, it was never dull. The plot kept me interested and I didn't want to put the book down. Often with romances I want to put the book down and take a break. Yet, I was able to truck along through this novel.

Characters: Rashad was not my favourite lead male. He has three women he is trying to keep relationships with and sometimes he treats them horribly. I felt like he was the weakest point, when he could have been the strongest.

Nicole being crazy seemed like the obvious trophe that could have happened. Rashad breaks up with his wife and his baby mama for a crazy woman who is having his baby. I have seen this on television a lot, but not in print. It was an interesting take, but I didn't enjoy seeing Nicole as constantly crazy. I would have liked her to been crazy for a reason, and to have moments where I felt bad for her, yet I didn't. When bad things happened to Nicole I felt like she had it coming, because it was set up that way.

Kiara & Alexis - These women were the strongest points of this novel, and they weren't in it all that much. Kiara was a very strong lead woman for being in a supporting role. I enjoyed her aspect of the story, since she seemed human. Unlike Nicole, I felt for Kiara when negative turns approached her. I had strong emotions for her. I would have liked Nicole to be written in a similar fashion to her. Alexis was also a strong character, but she was clearly a secondary character and was only used for plot movement. She could have been used more in this novel, and I hope she'd more involved in the third (and first novel, which I haven't picked up yet).

Themes/Creativity: Creativity wise this novel is great. I have rarely seen the soap opera norm of man having a child with a crazy woman in print. I enjoyed reading it, but I felt like Nicole was positioned to be the bad guy. Overall, it was creative and kept my hooked.

For themes, soap opera type novels rarely seem to have them. If you picked apart this novel you might be able to try to piece some together, but I don't think Cydney Rax intended for there to be any strict themes.

Uniqueness: In the category of unique, having a diverse cast was nice. I felt like the book was a little to stereotypical and could have been written better in that sense since the novel had a diverse cast of characters. It's pretty typical for a soap opera type novel, but as I've said, in print it's done a great job of translating it over. I could see this novel becoming a television series such as Desperate Housewives or the many reality television shows that are currently on air.

Strengths: Kiara and Alexis - strong female leads are always great!

Weaknesses: Rashad and Nicole - these two characters were stereotypical and did not make me feel for them, which they should have. They were our main characters!

Score: 2 out of 5. I expected so much more out of this novel, and I felt that it lacked in many areas. Our leads left me without emotions for them, our diverse cast was written to be stereotypical of their ethnicity, and the writing style felt like it was meant to be a very easy read. I did love Kiara and Alexis, and I also loved how quick this novel moved, but the negatives out weighed the positives for me in this novel. That being said, I'd like to read more by Cydney Rax. She seems to know how to write drama, and I'd like to see her grow as she writes more. show less