Jayne Allen

Quelle lecture agréable! C’est la première fois que je prends autant de plaisir à lire de la chick-lit / litterature contemporaine où une femme noire (les Noirs en general) sont mis a l’honneur! Tabitha a tout pour lui rendre heureuse sauf qu’au dernier moment , on lui annonce qu’elle n’a que 6 mois pour avoir un enfant sinon tout espoir d’avoir une famille sera jeté aux oubliettes! J’ai aimé le lien fort qu’elle a avec ses meilleures amies Laila et Alexis. L’autrice show more a montré à quel point des amitiés authentiques et saines n’apportent que de bonnes choses et aident à grandir en tant que personne! J’ai aussi aimé la façon dont Jayne peint la réalité des Noirs. Le seul personnage que je n’ai pas aimé dans le livre est Marc bien sûr, vous verrez pourquoi en lisant le livre. En même temps, malgré les 5 étoiles, je pense que la situation entre Tabitha et Marc aurait pu être gérée autrement.
JE RECOMMANDE CE LIVRE A 11000%. Il y a le livre 2 : Black girls must be magic que j'espère lire dans un futur qui n’est pas du touuut trop loin! show less

Though THE MOST WONDERFUL TIME wasn’t as Christmassy as I anticipated, I loved it nonetheless. Allen’s vibrant writing had me right there with both main characters in their house swap locations. Both women have major life events going on. The change of location for the holiday simultaneously intensified things and also allowed each the space to step back and gain perspective. I loved how dynamic and realistic the characters were as well as the depth with which topics like racism, grief, show more family, identity, joy, and belonging were discussed. show less

Book on CD narrated by Mela Lee

As the holiday season approaches, two women find each finds herself at a crossroads. Chelsea seems to have lost her muse and her art isn’t selling. Although she lives in a lovely beach cottage in Malibu, inherited from her deceased parents, she’s struggling financially. Meanwhile, in Chicago, Ramona can’t seem to tell her parents that she and her fiancé Malik have broken up. She still wears the ring and she still goes dress shopping with her mother. show more Pushed by their respective best friends / confidantes, the two agree to swap houses for the holiday; Chelsea hopes for inspiration in a new city, while Ramona hopes to find herself again and begin a new path forward, without Malik.

I really liked both women. Yes, there’s some romance here, but I mostly liked their individual journeys forward. I was a little taken aback by the subplot involving Chelsea’s uber-nosy neighbor, Joan. My gosh, but that woman was irritating … and the book could have been 100-pages shorter without her interference.

Still, it was a nice light read during this time of my life. And I needed that.

I really enjoyed Mela Lee’s performance on the audiobook. She definitely gave each characters a unique voice and I liked the way she interpreted them. show less

I received a copy of this book through the Goodreads Giveaways program in exchange for an honest review.

LOVE! LOVE! LOVE! this book - can't recommend enough. Such a topical story dealing with women's issues (think fertility, workplace politics, relationships, personal identity) and particularly how those issues can be even more complex based on one's racial identity.

Looking forward to sharing with friends and family!