T. Styles

"Raunchy" was a good book. It seemed very rushed in the last ten pages. Alot of information to take in in a short amount of reading. I can't wait for the second book. I enjoyed all the twist and turns and the development of the twin sisters from the middle of the book until the end. Although, I knew 75% in that there would be a reason why the girls were soooo different and I was correct. T. Styles did an oustanding job with this story, IMO.

Street Love
A Triple Crown Anthology
Keisha Ervin, Danielle Santiago, Quentin Carter, T. Styles, Leo Sullivan
Triple Crown Publications
315 Pages
Softcover $15.00
978-0-9778804-6-1

As nutritious and wide-ranging in tastes as a sampler pack of breakfast cereals, Street Love is full of sweet moments, bittersweet scenarios, and urban grit. Created as a showcase for five of Triple Crown’s best-selling authors, large themes wend through each of the stories: sacrifice, survival, family, money, and show more race. Triple Crown has specialized in leading what it calls the “urban fiction renaissance” and giving African-American authors the opportunity to forge careers by writing about their culture. This anthology is both a stunning introduction to the press’s offerings, and a Valentine to regular readers of each author.
Keisha Ervin’s “After the Storm,” for example, details the rocky relationship between Mo and Quan, a couple that fights and has numerous infidelities, but ultimately can’t be tweezed apart. Even Quan’s mother steps in during one notable scene when Quan seems threatening: “And what you think you about to do?” she asks. “You ain’t getting ready to touch her up in here! ‘Cause if you do we all gon’ be thumping!”
In “The Fink,” by Quentin Carter, the main character gets out of prison, where he landed after testifying against a friend, and finds that his actions are still remembered in the neighborhood.
Younger urban dwellers are portrayed in T. Styles’ “Cold as Ice” and Leo Sullivan’s “B-More Love,” highlighting the fact that kids in the ghetto have problems and issues far different than those suburban America, but that they share the same fear of the unknown, and desire for connection. The fifth story, “Allure of the Game” by Danielle Santiago, is a slice of city life so acutely rendered that it feels like a play-by-play done in real time.
The tales here aren’t for everyone—there are hardcore descriptions of sex, gut-turning violence, and swearing appears frequently. But Triple Crown never has played it safe, and this anthology is an indication of how much the publisher lets its authors write about their culture and their lives in an authentic voice. If urban fiction is truly in a renaissance stage, these authors are the new Leonardos. (August)
Elizabeth Millard show less

Loved this book. There were some editing issues but nothing major to distract from the story. It is well written and flowed. I enjoyed all the twist and turns and the depth of each character. I felt as if I was right there with all the characters in every scene. That's just how descrptive the writing is in this novel. A definite page turner!

Parade, a woman in her early 20's living in the "urban" streets of Hyattsville, MD (I'll explain the quotes later). She is a dark-skinned black woman who grew up being told by her mother and good friend Sky that she was ugly. Because of this, her confidence is pretty low. She can't keep a job and her relationships with men are left to hidden affairs. What follows is kind of an examination of life in this world and the way Parade ultimately finds confidence and a way to live her own life. One show more of the main plots centers around Parade's very pretty friend Sky, who gets into an argument with a woman at a party and ends up killing her. This murder leads to some interesting plot twists when the murdered woman turns out to be the wife of a successful drug dealer in nearby Washington, D.C.

Black and Ugly, Sky Taylor, Parade Knight, Miss Wayne and Daffany Stans are introduced. Growing up in Hyattsville, Maryland, these friends struggle to keep their bond together.
Sky persecuted Parade for her dark skin. She believed her own light complexion gave her the advantage and didn’t mind telling people to their face, including Parade. But what she didn’t know was that her man Jay was sleeping with Parade behind her back.
Parade hates her complexion because of the scratches on her face, and the darkness of her skin. Despite her inner battle, she finds comfort in the curviness of her body. Miss Wayne tells her she could eliminate some of the pain she feels if she’d just take care of her acne problem, stop fighting and take pride in her beautiful skin tone. Her unattractive boyfriend Melvin, who she dumps early on, does nothing but use her sexually making her feel worse. It’s not until she gets with Jay, a neighborhood dealer, behind Sky’s back that she starts to gain confidence. But Jay also adds to the pressure by trying to keep her down by saying she’s ugly.
One night after being with Parade an hour earlier, Jay and Sky meet up at the movies. There she sees the neighborhood kingpin Smokes and his wife who is sporting expensive jewelry. Instead of focusing on Jay, Sky does everything she can to get Smokes’ attention. Smokes’shows a little interest and gets into a brief altercation with his wife when he’s caught. The two leave and Sky misses her chance. Still at the movies, Sky reaches over to kiss Jay and notices he smells like the perfume she gave Parade. She immediately suspects he’s been with her instead of another girl. She questions Jay about his infidelities but doesn’t let on that she thinks Parade’s the culprit. After all, to Sky, Parade isn’t even in her league.
The next day at the mall, Parade, Sky, Miss Wayne and Daffany, who recently discovered she was HIV positive, gets into an altercation. All because Parade believed a girl show less