Scan barcode
lovelyl's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
I’m glutton for punishment by continuing to read this series. It’s interesting to me, that the best characters in this book are white women. (My opinion)
allysaudiobooks's review against another edition
3.0
I feel similarly about this book as I did about the first but at least the first had a cliffhanger that made you a bit curious about this one. This is a good passive read, nothing too deep or mind blowing. I didn’t feel deeply connected to the characters whatsoever it was almost like watching a random movie that comes on TV that you never bother to remember the name of. I felt that Tabitha (the main character) was so doubtful of herself throughout the us book that it was frustrating. “How could such an ambitious woman with such a successful career doubt herself this much?” I found myself wondering more times than I can remember. It didn’t seem to fit her archetype but I’m not the author. I would say not to read this book, it just simply lacked depth for me personally.
moonblink39's review against another edition
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
asreadbykat's review
4.0
True Rating: 4/5
Content/Trigger Warnings: References to racism, mentions/discussions of marital infidelity, discussions of IVF
My Thoughts
"...You just have to be you. That's all you're responsible for. Let everyone else sort out their own mess. And believe me -half the stuff they try to put on you, that's their mess they're dealing with."
Once more, Jayne Allen wrote a book I just couldn't put down. If I had physical copies of these books (which WILL happen in the near future), they'd be some of my most tabbed on my shelves. And this book has taught me to have faith in what Allen is doing, even when I begin to question it.
In BGMBM, Tabitha is going down the journey of pregnancy while being single. She's working on getting her "village" set up so her child can have the best life possible. Unfortunately, her own life doesn't calm down, and she continues to have stress piled on her: unsupportive bosses, a judgmental society that's even more so when you're a pregnant woman (and especially a pregnant BLACK woman) without a ring, an overbearing mother, and a partner who just can't make up his mind.
Allen has once again written a narrative that is not only incredibly readable, but also relevant for Black women in the world today. And, especially, for the other women who want to support them. While the advice in this book can be given to any woman, it's more important for the beautiful women it's actually aimed at.
I did give this book a slightly lower rating than the first one (a 4 instead of a 4.5) for two reasons:
First, almost all the good advice Tabitha gets is from someone who is either fully white, or who is white-passing. I'd say it's playing on the "White Savior" trope, but the characters are written with so much love it's definitely not. I'd just like to see the characters that reflect the "darker" half of Tabitha's heritage giving these pearls of wisdom. It made sense in the first book, since Granny Tab was white, but this book could have done more.
Secondly, as with the first, I felt that some scenes weren't given the detail they needed. The entire book, I was waiting for Tabitha to have her big moment to go into someone about her natural hair. And when it came, it kind of felt like Magikarp doing splash (forgive the Pokemon reference) and then disappeared quickly. I get that it was the buildup and Tabitha's journey towards that moment that was more important, but I can't help feeling that allowing Tabitha to fully air out her feelings on the matter is just as important.
Even with those two "problems", I thoroughly enjoyed reading this and couldn't put it down. Tabitha is an amazingly relatable character, and I love reading about her. I'm going to be picking up the third book ASAP.
Content/Trigger Warnings: References to racism, mentions/discussions of marital infidelity, discussions of IVF
My Thoughts
"...You just have to be you. That's all you're responsible for. Let everyone else sort out their own mess. And believe me -half the stuff they try to put on you, that's their mess they're dealing with."
Once more, Jayne Allen wrote a book I just couldn't put down. If I had physical copies of these books (which WILL happen in the near future), they'd be some of my most tabbed on my shelves. And this book has taught me to have faith in what Allen is doing, even when I begin to question it.
In BGMBM, Tabitha is going down the journey of pregnancy while being single. She's working on getting her "village" set up so her child can have the best life possible. Unfortunately, her own life doesn't calm down, and she continues to have stress piled on her: unsupportive bosses, a judgmental society that's even more so when you're a pregnant woman (and especially a pregnant BLACK woman) without a ring, an overbearing mother, and a partner who just can't make up his mind.
Allen has once again written a narrative that is not only incredibly readable, but also relevant for Black women in the world today. And, especially, for the other women who want to support them. While the advice in this book can be given to any woman, it's more important for the beautiful women it's actually aimed at.
I did give this book a slightly lower rating than the first one (a 4 instead of a 4.5) for two reasons:
First, almost all the good advice Tabitha gets is from someone who is either fully white, or who is white-passing. I'd say it's playing on the "White Savior" trope, but the characters are written with so much love it's definitely not. I'd just like to see the characters that reflect the "darker" half of Tabitha's heritage giving these pearls of wisdom. It made sense in the first book, since Granny Tab was white, but this book could have done more.
Secondly, as with the first, I felt that some scenes weren't given the detail they needed. The entire book, I was waiting for Tabitha to have her big moment to go into someone about her natural hair. And when it came, it kind of felt like Magikarp doing splash (forgive the Pokemon reference) and then disappeared quickly. I get that it was the buildup and Tabitha's journey towards that moment that was more important, but I can't help feeling that allowing Tabitha to fully air out her feelings on the matter is just as important.
Even with those two "problems", I thoroughly enjoyed reading this and couldn't put it down. Tabitha is an amazingly relatable character, and I love reading about her. I'm going to be picking up the third book ASAP.
nailal's review against another edition
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
The only right way to start this review is by emphasizing how much I love and respect Ms. Gretchen. I aspire to have a 1/3 of her confidence, wisdom, and vivacity! She's a queen and absolutely stole the show. I love her relationship with Tabitha and I really love that Tabitha continued to visit Ms. Gretchen even after her grandmother passed. Moving on from my queen, Tabitha really annoyed me at various points of the book. I felt as if she was moving backward from where we left off in the first book. For example, why was she telling Mark that she was pregnant?! He did not need to know that when she told him. Also, why did she not stand her ground at work? I tried to calm the agitation because I know that it's normal for people to backtrack as old habits die hard, but I really struggled with it. OH and Alexis was on my last nerves. This woman has no empathy for the people around her and just expect everyone to attend every event regardless of what that person has going on. It's unrealistic, childish, and toxic. She needs to take several seats next to her adulterous husband who she is apparently taking back. I hope Tabitha doesn't take Mark back at any point and that she gives the Dr. a whirl. I'd love to see that drama unfold.
lynda_ohhh's review
2.0
Honestly I don't even know what the main plot of this book is. It was just so disappointing, I don't think I'll be reading the 3rd book of the trilogy
la_bookish_belle's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
When annotating this book, my tabs were:
- Pink: Quotes
- Light Pink: Love/Sweet
- Light Purple: Sad
- Purple: Girlish/Friendship/Relateable
This was my favorite installment of the 3-part series. I was happy to see Tabby's friends do well for themselves, especially Laila. And i was glad to see her relationship grow with her little sisters. Most importantly, on page 195