Review: Black Life
BLACK LIFE - D. Camille
Sable SiStars Publishing

July 2019
Contemporary Romance
REVIEWER:  Brenda Larnell | RATING:  A
REVIEW:  We met Keisha Baker and Vaughn Jamison in BLACK LOVE, Book #1 of The Excellence Series. They are in Grayling, Michigan to protect the citizens from an impending gentrification of their “excellent” town. Keisha and her agents are there after Lavender Sable sends an SOS to Uncut Diamond Kent Baker, Keisha’s brother about the trouble brewing in Grayling. Vaughn, a Detroit police Detective, is summoned to help Grayling’s Sheriff to identify and stop those who seek to take over Grayling and to make it their town. Keisha and Vaughn decide to work together and pool their resources in order to save the town.  They also decide to explore the feelings they have for each other in order to see where it leads them as a couple.

First, I loved how the storyline unfolds for the protagonists as well as the citizens of Grayling. Keisha and Vaughn have a lot of personal issues to work through with trust being at the top of the list. As their back stories are revealed, it becomes apparent that if they are going to be part of “the wave” their personal relationship is going to require a lot of work. What’s “the wave”? You have to read the book to discover the answer. The chemistry between Keisha and Vaughn is definitely strong. The passion and romance are real but is it enough to sustain a forever life together? The Grayling residents are also involved in the couples’ business, as they work with both Keisha and Vaughn to save their town. Second, the suspense and tension generated by the audacious plot to take over this town of Black Excellence is the heart and soul of the novel. The lengths that the usurpers go to are mind-blowing. Author D Camille painstakingly unfolds the historical and present-day examples of the cruel and irreverent methods that unscrupulous gentrifiers use to take over a neighborhood in a big city like Detroit, or a small town like Grayling. Third, I love the connections that are made in this story and in the series. D Camille has a talent for connecting characters across all of her books. For example, we first meet Keisha Baker, this story’s heroine in the
HER PROTECTOR, Uncut Series, Book #3. Black Diamond Holdings has a vital impact on the outcome of this story. The connections are also extended to events. When reading BLACK LOVE, Book #1 and BLACK LIFE, the reader immediately connects the storyline to the horrible massacre that occurred in Greenwood, Oklahoma.

Speaking of character connections, Trent Baker,
HER PROTECTOR, Keisha’s brother, has a key side character role. Once again, the citizens of Grayling help to move the story along in their roles. I’m looking forward to seeing if Vincent Burton, the newly appointed City Planner will have an expanded role in Book 3. Also, if Sheriff Winston and Vanessa Baker, Keisha’s mother will “catch that wave”. The villains abound from Trish, one of the proposed developers, to the unscrupulous Mr. Perkins and the “coon-fused” Mr. Johnson. You’ll get that when you read the story.

BLACK LIFE is an engaging Contemporary Romance story. I enjoyed it, I recommend it, and I look forward to reading the next book in this series.

7th July 2019 |,