Customer Reviews

In the Arms of One Who Loves Me

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

In the Arms of One Who Loves Me is the debut novel from author, Jacqueline Jones LaMon. The novel introduces us to Nia Benson and Seth Jackson, two people who are trying to figure out the career and romantic paths of their lives in order to get to that place where they can exhale; through coincidental circumstances, the two always manage to see each other, if only briefly.

Nia is in an 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it' relationship, has a friendship with a woman she really knows nothing about, and has aspirations to run her own public relations firm. When office politics leave Nia jobless, she finds herself trying to piece together a life that is slowly falling apart at the seams.

Seth is a man who loves the ladies, but at the wedding reception for his best friend, he falls in love with a mysterious sister named, Lauren. As he tries to build his budding music career, Seth finds himself reliving old ways as a naughty friend/neighbor seduces him and leaves him struggling to keep his relationship with Lauren intact.

In the Arms is a well-written novel by Ms. LaMon. She uses her skills as a poet effectively, and she definitely has a way with words that can move the reader. I read the first chap of her novel on her website and CRAVED to read the entire novel. As I did, however, I found some things that hindered my reading. One of those hindrances was the time sequence of the novel. Each chapter goes back and forth between Seth and Nia, and I had a hard time trying to figure out where, as a reader, I was in the story. This problem fixes itself towards the end. Other things that gave me pause can be grouped into one thing, the "unsurprises" of some of the surprise situations. I don't want to go into detail because I hope everyone will buy this book and experience it for him or her self, but there were situations in the story that just seemed "planted" and not grown organically through the story.

Overall, I would highly recommend that people pick up this novel. Despite my own sidetracks of the story, I believe people will enjoy LaMon's writing style. Reading her makes me anxious to see what she comes up with next.

Shon Bacon

In the Arms of the One Who Loves Me was a book not only about finding that special someone, but about finding yourself. The two main characters, Nia and Seth, are attempting to meet their goals in life. Opposition, however, is constantly in their way. The novel essentially deals with each character separately, allowing the reader to become intimately involved in both Seth and Nia's lives. It leaves you with a feeling of hope -- that everything will eventually work out in your own life -- and a sense of knowing that no one can affect your life more than you. I loved the book and can't wait for more from Mrs. LaMon. I highly recommend this book.

I picked up this book based on the artistic, modern cover photograph of pretty Black people. I read the synopsis of two young Black professionals dealing with career, urban life, and romance and was intrigued.

I liked the first chapter with Nia. It was dramatic, but hinted at the character's depth and fortitude. I was surprised to realize that the story was set in 1980, as neither the cover nor the synopsis indicated this, but I rolled with it. While the chapter introducing Seth was amusing, it did not indicate who Seth really was as a person. As Seth is a primary protaganist, his character should either be likable, utterly unlikable but interesting, or a good man in a bad situation. As he is written, Seth is none of these. I spent the entire book trying not to dislike Seth based on his actions.

Having given up on enjoying Seth's story, I thought Nia's growth, both personally and professionally, would be a pleasant read, but the author's goals for that character got muddled in agenda and personal issues. I felt Nia's relationship with her best friend was unrealistic as each one tears the other down without any positivity. Nia's lesbian affair and its consequences would have been more believable if Nia had been given some sense of personal vulnerability about the experience itself.

At first the personal and professional overlaps between Nia and Seth's worlds feel coincendental, but towards the end, the convenience of it all allows for sloppy tie-ins and a dumb nonconclusion. This could have been great, like those wonderful Young Adult books by Walter Dean Myers, Virginia Hamilton, and Rosa Guy. It's just that the story's sense of purpose got lost.

In The Arms Of One Who Loves Me, the debut novel by poet Jacqueline Jones LaMon, has a very sexy cover. It appears we have opened the door on two lovers and yanked them apart, mid-kiss. Inside, we meet the two--Nia Benson and Seth Jackson-- but well in advance of that smooch. And what we find are two believable and very human characters, so much so at points that the urge comes to slap them. Vulnerable and yet arrogant, hopeful and driven, Nia and Seth move in their respective worlds, showing us how head and heart converge for these black early '80s
professionals. Humor, popular music, and the "nouveau buppy" values that sprinkle the lives of the characters add memorable turns throughout the novel.

LaMon's particular gift is dialogue, and the plot advances most effectively in her precisely drawn scenes. Because of her attention to detail, several of the secondary characters also enrich and season the novel without bogging it down. Seth, however, seems the more fully-realized character, perhaps because he is an extrovert. Some plot details get cloudy toward the middle, but LaMon uses structure to keep us engaged in the unfolding dramas of both Seth and Nia.

There are many novels on the market framed around a black heterosexual love match. And LaMon makes a memorable contribution. The book has its well-developed erogenous zones.
But ultimately, In the Arms... offers more. It is more a chronicle of emotional struggle toward wholeness than a predictable sex romp by idealized soap-opera types.
It takes us to authentic sites of pain,
looks beyond surfaces, and shows us --repeatedly--
that there are ways out of the suffering we bring on ourselves.

In the Arms of One Who Loves Me gives us love not simply as
destination, but as a journey, likely to bring our passionate fantasies to fruition, if we stay on the path.

I didn't know what to expect when I bought this book. I was pleasantly surprised to discover a fresh voice, intelligent writing, and keen insite of the trials and tribulations of modern black professionals hitting against that glass ceiling. Not to mention a breathtaking romance.
I loved this book. I'd recommend it to anyone.
Enjoy!

I read other reviews of this book and literally rushed over to the bookstore in anticipation. I was very disappointed with this novel because it was not the page-turner promised. The plot was slow. Another friend who bought the book at the same time as me, refuses to finish. She gave up on the book. Toward the end, the story picked up but it was not enough to save the book. Save your [money], I sure wish I could get mine back!

I could not bring myself to finish the book. It was too slow. I would not recommend it. If you would like to read it: borrow! I hope the next novel is better.

We've all heard don't judge a book by it's cover. No matter how much we visualize our own vision while reading, you cannot help but to wonder or figure out what the author was trying to do by putting these 2 people on the cover., it's totally misleading. Furthermore, the book was really boring, it was nothing exciting nor did anticipation make me want to read this book. I will credit the author for having such wonderful writing skills. She should have opt to sticking to one character per book. Maybe her 2nd novel will be better.

The dude on the cover reminds me of Maxwell, one of the only reasons I just had to purchase this book. Don't they look hot yall? This book for me was only eye candy. After painfully reading my way through the first chapter I wanted to get my money back. "She" I forgot the main female characters name, well she gets on my nerve. Where is the back bone sistuh? She got fired from her job and didn't even put up a fight to keep it. Instead "She" allowed herself to be pushed around. Weak.
The second chapter wasn't bad, but it wasn't good either. Seth, ahh I know the mans name, well Seth seems cool and likeable, but after getting a quarter ways through this novel I realized one thing, it's boring me into a coma. There is no drama, action, nothing. The book is uneventful, dull, and falls into the unoriginal pit of all the other 'bad' novels I've read. Too predictable.
I'm not knocking Jackie, she has potential, the sister has a way with words, but just not the right way, or shall I give a little literary humor and say "not the-write-way"

I was on the edge of my seat. Having been a young adult in the 80's, I could relate to all of the imagery....the language and the songs.. oh my...I could taste the early 80's. As I read, many times people heard me laugh out loud or go " OH SNAP!!!!!"...it was like a new surprise around every turn...JJL is my new fav author. ...