Customer Reviews

Balancing Act: A Novel

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Balancing Act is the story of Justin, a young man from Jamaica, and his control freak girlfriend, Tasha who goes ballistic when he decides to leave her when he discovers his true sexuality. The book is fairly short and easy to read. There's lots of telling and not much showing -- so the book definitely could have been enhanced by more action and dialogue. Nevertheless, it is an interesting read about the perils of success, love, sex, and the modeling industry, and seeing how Justin handles his desire to break away from Tasha. Admittedly, while reading the book you will probably wonder which parts are from JP's real life. And if you let your mind use its imagination, it enhances the novel and makes it seem juicy -- and somewhat fun. I didn't give it 5 stars only because we are told a lot about what's happening instead of seeing for ourselves how the characters are. Other than that, it's a good read.

I heard about him writing a book from a radio show interview he was doing to promote it (unfortunately I missed the interview). I got into the hype of a book via that radio hype of "Confessions of a Video Vixen" which sucked and I was a bit leery on getting into another book based on radio hype on it. Well I just finished reading this book and I have to say not bad Jonathan. It kinda of starts out like "How Stella Got her Grove Back" within the first few chapters and then from there takes on the writing style of Jackie Collins with all of the flash, trash and sex to match.

I like how he flipped the story on the male character, Justin (loosely based on Plummer in my opinion) into becoming a male model after being uprooted from Jamaica. The female lead Tasha in my view gave you some highlights into the crazy personality of his ex Terry McMillian. Whether Tery was really as insane in the membrane as Tasha is or Plummer opted to make her that way for "creative writing purposes" who really knows. I do like how Justin became upfront with himself inspite of having to lose all he had worked for thru his relations with Tasha (and boy does she make his #$@ pay). Amazingly he ended up back on top again only to have a crazy twisted cliffhanger involving this crazy broad that makes you wonder hmm- did he or didn't he.

If looking for silly and escapist reading and also to get a bit of insight (even from a fictional tip) on Jonathan and Terry's relationship this is a trip of a book to read!!

This book was a glorified mess! It was said to be Jonathan's side of the
Story about what happened between Terry and Himself. I cannot believe
This fabricated mess! And to act as if Terry was involved in a gay relationship I don't buy that for a sec. I don't know what book others were reading but this Was poorly written and the storyline was boring it took me 1 month to finish this book
Buy at your own risk!

This is a great, quick read. The characters are interesting. The plot has many twists and turns. It is at times funny, thought-provoking, and lusty.

I couldn't put it down!

"Balancing Act" also teaches a lesson, underneath the Jamaican sun.

This is, basically, a story of two people who use each other, for their own ends. They think they are "in love," but they are not. If you don't know what "love" is, then you are in for a big disappointment, as this book shows.

Many make this mistake: Sugar-cane pickers, fashion designers, accountants, best-selling authors....

I highly recommend this book. Read it!

If this was Jonathan's version of his relationship with Terry, then I think his story was lacking completely. This story seemed like a work of fiction, with all the drama and deceit that took place in the novel. I would hate to believe that one of my favorite authors, Terry McMillan, was so shallow and evil. However, I do know a woman scorned can be really dangerous.

I also have a hard time believing that one sexual encounter would be the pivotal moment that would change a straight man into being gay. I am sure these feelings were longed lived and calculated in real life. This was another part that made the story less believable.

The book was kind of slow in the beginning; the author did a very good job with painting a clear picture of his characters and the scenery. The descriptions were very vivid and rich. The ending, however, needed more closure to me. Again, I don't really see this book as Jonathan's side of the story it was too rushed and very one sided.

All in all it was a decent read I am the author of My Eyes Are Green and really benefited from all the vivid descriptions. I recommend this book to someone who likes scandal and vindication. There were a lot of tricks you could pick up on a love that went sour and you're looking to seek revenge.

THIS WAS AN OKAY BOOK. IT SEEMED LIKE IT WAS A RUSHED BOOK. YOU COULDN'T REALLY GET INTO THE CHARACTERS MUCH AND THE ENDING WAS NOT BELIEVEABLE AT ALL.

This wasn't bad, but it wasn't great either. It was just ok. You can probably read it in one sitting as it's pretty short, but it took me about four days because it didn't draw me in. As I read, it seemed like something an amateur would write, and since this is a debut, well... Since Mr. Plummer wrote this with another author, it seems to me that the more experienced author would have advised more investment in character and plot development instead of just throwing words on a page to make complete sentences. Get this from the library.

Oh, it's about Justin, an island boy who through a chance meeting with Tasha, the owner of a modeling agency, moves to New York and becomes one of the hottest models in the business. He develops an intimate relationship with his Svengali, Tasha, but on a London gig with hot model, Dorian, Justin finds himself losing himself and finding himself simultaneously. Let's hope the sequel - if there is one - is better.

Jonathan Plummer and Karen Hunter have an extraordinary achievement on their hands!!!! The reader is taken on one hell of a journey "out" from rural Jamaica to the upper echelon's of the modeling world! Supermodel Justin Blakeman discovers he has an eye for another kind of beauty -- a beauty similar to his own -- and all Hell breaks loose, courtesy of Tasha Reynolds, the model agency mogul who discovered him in Jamaica.
Justin is almost devoured by Tasha's fantasy for his life, until he follows his own truth and light.

This is a very powerful novel--fiction with a PURPOSE! Kudos to Jonathan Plummer and Karen Hunter. More please!!

The love quad-some of Justin and Tasha had me glued to the pages. Tasha, the owner of the most prestigous modeling agency in New York saw something in Justin, which whom she thought was a broke and busted sugar cane pusher from the island of Jamaica. She promised to make him a star, and that she did...but it came with a price.
On the pages of this book you get caught up in the emotion of these characters lives, and the lives of the people they affected. Although they cared deeply about each other, both of them gave into their lust thus making them harber secrets that would eventually tear them apart. Be careful who you cross because Tasha learned the hard way that revenge is best served cold.
Jonathan did a wonderful job with his version of a "tell all" novel that will leave you wanting a part two because I definitely want to know what happened next, and in the end was it all worth it. That situation with the straws had me rushing out to by a pack of straws to keep by my bedside, and it just kept getting deeper from there.
Definitely make this one a part of your collection.

Justin Blakeman is working for his family business in his native Jamaica, when "A-list" model agency head Tasha Reynolds picks him to be her latest star model. The somewhat dubious, but curious, Justin is soon on a plane to New York City, living with Tasha in her spacious penthouse, and - with her help - does become the new sensation of the modeling world. But Justin isn't completely happy, as he somewhat resents Tasha's control over his finances and attempts to control every other aspect of his life. They soon fall into a sexual relationship, in which Tasha also seems to call the shots, but Justin goes along with out of gratitude and lack of any better alternatives in his busy life.

But when Justin meets, and does a European shoot, with Dorian, another of Tasha's models who is clearly gay and interested in Justin, he discovers new feelings he never knew he was capable of feeling, and fails in his attempts to put them out of his mind. Meanwhile, Tasha is struggling with sexual attraction toward a female colleague, but decides her relationship with Justin is better for her image in the industry. The tension builds until Justin learns just how deserved Tasha's industry nickname, the "Ice Queen," fits her, in this novel that focuses on the cuttroat world of NYC model agencies, realizing one's true potential (while remaining true to your roots), and how sexuality may be a rather fluid concept. With models and modeling recently the subject of a hit TV show, a hit comedy film, and several popular reality shows, the authors' choice of subject is likely perfectly timed.

Until I finished reading the novel, I had no idea of the hinted-at "connection" to the primary author's former marriage to author Terry McMillan, who is said to have documented their relationship in her "How Stella Got Her Groove Back," which suggested he may have hid his own homosexuality in order to marry her and gain US citizenship. Some reviews I have read only rate it in that context, although I am addressing it as a simple work of fiction, which it is represented to be. Despite assistance by best-selling career "co-author" Karen Hunter, there are some rough spots in the pacing, occasionally seeming rushed, and features a rather abrupt ending that disappoints somewhat. I thought the treatment of both Justin's and Tasha's same-sex attractions were handled wonderfully, with realistic reflections by each characters in italicized "in mind's eye" chapters, a gimmick I usually hate because it is overdone, but it seems to work well here. Sexy, hot, captivating characters and good NYC "vibe", I give the novel four stars out of five.