Customer Reviews

Beater (Modern Contemporary Fiction Po)

5 star:		(38)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

There's nothing like an author's ability to captivate a reader by providing imagery that's tantalizing to the senses! This book has done it for me! From the powerful beginning to the phenomenal end, Brian pulls you into the 3 worlds of domestic violence (agressor, victim, and others affected) with character conversation and description that makes you live vicariously through them all! If you have not had the pleasureable experience of reading the work of Brian W. Smith, I encourage you to do so. I have read other books by this author (Mama's Lies, Daddy's Pain, Nina's Got A Secret, The Swap Game, etc.) and I have not been disappointed. You won't be either! Good job, Brian! Keep doing what you're doing to give us the other side of the story! ;)

Todd and Kim grew up in an abusive household. The physical abuse at the hand of the Todd's father to their mother happened on a regular basis. Then one night things went wild taking the violence too far and their mother was killed. After witnessing the death of their mother, one would think they would undergo intensive counseling but one session was all they could take. Fast forward ten years, Todd and Kim have graduated from college and live in Atlanta. Their paths cross at a neighborhood restaurant and they realize they will be forever connected. Rachel, Kim's boss, quickly falls for Todd and the events that follow will keep you on your toes.

Smith continues to wow readers with explosive issues and mind-boggling storylines. I applaud the effort to get the knowledge of domestic violence and how it destroys families as I'm sure this book will foster discussion. However, the editing issues made it difficult to read without wanting to correct the grammatical problems. There was a lack of character development and the storyline started fast then lapsed but finished with an unexpected twist. I will continue to read books by Smith as each one has a new and different issue.

Note: Author sent book for review purposes to Real Page Turners.

Deltareviewer
Reviewing for Real Page Turners

As children, Todd and Kim witnessed what no child should ever see: the brutal murder of their mother. Todd made a promise to his mother on her deathbed to never hit a woman, especially after the physical abuse she suffered through the years. The pain of her death drew a wedge in the sibling's relationship and Kim moved to Atlanta to get away from Todd and their past.

Years later, Kim is working as a personal assistant to Rachel, a very beautiful, wealthy and successful woman who has it all together on the professional front, but her personal life is in shambles. Todd moves to Atlanta hoping to find Kim and repair their relationship. After being there for a while, he does run into her and they exchange numbers. Kim, still reeling from the comments he made long ago regarding their mother's death, is not embracing the reunion. When Todd sees her again, she is with Rachel. There is a growing interest between Todd and Rachel and they start dating. As the relationship progresses, Rachel's sporadic and abusive nature starts to unwind as the secrets of her past become harder to hide. Todd is finding it hard to keep his promise to his mother in light of the fact that Rachel is becoming increasingly more physically abusive.

BEATER is much more than a novel about abuse suffered at the hands of a woman. It is about broken relationships and broken people. The underlying message that Smith gave is that without wholeness in your life, it will remain chaotic. Todd and Kim need to reconcile and Rachel must come to terms with her past. I wished the story line was developed more to delve into the issues and flaws of each of the characters. I was a third of the way through the novel before the plot between Rachel and Todd was explored, and this is the basis of the title and the synopsis on the back. With that being said, the book was rushed with a totally surprising ending that came out of no where. Formatting and grammatical errors peppered throughout the novel, took away from my reading enjoyment as well.

Reviewed by Paula Henderson
of The RAWSISTAZ(tm) Reviewers

This is a book about one person in a relationship being beaten by the other. It is also the story of a brother and sister who are having problems coming to terms with the death of their mother by the father/stepfather.

I enjoyed the book and read it in 2 days with the tv on; it was very easy to read and very well-written. I did have some problems. In one instance, where the victim is abused and walking from the scene, most states would have required the police to press charges against the beater. The law used to be that the victim had to press charges; most states now require an arrest if any person shows signs of injury. In this case, the victim had a black eye and bruised ribs. It really didn't make sense not to arrest the beater since the beater admitted being the aggressor.

There were also holes in the story. What about Rachel's biological family? What about Aunt Dawn (Todd's and Kim's aunt)? Whatever happened to cupcake? Her mother was making her kneel on rice--the author should have explained what was going on with her a little bit more. Also, Rachel was running from debt when she made 6 figures; that made no da_n sense. Finally, the bill's were still coming in the name of Lecar Biko--did this woman not have her name legally changed at some point so it would make sense for her to be receiving someone else's bills. I just couldn't wrap my head around a storyline in which a woman divorces a guy and then still receives his bills in the mail; that is not how divorce settlements work.

The main problem I had was with the cover; it looked so 1980's. The author should really reconsider publishing this book with a different cover.

I also would like to ask: Do many men date women that are tall enough and strong enough to pull them backwards by the hair? If I were a man, I would be scared to date such a big, strong woman regardless of how much money she had.

BEATER by Brian W. Smith is the story of a brother and sister and the love/hate relationship they have with one another. Todd and Kim grew up living in a dysfunctional household where fighting was as common as watching the television. One fateful night leaves two people dead and a brother blaming his sister for the events that took place and a sister that is haunted daily by the hurtful words that came out of her brother's mouth.

Shortly after the deadly event Kim flees and strikes out on her own. After graduating from college, she lands a job in the corporate world making sure that everything runs smoothly for her boss, Rachel.


Rachel has some skeletons that she is determined to keep a secret. She is being blackmailed and not only that she has a crazy ex-husband that is trying to get custody of her daughter and some outstanding debt that she is trying to eliminate.

When Todd meets the beautiful Rachel he is smitten. He soon realizes she is unlike any of the other women he has dated. Although Rachel is more sophisticated, she is also a no-nonsense type of woman. She has no problem putting Todd in his place, even if it means hitting him a few times.


BEATER by Brian W. Smith was unlike any book I have ever read. Yes, I have read books on domestic violence but this story is told with a twist. I am sure that when you finish this novel you will be shocked at how this story will end. An excellent read! It would make for a great book club discussion.


This book was provided courtesy of the publisher for review.

Reviewed by Leona
APOOO BookClub
Final Rating: 4.5 stars

Todd and Kim are brother and sister who witness their mother get brutally murdered by her abusive husband. They are reconnected later in life, only to be visited by the abusive demon again. Question is...which one is on victim this time?

This book is an excellent read, because it is so true to life. It touches on one of the biggest problems in this country...domestic violence. I would recommend it to anyone looking for a good read. Brian W. Smith has a new fan in me!

The novel, Beater by Brian W. Smith is one of the most interesting novel read in 2011! I must say, he has definitely done it Again, Good Job! Now, I read plenty of Brian's novels in the past at which I absolutely loved and this novel did enhance my desire of reading again!

The characters in this book, Kim and Todd are sibblings that undergo a traumatic childhood of physical and mental abuse with their parents that turns for the worst and haunts them continously until adulthood. Both sibbling attempt to strive to become civil adults in society and vow to never make the same mistakes that their parents made while growing up. As adults, Todd seems to have the same characteristics as he did during childhood as Kim seems to continue to hold a grudge against her brother as she feels someone must accept the blame for the tragedic events they encountered as children. Todd becomes caught in a bad situation they causes physcial abuse and his life, if not careful. Kim recognizes the errors in Todd's ways and begin to discover the truth about Todd's girlfriend, Rachel which will create more friction with their relationship but Todd is young and naive at which he does not believe or understand Kim's behavior. Will Kim be able to help Todd before his situation gets out of hand? Read this novel to find out.

I found one grammatical error while reading this novel which is excellent saying that I've read other novels that contained many errors. I found this novel interesting at the ending as the twist was something I did not expect as Brian creates stunning twists for his readers. I cannot think of any dislikes about this novel because it contained everything I absolutely devour - drama, clear understanding, and mouth-dropping ending! Kudos to the author, Brian W. Smith as I will continue to look for more of his books in the future!

OOSA BookClub

Todd and Kim having growen up with domestic violence. The impact of domestic violence and the way it affects people is always diffrent. For Kim she runs away and pretends to not deal with it. Todd on the other hand moves forward vowing never to hit a female. Rachel and Todd have fallen in love but have some very dark secrets. How do you keep your vow to not hit women when your women is beating on you? See how Todd deals with this in this emotionally riveting book that has readers stunned by the fact that a man is actually the one being beat. It was a powerful book, one I enjoyed!

Kim and Todd were brother and sister from the same mother, Linda. They lived with her and Kennedy who is Todd's biological father. This is something that really put a strain on Kim and Todd's relationship. Kennedy had several children from other women and had to try to work to support all of his children. He would get very violent with his wife. She always told Todd to promise her never to hit a woman.

Kim and Todd just couldn't get along because he accused her of not doing something that he told her to do, and he blamed her for something that happened. She felt terrible and she had to get away from there. Her and Todd didn't see each other for 10 years.

Kim gets a great new job and an apartment. She is told that her new boss Rachel is a hard person to work for. (It kind of reminded me of "The Devil Wears Prada". She was that kind of a boss.) She runs into her brother and really doesn't want anything to do with him. Rachel decides to take Kim out to eat to kind of get to know her better, when who do they run into but Kim's brother Todd. Rachel is very interested in Todd and they start dating. Kim is worried because she doesn't want to get fired if things don't work out between them. Todd has some friends that are kinda strange, but Bubba ends up really being a true friend and helping him out. Rachel has some secrets in her life and Kim is determined to find out what is going on.

I was very surprised at the ending at what the secrets were and what happened at the end. This book deals with real issues that people face. I was very sad to read that the author grew up in a home where his father abused his mother , but I am glad to hear that she was a survivor of it. I am lucky that I did not grow up in this type of environment. I really appreciate the life I had growing up and feel really sorry for the people that have to go through domestic violence. Brian Smith really writes about important issues that people face, and he did an excellent job writing this book. I was glad to see that the book had some humor as well. Kim and Todd's Aunt had three unique cats! Brian W. Smith is becoming one of my favorite authors because his writing is very unique and keeps everything fresh and interesting. This is one book that I didn't want to put down--it was that good!

Beater by Brian W. Smith took me for a very turbulent, but enjoyable ride. I thought the book was going to go one way, but it was nowhere near what I thought it would be!

Beater is a story about a brother and sister (Todd and Kim) who are orphans as a result of domestic violence. Their lives take on more turmoil all the way up to their early adult years. Kim, is angry with the world and detaches herself from everyone and Todd, because of a promise he made to his mother, finds himself caught in a relationship with a "beater."

Being from New Orleans as is Brian, there were some cultural sayings in the book that made me laugh out loud, although the general tone of the book is serious. The cultural sayings coupled with the suspenseful ending made Beater a very good read. I will be reading some of Brian's other works in the near future.

5 Pink Diamonds
Connie of the SistahFriend Book Club