Customer Reviews

The Best of Everything

5 star:		(28)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(15)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

In the very beginning of the book, I knew I was in trouble when the author kept repeating the same thing over and over again. I would borrow the book. It was a very slow read.

Well, I just finished reading the book, and as an avid Roby fan, I will say that it's not the best book in the Curtis Black series, but it still has the usual mix of surprises, drama, and scandal. What I enjoy so much about Roby's books is that at least once during the reading of each novel, I ask myself if this is her personal story. I also can usually predict one of the suprises in the book, and I was able to do that with this one as well. All in all it is a good, fast read, and I am looking forward to the next book. There will be another one...

I just finished reading this book and was somewhat disappointed. There was no real storyline other than a spoiled rich girl who thinks "shopping", lying, and having an affair is her answer to everything. I mean basically all she did was shop, shop, and shop some more...this book was just "ok". The main character, Alicia, is definitely a chip off the old block picking up the old ways of her father. The selfishness, lies, and deceit were all trademarks of her infamous father who's now turned a new leaf... The story line was just too unrealistic to say the least...The fact that she couldn't be satisfied w/ her husband's salary of $7000/per month, live in a "normal" nieghborhood or wear "normal" clothes was just plain ridiculous...sadly it happens...Kimberla has always written page turners, where you couldn't wait to see what happens next. I am sorry to say that this book didn't have that same effect. If you are debating on purchasing this book, do yourself a favor and rent it from your local library...that way you won't be out of some hard earned $$

Alicia is a shopaholic. Chapter one, she shops alot. Chapter 2 she shops more. Chapter 3 she's still shopping. Ok, we get it. Now we have big debt, and hubby is mad. More chapters, more debt more arguments, zzzzz. There is so much repetition in this book it is distracting. The first in this series of books was really good. I think the author has lost her edge in coming up with an interesting enough story line to continue with these characters. She needs to move on and create a new story line.

I wouldn't buy this book. Get it from the library for free. I read it in a day.

This book was very disappointing. It could of been left out of the series. I think maybe it's time to let the Rev. Curtis Black retire and just feature him as a cameo in other books because I was so not feeling his daughter Alicia and her selfish, stupid ways. How can you blow a wonderful marriage shopping?! I really do not like Alicia's character since she's grown up and do not look forward to hearing a story about her again. I think it's time for a new series.

I kept on plugging and chugging through this book, but I also started noticing that I was 100 pages away from the end, 50 pages away from the end, 25 pages away from the end -- and the main character still didn't appear to have turned from her ways, learned anything, nor was she going to have some grand revelation and change her life accordingly. The ending feels forced. One has the sense that the only reason she stops shopping at all is because she gets caught, and that even then, she doesn't really seem to learn anything. I'm not sure if it's kind of a written as a "cliffhanger" to get you to wait and buy the next book, or if that is simply the author's style. It disappointed me.

The apple doesn't fall far from the tree in this continuation of the Curtis Black chronicles, except that now, it's Alicia's turn to wreak havoc and cause drama in this seemingly never-ending story that is getting worse and worse with every installment. All grown up and newly married, Alicia has grown up with the finer things in life and expects that Prada, Gucci, and St. John will continue to grace her closets in her married life. Her husband, Phillip, earns more than the average Joe, but not enough to support Miss Alicia's lavish lifestyle. So, what do you think is gonna happen between Mrs. Shopaholic and Mr. Budgetminder - keep in mind her father is the infamous Curtis Black.

This is borderline abysmal, predictable, and just plain unimaginative. Why do I continue to read? Because they're there. Get it from the library.

Although I enjoyed this book immensely, it didn't have the hard edged page-turning effect that The Honey Well had. As a matter of fact I came off a little preachy.

With that said, I liked the way the author portrayed Alicia as a shop-a-holic to the 14th power. Some people with this particular "disease" NEVER see the error of their ways, and although Alicia professed that she was sorry numerous times, she never truly was.
I wished the author had fleshed out the scenes with her interaction with the drug dealer a little more. Everyone knows you can't trust them, and even while he declared his undying love for the selfish Alicia, I would have liked to have seen her get a little "get back." In my opinion in this day and age, she got off way too light, even though she did lose her husband of eight months.

The love for her husband Phillip was believable but the fact that she loved money and shopping more was evident that she refused to see that it was creating a problem in her household.

The fact that her father, Reverend Curtis black, did not give in to his child's errant behavior and chastise his protege Phillip for deciding that their marriage couldn't work, shows his strength to be on the side of right.

Phillip's ex-girlfriend came off a little too begging for me. I know she loved him, but he made it clear that he didn't want her that way, and he just needed her to talk to. (give me a break... how many of us have had that happen to us?)

If there is one thing Miss Roby knows how to do, is tell a story that fits in with the trends of the moment. I applaud her once again for an entertaining read.

Ms. Roby did it again super book!!! She has a great gift of Christian writing that captures the reader on every page. She is a blessing to all.

Alicia Black Sullivan is the spoiled, beautiful daughter of the Rev. Curtis Black, and being the daughter of a wealthy man has its privileges. While still in college, her ftaher paid all her shopping bills, so she is accustomed to having everything she wants. Six months out of college, Alicia marries Phillip Sullivan, the assistant pastor at her father's church. Although Alicia loves her father, she vows never to make the same mistakes in her marriage as her he has done in his marriages.

Phillip and Alicia love each other with all their hearts and souls, but soon realize they married too quickly, before really getting to know each other. Phillip tries to get Alicia to curb her extravagant shopping sprees, but to no avail, Alicia does what pleases her. Phillip constantly forgives her, but at what point will she see the error of her ways and listen to her husband? How long does a person keep forgiving?

Although THE BEST OF EVERYTHING is a fictional story, the subject matter is very real. The book covers issues faced in many marriages. Ms. Roby pulled me into Alicia's lies and deceits. I felt Phillip's plea for Alicia to stop destroying their marriage. I have enjoyed reading the Rev. Curtis Black series and although THE BEST OF EVERYTHING is a good read, it is my least favorite. I felt the story to be repetitious of Alicia's shopping sprees.

Reviewed by Sharon Lewis
of The RAWSISTAZ(tm) Reviewers