Customer Reviews

Don't Want No Sugar

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Don't Want No Sugar" is J.D. Mason's third powerhouse novel which gives us the family history of one of previous characters, John King from "One Day I Saw Black King."

We are introduced to Roberta Adams, who by virtue of her mother, Eula May's untimely suicide over the death of her lover Robert Lewis, goes to live with the town's midwife. Roberta seems to have been cursed from the very beginning; being the love child of Eula May and Bobby Lewis - a love that was forbidden and taboo from the start - and possessing the outright beauty of her mother. Roberta's life seems to travel down the same unfortunate paths as her parents.

J.D. Mason introduces some of the highest degrees of obsessive love that one can imagine. Roberta loves no man or any one person - including herself - more that Charles Brooks. Handsome, charming and with dimples, Charles could have any female he wanted.

Unbeknownst to him, Roberta has been secretly watching and pining over him since she was a young girl. Fantasizing what life would be like as his wife, she sets her trap when given the opportunity. So as fate would have it, she becomes Charles' wife and here the levels of obsessive love begin.


Her unabashed love for this man causes Roberta to obsess over her husband to the point of dementia. Being that she was raised by the town's midwife and resident "witchdoctor", she has been taught the tricks of the trade so to speak, something that allows her to first initiate her relationship and union with Charles and ultimately becoming the very thing that takes her over the edge. So obsessive is her need and desire for her husband, Roberta winds up doing the unimaginable, causing many lives to change in dramatic fashion.

Ms. Mason has truly done it again. With her easy prose and writing style, one can finish her book with such ease, leaving you gasping at the end with your mouth hanging open in surprise. There are very few new writers who have come on the scene who have made such an impact as Ms. Mason - characters rich and diverse spanning different walks of life - making it all believable while shaking your head in wonderment and awe. Much praise and kudos to J.D. for yes, doing it again with a fine contribution while giving avid readers something worthwhile to read.

Michelle Henley
APOOO BookClub

J.D. Mason continues to hone her craft with vigor and finesse. Rarely does a prequel deliver with such fervor and depth! To explain how One Day I Saw A Black King character, John King, came to be, Ms. Mason takes us back to 1931 Bueller, Texas to examine the intricate shenanigans of John's grandfather, the very good-looking and equally hard-working Charles. He is every woman's dream, including a conniving, teenaged beauty, Roberta, who upon her eccentric mother's suicide has resided with the local midwife for the past 10 years. Every man has a weakness and Charles has a penchant for pretty women - thus this story centers around the three beautiful women in his life: Nadine, Roberta, and Sara.

Without telling the entire story and giving away the page-turning secrets, let us just say that after Nadine's untimely death, the grieving Charles succumbs to one night of passion that results in a loveless marriage to Roberta. Charles accepts this miserable existence until he meets Sara Tate - and their instant attraction leads to scandal, another murder, and the conception of Adam (John King's father).

This is a story that had me turning pages until the very end - it was perfectly paced, contained full bodied characters with their own agendas (which usually involved sticking their noses in other people's business), and included just enough voodoo and old wives tales to keep a ethereal vibe flowing just beneath the surface as each of the main characters truly wrestled with their own demons through out the book.

I truly hope Ms. Mason keeps her creative juices flowing and gives us another wonderful story of how Connie Rogers came to be. Nonetheless, I'll be anxiously awaiting her next release (regardless of the topic)...as she has rightfully a place on my favorite author's list.

Reviewed by Phyllis
APOOO BookClub
Nubian Circle Book Club

This was my first by J.D. Mason. She has written a spine-chilling tale of love, seduction, obsession and betrayal that haunted by mind days after I finished reading it. There are very few writers who make such an impact as Ms. Mason - characters rich and diverse spanning different walks of life - making it all believable while shaking your head in wonderment and awe.

This story has taken us to a small backwoods town of Bueller, a woman named Eula May had a daughter, Roberta, but no husband. He belonged to another. Still, she loved Roberta's father to death. She loved him so much that she couldn't bear to part with him after he died...in her bed. Years later, a teenaged Roberta sets her sights on a man of her own, a womanizer named Charles Brooks. When Roberta gets pregnant, Charles is forced to marry her, but Sara holds the key to his heart.

I was flooded with emotion at the revelation. It was a sweet ending to the sad life of a lovable man. Although I felt that some aspects of the story were a bit contrived, (i.e. the way it seems that every woman in the novel who has sex gets pregnant and the way that each pregnancy seems to be the impetus for something awful) I enjoyed the complexity of the characters and the story as a whole. The cover on this book is rather sweet also.

I added it to my collection of favorites. I was captured by Morgan's writing style. The entire book was exhilarating. Morgan has definitely proven to possess exceptional writing skills. This book kept me on my toes from beginning to end. I cannot wait to read more on the family. She painted the picture so vividly, I felt like I was right there in Bueller and Clarksville (where the story takes place for all the prospective readers of the book). Very passionate and realistic....Outstanding book! Highly Recommended!

Don't Want no Sugar
J.D. Mason 5 stars

If you've read " One Day I saw a Black King" you most likely loved the character John King. John was a strong character with a somewhat blank and mysterious past.
Don't Want No Sugar gives us the story of John King's family as John discovers the truth about his family. You don't have to have read One Day I Saw A Black King to enjoy this story, it holds it's own. But If you haven't... do check it out.
J.D.Mason has proven that she can hold the reader hostage. Her ability to write such vivid and remarkable stories that touch the heart is amazing. With Don't Want no Sugar she does it again.
reviewed by
Dawnny

It took me over a year to finally decide to purchase "DON'T WANT NO SUGAR" boy I wish I would have bought it sooner. It was a wonderful story, I didnt even realize that it was the prequel to one of my favorite books "ONE DAY I SAW A BLACK KING" until I got to the last few chapters. Thank you Ms. Mason I loved this story from beginning to end, keep up the great work!

This was a very real life book. It showed how a person past can change the whole out look of a little childs future. I think that j.d. mason did a good job at making sure that we understand the real outlook of both books.

This is the first time I've read a book from this author and I must say I was impressed with her writing.I won't tell you what this book is about but just trust me it is definitley a book you'll want to add to your collection.Well done Ms. Mason.

In 1931, the charred corpse of womanizing but married Bobby Lewis was found in the bed of his latest lover Eula May Adams. Everyone assumes she set the fire but he was probably dead before the inferno. Later they find her corpse with a bullet in the heart of Eula May, whose obsession for Bobby led to suicide. Her daughter Roberta is raised in an unloving home and never given help or some solace to cope with the two deaths.

Eight years later, Roberta meets womanizing Charles Harris and like a chip off the old block, obsesses over her wanting him. They make love in an old barn and when she becomes pregnant, he has no choice but to marry her. Charles loathes his life change as he wants his freedom back while his wife thinks she has everything with him as her spouse and now two children. As time goes by, adding to Charles' chagrin is that he is falling in love with Sara Tate. Will Roberta, once she learns of his unfaithful behavior and his innermost desires, follow her mother's dark path of destruction leaving her children to emulate the generational patterns of love and death.

This deep dark relational triangle occurs over several decades (beyond the paragraphs above) with pivotal events impacting innocent lives. The story line grips the audience from the moment that Eula May is found dead as readers will see the effect of her suicide on her daughter and her grandchildren. The cast especially those triangulated in life seem so genuine that fans of powerful character studies will read DON'T WANT NO SUGAR in one thrilling sitting.

Harriet Klausner

This book was great to the very last page. It unravels so many things that you didn't even know needed unraveling. She really delivered on this one. At first I did not want to read this book because of the time that it took place in, but it slowly started to grab me and would not let go. I was to the point where I HAD to pull out "One Day I Saw a Black King", and just skip to the end to put it into perspective. All in all this was a great read I really take my hat off to her and say BRAVO!!!!!!!!!I must say though, I never would have thought Roberta would have turned out the way she did..................

Roberta was a enigma in "One Day I Saw A Black King" and her story delivered. Roberta was a troubled soul from the beginning. A mother who was more concerned with her married lover than her child and who leaves her an orphan; being raised by a half-crazy midwife; and a love fixation who in the end did both of them in.

I loved the storyline and the character development. As always, J D Mason delivered!