Customer Reviews

Gold Diggers: A Novel

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

APOOO Rating: 3.5

Gold Diggers opens your eyes to the REAL meaning of gold digging. You see it from every angle possible. It is a story of four beautiful and successful women, Paulette, Gillian, Reese, and Lauren, living in New York in search of happiness. They each have their own definition of what happiness means to them.

Paulette, being the outcast of her family, would try to do anything to gain the status that her cousin, Lauren, has. Lauren is Paulette's privileged cousin, that was blessed with the "good" genes. You know...light skin and pretty hair. Paulette stays in constant competition with Lauren and will stop at NOTHING to beat her. NOTHING. Lauren is married to a lawyer who conveniently was selected for her. Is this real love? Gillian's dream is to be a great actress. Her mother believes that she needs to give that up and try to find that jackpot with Mr. Right Now Has The Most Money. Being that she is the product of a full-time gold digger, she eventually ends up being the best at it. Reese is the NBA wife. She has worked hard to position herself for the best divorce settlement possible. When situations change and it seems like things are headed over the cliff, the real manipulation begins.

Howard does a great job in taking you into the thought processes of each character. You see gold digging at a whole new level. It was slow at first but then things quickly picked up! It was fun read.

Donnica Copeland
APOOO BookClub

I read Gold Diggers in 2 days!! In fact, I resented having to put it down to sleep, eat or go to work. It is a very entertaining, funny and provacative look at a segment in our society that we all fixate on - just look at the media attention given to accused gold diggers, Anna Nicole Smith and Heather Mills!

I thought Ms. Howard did a superb job of painting a picture of women (and men) who will stop at nothing to land Mr. or Mrs. Big Bucks. The story was full of irony, wit and suprise outcomes, and her characters were dispicable at times, while being sympathetic at others. However; the true moral of this story is that there is much more to the world of Gold Digging than you might think - it's not the young and desperate who specialize in the art and craft, but the sophisticated and savvy who are the true connoisseurs!

Even though "Gold Diggers" started out slowly, overall, this was a good read. I'd give it 3.5 out of 5 stars.

In my opinion, you'd have to be pond scum to sleep with anyone's husband. Unfortunately, Paulette felt that sleeping with Max meant she was somehow superior to Lauren. She was sadly mistaken. The very thought of her becoming a parent scared the life out of me. She had one too many screws loose. If she had lived, I don't feel she would've grown as an individual. Her psyche was much too damaged.

I truly loved the growth in Reese. After the accident, she began to realize that she was a selfish, conniving witch. The way she treated her son as a pawn to get money from Chris, was shameful.

It's weird how Paulette, Reese and Gillian were all envious of Lauren. They didn't even realize (or care) that besides having social status and being wealthy, Lauren's life with Max was lonely and pathetic. But she was certainly intelligent enough not to get pregnant by that jerk.

The relationship between Lauren and the photographer was a pleasure to read. He was loving, supportive and kind which was exactly what Lauren needed in her life. She never should've allowed her mother to persuade her into marrying Max in the first place.

I'm not quite sure what to make of Gillian's relationship. She was certainly a gold digger (her mother was the worst) but she was more subtle than Paulette or Reese.

I love Tracy Howard and I have read everybook she has written. I liked that Tracy brings alot of class and elegance into African American fiction. Not the same old I-have-sex-for-money type characters and the imfamous black drug dealer or gang member that you see in every other book. The plots in her books are usually tasteful well developed and the characters could be played by people of any race or culture. Not this book. I was a little let down and disappointed with all the stereotypes, discrimination, and racial taboos in this book. This book touched on just about every racial taboo from Willy lench to Reaganomics to Spike Lees School Daze. There were so many taboos that I thought we had gotten past especially the slave mentality light-skinned dark-skinned thing. As far as the Characters Lauren and Gillian could have use a little more developement. I also couldn't sympathize with any of the characters much and there surely wasn't a heroine in this novel. If Lauren was it She was definately lacking character developement. She was so simple and helpless for so much of the novel that her character became boaring and irritating. Gillian's Character could have used a lot more developement as well, her mothers character was more outstanding than Gillian's character and she wasn't even in the book long. This novel and plot was ok but it was clearly more characters present than the writer could handle. Plot seems rushed and forced.

I am tired of always being the outcast of the family. I can't help that my mother decided to go against the family and wed the blackest thing she could find south of the Mississippi. My family's money could have gone a long way if my grandmother had not been color struck. Lauren gets all the attention and money all because her mother, who is light, married a light-skinned man, makes her light, bright and damn near white. Oh did I forget to tell you that she even has a wonderful, educated and handsome husband. I am going to make Lauren wish she was never born, so long as my name is Paulette.

Life after Broadway should be incredible. I can't wait for the lights and cameras to have my face shining through. With the help of my best friend Lauren's enthusiasm, I know that I can be whatever I want to be. Not even my flighty mother seems to care that I was once in the middle of deciding to give up my dreams of an actress and pursue a waitress job at the nearest diner. Paulette loves the green eyed monster of money along with Reese but if they only knew how money doesn't make you happy but lonely. Look at me; I have always had a silver spoon but no one to actually feed it to me with my mother off to marry the next tycoon. I have never known what it is to not have money, but with the look of things I might find out shortly. Maybe my name of "Gillian" plastered on screen does have a ring to it.

If these donkeys think they are fazing me with calling me a gold digger, they are not. I have to have the finest clothes, shoes and man. Well, maybe my man doesn't have to be fine but he has to be rich. Hey, why would I give my prize possession for free? That's dumb. Reese is not the one. My clutches will always be in the next richest star filled with diamonds. If you don't know you better ask somebody. To make sure that you don't ever run out of ends in case he tries to file for divorce, a baby is always a sure shot. One thing that you should always have too is a man on the side. My husband knows that he has a good thing and would never cheat on him.

I always feel like I always have to do what others want me to do. My mother, my husband Max, Paulette, oh hell the list goes on and on. When can I just be plain old Lauren? My husband barely touches me and acts like I am his trophy out in public. My mother's only concern is the family name and color of their skin. Paulette only cares about all the things she didn't have growing up. These people are certified selfish. I miss the moments I had with my grandmother. Why would she leave me with these barracudas? All I need to do is find something exciting and arousing that I can have all to myself.

If you have read any of Ms. Howard's books, they are usually decent reads but nothing to really write home about. With this sitcom of four very different women with one link bonding them as friends, sitcom exactly what it is. With lying, cheating, stealing and backstabbing, you get one whole sitcom into one semi-thick novel. Well worth reading.

Paulette, Gillian, and Reese are all a new breed of gold diggers that won't let anything stop them from getting what they want. Paulette's cousin Lauren doesn't have to resort to these tactics due to being born to wealthy parents. Paulette is the daughter of the family black sheep and will do anything to get the social status that she deserves...even if it means sleeping with Lauren's husband. Lauren is stuck in a deteriorating marriage and wants out. Gillian does not want to follow in her mother's footsteps as a gold digger. But when she has a chance for superstardom in Hollywood, Gillian may have to set those feelings aside. Reese is a seasoned basketball groupie turned NBA wife. All that glitters isn't gold when her husband is involved in a potentially career-ending situation.

Gold Diggers is a deliciously titillating tale by Tracie Howard. Howard eloquently dives readers in head first into the glitz and glamour of New York's elite. Readers will find how a simple thing like family pedigree can make you a "have" or a "have not". On the surface, these characters seem to be different people wanting different things, but they are all very much the same. This author did an awesome job in illustrating how each of these women were gold diggers in their own way. This story will definitely change your perception of what you think a gold digger is and isn't. There's also a heavy dose of shocking drama and scandalous secrets revealed that you won't be able to flip the pages fast enough for. Gold Diggers is an addictive mix of fast-paced drama and sex that makes this book hard to put down. Tracie Howard has graced us with another sizzling page-turner.

Reviewed by Radiah Hubbert
for Urban Reviews

This book had everyone plotting against each other, except Lauren. Can we find out who the real murderer was. The book was a good read, it got better toward the end. Paulette was a monster, she knew all the tricks and trades of being a gold digger. I do think Paulette and her mother was due some money from the will, but it's sad that Paulette had to steal to get the money. And Max was out for his self, he didnt love anyone but his self, so I hope in part two, he get what he deserves. Now Chris, our downlow brother, why wont brothers like him just say they are gay, stop screwing women and men at the same time. Nasty just plain nasty. Im glad Reese woke up and realized that she had a son who loved her. Lauren finally found true love and Gillian finally became a star. The book was great now to read on..... here I come Friends & Fauxs....

This book caught me in the first few pages of reading it. It was very hard to put down. Great book.

Tracie Howard told it like it is in "Gold Diggers". She took you through the lives of some serious gold diggers. You bought you into their world of glitz and glamour and greed. She showed you what made them gold diggers, then took you on a ride through their rocky lives of trying to find that right one to have them set for life. The twist and turns she takes you on is unexpected in some cases. Very entertaining and fast paced.
Great job Tracie!

Tracy is one of my favorite authors to date. However, i was highly dissapointed with this book. it gave the usual brand name dropping etc from fashion to the champagne being drank what the story did not drop was enough details and no closure. I mean who killed Paulette? Then the story jumpes at least 10 years ahead and ends with some young girls plotting on Rowe. I would've like to have known what happened with Chris, June, Lauren's mother, Max and Imelda. Was Reese's face back to normal or did have to have plastic surgery or what? Even though she turned over a new leaf she still would be vain when it came to her looks giving how important they were to her.

I just feel Tracie needs to stop focusing so much on fashion and get back to what she does best and tell us the story. I hope there's a part two to this novel so we can get some much needed closure. my last gripe is that i feel she dumped so hard on Paulette because she was a "big girl" i mean since when does a size 12 makes you a big girl. Lane Bryant starts at a 14 not everyne is meant to be pencil thin. the grandmother not liking her own daughter because she was dark then disowning her over a boy was weak. June and Lauren's mother was close growing up so you mean to tell me that when they overheard the conversation of June being born too black i don't think that would make her distance herself from June but embrace her even more. i know it happens but we should've at least had some dialouge with June, Paulette the grandmother and the rest of the family. there was just too many unrealistic things going on that all pointed to just because you're not a size zero then you're not fit for society and please don't be dark skinned on top of that. there are plenty of beautiful chocolate women so with that said i think the plot should've been better thought out.