Joy & Pain [Kindle Edition]

Franklin White (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

When heartbreak tears apart two lovers, one woman must deal with the stormy aftermath of confusion, selfishness, and mental anguish. What to do when a man abandons his commitment to love? Bestselling author Franklin White creates a topsy-turvy world of passion, betrayal, and turbulent emotions, where the characters must do all they can just to keep from drowning in a sea of uncertain loyalties and loves.

Lala Paige is floating along in life with a great job, wonderful friends, and Keith, the man who stays by her side all day and night. But when she decides it's time to start thinking seriously about a family, all her well-laid plans come crashing down. Keith decides he can't remain totally committed to their relationship, and Lala won't accept anything less. As she struggles to make sense of her unraveling life, Lala must choose whom to turn to, and where her heart truly belongs. But what will she do when she discovers the real reason Keith's skipping out? Joy & Pain explores the drama of friends, hidden family secrets and lovers who attempt to endure the test of time through the eyes of one woman who's had just about as much as she can take.

About the Author

Franklin White is the author of Fed Up with the Fanny, Cup of Love, Money for Good, Til' Death Do Us Part and the first novel in The Vil series, First Round Lottery Pick. He is currently working on book two of The Vil as well as his next West Owens novel. Franklin is a graduate of Central State University and resides in Atlanta.

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Product Details

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 335 KB
• Print Length: 274 pages
• Page Numbers Source ISBN: 1593091478
• Publisher: Strebor Books; 1st Strebor Books Trade Pbk. Ed edition (June 1, 2008)
• Sold by: Simon and Schuster Digital Sales Inc
• Language: English
• ASIN: B001AIRBTO
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #622,141 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Joy and pain of life, June 28, 2008

By 

The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers (RAWSISTAZ.com and BlackBookReviews.net) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Joy & Pain (Paperback)

Lala Page is loving life. She has a great job, wonderful home and a good man she has been with for over six years. They are looking toward the future, when suddenly her life starts a downward spiral. JOY & PAIN is her story of realizing life isn't as it appears and life is full of joy and pain.

Lala must deal with betrayal and try to move forward with her life. In this process, she starts to mentor a young boy who is struggling with the fact his mother has left the family. When Lala finds the boy's mother, she also opens more drama than she ever could have realized. Lala also befriends Sydney, an older married gentleman, who turns into a father figure for her, but she also becomes the confidante for Sydney's wife. With so much going on in Lala's life, it is a wonder she can keep it together and all she wants to do is get over the pain of past hurts and help others in need. The problem is she tends to get in too deep and makes some impulsive decisions that do more bad than good. Everything Lala deals with and endures leads her on the road to self-discovery.

As a fan of Franklin White, I have anxiously awaited his newest tome. JOY & PAIN exhibits many of the finer attributes of White as a writer. One is his ability to write in a female's voice and delve into the issues women must deal with. He does bring the drama in this tale, even if at times it may not be warranted. I would have loved to have more background on Lala so I could understand her naiveté and impulsiveness. I also would have liked to see her character move past the anger of her betrayal instead of lingering in it. With so many subplots, the story was bigger than Lala's issues and the focus seemed to be on the drama surrounding her friends and acquaintances. The pacing was moved along by the predicaments Lala found herself a part of. A natural progression of the main character was lacking and the ending just seemed unsettled. Although this story didn't meet all my expectations, it was a quick read with some great topics for further discussion.

Reviewed by Cashana Seals
of The RAWSISTAZ(tm) Reviewers

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointed.., June 20, 2008

By 

Dimples "There she go reading those books aga... (Downsouth) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Joy & Pain (Paperback)

Franklin White is one of my favorite authors and I was really looking forward to enjoying his latest novel. I was highly disappointed when I finished it. His characters were not colorful and none of them really stood out. I didn't really care what happen to any of them. This book was very predictable and I figured out the ending before I even got to the end."

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Brought me no joy, August 11, 2009

By 

JustLovHer "JustLovHer" - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Joy & Pain (Paperback)

It hurts to write this review because I am a Franklin White fan. Potentially Yours is an example of this author's work at its finest. Unfortunately Joy and Pain is not. Let's start with the positives. It's a quick read and a very fine story concept. Now the negatives. The book's back cover doesn't accurately describe it's contents. The cover mentions exploring the drama of friends and lovers. That didn't occur. I wanted to read much more about Lala's and Keith's relationship and what lead up to their drama-filled situation. Readers are told Lala and Keith were together six years and Lala "wasted" so many years with Keith. Too bad readers aren't given a chance to read about this experience. The book instead begins with Lala's and Keith's untimely demise when the father of Lala's best-friend Adria's baby is revealed. It gets very interesting but there was no closure. And that plot is practically abandoned when Lala decides to volunteer at a youth center and eventually fights to save a little boy and his family while being guided by her mentor, a mysterious man named Sydney who is old enough to be her father but has been burdened with relationship problems of his own. There was hardly anymore mention of Keith and Adria. I didn't get it. The book was boring and lacked substance and entertainment value. It would have been much more interesting had the author stuck to the original plot--the love triangle between Lala, Keith, and Adria.