Customer Reviews

Married Strangers (Urban Christian)

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

 

 

The book was pretty good the only thing I hate, that there was no solution to any of the couples problems

MARRIED STRANGERS shines the spotlight on the importance of having God as the head of the household. Otherwise challenges faced between a husband and wife could turn them into strangers. In MARRIED STRANGERS, Abrams uses the lives of three women to share her message. The characters are faced with financial issues, baby mama drama, trust, disagreements, and bedroom issues.

Rayna married Bryce for all the wrong reasons and now she wants to end the marriage. She doesn't know how to tell him they're not physically compatible; so she makes excuses not to be intimate with him. Shania is recently engaged but a disclosed secret may mean she will have to call off the wedding. Aja is dealing with baby mama drama and regrets getting married; she could be push into the arms of another man.

MARRIED STRANGERS is a quick, enjoyable read. Although I felt the characters could have been more developed and the story more descriptive, the message I received from reading the novel is valuable.

Reviewed by Sharon Lewis
of The RAWSISTAZ(tm) Reviewers

Author, Dwan Abrams writes about relationships in Married Strangers. Three couples, at different stages in each of their respective relationships, learn through various occurrences, that communication is a key factor when it comes to having a lasting and fulfilling relationship with others.

Rayna, Aja and Shania are all in relationships filled with uncertainty. Rayna, recently married to Bryce, who leaves her intimately unsatisfied, isn't so sure she married the man for her. Believe it or not, being an interracial couple is the least of Rayna's concerns. Aja, married and still experiencing baby mama drama, isn't so sure her relationship is rock solid. Trust becomes a major issue for her and her husband, Hunter. Shania, recently engaged to a man from a loving family, struggles to let things be, accept things of the past and face the future. Supporting characters Lucille, Fox, Cheyenne, Jonathan and Sunni help the story along. Subplots involving these characters will help the reader to understand reasons for certain behaviors exuded by the main characters.

The lesson I took away with me after having read Married Strangers is that the journey from not knowing to really knowing a person involves getting to know them on varying levels, as well as learning their history, what drives and motivates, as well as what pains them and keeps them from moving forward. The first step for resolving bothersome matters is to communicate them. Without communication in relationships, bothersome matters that go unaddressed can easily fester into more complicated issues.

I enjoyed the story. The author's style of writing offered to me, personally, a bit of suspense, as I was left wondering a few times about what the underlying issues could possibly be. This kept me reading, hoping to find out the underlying reasons for things affecting each couples' relationship. I would consider other selections by Ms. Abrams.

Review by Tavares S. Carney

"Married Strangers" will allow readers to take a closer look at those things that can make or break a committed relationship. Family disagreements, financial issues, bedroom woes and more. They are all tackled in this well-written novel filled with memorable characters. It takes more than love to make a successful union. This new release by Dwan Abrams brings to light the importance of having God as household head. Otherwise, the challenges after saying "I do" can result in turning a husband and wife into virtual strangers.

In theory, this has the potential to be a fascinating book. The story follows three couples, all of whom have their relationship issues and disagreements. The chapters alternate between each couple, with some minor story overlapping. Each perspective is third-person narrative, with Shania's chapters being first-person. It was hard to tell who the actual story was about.

Rayna is a newlywed who discovers that marriage is not always a daily fairy tale. Aja has issues of her own with her husband's ex, finances and a young suitor, whose advances she doesn't completely discourage. Shania is recently engaged to Mr. Perfect when her sister shows up with a drug-dealing boyfriend and her own issues.

The story is billed as "real life", and one that people can relate to, if it is assumed that every person questions why they got married. Perhaps other people can relate to that. I can't. I've never doubted my marriage, my reasons for marriage or my husband.

I found the story choppy and uneven, with little character development and nothing that drew me to any of the couples. Honestly, most of the time I found myself annoyed with them and their attitudes. It was contrived and forced and then suddenly, every thing was wrapped up too neatly. As it jumped around, I kept wondering if I'd missed some information somewhere. I think it was a story with a great deal of potential. Certainly the issues addressed here are real. Perhaps it would have been better if it had actually centered on one main couple and how they worked through things, rather than three different ones.

I totally enjoyed "Married Strangers". I read part of this book as a short story in an anthology and remembered wanting to know more about what happened. I'm so glad she turned that short story into a novel. I could easily relate to alot of the issues these couples encountered and am so glad she tackled them in this book. Especially the "baby mama drama", it seemed like a page out of my life. It was not only very entertaining but enligtening as well and was a nice way to end my day. This is my first book by Dwan and I'm so, so glad I read it, I can add her to the list when I'm searching the book stores. This book is a real page turner and I look forward to more from her in the future. As a matter of fact, I'm starting "Divorcing the Devil" now. I will be sharing "Married Strangers" with my bookclub as one of our selections for 2009.

I did not enjoy this book at all. The plot was very slow moving. Also, the characters were not well developed. Moreover, I think this author should maybe attend some creative writing classes as well because she did not create an intriguing storyline. Very dull, dull, dull, the same story told over and over about married couples please spice it up people (authors).

I want to encourage anyone with a strong Christian based faith to read this book. All of the *honest-to-themselves* married people will be able to appreciate the truth that Dwan Abrams tells in her story. She tackles the fact that everything that glitters isn't gold, especially once the honeymoon is over. What starts as a problem, ends with a clear solution. Anyone that can not relate or finds this book "slow" to read has never really had to deal with any "real life" issuses in a relationship. Thank you for a great book Dwan, I look forward to reading more from you.

I was really looking forward to reading "Married Strangers" by Dwan Abrams. I'd never read her work before, and I was interested in finding a new author's perspective on marital conflict. I did not expect to be turned off so badly in the first 10 pages that I didn't care to continue reading. As I read, my brain screamed TMI (too much information)! Rather than building the relationship of Rayna and Bryce or even describing the conflict in a tasteful way, the author concentrates the first few pages on these characters' sexual incompatibility in more detail than I like to see in my Christian fiction. It's not that I'm so sheltered that I don't know these issues exist, I actually have a degree in psychology and have no problem being involved in such topical discussions. It's just that an entertaining read isn't where I want my mind opened to these things.

Maybe it's timing. Maybe I'll decide to pick this book up again in the future. But for now, I'll find my entertainment elsewhere.