Customer Reviews

The Million Dollar Divorce: A Novel

5 star:		(61)
4 star:		(38)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Nate Kenny, an African-American business entrepreneur, seemingly has it all: success, wealth, intelligence, youth, health and a wonderful marriage to his beautiful wife Monica. The only element missing in Nate's life, is what he has always wanted most - children. When Nate and Monica married, almost four years ago, he wanted to have kids right away. At age 36 he was more than ready to begin a family. His new wife, in her late 20s, was finally able to persuade him to postpone pregnancy for 3 years so they would have time alone together, to savor each other's company before taking on the responsibilities of parenthood. Three years later they learn that Monica cannot conceive. However, the doctors tell the couple, she would have been able to have children if she had attempted to immediately after their marriage.

Monica, who wants a family very much and adores her husband, is devastated. Nate, however, is enraged, and acts as if Monica has purposefully thwarted his life's dream. He blames her for her failure to conceive, totally ignoring her terrible pain and the cruel impact of his rejection. From his point of view, he married Monica, who he loved, because he believed she would make the perfect wife and mother. She has certainly surpassed his expectations as his wife - but she is batting zero as a perspective Mom. And Nate wants what he wants - all of it! He believes the only solution to his problem is a divorce. After consulting his attorney, he discovers that since he began his new and thriving business after his marriage, a divorce settlement would mean splitting $60 million dollars with his spouse. He is not willing to do this. The only allowance in their prenuptial agreement that would release him from such a huge settlement would be if Monica were unfaithful. And that would be impossible. Or would it?

On the other side of town, the nastier side, Lewis Waters is desperately trying to figure out how to bring in enough income to prevent his live-in girlfriend from prostituting herself. He and Serena live in the Ida B. Wells Housing Project with their small daughter, Layla, who Lewis adores. Serena is pregnant again and looks as if she may be using drugs...again. Lewis is not making enough money as a barber to keep his head above water. He is desperate to save his daughter from a life like her mother's.

In a quirk of fate, Nate Kenny and Lewis Waters meet and become diabolically involved in each other's lives. Lewis, with no auto insurance, collides with Kenny's expensive luxury vehicle, totaling it. At his wits end, Lewis finally agrees to accept Nate's proposal - a brainstorm Nate managed to come up with at the auspicious moment of the accident. Nate will let Lewis off the hook for causing the crash, plus he will give Lewis a substantial sum of money, a new wardrobe, loan him a classy vehicle and a beautiful apartment in the best area of town. All Lewis has to do in return is seduce Monica.

I thought at times, during the initial chapters, that the plot was much too contrived, especially the character of Nate Kenny. As I became more involved, however, the entire convoluted, bizarre storyline became totally believable. It all meshed. And the characters turned three-dimensional as the author fleshed them out. There are many minor characters, whom I have not discussed, that play important roles in "The Million Dollar Divorce." RM Johnson brings them to life and really gives them motives and souls. It is not difficult to like or to really hate some of these people. Mr. Johnson also manages to juggle various subplots without distracting from the primary story. There is a dark, edgy feel to this novel, which gives it depth. The author paces his narrative well, building the tension effectively. I had never read anything by Mr. Johnson before and will certainly seek more of his work out now. Highly recommended.
JANA

Nate Kenny is a multi-millionaire who seems to have it all. He has his own company, a beautiful wife, and wonderful accoutrements of his wealth, but he is missing one thing - a child. In THE MILLION DOLLAR DIVORCE, we discover how a dream can be crushed by lies and how it affects one's better judgment.

Nate's lovely wife Monica is the perfect compliment to her husband. She is beautiful and supported her husband when he decided to start his own business. When she married Nate, she knew he wanted children badly but she suggested they wait and enjoy each other first. Well, waiting was the wrong answer, and now not only are there no children after almost four years of marriage, there can never be any. She is devastated by the news and concocts a lie that sends Nate into an abyss. He feels bitterly betrayed and loses trust in his wife.

Because of the betrayal, Nate wants a divorce however, after speaking with his attorney, Nate realizes he may have to give Monica half of his 60 million dollars. He is outraged, no way is he giving Monica any money for lying and cheating him out of a family. Reminded of the prenuptial agreement Monica signed that stipulated that if she has an affair she gets nothing, Nate devises a devious plan. When an unfortunate accident occurs, he bullies the homeless and nearly hopeless Lewis Waters into becoming an accomplice in an unbelievable scheme. Lewis, not wanting to suffer the consequences of possible jail time, agrees to the ploy. Yet, Lewis gets more than he bargains for.

Will Nate's plan work or will it backfire? Will Monica catch on to the ploy or will she fall victim? How far is Lewis really willing to take the plan? How does money outweigh one's love for another? RM Johnson ponders all the consequences of lies and greed. Readers will be surprised at the extent Nate will go to in order to maintain his fortune. In the beginning, readers will empathize with Nate, but near the end heads will be shaking in dismay over the extent of a person's guile. For fans of RM Johnson, THE MILLION DOLLAR DIVORCE is a marked difference from his previous novels. He takes betrayal to another level and still enables the reader to garner the novel's message. This is quality writing at its best with strong characters and fast paced structure. RM Johnson will definitely gain new followers with this novel.

Reviewed by Cashana Seals
of The RAWSISTAZ™Reviewers

This wonderful work by author RMJohnson should be commended. The Million Dollar Divorce is definitely a page turner. I could not put this book down. It's a book that keeps you on edge and it is truly unpredictable. As you start to read this book it sounds and feels like a fairytale for most women. However, as you continue to read, you get a glimpse of a dark and scary side of powerful rich people. It also takes you on journey of what powerful people will do and the lengths that they will go to, to have it all. The characters all seemed very real, especially Tabetha. I think most women will be able to really relate to Tabetha (a close girlfriend of one of the main characters in this book) who gives advise that she believes will bring her friend true happiness. This is another wonderful work of the very talented RMJOHNSON. Keep them coming.

If you are a man, what would you do if the most important thing to you is having a child and suddenly you realize you will never be able to have one? Not with the one you love - your wife. What extremes would you go to just to express your disappointment? Meet Nate. He's a successful man who finally decides to give up being a bachelor and chooses Monica to be his wife. Their relationship is a whirlwind one and he proposes within six months. His goal is to start his own firm and a family, in that order. However, Monica suggests they wait until they've been married a couple of years so they could enjoy life together, travel and get to know each other before starting a family. Everything goes according to plan and three years later, after taking a home pregnancy test, Monica announces her pregnancy.



To her dismay, a visit to the obstetrician reveals that Monica was never really pregnant, she only had symptoms. In fact, she will never be able to conceive; she's going through premature menopause. The news is devastating to Monica. She doesn't know how to tell her husband so she doesn't; instead she tells him she's suffered a miscarriage. The truth is revealed when Nate answers the phone and hears a fertility doctor calling to confirm an appointment.



From this point, the story becomes ridiculous. Nate wants to let his wife know how hurt he is by finding out they will never be able to conceive children together. He wants a divorce but quickly changes his mind once he finds out Monica will be entitled to half his fortune; thirty million dollars. However, there is a clause in their prenuptial agreement that states if she's caught cheating, she gets nothing. So he devises a plan to make her commit adultery.



I read it in less than a week. Not the typical RM novel. The Harris Men, The Harris Family and Father Found were all thought provoking novels by RM Johnson. It seems he has changed up, catered to the masses and started writing more contemporary novels. I wasn't impressed with his last novel, Dating Games or this one. The Million Dollar Divorce story seemed realistic enough but the ending was too contrived. If you like fast reads that get to the point without suspense, then this is one to read.

Reviewed by Esther "Ess" Mays of Loose Leaves Book Review

I absolutely loved this book!!! The characters of Nate, Monica, and Lewis were very well-developed. The book had everything: sex, love, and betrayal all intertwined in a well-developed plot. The mark of a good read for me is when I don't see the cliff hanger and ending a mile away. "Million Dollar Divorce" had me guessing and intrigued until the very end.

I would have rated this book "5 stars", and hence my only criticism is that the author, RM Johnson, should have researched the field of female infertility more. There was one sure-fire option for Nate and Monica to have a child (i.e. a donor egg) that the author does not treat. Of course, this is a technical detail and I enjoyed the book just the same.

This was the first RM Johnson novel that I read, but it will not be the last!!!

I really enjoyed this book. The premise was totally different, and the pace was fast. Nate Kenny is a very wealthy man looking to divorce his wife Monica because she can't give him children. The only thing in life he's ever really wanted. After literally 'bumping' into down-on-his-luck Lewis, he devises an awful scheme to get his wife to cheat on him so he can get proof and divorce her without having to give up half of his $60 million dollar fortune. But things don't work out as Nate hoped they would, and he's left with quite the mess to clean up.

As I said...I really like the pace of this book. Mr. Johnson never threw in 'fluff' that you sometimes see in books to just take up pages. He told you everything you needed to know just when you needed to know it. I was slightly put off by the ending (the last page to be exact, which is why there are only four stars here), but overall, it's a book that's almost impossible to put down.I certainly recommend this, and would definitely pick up another one of his novels.

Just as I titled this review this is a great read. This book made we want to read again. If want a page turner look no further. This is the first book that I have read by this author and now that I have found him I will make sure he stays within my radar. The reason this book is so good is because the characters just jump off the page....You know them...You feel them...they were very well developed. The leading lady Monica wasn't perfect by any means but you still felt sorry for her. This book allows you to get in the heads of these characters as they fall in love and seek revenge. Looks like there might be a part two in the future....I certainly hope so as it took me weeks to get these people off my mind....Great Read!

The story takes place in Chicago, so if you are from the "Windy City" you will enjoy recognizing some of the geographical markers used to describe the backdrop of this book. At its heart, this book is about forgiveness, control and wanting what you've got. It is an easy read and has a healthy dose of descriptive sex. The members of my book club read this book, and although the story was not realistic in many ways, it highlighted enough common human situations to support a lively conversation for more than 60 minutes. Topics went beyond "the differences between men and women". Some of the questions that were very controversial were: Did either Nate or Monica deserve to be forgiven for their poor judgment and harmful actions? Who would make the better father figure Nate or Lewis? What would you have done in Tim's situation? The book offers a few interesting twists in the plot. The author, who is male, did a decent job of writing the book from a women's perspective. This is a recommend- happy reading.

I just finished reading the book this morning. I began reading the book yesterday evening. ENOUGH SAID!!! :-)

This story is one of love, deceit and heartache. There is Monica, the "perfect" wife with one FATAL flaw, her inability to have children. There is Nate, the wealthy husband who wants nothing more from his "perfect" wife than for her to give him a litter of kids. When Nate realizes his dream of having kids won't happen with Monica, he wants to leave her but fears losing a large portion of his fortune and in turn devises a devious plan to ensure he doesn't. He enlists Lewis, a young attractive guy struggling to support himself and his young daughter, to help him carry out this plan. Lewis and Monica meet and everything is on track, Nate is loving it...or is he? Will his plan backfire?? I won't spoil the story, but I promise you won't regret reading it.

I like RM Johnson's writing and was not disappointed with The Million Dollar Divorce. The book moved at a fast pace with pretty short chapters and just enough to keep you wanting more.

I won't bore you with the synopsis of the book but will give you my feelings on the three main characters. Nate made me sick and you'll see what happens to him in the end for thinking that money solves everything. Monica is not perfect but didn't deserve all of the treatment that Nate gave her. Lewis was just trying to do right and got caught up in a bad situation. Just buy this book and you'll see what I'm saying. I'm sure you'll enjoy it.