Customer Reviews

The Office Girls

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Author Sylvester Stephens penned a novel that gives readers an inside perspective of "Office Girls" from a male perspective. Things are never what they appear to be on the surface, and everyone has something going on in their lives that they keep well hidden.

Michael Forrester is a retired NFL player, turned journalist ,turned novelist who has something to prove to Jaline Dandy; or should I say do to Jaline to get back at her for publicly trashing his journalistic skills. The greatest opportunity presents itself when Michael applies for and accepts a positisn at Upskon where Jaline is currently the manager of the office. The fun begins immediately.

One by one Michael makes friends with the women in the office, and becomes a little more than friends with a few of them, but he keeps his focus on getting revenge against Jaline. He figures what better way to get it than to write a book about women in the workplace who act just like men when it comes to position and power. Little by little he is able to learn the stories of each of the women in the office; where they are from originally, what brings them to Atlanta and to Upskon. What Michael is not prepared for is becoming involved with the Office Girls outside of the office, and ultimately their present lives.

There are incidents of domestic violence, getting to know each others children, and sharing intimate and secret parts of their lives that change Michael from just being the only man in the office to being one of the "girls." The more Michael gets to know the women, the more he learns about them and becomes a loving friend to them all, Ms. Virginia and Cynthia in particular.

I loved the way Author Stephens wrote The Office Girls so that he told how and why the novel was written within the story line; the book was written based on true events and actual people. I recommend this book to anyone who loves to read about office drama and romance.



Reviewed by Sharel E. Gordon-Love
APOOO BookClub

As we all know, to be presented to the world by Zane, there has got to be some illicit sexual scenes. However, in addition to that, this book had substance and managed to be captivating, entertaining, heart felt and witty all in the same essence.

We meet Michael, a banished writer from the literary world, who takes a job at Upskon to avenge the slaughter of black men that Jaline, a white upper management woman, wrote in a national paper. Hoping to prove to the world that women can be just as ruthless and power hungry as men if and when given the opportunity to rise to the occasion in the corporate world as well as to gain access back into the literary world, Michael finds himself in the perfect situation: an office where 99 percent of employees are women. However, while wanting to prove a point to the world, Michael proves a point to himself. He finds himself involve in many office affairs, taking on the office girls joy, pain, and drama and initially becoming one of the office girls. But most importantly, he finds himself.

I taught I would not have liked this novel because one: it is not my usual gangsta read and two: chapter one took forever and a damn day to get to the point. However, that is the only slow and boring part of the book. There were some mushy parts but it was not corny, which is a thin line. All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and will give it a 4.5 in its genre of African American love.

I really enjoyed THE OFFICE GIRLS by author Sylvester Stephens, and not just because he uses my name (Cyrus) as the pseudonym of his main character Michael Forrester. Michael finds himself trying to explain how not all black men are the victim of stereotypes and in the process ends up in a situation with The Office Girls, women co-workers who have their own baggage they are dealing with thanks to the relationships and interactions of the men in their lives.

What began as a way of showing that women can be just as trifling as the men they talk about, becomes a journey into the real-life complications of the women he is around and what has made them act and feel the way that they do.

The Office Girls gives us more than just a balanced way of looking at how men and women react in relationships. It also allow us to better understand why some people do the things they do, and what we can do to help them through their situations.

Powerful, funny and at times thought-provoking in its message and delivery, The Office Girls showcases the complexity of all kinds of relationships.

I've had this book sitting in my closet for about 6 months and I finally got a chance to read it. I read this book in two days. It was that good. This book was nothing like I thought it would be. It was funny and the characters will remind you of people you know or wish you did. I have to get my hands on the second book and this time I'm not going to wait to read it. Thank you Mr. Stephens for a wonderful piece of fiction.

This is a book that u just can't put down every page is damn good. it was a time i wish i was Michael Forrester lol anyway Sylvester Stephens did his thing on this book if you don't have it, it would be a good book to add to your book collections

I like others that have written a review read this book in two days because I could not put it down. It took over everything that I had to do. I highly recommend it.It grabs the readers attention on the first page and it keeps it til the last. Great job and cant wait to read the second book

This is a book that you can't put down. I am excited to read his new book in March 2009.

Michael Forrester hails from Buena Vista, Michigan. After passing the bar, he moves to Atlanta, Georgia where instead of practicing law, he delves into a writing profession. After writing three unsuccessful books, he starts to write articles in a local newspaper under a pseudonym, making a pretty good living. One day he comes across an article which holds black men in an unfavorable light and he becomes outraged. He contacts the woman who wrote the article and asks her to rewrite it since she based her research on black women only. She refuses, so he decides to do his own research. After being fired from his job, he is hired in an office that is staffed by all women. He decides to get all of their stories no matter how he has to go about it, to write the ultimate book that'll put him on the bestseller's list.

Things quickly spiral out of control, because of all Michael does to obtain each one of these women's story. Will his plan be revealed? And, will new friendships and love affairs he has engaged in be put to the test? Will he lose focus of his goal and gain more than he originally set out for?

I've got to be honest when I first ran across THE OFFICE GIRLS by Sylvester Stephens, I was a little "iffy" but I have got to tell you this was an incredible story. It depicts black women in a favorable light, and tells the story of ordinary everyday women and the challenges they face day to day. It actually brought tears to my eyes, because you can relate to these women, if you're not one of them, you know of someone just like them. The story is so real that you get attached to the characters and you begin to feel for them and with them.

Reviewed by Leona Romich
for The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers

This book was a great page turner. I read it in two days because I was unable to put it down. I love it because it has all the elements that a great book needs. It has romance, friendship, and a little thrill. This books keeps you guessing from the begining to the end. It has real work issues and thay was a plus for me. It is a must read for any book lover.

I loved this book, from the very first page to the last. It took me by surprise at how the book ended up being cause like the other review said the cover was decieving. It was not all just about sex. I loved how you got to see a little bit into each character about their background lives and how it was that they ended up working at Upskon.
Not only did this book give the male character a softer side and make him able to relate to the female characters, but I also got more than a few laughs from some of the conversations and things said between characters. Out of all I like how things twisted at the end with Mrs. Virginia...yes it was a little sad, but it was also and eye opener.

Can't wait to read the next novel, involving Michael Forrester. The excerpt at the end of the novel for the next book had me ready to read it already.
Good job Mr. Stephens...keep it up.