Customer Reviews

Platinum: A Novel

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(4)
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What starts out as an assignment quickly becomes more as Alex Maxwell ghost writes a story for Cleopatra Wright, known as Cleo. Cleo claims to have slept with 90% of all rappers in the Tri State area and she's telling her story via a novel titled Platinum. Inside the book are the sexcapades of Cleo with several known husbands, fiancé's and boyfriends in the industry. As Alex writes Cleo's story she's also planning her wedding to music artist Birdie. When she learns what the novel is about her first question to Cleo is "if Birdie is in the book". Her answer sends her on a quest for self discovery and personal redemption.

Cleo is like the black widow spider she spins a web that has loosely woven threads. In the middle is a tunnel in which the spider sits waiting for its prey to become trapped. Cleo is doing the same with this book. Along with Alex's help she's spinning a tale that is sure to capture a few insects and cover others in her venom.

Along with writing Cleo' story Alex is asked by Vibe editor in chief to write from her perspective a story titled; The Secret Lives of Rappers Wives". The story covers three of the most prominent wives; Beth Saddlebrook wife of rapper Z, they have 3 male children and Beth is pregnant with a fourth. Z tells her that this one better be a girl. Beth spends her time trying to make sure this unborn child is a girl as well as keeping Z off drugs and minimizing his groupie damage. With only one person able to understand Beth's predicament, Kipenzi Hill a multiplatinum artist and Beth's best friend. Her relationship with record producer Jake is not in the open yet and Jake would rather walk away then for anyone to know about them. As she struggles with retiring a new star is on the rise; Bunny and Jake is about to sign her to his label. Lastly is Josephine Bennett; wife of singer and producer Ras Bennett. With life taking a turn for the worse Josephine reminisces on the time before the cars, homes and money.

As Alex spends more time with Cleo she realizes how toxic she is but also the more time she spends with the rapper wives she sees more and more of her life in theirs. She questions the trade off; money, power, fame and respect over love, time, and personal respect.

Platinum is a well written story about the behind the scenes look at the hip hop industry. If you are interested in reading the lifestyles of the rich and famous, keeping up with celebrity news and in this case trying to figure out who the characters are then this is the book for you.


Missy
Readers Paradise
Read and reviewed (review copy) May 7th, 2010

A freelance writer, Alex Maxwell's writing is enabling her to see two sides of the same coin. For one assignment, she's ghostwriting the memoirs of video vixen Cleo. It's a tell-all, a blow by blow (pun intended) account of who she's sexed in the music industry. It's bound to rock some images and marriages. For another assignment, she's writing an article for a magazine about the lives of women involved with hip-hop artists. As Alex researches and interviews for both projects she realizes how closely both stories are intertwined and may mirror her own life, as she is engaged to an up-and-coming rapper.

Unlike the majority I'm sure, I went into this book reading it for the content only. I wasn't looking to try and figure out who's who in real life, though it was very obvious who a certain character was. I just wanted a good story. And in PLATINUM I found that...almost. The lives of the characters were interesting. The build up was good. The ending was a let down. The majority of PLATINUM was very good but somewhere nearing the end just lost its momentum. A lot of things were left in the air, questions unanswered. But not in a there's a sequel coming kind of way as much as the author left it up to you and that's real life. And it is real life, but I wanted a complete story with the author providing answers and resolution to all questions and issues she raised.

Aliya King's story of fame and its highs and lows is easy to follow and hooks readers from the beginning; I just wished I had stayed on the hook. PLATINUM was good but could have been so much better. Still, I could easily see myself reading another book by King.

*Rant* And let this book be a lesson to all those authors writing books about lifestyles in which their characters are laced in designer labels from head to toe. While the characters in this book obviously had the money and circumstances to wear the best and most expensive, this author DID NOT drown readers with label dropping. Labels were not needlessly tossed on each page as many unfortunately are doing today. When you have it, you don't have to talk about it!

3.5 stars
2K11 Challenge Review

"Platinum" by Aliya S King was one of the 3 best books I've read so far this year! Outstanding! The characters were so real and you can clearly see they are loosly based on well known A and D list industry people and their various controversies. I found myself thinking of Beyone, Jay Z, Karrine Stephans, DMX, Aaliyah, Rihanna, Chris Brown and many more as I read this book.

In this book we meet an assorted cast of individuals with one common bond: Cleo Wright. Cleo is an infamous former video vixen who is writing a book on all the men she' slept with, with the help of ghostwriter Alex. The list includes rappers Z and Jake, Ras Bennett super producer, up and coming rapper Birdie (Alex's fiancee) and many other married and "taken" athletes and celebs. Alex is simutaneously penning an article for "Vibe" about the wives/girlfriends of rappers. Beth (Z's long suffering White wife), Kipenzi Hill (superstar diva and secret girlfriend of Jake), Josephine Bennett (fashion designer & wife of Ras Bennett) are all being interviewed for the article.

We also meet Zander ( Z and Beth' s son) who is an up and coming rapper who is in a shaky somewhat violent and obssessive relationship with Bunny a young singer from the islands. Bunny's temper is fierce and young Zander is the recipient of her rage.

Questions are asked and drama heats up as word spreads that Cleo is penning a book on her adventures with some of the top men in the industry.

This book was a pageturner and I look forward to reading more from this author!!

This is a highly entertaining quick read written by a talented writer, Aliya S. King; whose previous work on the Faith Evans biography also impressed me. The book gives readers a behind the scenes look at the women beside & behind men of the hip hop world. Most of the characters seem to be loosely based on actual industry folks and this added to the enjoyment of reading the book with others - the speculation as to who is supposed to whom. The only character I had trouble matching to an actual person was the protagonist, Alex - she brought to mind several female writers in the hip hop industry but I couldn't quite pick which one I thought she was based on (if any).

I was unable to put the book down and finished it over the course of a day & a half. Aliya paints such vivid initial portraits of the characters that it was so easy to keep each and their various storylines straight. I also quite enjoyed her references to actual music industry people & events - it made the story more realistic.

I didn't care for the ending although I agree with another reviewer that it's set up perfectly for a sequel but without spoiling anything, it's hard to anticipate a sequel when one of the characters that I most enjoyed reading about won't be in it.

Congratulations to Aliya for a job well done - hopefully someone thinks this will translate well to a movie!

Platinum by Aliya S. King reveals the life of Alex Maxwell; a successful journalist who is given an assignment that is too close for comfort. Being assigned to chronicle the lives of women on the arms of celebrity hip-hop artists would appear to be a gig made in heaven. But when you add ghostwriting a book for a hip-hop home wrecker in the mix, it makes the job a little less spicy; especially when Alex is trying to keep her relationship to an upcoming hip-hop artist private and exclusive. Alex realizes it may be impossible to keep her professional life from colliding with her personal life, but will it be too late?

Platinum is an entertaining, fast-paced read that not only leaves you on the edge of your seat, but provides a full serving of drama, plot-twists, and realism. King shows all that glitters is not gold and brings the human condition into the world of celebrity seamlessly. Relationships, chemical dependency, and child rearing are a few of the subjects touched upon and will have readers questioning what they would do under similar circumstances. What I most appreciate about this novel, is that it did not highlight the fancy cars, trips around the world, and groupies in a distracting manner. However, it makes those things less titillating. I recommend Platinum to readers who want a different perspective of the life of the lavish and who enjoy well-crafted fiction pieces involving hip-hop and celebrity culture.

Platinum was provided by the author for review purposes.

Darnetta Frazier
APOOO BookClub

In a word... riveting. This is a page-turner that grabs you and won't let you go. I found myself trying to link the characters to the real life folks who might have inspired them... Kipenzi = Beyonce; Bunny = Rhianna; Jake = Jay-Z; Z = DMX; Ras & Josephine = Wyclef Jean & Marie; Cleo = Superhead... and so on... But at the end of the day, it doesn't even matter what real life people sparked the inspiration for the drama-filled, absolutely engaging and all-engrossing world King created in the pages of Platinum. The characters she created become so real--so absolutely and sometimes heart-breakingly real that you won't soon forget them. This is a must read for anyone who likes stories with lots of character-driven drama. Good stuff!

Aliya S. King did a wonderful job bringing these characters to life. I wondered who was who in real life and that kept me engrossed to get to the end of story. I started at midnight and passed out with the book in my hand. I finished it this morning. I literally couldn't put the book down. There are several main characters, but Ms. King did a good job introducing each one and interwining their stories so their was never a dull moment. I definitely recommend this book as an entertaining read. Gossip blog junkies will love it!

I really enjoyed Platinum. This is an engrossing read that I went through in a night. Well developed characters by Aliya S. King gave the reader an insight into all facets of the lives of the women of hip hop stars. I especially liked the use of Alex's reporting background and relationship with Birdie to better understand the other women.

This was a fun read and I had a nice time figuring out which stars and stars' wives each of the women were based on. I definitely recommend this for a nice summer read.

Aliya S. King's Platinum takes a behind-the-scenes look at the lives of the women behind superstar hip-hop artists -- the wives, girlfriends, groupies, and video vixens -- and shows that underneath the glitz and glamour lies a plethora of pain and suffering. King makes you care about each of the five very different women who are at the heart of the story -- including Cleo, the video model who is writing her tell-all memoir, complete with names and details.

King is a master storyteller, and puts her skills to great use here. Platinum is a fast read, and has broad appeal. Although part of the fun of reading the book is guessing which rappers and R&B artists are represented by its characters, the rappers in King's story could easily be rockers or Hollywood stars. Even if you're not particularly interested in hip-hop and R&B, you can enjoy King's storytelling. I look forward to Aliya S. King's next novel.

Entertainment reporter Alex Sampson Maxwell has gained recognition for her coverage of some of the most prominent people of the past decades. She is engaged to single dad Birdie the rapper and ghostwriting the memoirs of notorious man-eating groupie Cleopatra "Cleo" Wright.

Cleo tells her tale of sleeping with over 90% of the rapper recording artists in the New York metropolitan area. Her approach to relating her sleeping prowess with a who's who and more is through a novel Platinum. As Alex begins to write Cleo's tell all "memoir", she wonders if her Birdie slept with a toxic relationship breaker. At the same time Alex is working a magazine article The Secret Lives of Rapper Wives starting with Rapper Z's spouse Beth (and their three kids with one coming),

The fun in this exciting contemporary drama is figuring out who the characters are in real life, which can detract from the well written story line focus on will fame spoil rappers (and Rock Hunter). Still Alex keeps the three prime subplots focused as the audience obtains a deep look at what goes on behind the closed door of the famous.

Harriet Klausner