Revenge is Best Served Cold [Mass Market Paperback]

Tracie Howard (Author), Danita Carter (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 6, 2004

Sexy, sophisticated, and successful, best friends Morgan Nelson and Dakota Cantrell have shattered the color barrier, kicked the boy's club to the curb, and made a name for themselves as the supreme Divas of Wall Street. But something's gotta give. And when it does, they're going to fight fire with fire, and betrayal with betrayal, to hold on to their Park Avenue dreams-and they're going to do it with the designer gloves off...

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

What do a Gucci pantsuit, a Jil Sander trench coat, Donna Karan loafers, a Michael Kors short trench and black Prada buckleups have in common? All appear in one short paragraph of this superficial, condescending debut, in which nary a page goes by without the appearance of a brand name. The plot features two hip African-American women: Morgan Nelson, a married Fortune 500 exec on her way up the corporate ladder, and her best friend, Dakota Cantrell, an equity trader who yearns to meet the right guy. These two independent women enjoy a stereotypically fabulous buppie lifestyle, but are sweet-talked and eventually betrayed by gay entrepreneur Blake St. James. It's hard to believe that the savvy Morgan would jeopardize her marriage and her job by entertaining a new business venture with the silver-tongued Blake, whom she barely knows. Similarly, why should it come as a surprise to the race-conscious Dakota that her attraction to a white executive in her company might strain relations between the two women as well as in her own family? The authors try to create dramatic tension in the lives of their main characters, but the central plot is crippled by the artless handling of backstory as well as too many clich‚s and ludicrous sexual euphemisms. Given these flaws, it almost seems beside the point to mention that it takes 44 out of 47 chapters to get to the revenge scenario referred to in the title. Readers who think a novel should be more than a litany of designer clothes, exclusive restaurants, luxury apartments and top-shelf liquors will see this one for what it is: the literary equivalent of champagne in a can.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Morgan Nelson, a vice president of a Fortune 500 company, and Dakota Cantrell, a Wall Street trader, are successful African American women in male-dominated careers. As accomplished, fashionable, and talented as they are, they are still not a part of the old New York money crowd. When they meet the flamboyant Blake St. James, they are immediately impressed by his style and charisma. As their friendship grows, Blake proposes a business partnership with Morgan. While she works to develop a business plan and Blake schmoozes with potential clients, they encounter some financial stumbling blocks. Morgan willingly incurs expenses on behalf of the budding business, but Blake claims that family problems are stalling the receipt of his inheritance. In this consistently compelling story, the increasing debt forces her to challenge Blake for an explanation and repayment of his share of the expenses. Blake's dishonesty and hidden agenda threaten to undermine the hard work and the successes that Morgan and Dakota have accomplished. Morgan's growing suspicions compel her to take action and give Blake a healthy dose of his own medicine. Lillian Lewis
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: NAL Trade (April 6, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451204751
• ISBN-13: 978-0451204752
• Product Dimensions: 5.4 x 0.7 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (43 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #582,516 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Horrible, September 8, 2004

By 

LoVe2ReAd (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Revenge is Best Served Cold (Mass Market Paperback)

Pretty crappy book. Too much designer name-dropping for my taste. The writers seemed to happy to make sure they advertised expensive designers than writing an interesting story. Also the storyline was bogus, weak, predictable yet unbelievable. It's hard to believe that two seemingly bright women got duped so easily.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Da Bomb?, April 29, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Revenge is Best Served Cold (Mass Market Paperback)

No. This book, along with everything else these two have written, SHOULD be bombed. The other reviewers are right;it's a pretentious; no; make that EXTREMELY pretentious fashion guide (and overblown, overpriced fashions at that) surrounding one of the lamest excuses for a novel I've ever seen. The characters are pathetic; they're ultimately purely selfish and conceited ("trademark" cat's-eye glasses? PUL-LEEZE) women who'd rather go spend money on clothes than give some to, say, a homeless shelter or school or cancer research. The type who get way too dressed up for almost any occasion; who let their apparel eclipse their personalities, who have unrealistic relationships and/or expectations, and who couldn't see a good thing when it's runnning them over like a Mack truck. And they come off as total imbeciles for falling for a scam artist a blind person could see coming six miles away. And, to a degree, they're even a bit racist.

And, Tracie, for someone who writes as if she's the last word in tasteful fashion ... nice shoes in the back cover photo. About as tasteful as plastic flamingoes in a trailer park.

Books like these are what's wrong with the literacy rate in this country.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Revenge is reading this book, February 18, 2002

By 

Valerie Maryman "marymanv" (Detroit, Michigan United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Revenge is Best Served Cold (Mass Market Paperback)

I can't say enough about 'Revenge is Best Served Cold'. This book has one of the most juvenile and sophomoric plots I've read in a very long time. The dialogue is choppy and the story jumps from event to event without resolution. The flow is silly. The events are silly. The reactions of the main characters are silly. The book is silly.

I haven't read anything with this much unnecessary name dropping in a long time. The only thing in it's favor is the ending, although predicable, it was cute. From a book of 296 pages, two good pages is not enough.

Save your time and your money. Reading this book is revenge, hot, cold, or otherwise.