1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Is your relationship strong?, July 27, 2008
This review is from: Savor the Sweetness (Paperback)
Savor the Sweetness by Marchel Alverson is a wonderful book about two couples Terri & Lawrence and Celeste and Jayland. These couples relationship go through serious changes and make you ask yourself, "If I were faced with these problems could my relationship survive?"
I felt that Marchel Alverson was able to deliver a great story about two diverse couples that seemed to have it all from the outside but really had issues that they were faced with and had to find their way through. Celeste suffered the ultimate loss by losing Jayland in a car accident towards the middle of the book. Marchel really made you feel Celeste's pain and what it felt like to lose the person closest to you, along with the regrets and all the steps that is involved with the grieving process. Celeste makes some unforgivable choices throughout while grieving that will have you questioning how far will she go before she loses it all!
The only thing that I can really say that needed improvement was the editing throughout the book. I felt that the grammatical errors recurred too often but really didn't take away from the story. The storyline itself is very strong and the character development with every character introduced throughout the book was wonderful. You can definitely see that Ms. Alverson has a bright future in writing!
TaNisha Webb
KC Girlfriends Book Club Radio Show Host
KC Girlfriends Book Club President
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Test of Friendship, July 11, 2008
This review is from: Savor the Sweetness (Paperback)
Celeste Gray and Terri Hunter are best friends who have the best of everything. But even the lavish homes, beautiful children, and loving husbands cannot stop them from wanting more. Celeste is trying to escape her mundane life as a homemaker. Terri is seeking some much needed attention from an online romance. Celeste and Terri's world turns upside down when Celeste's husband Jayland is killed in a car accident. Jayland's death causes Terri and Celeste to go down a path to self-destruction. Terri tries to have a more serious connection with her online lover. Celeste's loneliness causes her to want sexual healing from Terri's barely legal son Rowan. Will their friendship last through these trying times?
Savor the Sweetness is an impressive novel by Marchel Alverson. Alverson pulls the reader into the complex lives of Celeste and Terri. You will truly feel the deep connection that makes up their friendship. This novel takes the reader through a rollercoaster of emotions as this story unfolds. You will feel the emptiness of Celeste as she tries to cope with her husband's death. You will also feel the uncertainty of Terri as she tries to seek comfort in the arms of another man. This story wouldn't be complete without some shocking twists and turns that will keep you on your toes. Alverson added a nice touch to this story by including the private orange grove where Celeste and Terri share their secrets. Savor the Sweetness is an emotionally-charged novel teemed with realistic characters and situations. Savor the Sweetness will have you looking forward to the next novel from Marchel Alverson.
Reviewed by Radiah Hubbert
of Urban Reviews
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Savor The Flavor Of This Tantalizing Tale, May 15, 2008
This review is from: Savor the Sweetness (Paperback)
Celeste Gray and Terri Hunter have little in common, save the lifelong friendship that's sustained them throughout the peaks and valleys that each has experienced over the years. Celeste is a wife and mother whose husband eagerly fulfills her every need, and Terri, with a fierce independent streak, wants for nothing as she makes her mark on the world. The two women are the very semblance of strength, class, beauty, and success, and their lives are striking examples of the best the world has to offer.
Looks are often deceiving, though, and such is never more true than with Celeste and Terri. Beneath their polished facades, both women secretly crave change, longing to experience the very lives that others would gladly exchange with them if the opportunity ever presented itself. To paraphrase an old saying, though, the grass may always seem greener on the other side, but the true essence of life always lies in personal perspective.
Whether she's ready for it or not, change ultimately - and tragically - comes when Celeste's husband is suddenly killed in a hit-and-run accident, sending her on an emotional tailspin that leads her to make one ill-informed decision after another. For her part, Terri struggles to comfort her ailing friend - a task made nearly impossible when Celeste begins a lustful pursuit of Terri's barely-legal son. As the bond of their friendship weakens further and further under the considerable strain, the two women are forced to take deep introspective looks within themselves - and one another - in order to come to a greater understanding of the true nature of their relationship - as well as the looming prospects for their quickly unraveling lives.
The second effort by Marchel Alverson, Savor The Sweetness is a promising sign of a literary talent that continues to improve. Her compelling tale of humanity at its most raw and vulnerable is all at once arresting, inspiring, and engaging. Accentuating her storytelling is her conversational writing style, which enables the reader to relate to the women's travails on a personal level. Even though the women live in the lap of relative luxury, the sagas of their lives unfold in the depths of familiar human drama, which offsets the shallow opulence of their existence.
Furthermore, by personalizing Celeste and Terri so effectively, Alverson prevents the women from being demonized in the eyes of the reader, which allows their actions - questionable though they may be - to be viewed as natural byproducts of the simple machinations of everyday lives with which we are all familiar.
Impressive and engrossing, Savor The Sweetness is a highly recommended account of the best and worst of the common human nature that binds us all.
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