Customer Reviews

Soul on Fire

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

 

 

This is the first title I have read by Skyy Banks. The book started out as a very interesting read, however, the more I read the more bored I became. The book WAS NOT BAD, it was just ok. The plot was clear, but I had a hard time following the author. Chapters were not adequately marked. Banks switched from 1st person to 3rd person, without warning. This was kind of confusing. Additionally, she didn't take enough time to develop the characters. Many of the characters in the book had no point. Many of the things she did, with and pertaining to the characters, had no relevance.

RECOMMENDATION 1: I would not recommend this book to anyone interested in reading 'lebian fiction.' It is categorized under 'lesbian fiction but a scene or two, involving intimate moments shared between two woman, hardly classifies it as 'lesbian fiction.'

RECOMMENDATION 2: I WOULD RECOMMEND this book to anyone who wants to learn more about child sexual abuse. As a victim, I was able to connect with the myriad of emotions experienced by both Dana and Mya. In my connection to the main character, Dana, I had an "ah hah" moment-which was wonderful!! This title is good for anyone who desires to gain some insight about the psychological impact of sexual abuse...specifically how it affects a child's transition into adulthood.

CAUTION...This Book Could Result In Digression For Someone Battling Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder!!

Again, it was not a bad book but books have to be good. Sitting down to read a book can be a pain-staking process if the book is not a page-turner. It took me weeks to get through a 241 page book that usually takes me a day (or less) to read. The beginning was fine, but I had to push through the book to get to an end that left much to be desired. I just felt like Banks got tired of writing, and was trying to get to an end.

It is my understanding that Ms. Banks is a new author. Thus my recommendation to her would be to try harder to write from the soul. I didn't feel the literary craft I feel when I read books. I would like to encourage her to build upon her characters more...make them more real to the readers...make those referenced characters relevant...be clear about who is speaking and when....don't jump between 1st and 3rd person with such inconsistency....and take the time to write it all out. Ms. Banks has the potential to be a great writer. She just has to believe that greatness lies within, and then tap into it (without force).

MS. SKYY BANKS: Let your drive to write, from the core of your being, be the motivating force behind the movement of the pen. If you need to take your time, than allow yourself that benefit. James Cameron took 10 years to craft a movie ("Avatar") that "wow'd" the world and broke every box office record known to mankind. You CANNOT rush perfection!!!

3.5 Stars From Me!!

Blessed "Serious" Book Critic

I actually went to one of Skyy's book reviews - to say I was blown away to learn that this was her first book. Skyy Banks made all of her characters so real, it was as if I was Dana's friend. I felt her pain and laughter. The characters were great, the plot even greater and the ending was awesome.

This is truly a must read. I am eagerly awaiting her next book. She may be new to the scene but she is definitely here for the long haul.

The secrets that we keep when we talk in our sleep. what makes us keep this dirty little secret, that manifests into problems or behavior we don't understand or acknowledge?

Dana Taylor beautiful successful, any man or woman would love to have, but she carries a deep dark secret that impales her future and invades her dreams an poses a threat to her being.

Becoming involved with various relationships with her man de jour, different scenarios with the same outcome, Dana finds herself alone again, her body used and her mind abused. Her relationship with her best friend Michelle is even at risk.

But when the tragic death of her sister Mya brings her back home to Cleveland, memories that once were buried, slowly start to overwhelm her.

Dana finds herself in need of a therapist, and with her help Dana realizes her worst fears when she remembers what has been done to her in her childhood, and by who.

Dana's and Mya's story is one that we hear about and some of us have lived through. How many more little children need to live with the shame of sexual abuse, finding ways to hide or endure. Will we ever see the light?

Skyy Banks, approached a very sensitive subject with care and sensitivity while still being enjoyable. I still recommend it, someone may learn the signs of sexual abuse and not just see it, but actually do something about it. Thank you

Melody Vernor-Bartel

Reader's Paradise

5 bookmarks

In Soul on Fire by Skyy Banks, Dana Montgomery is trying desperately to figure out why she keeps making horrible decisions. She has been haunted by dreams of her past. She cannot quite put it together; mainly because she refuses to take the time to even think about her problems. Everything Dana touches crumbles in front of her. When she is led back to her hometown, she is faced with confronting her past. Dana is on a search for happiness. But she cannot truly experience it until she learns to love herself and not let the past dictate her future. After several toxic relationships and almost losing her best friend, she finally realizes it is time to grow up and face reality.

Banks explores abuse and the effects that it has on a person. The main character chooses man after man that is no good for her and turns away from a man that has nothing but her best interests in mind. She is not able to truly love until she is able to face the facts of her abuse and the abusers. The story was a little slow at first but quickly picked up and held my attention.

This book was provided for review courtesy of the author.

Donnica Copeland

APOOO BookClub

Sista Talk Book Club

29-year-old Dana Taylor is a beautiful, educated and successful black woman that has a great career among Atlanta's corporate world. Unfortunately, the one thing she seems to be missing is a good man to share her life with. Every relationship she has with a man is unhealthy, and all of them are sexual in nature. When her latest lover's wife seeks out Dana for a confrontation, Dana tries to enlist her best friend for back up, but it seems to be a wake up call for her self destructive ways.

Around 3am every morning, Dana is woken out of her sleep from a horrible nightmare. All the dreams appear to stem around the same thing, and they seem all too real. The nightmares center around her childhood when she was a young girl. With lack of sleep and the dreams disturbing her so, she seeks out professional help to unlock the key to these dreams. When she is put under hypnosis, she is shocked to discover what these dreams unveil. In order to find peace and happiness, she will have to confront the people that hurt her in hopes of finding redemption.

Soul On Fire by Skyy Banks is a story of betrayal, sex, lies and loving one's self. Soul On Fire reads like a true-to-life novel of one woman's journey to unlocking the demons of her past in order to find a healthy medium in her relationships. The one thing that was frustrating was that the story lacked chapters. It was like one long continuation, making for a slightly difficult read. All in all though, Soul On Fire was a pretty good novel and with a few tweeks here and there, this would easily rate higher.

Reviewed by Leona for Urban Reviews

Author: Skyy Banks

ISBN 10:

ISBN 13: 978-0-9815326-5-3

Pages: 241

Publisher: UrbanEdge Publishing

Cover: Softcover

Rating: 4 Stars

Reviewer: Adellia Whitson-Stafford- Literary Wonders! adelliawhitsostafford@literarywonders.com ([...])

From the outside Dana Taylor seems to have everything. She is a beautiful young woman that owns her own thriving business. No one knows about the nightmares that wake her up at 3 o'clock most mornings. No one knows about the many men that have hurt her in one way or another. No one even knows about the jealousy that she feels towards her best friend Chelle.

Dana wants what most women want; to be happy and loved. She tries to find it in the arms of numerous men but none of them can give her what she needs. One is married and one has an ulterior motive. Then there are her nightmares of masked figures and a little girl. All of these things combined finally drive Dana to seek professional help from a therapist. After a family tragedy, more is revealed than she ever expected.

Can Dana deal with all the harsh blows that life is throwing at her? It has been said that God doesn't give you more than you can handle but she feels otherwise. Does she need to lower her standards? Chelle seems to have everything that Dana wants. Can she get over that jealousy? In the end she will find strength and support in the people that she least expects.

On a scale of 1-5 I give this book a four. The only thing that kept me from giving it a five had nothing to do with the story. There were times in the beginning where there was confusion with the paragraph and sentence structure. It kept throwing me off and making it hard for me to get into the story. I would have to read the sentence over again to comprehend. After doing that one too many times I had to put the book down for a few days. I wish that I hadn't because when I picked it back up- the story picked up.

In Soul on Fire, Skyy Banks really drew me into Dana's story. She kept me interested in what was going on with her. I hurt with her and I was happy when she was happy. This was a great story. It makes you laugh, almost cry, and want to slap a few people. I can easily see Skyy Banks becoming one of my favorite authors if she keeps this up.

Dana Taylor, an attractive, successful, rising young professional, is battling fierce internal demons. With disturbing recurring nightmares haunting her nightly and a nagging dependency for sexual companionship, she thinks she may be on the brink of insanity. As she finds herself struggling from one man to the next, trapped in a forbidden love triangle, and risking a valuable friendship, Dana makes the decision to find the source of her self-destructive behavior and begin the healing process. But just what does it take to start the journey of self-restoration? Can Dana find the strength to face her past in order to control her future? These are questions she asks herself, hoping desperately to stumble upon the answers.

In SOUL ON FIRE, Skyy Banks lead readers on a jagged road through the life and tumultuous times of Dana Taylor. With a prose that closely resembles poetry, Banks successfully immerses the reader into Dana's world so deeply, you feel as if you are growing right along with this troubled woman. Although I didn't fully understand her promiscuity and sharp attitude early on, I found Dana's character to be very realistic and believable as she became more transparent and her internal conflicts rose to the surface as the story progressed. At times, I found myself confused and rereading some passages in an attempt to understand what the author was trying to convey. Also, the absence of chapters throughout the book threw me off and had me wondering just what the purpose of this format was. It was a bit of a distraction. Overall, Banks has penned a solid novel that digs deep into the soul of a suffering young woman, encouraging readers to do the same with their own lives. This story was honest and compelling. I appreciate the effort from this new author.

Reviewed by Monique D. Mensah

for RAWSISTAZ(tm) Reviewers

Skyy Banks' debut novel, Soul on Fire, is an innovative exploration of the wreckage of abuse. From the first page, the reader is drawn into the world of Dana Taylor, the heroine of the novel. In her fast paced, corporate world, Dana is a star- accomplished, beautiful, successful, and as the reader quickly discovers, deeply damaged. Promiscuous, conniving, and self-centered, Dana's life is marred with lies, double dealing, and selfishness. Through a series of flashbacks and dreams, Banks ties Dana's past to the present and reveals the underlying issues that contribute to Dana's tattered existence. Banks is a gifted descriptive writer. She brings the reader into each and every scene, titillating ,arousing, and delighting the reader with intimate encounters that will make even the most sophisticated of them blush, then taking them to the pits of disgust and repulsion by the actions of her predators over the course of just a few pages. The novel deals with several taboo topics and the tone could be dark, preachy, and discouraging; but instead Banks delivers the story with an easy-flowing style, crisp dialogue, and characters that are well-developed, engaging, and relatable. Undoubtedly, this novel will spark dialogue and encourage readers to explore topics that affect so many, but are too often left in the shadows. Soul on Fire is a dynamic, thought provoking, relevant, and emotionally explosive page-turner. I invite you to let Ms. Banks take you on this journey that will leave you spent and satisfied.

This book almost cost me my job. LOL I spent two days at work doing more reading than working and I must say it was worth it. Ms. Banks came out swinging on her first at bat. This book had me going trough so many emotions, one minute I was screaming at Dana and the next minute I was crying for her. Great characters, a very REAL story....and a happy ending. What more could you ask for? Kudos chica, kudos.