Customer Reviews

Sweeter Than Honey

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(16)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

Mentally abused by her hateful mother, Rita, Lace St. Thomas always felt like a stranger in her own home. At the age of 16, Lace's credibility was diminished when her mother believed her perverted step-father, Don, over her. Kicked out, abandoned, homeless and afraid, Lace married a stranger and suffered countless abuse until finally she'd had enough.

For 11 years in Sin City, Lace used the power of her body to afford shelter, food and material things. As she climbed the rank from prostitute, to wife-in-law, to madam, Lace became more educated and was no longer willing to suffer at the hands of another man. Employed now as a Madam at Immaculate Perception, Lace knows that she has to remain in control, otherwise she can end up on the bottom. When she meets Sunny Day, a prostitute that she recruited, she sees that this is no longer the business she wants to be acquainted with. Working for Valentino may have its ups, but it also comes with downs. Can Lace escape untouched?

Benito Bannister is Lace's live in boyfriend. He was once a professional football player, with money, cars and fame. Dead broke, Benito is 100% indebted to his boy, Valentino, for hooking him up with Lace. However, Benito has issues. Adopted, abandoned and destitute, Benito tries to love Lace with all that he has. When his boy, Valentino, asks him to do him a favor, will Benito risk all that he has with Lace?

"Sweeter Than Honey" by veteran Mary B. Morrison speaks volumes about women and the choices they have. While it takes a candid look at prostitutes, it encourages all women, despite what they've been through, to believe in themselves and when they are able to, pay it forward. While I loved the positive message, I also hated it! Oh my goodness, I'm at a total loss and for those of you that truly know me, you know that I'm a talker. I got so tired of Benito rambling on about the black man, and if Valentino would've said he was a "G" just one more time... not to mention that the LVPD used civilians to help them entrap criminals while endangering their lives just so the undercover Sergeant Bleu could get her promotion. I agree with other reviewers, Mary is a gifted writer, however at times "Sweeter Than Honey" shuffles along slowly and the sex, believe it or not, is a little too much. I love that Mary uses her writing to advocate to others.

Sweeter Than Honey was one of our book club selections and I'm glad I was selected to read it. I thought that the book was a very entertaining novel and well-written by Mary Morrision. For a new book in a series this was a terrific start and the way Ms. Morrison developed some of the new characters in the story I could see them being reintroduced into the sequel. The glamorous scenes revolving around Las Vegas was so real that I felt like I was actually there. Then there was cruel side of Las Vegas and the author didn't hold anything back in describing the business of sexual pleasure in that city. There are numerous reviews that give an excellent description of the story and I won't add more, except to say that this is a fantastic story.

Sweeter Than Honey is the first book in Mary B. Morrison's new series, The Honey Diaries. Morrison introduces us to Lace St. Thomas, the madam of Immaculate Perception, an escort service owned by Valentino James, located in Las Vegas. That is where the high rollers pay top dollars to be with the most beautiful, sexiest, and talented in the bedroom women. Even though she is as tough as a man, Lace still cannot deny that she has a warm heart somewhere deep down inside. Lace shows how honey is not only sweet but also very sticky.

Lace takes very good care of her girls. She makes sure they are treated right by the men who pay to be with them and their boss, Valentino. When one of her girls turns up dead, Lace becomes concerned and suspicious of all the men around her. She is not sure of who did what, but she is going to find out no matter who she has to kill.

Morrison presents characters that are strong physically and vocally. Lace is a character that people will remember after the book is over. I am a bit concerned with the many monologues that the characters have throughout the entire book. There is a lot of useless information provided in these ongoing scenes. It seemed as if the character-building material was left in the actual book. If the characters interacted more with each other, this book would have moved along quicker. A few of the situations that occurred just were far-fetched and unbelievable.

Take away the parts not needed and you have a story with memorable characters. If this is a person's first time picking up a Mary B. Morrison's book, it may serve to be disappointing. I recommend Sweeter Than Honey to true diehard Morrison fans.

Jennifer Coissiere
APOOO BookClub

I am mot sure where to start except to say that I was not happy with this book. I am a big fan of Mary Morrison. All of her books have found a home in my home library next to Mary Monroe, Marcus Majors, Carl Weber, Eric Jerome Dickey, Walter Mosley, Kimberla Lawson Roby, Omar Tyree and other greats. With that being said, I felt the book was all over the place. I had to reread several pages, because I felt lost in the story. Believe me, I did get the story line, but it was hard to follow. Like most of Mary's readers, I loved the previous books, and I am ready to follow her on the new journey. To conclude, the book seemed rushed and I was confused. For example, why did Sapphire demand that Lace meet her in Las Vegas by midnight on page 225. We have the demand, but no reason for the demand. Two pages later, Summer is a millionaire. When did this take place?!! A few paragraphs later, the family is on the way to church to bury Sunny.

I always enjoy Mary B. Morrison's books, as I did this one. I do agree with the other reviewers about the character Benito. He is very irritating, constantly complaining and whining. I started to just skip over him rambling on because it just got to the point where it was ruining the book. I was a little mislead though by the summary in the front of the book b/c it mentioned that Lace aka "Honey" would expose Valentino's secret and she is with Grant and Benito joins forces with Valentino. She never even really had the opportunity to start anything with Grant so maybe that was just an entrance into the next book. But I think it is a good read, it is worth reading it if you enjoy her writing.

I am a complete fan of Mary Morrison, but I must say that I was fully disappointed with this book. I am in a book club and the two people that started reading before me couldn't read it. I checked it out from the library and was only able to get into 50 something pages before I threw my hands up. I am so glad I didn't by this book!!!!!!

I have all of Mary B. Morrison books and enjoyed them all. This book was okay. I hope the next book is better.

This book was Morrison's way of sending us Women a message........."Are we worthy" I loved the contributions from her fellow Authors at the back of the book. I have given this book to a few of my fellow friends and they all loved it. From this book we all learned something but most of all we learned to ask ourselves everyday.....do we truely deserve to be treated unfairly!!!!! We need to learn to love ourselves first and stop being haters, learn to nurture, encourage and build confidence in our fellow sistahs. I cannot wait for the next book!!!!!! Mary it was truely a pleasure to meet you in person at the Harlem Bookfair; not only do you write well...LOL, but you have a lovely spirit......Loads of luv from Sugar and Spice bookclub NYC!!!!!!!!!!!!!! See you soon!

Mary B. Morrison is a Great Author and I like her skills. "Sweeter than Honey," has the decriptive script, so you don't have to imagine what is going on...it is right in your face, to the point you can taste it. You have a great storyline going, but for me it was lacking something, I think there was so much sex and profanity that it overshadowed the essence of her story. I definitely can see a sequel to this and the characters that are introduced here definitely can become their own story. I can't wait to see what happens with Lace, will she take on the identity of Honey to change her character? Then their is Summer and Valentino is still alive, what about Sapphire and Girl 6, even Rita has a story to be told. I kept reading waiting for something that didn't happen but it was a thriller... What will become of the Mansion with the Sharks? Grant and Benito? I definitely recommend reading "Sweeter than Honey" because you will want to know these characters because I sense some sequels coming here and it will be good. Keep writing Ms. Morrison. I may not have gotten what I wanted out of this story (not a soulmates dissipate), but I am still a fan and I look forward to more on some of these characters. How will Summer get through with her kids daddy being the culprit who took away her Sunshine?

SWEETER THAN HONEY by Mary B. Morrison is the story of Lace St. Thomas, a former prostitute and current Madam. Lace runs and operates Immaculate Perceptions located in Las Vegas. Lace employs 12 of the sexiest female escorts around, and only the wealthiest of men can afford them.

When Lace receives a phone call from her estranged mother, saying she needed to come home because her sister was in the hospital, she races home, only to be met face-to-face with her childhood demons.

In the meantime...one of Lace's escorts has had enough of living the lifestyle and she decides she wants out. Unfortunately, the only way out for her will be in a body bag. When Lace finds out that one of her best escorts is dead, she realizes she may be next.

This was my first solo read by Mary B. Morrison. I had the opportunity to read SHE AIN'T THE ONE with her and Carl Weber and thought that was also a very good read. Mary B. Morrison's talent shines in SWEETER THAN HONEY. Ms. Morrison had me hooked from the very first page and I was up until the wee hours of the morning trying to finish it. It is so rare when I find a book that I will stay up all night trying to finish reading. SWEETER THAN HONEY has all the ingredients of a five-star read: suspense, drama, lies and murder. The only reason I did not give it five stars is because there were two things I was unclear on.

I am looking forward to finding out what happens next in WHO'S LOVING YOU, the sequel to SWEETER THAN HONEY.

Reviewed by Leona
APOOO BookClub