Customer Reviews

The Ex Files

5 star:		(29)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

APOOO Rating- 4.5

The Ex-Files brings four unlikely women together. They have all been hurt in some form or fashion by their exes. Murray brings Sheridan Hart back from Grown Folks Business. Sheridan is the leader of the prayer group. While it was two years ago that her husband left her for a man, she is still trying to cope with not having him in her life and moving on with someone new. Vanessa Martin puts on a great front for the group. She is coping with the death of her husband. It is so unbearable sometimes, that she wants to do anything to be with him again. Kendall Stewart caught her husband in bed with her sister. She decides to write them both off...no husband and no sister. But things quickly change and she is faced with stepping up for her family. Asia Ingrum is the youngest one of the group. She is also the only one that is not married. She was actually the mistress to a NBA player. He decides to make it work with his wife and leaves Asia AND her child alone.

Their pastor suggests that they come together in a prayer group and hopefully work through their situations. They soon realize they have a lot more in common then they first thought. You quickly become invested in each character. How will each of them deal with the end of a relationship? Murray does it again and definitely delivers a great story. This one will grip your heart.

Donnica Copeland
APOOO BookClub

THE EX FILES is not a scientific read, quite the contrary. It is a simple yet compelling story about four women struggling with the loss of their partners.

-Sheridan's husband, of sixteen years, left her for a man. The marriage has been over for three years and she has a new man in her life. But, Sheridan never put an emotional end to the marriage and her indecisiveness may send her new man away; then her 'ex' re-enters her life.
-Kendall and her husband built a business together before they married. She catches him in bed with her sister and she is done. They divorce, but still share the business. Kendall wants them both to suffer, so when her 'ex' asks her to help save her sister's life, she refuses and distances herself from them.
-Asia is twenty-seven, and has never worked a day of her life. For the past ten years she has lived in hopes of marrying the NBA star who is her part time, live-in sponsor. But, he returns to his wife leaving her and their five-year-old daughter. Asia seeks serious revenge, but will it destroy her daughter?
-Vanessa was married for six years, and loved every day of it. For no apparent reason her husband committed suicide; it left a hole in her soul. She cannot deal with the painful emptiness.

Encouraged by their pastor, the four women meet and discover a similarity in their predicaments. With a foundation of prayer, they let God into their lives and develop a bond. Then a surprising tragedy forces them to gather spiritual strength, move past their respective heartbreaks, and seek forgiveness and redemption. THE EX FILES is emotionally charged with familiar characters, definitive storylines, and an engaging plot. The magnitude of this story puts emphasis on the power of prayer and resonates after the book is closed.

Reviewed by aNN
of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers

i was so disappointed with this book having already read tmptation and a sin and a shame, two great books by the way. in this book i feel like the plots are dragged on and the characters unrealistic. also the language is unsophisticated and doesn't flow. the plot is choppy. moreover the characters underdeveloped. especially vanessa, couldn't understand her motives and she seemed very whiny. moreover the characters situations in the book dont really change, they are not really "stronger". i feel like the author was forging religion in this book and trying way to hard. i will still read books by this author however i give this book a C.

Women can deal with heart break in so many different ways. They can distance themselves from everyone, turn vindictive, put on a fake front to hide what's really going on, or they can move on. In The Ex-Files, there are four women that deal with heartbreak completely different from each other.

When Sheridan Hart came to terms that her husband broke her heart after seventeen years of marriage, she found the strength to move on. And that she did....with a younger man. Now, he's ready for the lifelong commitment, but there's something holding Sheridan back. Can she commit to this man, or does she have the fear that he will break his commitment to her like her ex-husband did?

Vanessa Martin finds it hard to sleep at night since her husband committed suicide. She lays awake at night wondering why he ended his life and left her alone. Now, she's thinking about leaving this earth the same way her husband did. What will she decide?

Kendall Stewart has heart break that no one could imagine. After a business trip ended early, she decides to go home and surprise her husband. Well, she got the surprise of her life...her sister in bed with her husband!!! When Kendall is faced with a decision that will change the lives of her and her sister, will she choose forgiveness or revenge?

How would you describe Asia Ingrum? Is she a groupie of the NBA, mistress, or gold digger? According to her, she was none of the above. She was in love with a NBA star, and he was in love with her...or so she thought. There was only one problem: he is married. When he decided that it was time to end their 10-year affair and work things out with his wife, this was not a good decision for Asia. She was not willing to give him up without a fight. The decisions she makes would not only hurt him and his wife, but also her 5-year-old daughter that loves her daddy. Will the revenge she seeks destroy their lives?

When Vanessa, Asia, Sheridan, and Kendall receive a mysterious request from their pastor for a meeting, none of the women realized that the other was invited as well. Or that they would have more in common then they wanted to admit. When tragedy strikes, they soon understand they need each other more than they know. Will they find true friendships or will they go their separate ways?

Victoria Christopher Murray has done it again with The Ex-Files! This book was a real page turner. I could not put the book down when I started to read it. It will make you laugh, cry, and angry during every scenario that each woman goes through. You find yourself thinking about someone in your life that reminds you of one of the characters. This book was well written and reminds you of things that women will do if their hearts are broken. The way she brought the four women together that come from very different backgrounds and bonded them together by faith was remarkable. Trust me, once you pick this book up, you will not put it down until you've completed it.

Reviewed by Jackie
for Urban Reviews

Sheridan Hart has had her share of problems, the most recent being the death of her dad. She's still trying to find a way to cope. With the help of her boyfriend, Brock, she is sure she will be able to get through this situation. Sheridan finds herself having second thoughts about her ex husband, Quentin. Although it's been three years, she continues to have thoughts of the two of them together as a family. Should she?

Asia Ingrum, whose birth name is Chiquita, has for the last ten years had her eyes on the prize. The prize being NBA player Bobby Johnson, her daughter's father. Asia has it all, a fabulous condo, nice car, credit cards with unlimited balances and a five year old daughter, Angel, whom she loves dearly. Bobby is retiring from the NBA. Now that he's retiring, Asia is ready for him to ask the ultimate question. Asia feels after ten years and one child she is entitled to be his wife. Isn't she?

Kendall Stewart is a workaholic. Everything with her is about succeeding. She has a wonderful business that she and her husband built together. Anthony, her huband, is a good man. Kendall comes home early from a business trip and is surprised to see her husband in bed with another woman. Kendall cannot understand how that is possible. What did she do wrong?

Vanessa Martin's husband, Reed, of fifteen years chose to leave her in the worse way. Vanessa did not know how she was going to deal with a lot of life challenges. Vanessa knows that she needs to be strong, but soon realizes it's not always easy to do. Can she continue to hold on?

THE EX FILES conveys the tales of four women, who appear different, yet each share a common bond. Actually, they have more things in common and they will find that all out as they are joined together by Pastor Ford.

Author Victoria Christopher Murray has done it again! THE EX FILES holds your attention from beginning to end. I absolutely recommend this book, as well as all of her other books as well.

Reviewed by: Carmen

The Ex Files is a great story about four women Asia,Kendall, Vanessa and Sheridan brought together by Pastor Ford who felt they could help each other. All of them have one thing in common a broken heart. Reluctantly they form a weekly prayer group with Sheridan as the leader. As the weeks goes by they develop a bond based on friendship. Faith and the support of each other helps them get through all of their struggles and helps them to move on.

The uniqueness of this story really pulled me in. Each woman had their own drama and were mismatched as friends, but after some seriously hard times came upon each of them, they learned to reach out to each other and seek God for strength. The Ex Files is like a soap opera with four stories going at the same time, yet they intersect on occasion. The cool thing about the plots in this book were that they were all equally compelling. Usually I want to take one character's plot and dive ahead to the next place where they are featured in the book. But I was never tempted to do that with The Ex Files because none of the stories were dull or unlikable.

The conflict was real, the emotion went deep into the character's lives, and the best part about these four ladies lives was that none of their ultimate choices were predictable. In fact, each ending turned out differently than I had anticipated. Also, the author did an amazing job of taking an unlikeable characteristic such as selfishness and still managed to make me care about the women in the book. Each had issues that centered around their own needs and how they dealt with their problems was so realistic and well done. The faith element was perfectly incorporated as well. I just love the ingenuity and creativity in this author's novels. I'm going to have to read everything she publishes from now on. I don't want to miss a thing!

Kendall Stewart, Asia Ingrum, Vanessa Martin and Sheridan Hart are four women who all attend the same church and find themselves in the same boat, recently single, broken-hearted, and trying to figure out how to recover. Pastor Ford decides that connecting these women in a prayer group could perhaps benefit them all.

Though Sheridan is divorced and dating, she's still dealing with the loss of her father and trying to get her life together for the next level. Brock, her boyfriend, is ready for happily ever after, but he believes that Sheridan is still praying for the reconciliation of her marriage. When Pastor Ford announces that she wants Sheridan to head up this prayer group, with so much going on in her personal life, can she handle this?

Asia has faithfully been the other woman for ten long years. She's never fretted about his love, as she's been living comfortably, and their child is a part of his life. After finding out that her long-time lover is retiring from basketball, Asia is confident that she will no longer be grouped in the mistress section and is looking forward to her upgrade. Will she like her newest role?

Kendall eats, sleeps and lives for her work. So much so that she walks in on her husband being unfaithful. Talk about a slap in the face. Though Kendall is reminded of his adultery every single moment of every single day, her heart breaks as she learns that her ex is to wed his mistress, her sister. If that weren't enough, her sister is very sick, and Kendall`s father wants her to forgive her sister so that they may be a family again. Can Kendall let go and forgive?

Vanessa is a recent widow. Her husband committed suicide and while she`s taken the time off and has tried to adjust, Vanessa still doesn`t understand why he did it. Even worse is that though her family and new prayer group are trying to be there, Vanessa feels alone. Does she have the will to fight this loneliness?

THE EX FILES by Victoria Christopher Murray has been sitting on my shelves for years collecting dust. I'm really upset that it has taken me this long to pick it up, but I'm so glad that I have. I loved the uniqueness of each character and how each woman, while strong, still struggles and eventually grows and not only recognizes God, but the power that each woman brings to this group.

Ex-Files
Even though this novel is quite engaging, I feel that the message that some of the characters reflected was not on point. I was very disappointed that committing suicide was depicted as a pardonable sin. The Bible clearly says, "thou shalt not kill." If you kill someone, including yourself, at what point can you ask God for forgiveness? Additionally, as the title of this book suggests,...Women and Faith, why didn't Vanessa's "faith" help her not to follow in her husband's footsteps? I also think that highlighting how the internet can guide you into suicide was in poor taste. Then, after all the lying and conniving, the Asia character got off much too easily. Now, in spite of Sheridan's husband's flaw, doesn't the Bible teach us to forgive? I wondered what message the author was trying to convey when she had the most spiritual character commit suicide and the fornicating character be the prayer leader? Finally, I'm also not sure that realistically an ex-husband would expect his wife to "celebrate" his marriage to his wife's sister. That was really a stretch.

Love Victoria's work. You never know what you have in common until God brings you to a point to find out. This book touched on relationships and their complexities, and what lengths people will go through to obtain their selfish desires. A great read!