Customer Reviews

You Gotta Sin to Get Saved

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4 star:		(10)
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You Gotta Sin to Get Saved is the third of a trilogy by J .D. Mason. The characters from One Day I Saw A Black King and Don't Want No Sugar make appearances in this novel. Some thirty years ago, Charlotte walked out on her two pre-teen daughters leaving them to fend for themselves in Denver as she followed her man, Sam, to find fame and fortune in Memphis. Only, they did not make it all the way to Memphis, but stopped in Kansas, where Sam abandoned Charlotte. Now, Charlotte's daughter, Reesy, has found her and hopes that by being reunited with her mother, all her questions will be answered.

Reesy was consumed with the prospect of finding her mother and once the detective found her, Reesy could not contain her excitement. She expected everyone to be happy with her, but soon found that was not the case. Her older sister, Connie, was not happy at all and refused to have anything to do with Charlotte. Connie has her own demons to face. At 40, she is pregnant and unsure if she wants to be a mother. Her boyfriend, John King, does not want to be a father and does what he does best, flees from responsibility. Reesy's husband, Justin, feels neglected and finds solace at a strip club and her adoptive mother feels threatened by Reesy's other momma.

When Charlotte gets the letter from Reesy she is ecstatic. She immediately begins to sing praises about how wonderful her baby girl, Reesy is much to the dismay of her youngest daughter, Cammy. Cammy, who was born after Charlotte left Denver, has spent her life taking care of Charlotte and putting up her her abuse. Charlotte's selective amnesia offends Cammy as she was the one who put her life on hold, forsaking her own happiness to care for Charlotte. It takes a major crisis for Charlotte's true personality to manifest itself and the girls join forces to heal themselves.

I know JD Mason said You Gotta Sin To Get Saved was the end of the trilogy, but I might have to beg to differ, because there were some loose ends that need to be tied together. If you have not read the first two books, it does not matter,cause this book can stand alone. ( Even I did not read DWNS.) Charlotte's story on how she came to live in Murphy, Kansas is told in flashbacks throughout the novel. It may appear that there are a lot of different storylines, but what I really liked was the domino effect of each individual story and how it somehow impacted the life of another character. This was a very good read that I highly recommend.

Jeanette
APOOO BookClub

Charlotte has always dreamed big especially when it comes to love. Her unrealistic dreams are how she ended up raising her daughters Connie and Reesy on her own. Charlotte meets Sam and he promises her a new life that she just can't resist. Charlotte runs away with Sam but leaves her two daughters to fend for themselves. But life in a new town isn't all what Charlotte hoped it would be, and she's left single and pregnant again. Fast-forward years later, and Reesy is dealing with martial problems that are caused by her obsessive search for Charlotte. Reesy has found Charlotte and is ready to meet her face to face, but will it be at the expense of her marriage? Connie is not interested in meeting Charlotte at all because she has bitter memories of what really happened when they were abandoned by their mother. Connie has her own issues with an unplanned pregnancy and an unclear relationship with her boyfriend John King.

You Gotta Sin To Get Saved is an awe-inspiring conclusion to One Day I Saw A Black King and Don't Want No Sugar by J.D. Mason. Mason gives readers the background of Charlotte and how her actions impacted Reesy and Connie's lives as adults. You will see how Charlotte continues her selfish actions which also make her other daughter Cammy's life difficult as well. Readers will also see the emotional turmoil in Connie's relationship with John and in Reesy's marriage. Mason did an excellent job of telling Charlotte's story in a series of flashbacks without confusing the reader. You Gotta Sin To Get Saved is emotionally charged and insightful. J.D. Mason once again brought a novel that does not disappoint.

Reviewed by Radiah Hubbert
for Urban Reviews

From the first page to the end this book was the bomb. J.D Mason is truly a gifted writer. The characters were so imaginable, I thought I was sitting right in the room with Charolette. Now you can't read this book unless you read the first two books, which were just as good. I was waking up at 1:00am, 2:00am in the morning trying to get in one more chapter. SO if you are tired of all the same old same old books about drugs, sex, and poverty. This book is a must read. J.D. if you read this you are truly blessed, and you give the definition of a real writer.

Charlotte Rodgers always gets what she wants. Even if its means abandoning her children Connie and Reesy to fend for themselves in Denver, Colorado without any type of explanation. To follow behind her "don't you know no good man" Sam to Memphis or so she thought.

Twenty-seven years later, living in Murphy, Kansas Charlotte receives a letter from her youngest daughter Clarice Braxton (Reesy). So proud that her baby girl has finally found her, Reesy flies to Kansas to get the answers and closure that she so long been waiting for and is introduced to her sister Cammie who is pregnant. Connie is not to keen on being reunited with her birth mother because of the what has transpired in the past. She has issues of her own to deal with, which is part of the reason why she is so nonchalant of even the mentioning of her birth mother's name because of the abandonment. Feeling neglected, Reese's husband Justin start turning to other avenues for the attention he wants and deserves. What is definitely done in the dark will come to light.

You Gotta Sin to Get Saved is the last installment of a trilogy. It switches back and forth from the past to the present of why certain events occurred. You will see how Charlotte shows favoritism towards Reesy and very cold at times with Cammie, makes you wonder if she is bi-polar. It is a very good read and will not disappoint. At the end it makes you wonder if there is gonna be another installment because of the way Mrs. Mason leaves you hanging.

Tangerine, Reviewer
Reader's Paradise Book Club

JD Mason has always been one of my favorite writers since I picked up her first book, And On the Eighth Day She Rested. And she just keeps getting better and better.

Charlotte was a hot mess in this book. It was amazing how she walked out on her daughters and never looked back in One Day I Saw a Black King, and we all wondered what would make a woman do that. We finally get our answers in this book, and it wasn't what I expected. Yeah, she had it hard after she left, but then she was set up lovely and once again, her selfishness got her in a mess and instead of owning up to it, she proceeds to make the daughter she had after leaving Denver, Cammy, keep paying for her sins. She was mean and abusive and the reader hopes that eventually Cammy learns to get a backbone where her mother is concerned.

Charlotte can't see anything or anyone beyond her own needs and wants. The one person she does seem to love is her middle daughter, Reesy, and that is only because she has used her youngest daughter up and now wants to leech of Reesy's cushy life.

Reesy has been on a mission to find her mother. It is all she can think of to the point of almost making herself sick. Reesy is estatic to finally find her mother. But in the process of finding her, she has managed to push her husband into the arms of another woman and her sister as far away from her as she can get. She is terrified that her "daughter" will find out that she is actually her niece and her adoptive mother is terrified that Charlotte will usurp her in Reesy's heart.

Connie, Charlotte's oldest daughter has hated Charlotte since she walked out on them. But they never really got along even before then. Charlotte only seemed to love Reesy and barely tolerated Connie. As a result, Connie always felt like she didn't deserve anything and always made do with what she got. She finds out that she is pregnant again, this time by her lover, John King, and she decides this may be her last chance to have someone of her own. John, however, takes a powder, scared to be responsible parent. And all Reesy can do is tell her she's making a mistake and that she is not going to come to her rescue and take this child too, just because Connie is too scared to be a responsible parent. Reesy's constant negativity makes Connie wonder if she is, indeed, making a mistake and she questions her right to be parent. Reesy's superior attitude got on my nerves and when she find out her perfect little world ain't so perfect, you almost feel like saying HA!!

JD Mason is a master storyteller and she will have you on the edge of your seat trying to find out how it all plays out. This is a great book with wonderfully rich, complex characters. I can't wait until her next book!

One Day I Saw A King is the love story of John King and Connie. John King was the product of the rape of a 14 year old by a mentally challenged man. Connie was abandoned by her mother at the age of 12 and forced into eating out of garbage cans and prostituting herself. This book picks up where One Day I Saw A King left off.

Connie and John are still together. Connie is pregnant and John doesn't want to be a father. Reesy and Justin are going through hard times due to Justin cheating on her. Reesy has found Charlotte (she and Connie's birth mother) and discovered a new sister, Cammy.

Charlotte, as predicted, is a certified b*tch.

The beauty of this book is it explains to the reader what Charlotte has been doing during the 30 years she has been away from Connie and Reesy.

Pros: The writing is outstanding. I could put it down, but only due to work. The writing was complex and enjoyable.

Cons: When will the author give a finale to the relationship of John and Connie? I feel like there has to be another book now to discuss them raising the baby. Also, what will happen to Charlotte and Cammy? For this to be an end of a series, it sure had a lot of loose ends.

You Gotta Sin To Get Saved
J.D. Mason has penned yet another amazing chapter in the John King Saga. You Gotta Sin to Get Saved is at once gripping and enthralling. If you have never read an offering from J.D. Mason - this one will have you hooked. If you have read the first two installments - One Day I Saw a Black King and Don't Want No Sugar; you are already hooked and in for a fascinating ride.
You will discover what has become of John King,Connie, his love, and her Sister Reesy after their mother Charlotte walked out on them so
many years ago to chase a man and a dream. J.D. brings this tale in a gritty fashion with no holds barred. We go back in time and relive the hell that Charlotte brought upon herself and find in the present that Connie and Reesy live very different existences. They each struggle to make sense of what their lives have become and the new realities
brought to light as they are reunited with Charlotte.
I pulled out both Black King and Don't Want No Sugar and practically reread them when I finished this book. J.D. Mason is an excellent story teller and her prose is consistent and imaginative. I felt every second of it. Although this novel has been touted as the final installment in this tale, this cannot be the end - there is more to tell. I highly recommend this reading.

Attention seeking, obsessive and low expectations describe the Rodgers women. For Charlotte, the matriarch, she wants what she wants and really doesn't stop to think how it may affect or cost others. It was that way when she left Denver twenty-seven years ago to follow Sam, leaving her young daughters to fend for themselves. Now that Reesy, her baby girl, has found her, she is looking forward to being back in their lives.

Reesy is so bent on finding her mother that she's not paying enough attention to her husband, Justin, and his needs. The more she tries to get him to understand how important finding her mother is to her, the less important being his wife is at the moment for her.

Forty and pregnant, Connie finds herself afraid and alone as she forces the love of her life John away before he can walk away. Though she's been down this very road before, she's trying to do what is best for her, despite what or how others may feel.

With so much left unsaid, Reesy is willing to forgive Charlotte and orchestras a plan to bring Charlotte back into her and Connie's lives. Will they finally be one happy family?

YOU GOTTA SIN TO GET SAVED by J.D. Mason was an excellent read. I really enjoyed how the story offers Charlotte's account from the past, tying in the previous novels, and pulls the story into the future. I am really looking forward to reading SOMEBODY PICK UP MY PIECES.

With YOU GOTTA SIN TO GET SAVED, J.D. Mason brings her unexpected trilogy to a close. In the small town of Murphy, Kansas, lives Charlotte Rodgers, a woman running from her disturbing past. Hundreds of miles away in Denver, Colorado, are her daughters, Connie and Reesy, remnants of her past. When Charlotte abandoned Denver many years prior, she left behind her daughters, then eight and twelve, to fend for themselves.

Now grown, married and a mother, Reesy wants closure and answers. She hires an investigator to find their mother. Consuming thoughts of her mother is taking a toll on her family and driving a wedge between sisters. Connie, on the other hand, can care less about Charlotte and whether she's dead or alive, much less looking for answers. While younger sister Reesy was adopted by a loving family, Connie had only the streets. At forty, Connie finds herself pregnant by her equally emotionally screwed up boyfriend John King (One Day I Saw a Black King). To abort or not to abort is the question.

The investigator finds Charlotte and a reunion is inevitable. Are all parties ready for a family reckoning full of truths, pains and discovery?

Mason remains on top of her game. She delivers yet another strong presentation of her talent. Mason's stories are always interesting, real and doesn't disappoint. Her portrayal of the internal conflict of each woman is vivid and compelling. YOU GOTTA SIN TO GET SAVED is good reading.



Reviewed by: Toni
4.5 stars

The dynamics of your family have definite influence on how your life will unfold. In this final installment of an "unexpected trilogy", Mason untangles a web of family secrets that will heal some, free others and drive someone insane. Mason skillfully inserts Charlotte's back story to bring you up to par with the two previous books. Connie, Reesy, and Cammy's characters also share their personal thoughts, recollections of the past and expectations of a future of peace.

So where do we begin? Connie and Reesy were little girls when their mother, Charlotte, left them to fend for themselves. Both had opposing memories of their mom, which push them in different directions, they end up living totally separate lives. Always wondering why Charlotte left, Reesy hired a private detective to find her. Connie didn't have a desire to find her mom because the wounds of her living cut far too deep. When the detective finds Charlotte, Reesy can't wait to reunite with her mom. Enter Cammy, Charlotte's youngest daughter, who can't seem to find her way out from her mother's dark abusive shadow. The generational dependence on good-for-nothing men is seen throughout the book as the women deal with the truth of their lives. As the secrets are uncovered their sisterly bond draws them together, makes them stronger and just may save their lives.

Mason has intricately designed a story of motherly betrayal and dependence on a man's love. The story follows how four women (Connie, Reesy, Cammy, and Charlotte) move through life following the men that continually let them down. The strong fortitude and love for each other is what keeps them going. The characters are well developed, storyline is full of twists and the ending is a shocker. Mason continues to prove that she has the writer's gift to capture your attention while making you part of the story.

You can contact J.D. Mason at www.officiallyjd.com.

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