For Karlyna Bancroft, this fiesty, free spirited thirty-one year old Island girl, returning home to assist in her failing family business was definitely not on her agenda. At the indirect request of her ailing father to come home and after several years living in the United States and barely surviving financially, Karlyna Bancroft goes home to Jamaica. She finds that her family s rum and wine distillery will soon be taken over by a sinister sugar producer, a family acquaintance, who had recently expanded in the rum industry and is engaged to be married to Karlyna's half sister. Inadequacies and childhood insecurities resurface within Karlyna and the age-old class and color lines are rearing its ugly head in modern day Jamaica, which Karlyna would have to overcome for her to rescue her family business. To complicate this situation even more, Karlyna faces her childhood tormentor, Jude Spencer, an enigmatic unrelenting man, who seems to be doing everything to get her to notice him, including dating Karlyna s best friend. Armed with a few supporters, Karlyna s attempt at bringing the family business back on its feet is short-lived and she realizes that she may need Jude Spencer s help if she should ever succeed.
Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Review
A great read and a welcomed break from the street literature that are currently out there! The writer struck a good balance between an entertaining read and intellectual stimulation...and somewhere in all of that is a provocative novel about love, romance and a young woman's perseverance. --K. Martindale (Muse Sisters Book Club)
The Other Side of Paradise was a pleasure to read, with lovely, lyrical, smooth style; the author truly took me to Jamaica, with sumptuous descriptions of the landscape, food and way of life. I have rather a hankering to go now....The story is fast-paced, entertaining, sexy and gripping, and ties up well at the end. --E.M Canada
The Other Side of Paradise was a pleasure to read, with lovely, lyrical, smooth style; the author truly took me to Jamaica, with sumptuous descriptions of the landscape, food and way of life. I have rather a hankering to go now....The story is fast-paced, entertaining, sexy and gripping, and ties up well at the end. --E.M Canada
About the Author
M. Chelley Laurenz, a naturalized American, was born on the beautiful island of Jamaica. She currently lives and works in New York City. The Other Side of Paradise is her second novel. In keeping true to Black ethnic fiction genre by her combination of adventure, romance and a gentle twist of mystery, The Other side of Paradise does just that. She enjoys spending time with her family and divides her leisurely time between reading, writing and traveling. She can be emailed at Inquiry@ScribesSmithPublishing.com or Marichelley@gmail.com
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4.0 out of 5 stars
Very Intriguing!,
This review is from: The other Side of Paradise (Paperback)
Karlyna Bancroft has been summoned home after being away for over a decade. Her father's health is failing and so is the family wine business. She had been called home to help save it. Karlyna and her mother have always been looked at as the other wife and the other child after his first wife died. They were also shunned due to the fact that her mother was dark skinned and she was not as fair skinned as her sister, who wanted nothing to do with the family business. Her father was not concerned by Jamacian class because he was Daddie Bancroft and was not to be questioned. However, Karlyna feels as if she has been dealing with it all of her life. The only time it was not a concern for her was when she was in the States. Now that she is home, all of those things have resurfaced along with her childhood tormentor and teenage love, Jude Spencer. Jude's family worked for the Bancroft estate and as a child Karlyna always reminded him that he was the help. As she got older she started to see Jude in a different light. That is until she caught him and her sister kissing. That put them right back at odds with one another. But regardless as to what kind of relationship they had, Jude was always there to take care of Karlyna. So it was only natural that he offered to help her get the family business back on track. He also wanted Karlyna to forgive him and realize that they were made for one another. Karlyna was having neither his help nor his affection. After a lot of persuading, maybe Karlyna is starting to come around. Only time will tell.
The Other Side of Paradise is a story that has classism, socialism, betrayal, rivalry, mystery, and love. It deals with a lot of issues that surround different classes of people within the same race and culture. Laurenz was able to blend all of these different issues together and come up with a compelling story about a young woman who has to deal with all of them and her struggle to find out who she is and where her place is among all that she has to deal with. The story starts off lagging and verbose. The use of some of the words caused it not to have a natural flow. As the story progressed, the use of language changed which made for a much better flow. The story also became very intriguing and you had to keep reading to see what would happen next. The Other Side of Paradise is a good read. Reviewed by Tenecia for Urban Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
You Can Go Home,
By The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers (RAWSISTAZ.com and BlackBookReviews.net) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The other Side of Paradise (Paperback)
Thirty-one years old and newly widowed, Karlyna Bancroft is returning home to beautiful Jamaica. She is not returning because she wants to, but at the request of her feeble father. Upon arriving in Jamaica, Karly finds, as much as things have changed over the past fifteen years, some things have remained the same. Her half-sister Marlyna is still snubbing and making fun of Karly's darker skin. Her father expects her to save his failing rum and wine distillery business. Her childhood nemesis is still saying, "I love you", which he said for the first time when he was twelve and Karly was ten years old. Karly's reconnection with Mama Rose, Rhoda, and Lela were the high points of her return to her home land of Jamaica.
THE OTHER SIDE OF PARADISE was amazing trips throw the hills of Jamaica, while learning the art of making and distributing rum and wine. The characters were a mixture of strong and needy,yet each was believable. A non-stop exciting story mixed with a bit of class discrimination, drama, mystery, and romance. All aspects of the story were tied into a neat bow in the end. I understand the love for sugarcane as a child and a great rum and coke and or cranberry juice as an adult. Reviewed by Toni Bonita of The RAWSISTAZ(tm) Reviewers
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