Charlene E. Green

As I sat trying to get my mind together to write this review I just couldn't find the right words. Then I took a break and came back. When I got back to the computer I was humming the lyrics to a song I hadn't heard in a long time, Love by Musiq Soulchild. Then I started singing the song. Let me say that not much makes me sing these days but that's a whole 'nother story. Mmmm. I guess I should elaborate... As my faithful readers can see I haven't posted this month. I wanted to but I just couldn't. As many of you know, March 10th was National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day and I thought I was ready, but I really wasn't. My heart began to get so heavy and my teardrops seemed to weigh a ton as they fell. All I could think of was my brother who died in September 2003 due to complications caused by HIV. For some reason all I have been able to do is think about was all the girls and women that are affected by this epidemic due to the lose of a loved one and not because they are infected. Every since then it has been hard for me to concentrate, hard for me to read, just hard. Finally, I made myself sit down and finish reading One Man's Treasure by Charlene Green. As I got back into the book, I had to read one chapter a day. My mind wouldn't take in much more. That is until I got to chapter 10 and I started to get back in the groove and was able to finish the remaining chapters in one night. For some reason I think God was using it as therapy for me to get back in the groove of things. So as I finish this paragraph and some long overdue tears, I will begin my review.

One Man's Treasure evolves around Katrice Vincent, a beautician that has everything in order. She's living the life that many only dream of. She has a nice cozy apartment, fast car, supportive family and friends and she's her own boss. On the outside she looks to have it all but she knows deep down that there's a missing link, love. That's until the handsome Weston Porter hits the scene. Weston is everything that any and every woman wants in a man. He's tall, handsome, polite, employed, child free and most of all he respects women. Although, Weston is everything Katrice wants in a man she takes many precautions just in case the guy she met is just a representative for the real Weston.

This novel takes the reader on a ride with many pit stops. Katrice and Weston are forced to deal with love on terms unfamiliar to them both. They have some tough decisions to make and there's a possibility that love won't conquer all. This novel is sure to make you re-evaluate how you think of relationships, question the decisions you have made in the past and force you to re-evaluate some current relationships.

Charlene "Hustle Diva" Green has written one of the best novels I've read when it comes to dealing with issues of the heart. Not only does she address male/female relationships but she takes on the hard task of dealing with father/son relationships. This is by far not an easy task for a woman but she pulled it off in such a real manner. This book really did my heart good. It made me sit back and just think about life, my life and the places I've been and the place I'm going.

My favorite quote from this novel is:
"Honey, people make mistakes. You expect everybody to be perfect, and they're not. You gotta open your heart a little more. Learn to listen. Learn to try to understand people. 'Specially people you love."… (meer)