Terry McMillanBesprekingen

Friendship

I liked it. I didn't love it as I did Waiting to Exhale. It didn't flow as well as the first one.

This was a book club read for January 2024. I finished the book in December. I really enjoyed this book and the story of the friends.

I appreciate a romance that is acerbically funny rather than cloying and this one gets bonus points for a main character and her romantic interests who are middle aged and dealing with all the life issues that go with it. The characters, their relationships, and the events felt real and not too improbable and the dialogue was snappy. I enjoyed it so much that it mostly overcame the usual fatal flaw of having been written in first person, present tense. Normally, I’ll DNF those immediately, but I was actually able to forget the style and fall into the story for the most part.

Audiobook, borrowed from my public library. Audiobooks read by the author tend to be pretty hit/miss, but MacMillan did a terrific reading, especially with the dialogue.

This book is really ZERO stars. It comes off as a cash grab for Terry McMillain to have source material to make a Waiting to Exhale II.

Let's start with how all the good guys go to shit, shall we?
Gregory Hines passed away at some point either before or during her writing this, so she wrote Marvin out the book (he gets murdered buying a Xmas tree in a gang shootout, wtf?). After being married to Gloria for 15 years, you know she back to being a wreck like she was pining for her gay baby daddy back in the day. Her getting to happy is gaining back all the weight she lost after he dies and having her deadbeat ass girlfriends jock her constantly about it.

James (you know the guy that was married to the dying white woman in the first book that swept Bernie off her feet respectfully) is now ia con artist with a very alive and black wife, who has ran through all her money while Bernie is a pill head. That's right,her getting to happy is being a mainlining junkie circling the toilet bowl of ex's because, get this, she winds up taking John back after his trash wife leaves him and their mulatto kid behind.

Robin is still circling the bowl in love on the shallow end of ex's as well, since her getting to happy is returning back to Michael (you know, she could have had a V8 the peen was so tiny) because he loses weight. I'd rather she go back to flip flopping with Russell trifling ass (who is also floating around, same as before, attempting to be something he aint).

Savannah finally gets a husband that ain't tied to somebody else, and her getting to happy is dumping him because after some years she's bored with him. So now, at age 50, she wants alone time after bagging and tagging her man. That's her getting to happy.

Doesn't help that Whitney Houston died by the time this was released (and she was in talks to star in the sequel) so I'm expecting Savannah to die off in Book 3.

This is a redundant snooze fest slash complete desecration of characters we know and love from the 90s. Pass right on by it, unless you like the weak, dull, boring, neverending explorative narration that has underwhelmed all of Terry McMillan's books since How Stella Got Her Groove Back. This one is worse than A Day Late and A Dollar Short, and that one was a stinker.

Advance Reading Copy

Very insightful, I'm at the right place in my life to have been able to to relate to Georgia. I enjoyed her as a character and that the story was ultimately about friendship and love.

Stella, goes on vacation and falls in love. Problem is he is younger than Stella and she just can't get over the fact that she is in love with a younger man. What is interesting is that while men do this all the time, Stella fights her feeling over what is going on.

I Almost Forgot About You/Terry McMillan In I Almost Forgot About You, Dr. Georgia Young's wonderful life--great friends, family, and successful career--aren't enough to keep her from feeling stuck and restless. When she decides to make some major changes in her life, quitting her job as an optometrist, and moving house, she finds herself on a wild journey that may or may not include a second chance at love. Like Waiting to Exhale and How Stella Got Her Groove Back, I Almost Forgot About You will show legions of readers what can happen when you face your fears, take a chance, and open yourself up to life, love, and the possibility of a new direction.
 
This book was a breath of fresh air in today's literature, and I had a lot of fun reading it.
 
I absolutely adored Georgia for throwing a new perspective on grandmas--she goes from taking care of her sweet grandchildren to planning out her next conquest and I absolutely love how it shows that she's a spunky lady who can manage her multiple hats with ease.
 
Her being a doctor also amused me and humanified doctors in a way. There's very little literature about optometrists--they're not normally the most interesting characters, I suppose--so her occupation and her doubts about it were fun. Again, I think of grandmas as being pretty static people and being pretty set in their ways, so her crisis and her uprooting herself was a lot of fun to read about. She's an intelligent doctor, but she can't figure out her love life--makes me feel a bit better about myself!
 
Of course, it says a lot about the state of our books that it's a rare treat for me to be able to read about something as normal as a black lady dealing with her hair. I absolutely loved the dialogue about race that Georgia created and how honest she was about things like her daughter dating a white man.
 
This was definitely more about Georgia finding herself than anything, and though I wished that the train ride had come to fruition a little more, I enjoyed reading about her various changes and I enjoyed the people she met along the way.
 
I wasn't too enamoured by the ending--it didn't quite feel right to me and while it was pretty sweet, it felt a bit forced..
 
This wasn't astounding, but it was a solid read and I enjoyed having a novel character with an intriguing perspective.
 
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
 

This is my first Terry McMillan book and I’m excited to read from the rest of her catalog. I struggled between rating this book anywhere between 4 and 5 stars, but reminiscing on the emotions that it took me through propelled me to rate it a full 5.

I like how Terry develops flawed characters and complicated relationships. Readers will find the characters to be equally amicable as they do annoying and unbearable.

If you love love and are a hopeless romantic, this book is for you. It’s also a perfect book club pick. Paired with some 80s and 90s Black Luxury music and your choice of beverage with good friends you can candidly discuss the book with; a quintessentially good time.

On my blog (check link in bio or profile) I’ll post a thorough review with content warnings I recognized in the book. I’ll make not of the graphic ones here: body shaming, sexism, toxic relationship, alcoholism, fat phobia, and misogyny.

The protagonist, Georgia, is in her mid-fifties and facing what many of us would call a mid-life crisis. After finding out one of her former loves has died, she decides to look up the men she has loved in the past to see what she can learn from them. [As an aside, I think this is a great premise for the plot of a book, but a terrible idea in real life.] Her optometry practice has become routine and she decides to make substantial changes, such as finding an outlet for her creativity, taking a long trip by train, and selling her house. As the story progresses, she determines which changes fit with her new direction.

There are many colorful characters in this book, and I found their voices believable and genuine. Sarcastic humor is sprinkled throughout. This book has a very uplifting message of personal empowerment and growth. Having made significant changes in my own life on several occasions, it rang true. My complaints were minor: I don't care for repeated use of the f-bomb and the ending was a bit abrupt. Recommended to readers who enjoy encouraging stories of hope for positive change in life, especially as related to finding love or self-fulfillment at any age.

ok - story line wasn't bad - just that the writing was a bit difficult getting used to

Same women from Waiting to Exhale - 15 years later.

Oh, how it feels like I am reading the story of a bunch of my own girlfriends. I feel the pain, excitement...although disagree with some of their decisions.

I am always going to pick up a Terry McMillan book when in doubt...because she always tells interesting stories with heart.

Really enjoyed this book. The characters are awesome.

Loving this book! Sequel to "Waiting to Exhale," which I haven't read but it is one of my fav chick flicks. The characters are so real and dealing with every day crap. I get excited when I get the chance to read this book!

I Really like this book. I enjoyed the Stream of consciousness style of writing that was used, as it really make you feel like you are Stella. You are a beautiful, smart and successful single mother who exudes confidence but rambles insecurities mixed with humor and hype behind your skull.
The relationships between Stella, her son, her sisters and her friends stand out as some of the most realistic relationships I've read. Terry McMillan has a way of making everyone seem so real. As I reflect back on this book I try to think what is it about Winston that makes her fall in love... but I keep hitting the "We talked all night" wall. I can see now that this book was never a romance novel. I mean yes, they meet, have sex, and fall in love like a romance novel; but YOU, the reader, never fall in love with Winston. You, fall in love with Stella. This book is all about Stella. Its about self-love, its about how we self sabotage, its about taking risks and finding your Groove in life.

I really wanted to like this more than I did. The characters of Zora and Franklin are compelling, and the development of their relationship is charming. The narration is shared in alternate chapters by the two, so the reader does get the chance to look at the same events from each character's perspective.

But Franklin is so needy, so selfish, and so inflexible, that it's easy to see this romance is headed for choppy waters. And while that's a legitimate plot point for exploring the growth of a relationship, it just makes it really hard to care whether these two can ever get back together after what seems to be an irreconcilable break -- rather, it makes it hard to see why Zora would even consider it.½

A book set in the United States, featuring four women in their late sixties who have a close friendship; they bicker, and complain about each other, but meet regularly and support each other in all their difficulties.

I found the informal style a bit difficult to get into at first, but as the book progressed I found myself interested in several of the characters. There are some important issues covered, making the book quite thought-provoking, and there's an encouraging ending, if a tad too neat and tidy for realism.

I read this for our local book group, and we all liked it, some better than others. Not one I'm likely to read again, but I'm glad I read it - the book group is a great way of expanding horizons a little.

Longer review here: https://suesbookreviews.blogspot.com/2022/01/its-not-all-downhill-from-here-by-t...

Girl friends can pull you through all of the crap in your life. When Loretha Curry's takes a downhill course, her crazy posse of old ladies lifts her to new heights and adventures. In these crazy times, this book is the perfect escape! See my full review at Booktrib.com

I could personally relate to this book because I have witnessed similar situations in the my own African American family. The relationship forged between Zora & Franklin appears to be ideal on the outside but soon problems emerge. Franklin's ups and down's with work as a construction worker begin to eat away at him and the abuse he suffered from his childhood begins to surface through his depressed moods and his hostile anger. Zora and Franklin have to grow their issues. This was an easy to read and enjoyable book--I couldn't put it down!

Mama; Mildred Peacock, proud black woman! She's broke. Lives in a poverty-stricken neighborhood in a broken down house. After a violent fight, she puts out her no good violently abusive husband!! And rightly so, because even though he didn't have a job, he kept a mistress!! Mama is 27 with 5 children. I loved this book as it was Terry McMillan' first novel!!! It was the hottest book back in the day being read by so many. Also, though this is a sad situation, Mama is portrayed as one who struggles to overcome her plight. This is an easy very good read.

I love listening to Terry McMillan read her books!

Waiting to Exhale by Terry McMillan (1992)

Adult fairytale. Lots of spending money, buying "stuff". Some poignant moments, funny and sad. Some insight. Main protagonist's mother a charm. Story of lifelong girlfriends in their late 60s with all the accompanying baggage life brings along.

Not my favorite McMillan book.

Lovely book. Want the women is my friends