Baby, You're the Best The plot would have been a good one, however, there were too many distractions and subplots that take away from the main plot which deals primarily with mommy and daddy issues (translation: promiscuity and reckless behavior blamed on the opposite sex). There were several side stories that were also lacking development and seemed out of place as they were not integral to the overall novel. For example, Blake’s old boyfriend resurfaced and he had something to tell her. Flash forward and her daughter, Sandara, pretended that he’s the father of her children to scare her sisters and then that’s the end of that story. It added nothing and it was another pointless distraction. The explicit sex scenes did not add anything to the novel, either as the main plot could have been developed without them. There were pages of sexual encounters that ultimately lead to nowhere. Frankly, I was glad when it was over.
The only reason that I kept reading this book is because I wanted to know who Alexis’s dad was. I made no connection to the characters as they were so cliché. Here’s a description of the sexy, gun toting, feisty, bi sexual Atlantian, Alexis: “I was eye candy. Five – five, a size six, had hazel eyes that sometimes turned green. [..] long, thick, wavy, black, natural hair, full lips, and dark, radiant complexion.” 
  I also felt that the author did a lot of telling and not enough showing, when it came to larger issues. “ My father, whoever the f**k he was, was the first male disappointment in my life. […] Before I had a first boyfriend, my heart was already shattered into pieces by my dad. […]My way of coping with my daddy issues was to not allow any man to penetrate my heart or disrespect me.”   This issue was constantly brought up and became rather repetitive and redundant. Although this novel skimmed a lot of issues (molestation, promiscuity), their purpose in the novel was stagnant and underdeveloped.
Overall, I really wanted to like this book but I just couldn’t get past the stock characters and distractions in the plot and dialogue.  I would like to see the author move beyond the explicit sex scenes and cookie cutter dialogue in order to engage the reader. She touched on several sensitive issues that could have been explored more realistically and more in depth.
Thank you NetGalley and Kensington for the opportunity to review this book. ( )