Brenda Jackson

St. Martin's Press

0-31297-883-9

September 2001

(5) Shirion Shropshire

Mainstream

PLOT SYNOPSIS: 

REVIEW: 

Four cousins return for A FAMILY REUNION, the first in 15 years, to discover love and uncover secrets that will forever change their lives…

When Michael’s 13-year old daughter starts giving him trouble, he decides to return home just in time for the family reunion.  Since his wife died, he has felt alone.  He feels that his daughter needs to be surrounded by family.  He puts aside his past hurts and returns to the family that has always loved and supported him.  Everything is going great, he is confident that moving back home was the right decision, but there is only one problem—Cousin Taye.  The moment he lays eyes on her again, he experiences those long suppressed feelings.    Michael wonders if he can continue to deny these feelings because Taye is his cousin.  The question is, does he have to?

Taye was the smart one.  She has been a failure in her parent’s eyes since she got pregnant and dropped out of college.  She comes to the family reunion with a strong face but a broken heart.  She is a single parent, raising not one, but two children born out of wedlock.  Dealing with the disappointment of her parents and the constant reminders of her failures, Taye tries to remain strong.  Her mission is to overcome the bad decisions in her life and focus on her blessings. Things get complicated when she reunites with Cousin Michael, the cousin that she has been secretly in love with since she was 13 years old.

Rae’ jean is the beautiful and successful Doctor.  She returns to the family reunion with her fiancé, Grady, a white man.  Some of the family resent this.  After all, “she looks damn near white herself and has the nerve to bring a white man “home for dinner”.  Fortunately, those who count, accept Grady and it turns out a minor issue.  However, Rae’ jean does have a two major issues to deal with.  The first issue, and Rae’jean’s true motive for attending the family reunion, is to find out the identity of her father.  It has been such a deep dark family secret that even the biggest family gossip will not talk.  When one of her uncles slips her key information, she hires a private investigator to find her father.  This lends to the second issue…  The private investigator she hires, turns out to be the sexy neighbor she has been fantasizing about for weeks.  Will she find her father, will she marry Grady, or will she find an even deeper love?

Alexia was the ugly duckling of the family.  She returns to the family reunion as a beautiful swan.  She is a successful singer and seems to have it all, but in her heart, something is missing.  She yearns for a child of her own.  She can do without marriage and commitment, so she decides that the only way to fulfill her yearning is to find a sperm donor. Her only condition is that he has to be real, in the flesh.  She wants the entire experience; not a doctor’s office conception.  When she meets Quinn Masters, the drop-dead-gorgeous, rich, and successful attorney, she knows he is the one.  Alexia plans their child’s conception down to the minute.  What she does not plan is falling in love.

Now let’s talk about the other family members.  Brenda Jackson covers them all.  This is not an “everybody’s perfect” book.  There are kissing cousins, drunken uncles, loose women, crazy baby’s Daddies, loud baby’s Mammas, and gossiping Aunties.  Brenda definitely was “keepin’ it real”.  I could most definitely identify with many of the situations in this book and I’m sure many of you will too.  In all of the different aspects to members of the Bennett family, there was an overriding feeling of love, support, and respect.

Brenda Jackson fans know what to expect in the Romance genre.  A FAMILY REUNION may be mainstream fiction, but romance lovers won’t notice.  Although this story deals with many family issues, it is truly three great romances in one and I loved them all.  I was trying to pick a favorite but it was impossible for me.  I’m going to speak from a woman’s perspective…  How do you not choose Michael, this man knew what he was doing I was so happy when he and Taye finally got together.  Then Mr. Quinn Masters steps in and I’m like “Aw shucks now"!  Then wham, here comes Ryan, confident and sexy as all get out.  Maybe three sexy men were just too much for me.

I thought having so many characters would bother me.  I understand that many books have multiple characters, but blending multiple characters with multiple story lines is difficult for me as a reader.  I found this book very easy to follow and the stories were complete.  The lives of each of these main characters were so smoothly intertwined I was yelling “Bravo!” at the end.  Everyone GO OUT AND GET A COPY OF A FAMILY REUNION.  No matter how you like your romance, you will love this book.

Definitely deserving of a ROMANCE IN COLOR AWARD OF EXCELLENCE!

21st September 2001