THE HIGH PRICE OF A GOOD MAN - Debra Phillips
St. Martin's Press/Griffin
July 2003
SYNOPSIS: This is a funny and unforgettable story about beautiful, bold, and all too sassy Queenisha Renae Sutton, who finds out that when it comes to men, sometimes love's got nothing to do with it.
CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE: (4) Wayne Jordan
REVIEW: I’m going to confess that I was skeptical about reading Ms. Phillips’ first release from St. Martin's Press. I’m not a fan of so-called chick-lit, but there’s something very special about HIGH PRICE OF A GOOD MAN that makes reading this delightful and sometimes hilarious story worthy of the praise it’s getting ... Queenisha Renae Sutton!
Queenie, as our heroine is best known, is a no-nonsense confident attractive heroine who embraces her full-figure and loves herself. She doesn’t take crap from any man. But she’s lonely and wants a man of her own. When she wins a date with the handsome Zeke Washington at a charity auction, she’s delighted, even more so because he’s interested. Convinced he’s the man for her, she sets out to win his heart. Zeke does show interest in her, but Queen’s solicits some voodoo help from best friend, Poetta, to ensure that she completely charms her man.
As the relationship develops, Queenie starts to change, wanting to live up to Zeke’s expectations. Definitely not what we expect from our self-assured heroine! Fortunately, she eventually realizes that she is slowly changing into a stranger, and discovers true love in the least expected place.
The strength and appeal of THE HIGH PRICE OF A GOOD MAN lies in Ms. Phillips’s vivid and unique characters. Written in the first person, the reader is taken into the consciousness of the sassy, confident Queenie, a woman who knows what she wants and is not afraid to go after it. Yes, there are times when I’m unsure whether I liked her or not, but that’s the beauty of her characterization. Neither Queenie nor any of the other characters are perfect. Despite this, I grew to care of each of them as I experienced their laughter and pain.
Raymo, Queenie’s co-worker, is not the typical hero, but his love for her is obvious. At times, I found him rather annoying. His pursuit of Queenie almost seems like harassment; but his romantic actions toward Queenie are sweet and endearing. Queenie’s best friend, Poetta, provides the “voice of reason” and stability, and never fails to comfort her friend in times of need. Ironically, in her own life, she practices voodoo, a situation that creates moments of humor, especially when she assists Queenie by working a spell on Zeke.
Ms. Phillips uses the conflicting nature of her characters with great effect as this plays a significant part in creating the humor that is essential to conflicts that arise as the story unfolds.
I’ll not speak about Zeke and his roommate Sweet Willie, but readers will be convinced that Zeke has gone bananas! I’m definitely still laughing, and readers will be when they finally meet that “special” roommate!
THE HIGH PRICE OF A GOOD MAN is Ms. Phillips’ best book to date - a humorous tale of the trials of finding true love. Readers will realize the moral of the story – that love isn’t always what or where we expect it to be.