Just Wanna Testify: A Novel (West End #5) (2011) - Plot & Excerpts
To be fair this is the 5th book in a series, I was semi-forced to read it for a book discussion (for the record I didn't pick the book), and I'm certainly not the demographic the author was aiming for(I'm guessing middle aged African American female). Maybe if I had read some of the other books in the series the characters would have appealed to me more, but this book was pretty awful. To explain the awfulness, I think the rest of this review will just have to be one big spoiler. Okay so the main character in this story is named Blue and he's super in charge, super manly, but loves his woman and treats her so right, and he is the best sexiest singer ever, and everyone in his neighborhood respects him, and he's like this non-violent mob boss that runs his town, and he's been reincarnated a number of times so he's all mystical too. Then there's some fashion models who are really vampires, and they are called the Too Fine 5 and they're so skinny and sickly and weird looking, but some how so hot to most men,, but not Blue he's too much of a bad-ass gentleman for that, and as he tells his concerned wife (Regina), he likes his women with, "more meat on their bones." *Swooon* Oh yeah and the vampire super models don't drink blood they drink tomato juice, yes... TOMATO JUICE, because it is red I guess (no word on the efficacy of eating red crayons). So they aren't that dangerous. Oh, wait no they actually are because they made a deal with some college kids to give them a scholarship as long as those young men would become their sex slaves when 4 years were up, and in the fine print they get to bite the heads off of the young men. So the young men talk to to Blue 'cuz he is Oh So In Charge and plead their case, but Blue is reluctant to help them because they entered the contract willingly, plus they are shitty guys who treat women terribly. But then Regina convinces him to help and to make a long boring story a short boring story Blue defeats the Too Fine 5 by signing an incredibly moving rendition of "At Last" to his wife in front of a large audience including the vampires, and the leader of the vampires is so moved by the evident love that she agrees to let the young men out of their contract. Then to make a bad story that much worse Regina wakes up and it was all a dream. Then to make a doubly bad story even worse Blue sings another song that shows us how much he loves his woman. Barf. I'm out! I loved the book because of how it approached the supernatural, not just the women vampires but the aspect of Blue's background. I also like the way it address the image of how men and women can work together to support each other or tear each other down. I'm glad Cleage is expanding the series of books set in the West End and fleshing out characters from book to book. Its one of my favorites, it even inspired me to rent a Guy Ritchie movie to see exactly what kind of dance the witches do.
What do You think about Just Wanna Testify: A Novel (West End #5) (2011)?
I just didn't like this- it was non-eventful. I couldn't finish it.
—bjbizhan
I did not enjoy this book as much as her other books.
—Kee
