SO MUCH FOR CONTENT! TOO MUCH POLITICS IN IT!
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Mr Hardy is a fantastic writer. Shoot, I love all his work, but I find myself bored reading this book. Unlike B-boy Blues and 2nd time around, LTOYW does not have the suspenseful conflict that Raheim and Little Bit had back in the day. He just parallels a lot of details from the other books, which makes me think why is this called a sequel when it's just a repetition. I didn't appreciate much the content of Little Bit's republican encounter and how Mr. Hardy incorporated that as if it was the center of the story. Monty's Bisexuality is ambiguous... and Little Bit's encounter with him wasn't really hot. Raheim still plays the old boy... and it never continued on as to Raheim coming out. It's a great read, but don't be too thrilled with the money you spending. Spend on the Bboy Blues or 2nd Time Around.
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To the cheaters out there!
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This was a change in pace for JEH, he has not written any other story with such get skills in a while. I actually enjoyed the book even though I was a little hurt with the ending but their is a lesson with self control. The negative thing is some of his topics seem to contradict themselves. But it is a good reading.
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FINISH The Series You're With
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I'd like to give James Earl Hardy a message, and since he's such a music lover, I want to serenade him with a Madonna song so fitting for Hardy and his Pooquie franchise. Ahem... THERE'S NOTHING LEFT TO SAAAAAY, THERE'S NOTHING LEFT TO TRYYYYY, THERE'S NO GREATER POWER THAN THE POWER OF GOODBYEEEEEE. Mr. Hardy, learn to say GOODBYE to these characters!!!!! You were initially compelled to write their story because ones such as theirs were missing from bookshelves. What you're chronicling now is not about anything that hasn't been written about a millions times before, especially the latest one. Infidelity is a well-known topic in the gay community. Hardy is no longer exploring new ground or trailblazing, he's just going through the motions of a storyteller. He's also so in love with Pooquie & Them now that he will not create any real problems for them in fear of hurting them (just like mom). It took over a month for me to finish this book(as opposed to less than a week) because nothing dire is happening. On top of the played-out topic and skimpy plot, like my friend mentioned the prose is just as simple and uninspired. This book seemed like it was thought of and written by a child. I can't imagine anyone who reads regularly and has half a brain finding it excellent. In my opinion the story of Pooquie & Them began and ended with B-Boy Blues. Everything else has been dead weight that should've been an epilogue-chapter at the end, if anything. The biggest proof? None of these sequels can stand alone without reading Blues. Has anyone else noticed how fewer reviews Hardy has gotten for each of the follow-ups in comparison to his original? Almost six times less. Interest in these characters fell dramatically starting with book 2. And it seems that Alyson also tired of their one-trick-writer and alienated him, as well. I am really looking forward to a book by Hardy that is about different characters in different situations. This guy is a talented writer, but untalented in knowing when to say when.
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Dreadful, boring, asinine, and an insult to all literature
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James Earl hardy should've quit after 2nd Time Around and went back to journalism. Love the One you're with is very boring and unnecessary. There is NO tension whatsoever. I realize JEH feels compelled to depict positive Black gay relationships, but unfortunately by doing this he is sacrificing any conflict that will make his work engrossing and unforgettable. Raheim and Mitchell no longer have any grave issues to deal with in each other, nothing threatens to break them up, all they do is compliment and coo at each other. By the book's middle it was obvious that everything was going to end as neatly as it began. The UPS man is a very ineffective monkey wrench, I never for one second got the feeling he'd threaten R. & M.'s commitment because there is no build up of suspense. In fact, the story had no climax! It's obvious JEH was grasping for straws while writing this. Some of the word choice is amateurish and downright childish: "Dr. Spock-ish ears", "skin color of a Planter's peanut", "Chipmunk cheeks". He also has a bad habit of beginning every scene with a character quote, too lazy to set things up with description or narrative. One of THE most annoying things is how he'd trail off.... there wasn't a page where his sentences didn't... I mean it gets pretty annoying... A lot of events he just borrowed from his original novel- cream of wheat burning, meeting the "love interest" in a gay social club, going to see a movie on the first date, running into the love interest as he makes a delivery. In fact, the entire plot relies on tired coincidence to move it along because JEH is apparently too lazy to brainstorm for less contrived ideas. In New York City, filled with millions upon millions of people, Mitchell and the UPS guy run into each other for no plausible reason on multiple occasions all over town, and yet strangely this has never happened until this novel. To enhance the feeble plot, he creates a long chapter about his relationship with an old boyfriend mentioned in B-Boy Blues. In this novel the guy is a right-wing republican out of touch with his ethnicity. In B-Boy Blues this boyfriend was without any flaws or baggage and they were a match made in heaven, but again JEH is clutching for straws so he pulls this new info out of nowhere. In another attempt he spends a very long time describing a school call Knowledge Hall though it is not integral to the novel at all. Once the chapter ends the school is never mentioned again. The same can be said for the gay organization chapter, after the chapter ends the group virtually ceases to exist. To try and further characterize Gene, he talks about his daily grooming ritual, his interior design, and his favorite TV shows, but it adds nothing new to him. We already knew he was vain and grand. The scenes following Mitchell around doing typical activities add nothing interesting, either, because who doesn't shop for food/clothes and get occasionally hit on while doing so? In B-Boy Blues the original cast was fiery, flawed, and BUSY, in this book they are so contently settled and even-tempered it's as if this is being written by a completely different and less talented writer. This is an exhaustive review but my point is how inferior every new installment is in this series. I didn't even bother reading The Day Eazy-E died but from what I've gathered from other reviews it's just as unnecessary as Love the One you're with and If only for one night. All three of these books could have been written as one novel or better yet incorporated into 2nd Time around, which also lacked substantial conflict but at least it was fresh and had some good dialogue. Nothing of any great importance was presented in JEH's last three novels. An uneventful high school reunion, an HIV test which comes back negative, and a sexual indiscretion- which although inconsequential is described in revolting detail-are too trivial to be main plots in a novel, especially when nothing else is happening. B-Boy Blues was such a rich, complicated book that warrants all the praise and controversy it gets. Unfortunately for us readers it was just a fluke. JEH is supposed to be writing the final installment of the series soon, hopefully in that one Pooquie, Little Bit, and Gene will get on an airplane with Basil Henderson and they are all killed in a fiery crash. In my opinion JEH has done a very big disservice to his characters by diluting them and making them less legendary with each new unsuccessful effort.
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To cheat or not to cheat
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Continuing his bestselling series of books, Hardy throws another curve into Mitchell and Raheim's relationship. While Raheim is away in California filming a movie, Mitchell is constantly tempted by other African American men he meets. And when he keeps running into the openly bisexual Montee in various places, Mitchell finds his commitment to Raheim exceptionally challenged. While Hardy's characters and his writing remain strong, he dilutes this novel with many diatribes and detours which give the book a disconnected atmosphere. I believe all of what Hardy wants to convey through this novel has merit, but by not weaving it seamlessly through Mitchell's struggles to remain true to his Pooquie, he ultimately leaves the reader disappointed in some respects. After the stellar "The Day Eazy-E Died", "Love the One You're With" is a bit dim, but still worthy.
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