Review: Unconventional big brothers & a kick-butt female lawyer - BLACKNESS TAKES OVER by Norma Jeanne Karlsson
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 05 5, 2014
Three third-generation American-Irish men and one woman who don't share family ties - all headed for a poli-sci major and tons of trouble. They'll band together to form an unstoppable force in the legal field and a home for their damaged souls. Which is good, because the violence, betrayal, and utter blackness of life isn't over, just because they've survived round number one.KAVANAUGH: Shannon is his "security blanket." Understands Shannon the best and nicknamed her "Kid." Doesn't bang the same girl twice. Physically huge rugby player.O'SULLIVAN: Quick temper. Cheats on all his girlfriends. Boxer. Fab dancer.CALLAGHAN: Quiet. Mother died when he was young. Can't get to a fourth date. Former basketball player. Study/workout buddy withshannon.SHANNON: College freshman at 17. Atty.-father murdered. Mother deserted her. Raised by great uncle to fight/shoot/not to panic in crisis. Survived bullet wound and attempted rape.From Chicago to Kansas City, BLACKNESS TAKES OVER is a contemporary thriller. I'm envious over the camaraderie between the four friends. No matter the crisis, they pull together, and they do the "right thing," no matter if it is hard.And yet, they're still people you'd throw a pillow at when you're mad, or toss a glass of ice water on to wake them up. Regardless of my next sentences of constructive criticism, this book was a pleasure to wrestle with, like a long-lost sibling.I'm late in posting this review, because the first chapter and I did not get along. I was unsure of the significance of nicknames, relationships, and physical characteristics, so I set BLACKNESS TAKES OVER aside for awhile. It was my own fault for not pushing forward sooner, but I had the "impression" that these "three" guys were hanging out with a underage girl sexually, not just someone they teased by calling "Kid." You know what they say about "assuming"?But, I finally had to complete the book and Reading further, I slowly filled in the blanks and became excited about Norma Jeanne Karlsson's first Blackness story. You should have seen me looking back at the book's description and comparing it to my initial mental image of Kid and her boys! I'm laughing about it now, but I was convinced I'd downloaded the wrong book during that first chapter. I'm glad I "had to" complete the book, but the problem of an unclear beginning remains...unsettling, even though I now know that Kavanaugh, O'Sullivan, and Callaghan never had a romantic relationship with "Kid" - from the time she was seventeen in college through the opening of their joint law firm. As I tell the authors I work with on a regular basis, "Your opening has to be clear and set the stage for the rest of the book. Don't mislead or allow the reader to make distracting misjudgments."Also on the negative side of the house is lack of thorough editing. Sure - you hear that all of the time with Amazon's cheaper Kindle books. I don't worry as much about spelling as missing articles (a/an/the), overuse of the same verb (coo), too many clarifications in parentheses (and not worked into the actual text), terrible use of a thesaurus ("Orbs" and "pools" for eyes? Really?), and cliched sex scenes. The extraordinary level of cursing and unnatural amount of Hollywood-quality good looks are also worth noting for this thorough book review (but fall in matters of personal taste). All of these issues could be frequent enough to distract from the reader's experience.Having listed possible pros and cons, I can't help but want the next Blackness book, um, NOW! So what if Norma Jeanne Karlsson's novel wouldn't pass muster from an English professor; I love her characters and their story! They live in front of my eyes! Plus, the reinforced message of abusive relationships vs. protective ones is comforting and easy to relate to. I want to be there "in" the book, and, if Kid isn't dating one of those Irish lads...I certainly volunteer.I encourage you to make the investment in BLACKNESS TAKES OVER and involve yourself in this group of friends. They'll need your help to keep Shannon alive.The next book in the series (which picks up directly at the cliffhanger, BTW):Blackness Awaits (Blackness Series)Thanks for the ARC, NJ. You sure know how to pack emotion into your sentences, and I'm very grateful for the review copy of your novel (given in exchange for an honest review). For anyone who does find such a pack of men to watch her back with such devotion, the price would be worth it - and I've paid my dues there. Sadly, even fictional women are lucky to get one good man. Could you convince Kid to share with the rest of us?