Reading NAPPILY IN BLOOM first was like watching Spiderman 3
first. You realize right away that you've missed something,
and although you thoroughly enjoy the current installment,
you find yourself itching to run to the nearest movie rental
store (in this case, the bookstore or library) to find every
prior story. That's how I felt reading NAPPILY IN BLOOM.
In this, the fourth installment of the Nappily series, Venus
is making a go of her flower store, In Bloom. She's hoping
that she and Jake will finally be able to live a quiet,
normal life raising their daughter, Mya. But then Legend, a
figure from Jake's hip-hop past, shows up. Where Legend
goes, trouble follows, at least that's the way Venus sees it.
Meanwhile, as the wedding coordinator for Keisha's impending
nuptials, Venus also has to find a way to keep Televangelist
Trevelle and Judge Delma apart, as the two mothers vie over
their shared daughter, a task that proves near impossible.
The action in NAPPILY IN BLOOM just kept coming and never
once felt contrived. Every time Venus thought things
couldn't get worse, they did. Every time it seemed that
Trevelle and Delma had gotten as bad as they could possibly
get, they proved the reader wrong.
The story was fun and fast-paced, and although I hadn't read
the first four books, I quickly understood who all the
players were and their relationships to one another without
wading through a dry, "commercial break" chapter. Thomas'
characters reflect the urban reality of folks who'd prefer
not to interact with the police, blue collar husbands, Ivy
League lawyers, entrepreneurs, and more, who share the same
space, interacting with and interrupting one another as they
each carve out their own journey.
I can't imagine how I managed to miss Trisha Thomas' books
before now, but that's a state of deprivation I absolutely
plan to do something about.
Airic and his famous televangelist wife, Trevelle Doval, make the evening news when Airic is accused of domestic battery and his life is suddenly turned upside down. But when Venus and Jake try to suspend Airic’s visitation rights with Mya, they discover that Airic isn’t willing to go down without a fight.
Meanwhile, Jake’s best friend, Legend, turns up on his doorstep with trouble not far behind. The past is back with a vengeance, including blackmail, murder and enemies who are looking for payback. But everything takes a dangerous new turn when Venus goes missing. For Jake it’s now a race against time to save the woman he loves.