We Ain't the Brontes

by Rosalyn McMillan

Charity Evans and Lynzee Lavender haven't always had the best relationship--for the most part thanks to them being writers. But while Lynzee is the wealthy, successful New York Times bestselling author of science fiction books, Charity is just squeaking by. Why is success passing her by? And why is her publisher all of a sudden reluctant to renew her contract? Now Charity suspects the That her own sister has had her blacklisted! With her savings dwindling, Charity struggles to pay her bills, and the pressure is putting an incredible strain on her marriage. The rivalry goes into overdrive when Lynzee reveals that the father of the child she gave up years ago is. . .Charity's husband! Charity's life goes into a tailspin as she struggles to decide if she should tell her husband about the child he never knew he had, or if that would be just the excuse he needs to abandon her for good. She knows she has to do something, but will the path she ultimately decides to take end up destroying them all?

Genres: Fiction

288 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2011

Reviews

[Robbin Melton · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am a HUGE Rosalyn McMillan fan and it's been a long time since she's published anything so I grabbed it as soon as I found it. Sadly, this is an awful book with a weak, incoherent story. And, she's with a different publisher. It appears Ms. McMillan is suffering from lupus and other health afflictions so maybe that's why this is the worst book she's ever written. And in case you're wondering, Terry McMillan is Terry's sister.

In another life, I got to interview Rosalyn while reviewing her very first book which is AMAZING and she mentioned that she and her sister don't talk to each other. Ironically, I think the gist of We Ain't the Brontes is Rosalyn's requiem...an ode dedicated to her and her sister's tragic relationship.

[Maria Pierron · Rating 1 out of 5]

This doesn’t even deserve one star. I don’t know what motivated the author to write this book. And I don’t know what the author intended for readers to think about the characters - were we supposed to applaud the author for coming up with the most selfish, stupid, and bipolar characters ever?

However, it made me laugh a lot of times (parachuting out of a plane after being struck by lightning over Grand Bahama then flying back to Memphis like an hour later, finding a pile of poop in the car, people constantly calling Charity to report Lynzee’s latest bad deed, the rat biting the shoe and getting shot, Herman the “gay” mortician getting raped outside of a gym because he refused to embalm some guy’s sister, Herman pretending to be gay so Charity would fall in love with him, Lynzee and the former agent working super hard to blacklist Charity from the publishing industry not once but twice for absolutely no reason) so if you are up to reading straight trash for 296 pages, give it a try.

[Catherine · Rating 1 out of 5]

This writing was truly terrible. There were 35 different plots happening, most of them came out of nowhere, and nearly all of them were solved with no reasoning. The characters weren’t fleshed out AT ALL, and while they were supposed to be Christians, they gave zero evidence of it. The only reason I kept reading was because I was in disbelief most of the stuff happening was ACTUALLY happening. Parachuting from a small plane because lightning struck one of the engines and set the plane on fire, then landing in a tree, breaking your leg and your friend making a travois out of tree branches and dragging you a couple of miles to the highway to hitchhike to the hospital???? What. The. Heck. I swear the author had ideas thrown into a jar and when she didn’t know what to write she pulled out a slip of paper and thought, yep, this makes sense. Why does this book even get one star? I laughed at the sheer ludicrousness of it all and had to know what else could possibly happen.

[Utbanbutterfly628gmail.com · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was delighted to see Rosalyn McMillan had another novel out. I enjoy her writing. This one I read in a day probably because I missed her. I was disappointed by how April was depicted in the end! A child who didn't ask to be born and wAsn't searching for her birth parents was sought out by her birth mother out of a vindictive desire to cause a problem in her sister's marriage. Once she finds the child she can't associate with a fellow addict. The father is a controlling verbally AND physically abusive jerk who ponders divorce or separation any time there is a challenge in his marriage. He feels so violated by his wife keeping the secret of daughter from him he totally dismisses his own actions (hiding that he'd slept with her sister) and actually puts his hands on his wife TWICE! Then this supposed christian full fledged hypocrite distances himself from his son's to build a relationship with his daughter! In the end this man's love AND respect is about as stable as Michigan weather! Charity can forgive her wicked sister for her wicked deeds a husband who assaulted to her AND spoke to her like a pimp speaks to his whores but could not find the maturity to realize her step daughter/niece hadn't created the cycle of deception her husband & sister did! Then the man assaults his mistress punching her in the mouth and this is a man the reader is supposed to understand a woman desperately wanting to salvage a marriage with? Anyhow the author disappoints me in the end by resolving everyone's problem by drafting April into a monster everyone turns their backs on! As if being put up for adoption weren't enough of a challenge.

Herman 's attack is another brief little side bar in this book. Can u really have a man attacked and raped and wrap that incident up so neatly? I mean he showed no signs of emotional strain afterwards? I am not sure why that scene was included in the text it was as a matter of fact as getting a flat tire....Like and by the way he was raped? Maybe it's just me but something that deep should've been elaborated on more.

I don't know Rosalyn is a better writer than this if your read Blue Collar Blues or Knowing or This Side of Eternity you probably agree with that. The ending was not well received by me it wasn't believable and it victimized an individual who was drug into the situation for malicious reasons from the start. Charity's resentment and hostility should've been reserved for her husband's abusive actions and words instead as long as he was willing to abandon his daughter she could forgive adultery, being slapped repeatedly, stalked and let's not forget she was his bitch AND hoe "greedy hoe" is what he called her. I don't deny love ESPECIALLY in a marriage can make u forgive some crazy things; but, I don't know a lot of sisters who would've been that passive! (from Detroit or anywhere else).

But as I said Rosalyn is a better writer than this perhaps this thin ending these not fully fleshed out characters were meant to leave me desiring more as the perfect set up for the sequel. Hint hint! somebody write her agent and tell her she's not done yet there's plenty of room for this story line to go on.

[African Americans on the Move Book Club · Rating 2 out of 5]

We Ain’t The Brontes is about two sisters, Charity Evans and Lynzee Lavender, who ironically, both happen to be authors. Lynzee thinks of herself as a far superior writer than her sister Charity and they both become embroiled in a heated competition over who’s a better writer, who’s love life is better, and family secrets. While the concept of the story was good, I expected the flow of the story to be a little more like “Danielle Steele” or “Jackie Collins”, with twists and turns and surprises all along the way. Quite the contrary, it was more like Pookie Collins. The dialogue is not smooth, it’s very choppy, and it doesn’t flow very well, plus the book lacks description and has holes as well as certain unexplained parts of the storyline.
The book, very simply written, is also very simply edited. There are typos everywhere, so many that it gave me a headache. Lastly, I don’t understand the cover photo. I recently read a comment on Twitter that stated that the book covers authors choose should “match” or “reflect” their story inside the covers in some way. I agree. When I received We Ain’t The Brontes for review, I assumed that since there were two young women on the cover, dressed in early 1990s attire, that the story was going to be about, well, two young women. This was not the case. In fact, the two sisters in the book, Lynzee and Charity are actually in their early fifties. This left me very confused. Was the cover photo supposed to be the sisters in their younger years? If so, they were dressed very, very wrong. I’m not sure, but it wasn’t a good cover and didn’t reflect the story in any way.
Overall, on a scale of 1-5, I give We Ain’t The Brontes a strong 2. I would have appreciated it, if the author had taken the time to shape the characters a little more, would have chosen a better title or at least talked about the Bronte’ reference, would have hired an editor, and I wish she would have created better dialogue between the characters.

Kellea Tibbs
AAMBC Reviewer

[Doris · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was delighted to find this book as I have enjoyed other works by the author. However, even though this was an easy read I finished in one evening, it left a bad taste in my mouth.

The story centered around 2 sisters, Lynzee and Charity, and their feud brought on by jealousy (of Lynzee over the success and love of her sister).

However, we are forced to deal with several things: first and foremost the reluctance of Charity to reveal to her husband that he and her sister had a child together.

The love Herman felt for Charity was obvious in his actions, but he was left in the cold, which I found disappointing, as I felt he was a better man that Jett.

I liked the twins – they were savvy and talented – young men who are going places.

However, the author's desire to have her readers accept that the strong woman Charity would be willing to take back a man who physically and emotionally assaulted, calling her names and trying to turn their sons against her, was too much.

Then the fact that Charity immediately forgives her sister sent me reeling. I would have possibly accepted the apologies but not gotten cozy with my abuser, which is what Lynzee apparently has always been.

Overall I expected better.

[Sherry · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was probably the longest and worst book I've EVER read in my 45 years on this earth. It was so disappointing. How could someone write a book about a child that was given up for adoption and the new wife don't like her (the child) even though the child was born before the wife even hooked up with the child's father and then had the nerve to get made because the child wanted to know her family. The author is the poster child for trifling women.

[Erean Larry-Fiakpuyi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun read

Story became predictable after several chapters. But enjoyed the characters . Originally selected book because I enjoy thebother McMillian sister's writing.

[Davina Bell · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was truly disappointed with this novel. Having been a fan of Ms. McMillan and her sister, Terry, since I was a teen, I was disheartened to find this novel to be so bad! I had to force myself to finish it.

The first problem, I saw too much of a correlation between her relationship with Terry, no imagination on her part. I had to wonder that although it was a work of fiction, was there truly any truth to the animosity between sisters. It just hit too close to home. Secondly, there were no strong characters. Everyone was petty and childish even though they were middle age!!!! Thirdly, there were too many plots going on!!! Some plots were left open. Who was the editor? Too much drama for me!! Finally, and I could really keep going, the husband and wife dynamic was truly the most disappointing. The main character was painted as a weak black female, by "forgiving" everyone who wrongs her. Where was her justice and her vindication for doing right!!! Everyone who was malicious comes out on top, while Charity just continues to be the whooping board for them. SMH

[Monique · Rating 3 out of 5]

Two sisters, Charity and Lynzee, are constant competitors. Both are authors with baggage and much anticipated drama. However, the reader won’t be able to read it because over 100 pages drag on over a lawsuit, marriage separation and illegitimate child. I kept wanting the hatchet to drop but it never done. I continued reading because some part of me wanted to think the drama was sorta real since Rosalyn is the sister of Terrie McMillian. Needless to say, I’m so glad I waited on the library reserve I placed on the book over a month ago because the disappointment I felt was taken away since I didn’t spend any money.

[Thorn MotherIssues · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'll be honest and say that the writing is terrible. I was going to recommend it as the sort of thing you could read aloud with friends because it's ridiculously bad, but the homophobia and horrible stuff about adoption keeps that from being something I'd really pass along in my circle since it's likely to drastically offend.

It's kind of ironic that it's a terrible book about a writer who thinks she's a great writer but who's pretty clearly actually terrible. But no character development, a billion plot holes, just not good.

[Stephanie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Eh...You know that old saying, "She's no better than she should be"? Well, that phrase fit this book. I really wanted to like it--I loved the title and had to take it home, couldn't wait to get into it. But the story was a mishmash of preposterous plot points, drama piled upon drama and then sudden ends to drama, and all in all unsatisfying. If this were written by a high school kid for a class project, it would be impressive. As it was...I kept wondering how this got published.

[DELORIS A JOHNSON · Rating 1 out of 5]

is the first book that I've read, and I've read a lot, that I thoroughly disliked the main character. The story drawn out and she was not only unalienable but the character was . I skipped about 70% of this book.


Thisis the first book that I've read, and I've read a lot, that I thoroughly disliked the main character. The story drawn out and she was not only unlikable but the character was annoying . I skipped about 70% of this book.

[Elise · Rating 2 out of 5]

I hope the author got some kickback from all the name dropping and product placement. Good story idea, poor execution. No character development, no motivation. I couldn't relate to any of the characters in any way. All the characters were after money, which would apparently fix everything in their lives.

[Ketwana Valentine · Rating 1 out of 5]

The very first book I've ever read by her and it was awful!! the plot of the story, two sisters who are writers fighting over who's better, had great potential but it completely got lost in translation!! from chapter 20 on down, charity it was always crying constantly and it made no sense. it is entirely too much to critique but bottom line it was not an enjoyable or believable read.

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the best books I have read in a long time. I read it in 4 hours. It was just that good. I have loved Rosalyn McMillan's writing style since Blue Collar Blues. LOVED IT! LOVED IT! LOVED IT! Would love a sequel to this novel.

[Zombie Librarian]

Fine I guess. I kept getting upset over over how stupid the main character was or rather the stupid things she did and said and believed. And I do not want to spoil anything for any one, but when a mans slaps you down twice????? Damn.

[Stephanie · Rating 2 out of 5]

It started off slow and repetitive but got much better near the end.

[Kesha K. · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm so sorry. I couldn't finish this book. It was not a good read at all and I refuse to punish myself.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book started out good but thought i repeated itself a lot when it got into the middle of the book was not her best book .

[Francine]

Very good loved it from the being til the end. Had lots of suspense and drama.Two sister can have that kind of drama in there lives.

[Wanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

After so much drama it wrapped up like a fairy tale. I was disappointed with the ending. I was expecting a climatic ending.

[Gwen George · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was wondering how much might be true the whole time I was reading it......

[carolyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really good

I love her writing .the way she develops her characters, you feel as if you know the people. Refreshing change from all of the "drug dealers, hood " books.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just read the synopsis on the book's endflap and you've basically read the book.

[KaTrina · Rating 4 out of 5]

this is a good book.