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Duped!
I’d just installed my best customer, Sylvia Bernstein, under the dryer when my cell phone rang. “Hello?”
“Hello. Is this Mrs. Randle?”
“Yes.”
“Mrs. Maximilian E. Randle III.”
“Yes, who’s this?”
The caller sighed. “This is Jeanette Randle. The other Mrs. Maximilian E. Randle III. The one in Bel Air with two young children.”
A chill crept up my spine. “Is this some kind of sick joke?”
A careless laugh preceded her response, “I assure you, it’s no joke. We are both married to the same man.”
The chill turned into the hot flush of panic. My voice cracked as I screeched, “I don’t understand.”
That laugh again. “I know you don’t. I’m having trouble understanding this myself. The bottom line is, I’ve been married to Max for four years and you have been married to him four months.” This time the laugh sounded hysterical. “Lady, you have been duped!”
My newlywed husband has another wife and…kids? Max is a bigamist? I felt dizzy. So dizzy, I sat in the customer chair of my booth. “We must get together to figure something out.”
Her voice became cold, calculating, bitchy. “I’m afraid that’s not possible—at least not at this time.”
“Then wha—”
With an air of privilege, she announced, “My attorney will be in touch.”
“When?” I screamed, “How?” but the line was dead.
I closed my eyes and raised my fingers to my temples. A headache was coming on. My God, is it possible? Could Max be married to someone else?
Why am I not in shock?
Because from the beginning, as he boldly took a seat at your table, and introduced himself, he seemed too good to be true. You have been expecting something like this for months.
I hadn’t heard from Max for four days and he hadn’t returned any of the messages I’d left. He was ostensibly on one of his trips, trying to drum up business for his fledgling company. I punched in his number to call him again—to confront him—but all I got was his voice mail.
“You’ve reached Max Randle. I’m busy right now, but if you leave your name, number and a short message, return your call.”
Sure, you will. “Max, I just received a call from a woman named Jeanette, who claimed to be your wife and she sounded white. Is this a joke? I’m in a panic right now. Please call me so we can talk.”
I closed my phone.
My lips trembled, My temples throbbed and all of a sudden, my neck was stiff. My nerves had been stretched to the breaking point. I felt hot and stifled. I need to get out of here. I removed and hung my smock on a hook and stumbled to the reception desk. “Darla, something’s come up. I just put Mrs. Bernstein under the dryer. When she’s ready, would you have Sally finish her up? And while you’re at it, reschedule the appointments you can and those you can’t, spread out as best you can.”
“Sure thing, Ms Turner.”
“Hello. Is this Mrs. Randle?”
“Yes.”
“Mrs. Maximilian E. Randle III.”
“Yes, who’s this?”
The caller sighed. “This is Jeanette Randle. The other Mrs. Maximilian E. Randle III. The one in Bel Air with two young children.”
A chill crept up my spine. “Is this some kind of sick joke?”
A careless laugh preceded her response, “I assure you, it’s no joke. We are both married to the same man.”
The chill turned into the hot flush of panic. My voice cracked as I screeched, “I don’t understand.”
That laugh again. “I know you don’t. I’m having trouble understanding this myself. The bottom line is, I’ve been married to Max for four years and you have been married to him four months.” This time the laugh sounded hysterical. “Lady, you have been duped!”
My newlywed husband has another wife and…kids? Max is a bigamist? I felt dizzy. So dizzy, I sat in the customer chair of my booth. “We must get together to figure something out.”
Her voice became cold, calculating, bitchy. “I’m afraid that’s not possible—at least not at this time.”
“Then wha—”
With an air of privilege, she announced, “My attorney will be in touch.”
“When?” I screamed, “How?” but the line was dead.
I closed my eyes and raised my fingers to my temples. A headache was coming on. My God, is it possible? Could Max be married to someone else?
Why am I not in shock?
Because from the beginning, as he boldly took a seat at your table, and introduced himself, he seemed too good to be true. You have been expecting something like this for months.
I hadn’t heard from Max for four days and he hadn’t returned any of the messages I’d left. He was ostensibly on one of his trips, trying to drum up business for his fledgling company. I punched in his number to call him again—to confront him—but all I got was his voice mail.
“You’ve reached Max Randle. I’m busy right now, but if you leave your name, number and a short message, return your call.”
Sure, you will. “Max, I just received a call from a woman named Jeanette, who claimed to be your wife and she sounded white. Is this a joke? I’m in a panic right now. Please call me so we can talk.”
I closed my phone.
My lips trembled, My temples throbbed and all of a sudden, my neck was stiff. My nerves had been stretched to the breaking point. I felt hot and stifled. I need to get out of here. I removed and hung my smock on a hook and stumbled to the reception desk. “Darla, something’s come up. I just put Mrs. Bernstein under the dryer. When she’s ready, would you have Sally finish her up? And while you’re at it, reschedule the appointments you can and those you can’t, spread out as best you can.”
“Sure thing, Ms Turner.”
225 pages, Nook
First published February 23, 2011
9 people are currently reading
78 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
August 30, 2012
Aside from the usual (grammar & punctuation) here's the breakdown:
1) Abrupt changes in point of view, some purposeful and some obviously accidental.
2) The inclusion of a highly supernatural element (ghost) that seemed superfluous.
3) Everyone acts thrilled about the fact that Jamilla is a twin that was given up for adoption, including the guy who uses her as a replacement for her dead sister.
4) Jamilla seems to enjoy replacing her dead sister, right down to wanting to have sex with the sister's former lover in all the same ways. (Ew.) She only mentions the awkwardness once in passing, and it feels contrived. A moment later, she's asking Tony more sex questions about her sister so she can try the same things.
5) The sex scenes were ridiculous. The vocabulary was clunky and silly. Also, no guy notices that your bracelet matches your necklace while you're stripping! You're getting NAKED, sweetie; that's ALL he sees.
The only saving grace is Letta Storm. She is the only likeable character. Still, we hardly get to know her.
Ah, well. At least it was a funny read. I wouldn't purchase another book by this author, but should another come up as a freebie I'd definitely give her a second chance, particularly if it was another story featuring Letta Storm.
1) Abrupt changes in point of view, some purposeful and some obviously accidental.
2) The inclusion of a highly supernatural element (ghost) that seemed superfluous.
3) Everyone acts thrilled about the fact that Jamilla is a twin that was given up for adoption, including the guy who uses her as a replacement for her dead sister.
4) Jamilla seems to enjoy replacing her dead sister, right down to wanting to have sex with the sister's former lover in all the same ways. (Ew.) She only mentions the awkwardness once in passing, and it feels contrived. A moment later, she's asking Tony more sex questions about her sister so she can try the same things.
5) The sex scenes were ridiculous. The vocabulary was clunky and silly. Also, no guy notices that your bracelet matches your necklace while you're stripping! You're getting NAKED, sweetie; that's ALL he sees.
The only saving grace is Letta Storm. She is the only likeable character. Still, we hardly get to know her.
Ah, well. At least it was a funny read. I wouldn't purchase another book by this author, but should another come up as a freebie I'd definitely give her a second chance, particularly if it was another story featuring Letta Storm.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 2, 2013
Duped by Dee Dawning introduces Maximilian E. Randle III and his estranged wife Jeannette. Three years of marriage and six months of being separated, Jeanette does the unthinkable and hires a private investigator. Max is a man of many talents which consist of bigamy and conning women. After Jeanette finds out the details of her husband’s so call business trips, she contacts Jamilla Turner who has been married to Max for four months. At this point my curiosity is peaked.
Duped does not come highly recommended. The writing is overshadowed with more than enough sex scenes, which takes away from the struggling plot. Characters are introduced one after the other and never get fully developed. The novel starts off about betrayal, then transitions to supernatural and lastly romance. I was thrilled and ready to read about Max’s character as a bigamist, but that was short lived. There was no real interaction between him and Jamilla, the heroine. The storyline changes when the hero, Antonio Castanza, also known as Tony is presented. Tony dated Jamilla’s deceased twin sister, Shana, in college whom she never met. At this point I was mystified and the story continues downhill. I can understand Jamilla wanting to know more about her sister but to question her sexual preference was a shocker.
Two scenes in particular and the constant reference of the departed sister became too much to bear. Scene one, Jamilla models a nightgown she assumed Tony gave to her; but when he stated it was purchased eight years ago for Shana, the nightgown vanishes from her body. Scene two, Jamilla wants to mimic and experience the same pleasures Tony did with her sister; “I want to see what it’s like to be tied up and helpless in your four post bed, like you used to do with my sister.” One character I enjoyed was Letta Storm, Jamilla’s lawyer; who is every bit of a storm. Letta is a strong, direct, no nonsense, and prying individual that brings a different element to the story.
Although Duped is not receiving high rankings, I am not discrediting the author’s skills and would consider reading other work by Dee Dawning.
-Reviewed by LaMona
Duped does not come highly recommended. The writing is overshadowed with more than enough sex scenes, which takes away from the struggling plot. Characters are introduced one after the other and never get fully developed. The novel starts off about betrayal, then transitions to supernatural and lastly romance. I was thrilled and ready to read about Max’s character as a bigamist, but that was short lived. There was no real interaction between him and Jamilla, the heroine. The storyline changes when the hero, Antonio Castanza, also known as Tony is presented. Tony dated Jamilla’s deceased twin sister, Shana, in college whom she never met. At this point I was mystified and the story continues downhill. I can understand Jamilla wanting to know more about her sister but to question her sexual preference was a shocker.
Two scenes in particular and the constant reference of the departed sister became too much to bear. Scene one, Jamilla models a nightgown she assumed Tony gave to her; but when he stated it was purchased eight years ago for Shana, the nightgown vanishes from her body. Scene two, Jamilla wants to mimic and experience the same pleasures Tony did with her sister; “I want to see what it’s like to be tied up and helpless in your four post bed, like you used to do with my sister.” One character I enjoyed was Letta Storm, Jamilla’s lawyer; who is every bit of a storm. Letta is a strong, direct, no nonsense, and prying individual that brings a different element to the story.
Although Duped is not receiving high rankings, I am not discrediting the author’s skills and would consider reading other work by Dee Dawning.
-Reviewed by LaMona
June 21, 2014
Another let down. I wasn't really sure what was going on here except for the part where the two wives find out that they are married to a con artist who uses his looks and sexual prowess to strip women of their clothes and money. Then the story takes another turn and Jamilla one of the wives meets a guy who ends up being the boyfriend of the dead twin sister she never knew she had and ends up falling in love with him. Here is the kicker, the dead sister was the one playing cupid!
For a short book there was too much going on. She should have stuck to one idea and ran with that, or have written a full length novel
For a short book there was too much going on. She should have stuck to one idea and ran with that, or have written a full length novel
September 7, 2012
Crappy plot stringing together laughable sex scenes with a couple of good moments.
January 27, 2020
This was a sweet little love story with several twists. The twists made it interesting especially since one of them had a paranormal aspect involving a twin sister. But I’m sure if you are into HEA’s you will enjoy this story as much as I did.
February 27, 2013
Dee Dawning's Duped is some what of an acquired taste. Her Character's are great but the over all plot is a little swanky. I'm sorry but it just seemed like she had so many idea's and threw it into one book when she could have easily made it into a series. Honestly, The main characters dead twin sister brings her together with her love? Honestly? I know men think about sex 24/7 but in reality what man would get turned on by a woman saying do me like you did my sister? Its kind of creepy. But like in other reviews the main character that makes the book worth page turning is (drum roll) Letta Storm, a very kick ass lawyer but maybe too much into the sex life of her clients.She is by far the best character I've read in one of these erotica books.(FYI I don't read a lot of them.) Its almost enough to read the book just for her, Tony being mouth watering has something to do with as well. This book wont get five stars from me but it should still be read, if you can take the roller coaster plots and the sometimes not so professional writing of Dawning who is milking with creativity. But her grammar is not one point, (Everyone has a moment) But when you switch from having your main character tell the story to saying 'she' in the same sentence something is off sorry Dawning.
February 10, 2014
This is a Letta Storm novella and a free download. I picked it up because it was free, but it was entertaining enough to get me to download a couple of other Dee Dawning reads. I thought the plot was interesting and I liked the main character, Jamilla. The plot went on a tangent a bit when I would have preferred her to just meet Tony without any paranormal craziness.
October 11, 2013
Terrible sex scenes, seriously twisted plot, and the way Jamilla kept asking what her sister did was very peculiar. It also didn't seem like Tony and Jamilla had real chemistry, kind of like both of them were trying to recreate what Tony and Shana had together. The only bright light in the novel was Letta Storm, which is why I have it 2 stars insteaD of one.
May 24, 2013
This book was out of control. It was kind of creepy that the heroine's sister was mentioned the whole time. I didn't know if the hero loved her or her sister. I just didn't like this book at all. This is not worth buying at all.
August 12, 2016
This is the second book in the Letta Storm series.
I felt like the story arc was totally unnecessary. It did not add to the overall storyline for me and in fact made portions of the story kind of weird.
I felt like the story arc was totally unnecessary. It did not add to the overall storyline for me and in fact made portions of the story kind of weird.
February 22, 2012
Not what I expected, I was going to not finish it but I did.
April 18, 2012
nice short read...
April 26, 2012
A little more blunt sex than I am use to, but Letta Storm's character made it so I couldn't put the book down.
January 3, 2014
Don't waste your time and money on this one. I find this book to be totally unrealistic.
October 30, 2014
At first when they went back and forth between a few characters I got upset but then I got to a point that it came together and I couldn't put the book down!! I had it done in just over a day!
July 9, 2013
I loved it.
August 7, 2013
What'd you expect.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews