A Staten Island Love Story: Welcome to Shaolin

A Staten Island Love Story: Welcome to Shaolin #1

by Jahquel J.

His father was taken from him too soon.
Struggle had become his life, always operating in survival mode in fear of ending up like his father.
Staten Island had been home until it wasn’t.
Moving back was the only solution.
Falling in love wasn’t part of the plan.

Being more than a Daddy’s girl has always been the goal.
Finding herself outside of being the baby proved itself to be the hardest thing.
He seemed familiar. Something safe, someone she knew she could let her guard down around.
A man that wasn’t just around because of what her last name could offer.
The car she drove wasn’t the only thing that moved fast. She wasn’t looking for something new.
He was looking for something real.
It was like their paths crossing was written in the stars.

Genres: Audiobook, Romance, Urban, African American

276 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 23, 2023

Reviews

[Jahda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Messy and the women are slow 🤣

[Kenya · Rating 3 out of 5]

Now I gotta read the rest of the series, but off this one alone??? who's love story is it supposed to be? Karter playing mind games with Star? ANNOYING! Wahkeem gaslighting tf out of his wife in favor of his best friend that he's clearly in love with? INFURIATING! And the ending???? I trust Jahquel and her pen, though, so on to book 2, I go.

[Shawn M. · Rating 3 out of 5]

The best part was the ending but overall this story is boring .

[Danielle Marcia · Rating 3 out of 5]

The ending…..I screamed 😬

[Markita_Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

The E N D I N G ! that's the review, leaves on a HUGE cliffhanger. Had my mouth OPEN!

[AlexTRBG · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wait, this series is teaaaaaa. I like it so much better than a staten island love letter 🤭👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽

[KayBee's Bookshelf · Rating 4 out of 5]

Multi-series review 34 books and counting. I'll only leave the review on book 1 of each series here.

Jahquel J has had me in a chokehold for the last few weeks. So this is a blanket review that will be shared across all the series and their books (38 so far) that I've read by her over the last 4 weeks. I've read the Delgatos (14 books) (, Casselli Family (1 book) , Inferno Gods (2 books) , Davis Family (5 books), Vanducci-Cromwell (3 books), The McKnights (5 books), Brownsville Bully (3books), Grizz and Sundaes spinoff.(3books), Rose in Harlem (1 book), Crossover Holiday Book (1 book).

Now, I love this world she's created and how the characters are connected. She's created a community that continues to grow and surprise me as a reader. The author does a great job with world building, character development and creating memorable moments i.e. Erin and those darn dolphins. Now she's pulling the kiddos in. I love the complexities of the characters and their "realness". For example layering serious medical conditions like epilepsy, mental illness, postpartum, stillborn births and more. She handles them like many of us in real life by getting help, but laughing to keep from crying. She has turned the flawed characters into ones that you can connect with to keep going and staying hopeful in your own life i.e. Tweeti going back to school and investing in herself. I mean her mouth is still untamed, but we love it and so does Jah.

I will be honest and say i didn't connect with the author's earlier writing when i found her, i wasn't the biggest fan of the slow burn and build. But, woah, did she shut my damn mouth. Now, I'm out here like a ...well never mind that analogy. Needless to say, the author has quickly become one of my favorite authors to read. I may be late to the party, but atleast I'm here. Right?

[Cassandra Jerido · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nope…That Cliffhanger Does Not Make Up For The Girls Being Dumb

Okay, so the cliffhanger was everything. For once, I didn’t see it coming. Wow, I’m speechless. However, on a different note, I’m totally disappointed in ALL of the female characters in this book. Ms. Jahquel J went too far. How do you have 3 women allowing themselves to be disrespected and made a fool of by their men? All three have been cheated on and yet they all have taken each guy back, multiple times. Really? Where is their self respect? I can deal with the frustration and foolishness of one female character but not all of them. Skye, Lennon and Star are all giving women a bad name. I literally am side eyeing these women. Even though the book is well written that aspect alone is throwing off the whole vibe of the book.

[Jite · Rating 3 out of 5]

hard to respect any of the characters…

Even for a Jahquel J book, these characters were difficult. It’s hard to identify a protagonist to route for because all the FMCs from Lennon to Star to Skye, they’re all awful. The MMCs (Karter, Wah and Mo) are game players and not quite sure what they want.

The cliffhanger at the end was neither here nor there… I’m not really motivated to continue this series because there weren’t any character or plot arcs to really anchor on. I’m really “meh” about this series and for me it’s a first time I feel this way about a series from this author.

[_literaryaura_ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars, just Meh. 🫤

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Ohhhh I am so happy to be back in Jahquel J’s writing!! This is a good set up for what is to come. I love Lennon and Wahkeem.

[Cat ✨ · Rating 3 out of 5]

i’ll definitely be reading the rest of this series.

Everyone is messy and toxic in this book 😂

[Arii Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

it was okay, not my fav

[MissP.Reads · Rating 3 out of 5]

Now Ms. J is one of my favorite authors but this book didn't hit the same as her others. I've read Capone, Cappadonna, Capri, Menace and Don's books and it didn't compare to them at all. Butttttt the cliffhanger at the end has forced me to read Pt2 LOL
I was gaggggggggged

[Rein · Rating 3 out of 5]

hard to follow

Is it me? So many characters and bouncing back and forth it was semi confusing.

That ending … The GAG!!!!

[Pookie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Star x Karter and Lennon x Wahkeem

What do you do after you read an amazing book and it puts you into a reading slump? Dive deeper into the author’s catalog. This is how I made my way to the Vanducci-Cromwell series.

Now, this book started out a bit slow, but I understand that it was mainly setting up a new set of characters….so I continued to trust the process. After a while, the storyline picked up and I started to tap in. Strained relationships, unresolved feelings and lots of secrets were laced in these pages. And in pure Jah fashion, she brought the mess! Down the rabbit hole I go!

3.75⭐️

[Keri Hill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jacquel does no wrong in my eyes. I love that she introduces 4/5 main characters and there’s SO many things going on but you gotta pay attention to EVERY detail because it all ties in together. Finished in a few days and couldn’t put her down. As expected, your girl left us on a cliff hanger that left me SHOOK.

[Brave · Rating 3 out of 5]

The writing in this one was very repetitive and it took me a while to figure out all the characters and how they connected to each other. That said, I love mess and I love Jahquel J's characters, so I still had a lot of fun with this one. I will be continuing the series because I am, to my core, just a nosy bitch.

[Katrina Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

😮

Well I’ll be damned!!! That is being was a damn good cliffhanger!! I mean what!!! She had what… I can’t say I don’t wanna spoil it for anyone else. I’m glade I decided to read this series!! Ok Jagquel you did your thang on this.

[Jaleesa · Rating 4 out of 5]

That ending…..

I’ve been meaning to start this series and I’m mad AF it took me so long. I was locked in immediately and the way it ended had my jaw on the floor!

I’m headed to book 2

[BossyLadi · Rating 4 out of 5]

That ending tho....

[peppyP · Rating 5 out of 5]

😂🫣🤭🤣

I just can’t with these endings 🤭 That was straight out of the blue..😂 This was a quick enjoyable read.

[Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good set up for what’s to come. There’s soooo much drama brewing and I can’t wait for it all to start boiling over. The way this ended had my jaw on the floor 🤯

[Kia Borner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ohhhhhh okayyyyyyy 😭

[Jade Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

The character introduction started kinda slow and dragged a little bit, but once it started to flow it flowed...

[Katie Tucker · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s Jahcquel J I decided to go back to some earlier writing. As always you can expect a chock hold Cromwell and Vanducci started in Staten Island. More drama

[Acacia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ofcourse a cliffhangerrrr lol. On to book 2 🙂‍↔️

[Benedicta Dzandu · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's just going to be messy

[Ronnie Scandrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Now why the hell it ended like that!?!?

[Alleeah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I genuinely hate All the Staten Island characters.