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In Pursuit of Joi

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Joi McIntosh is a woman torn.

She is married to the perfect husband. She is the mother of the perfect daughter. She has her own thriving business and seems to be living the perfect life. But she has secrets... Secrets that haunt her dreams.

Along comes Latoya Bradshaw. She's beautiful, successful, and edgy.

She awakens feelings in Joi that have lain dormant for years. She reminds Joi of her past.

Joi must decide on whether she wants to continue living the life of the woman that she has become or risk it all to become the woman that she once thought that she was meant to be.

230 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 18, 2013

32 people are currently reading
89 people want to read

About the author

Olivia Renee Wallace

18 books41 followers

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5 stars
78 (54%)
4 stars
38 (26%)
3 stars
18 (12%)
2 stars
5 (3%)
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3 (2%)
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
Profile Image for Ebony Evans.
Author 12 books27 followers
August 28, 2014
"In Pursuit of Joi".... Olivia Wallace delivers a well written, smooth and easy page turner. Once I got started, I just couldn't put it down! I immediately fell in love with the seemingly rock hard relationship between her and husband Anthony, openness with daughter Lexi and friendship with the ladies. The coy cat and mouse play, passion and sneaky sex scenes shared between Joi and Toya were most def convincingly hot. My only disappointment was there was little background on Toya but hopefully there's a part 2 coming to quench that thirst. Otherwise....BRAVO & ENCORE! Olivia Wallace is most def one to keep on the radar!

1 CLICKING "She Say, She Say: A Modern Love Story" NOW!

EyeCU Reading APPROVED & RECOMMENDED
Ebony
Profile Image for Charmaine Speaks.
6 reviews
June 6, 2017
I was on a rollercoaster ride with this book I enjoyed this book couldnt put it down I would suggest this book to anyone if you want a good ass read but I highly suggest this book
2 reviews
January 28, 2018
Great Story

I really liked the authors plot and storyline. I was shocked by the ending and really enjoyed that it wasn't your typical ending. a love story i hope the authors continues with.
Profile Image for Gold Star.
6 reviews9 followers
December 24, 2013
“I knew if I gave her an inch, she would take a meter and I would ultimately give her a mile.” -Joi

In Pursuit of Joi is about a woman named Joi. Joi is living the American dream: a loving husband, the perfect daughter, and a thriving business. Of course, Joi has a past and throughout this well-scripted novel, her past nags at her, giving us a hint of the emotional baggage that she carried with her and the dormant feeling that lie within. At first, she fights against it, but an interesting woman, Toya, comes into her life and suddenly her past seems more like something to embrace. The journey begins.

There were so many wonderful little things about this book. In pursuit of Joi was a perfect title, Toya being in pursuit of Joi, and Joi being pursuit of well… joy. Joi seemed to have it all together until Toya unravels her. I should be outraged that a married woman starts this affair with a woman but how can I be? The way that Toya pursues Joi is smooth. She test her, inviting her to a “swinger’s club” to see if she is indeed open to “the life.” Toya goes as far as inviting the husband along if it’s the only way that she can have Joi. I wanted to view her as a vulture, but the silent permissions that Joi gave Toya stopped any ill feeling that should have or could have existed. Wallace pulled a Shonda Rhimes on us, making us love the characters that we should hate.

I loved the construction of this novel. One of the most enjoyable scenes was the exchange on Thanksgiving Day, where Toya and Joi stood in the kitchen amongst other women, making inappropriate inside jokes. The exchange between the two from the very first meeting was fascinating, hilarious, nerve wrecking, and satisfying. The most touching scene in this book occurred between Joi and Lexi and I appreciated their relationship both through literature and personally.

“You gave me life, you gave me purpose…”

Wallace did a great job making every character believable: the typically mannish husband, the clueless teenage daughter, the unpredictable lover, and the indecisive main character. Wallace weaved a little of of everybody’s issues into this story without giving us too much or too little. Joi remained in the center while the characters around her gave her life and we even get a glimpse of past character from “She Say, She say.”

In novels to come, I’d like to see Ms. Wallace progress in giving characters their own distinct voice. Throughout the text, each of the women, used ma’am, honey, or lady when referencing one another. Both Anthony and Toya used “I call bullshit” when interacting with Joi at a time. There were several instances and that takes away from the separation of their personalities. Our vernaculars make us who we are. We instantly know someone from Texas versus someone from New York. Other than that, this was a great story. I know that Ms. Wallace is well capable of variety.

I’d also like more background on some of the characters. In places where we got day to day living, I believe we could have learned more about Toya. We get a glimpse of her history when Bobby is thrown at us in chapter seventeen and all hell breaks loose. I loved the twist at the end. I loved how the glimpses of her life were revealed and connected at the end, from the dreams of Tiona, to how Anthony literally saved her.

The growth of this writer from her debut to this has been phenomenal, and I look forward to more and will be recommending this book.
Profile Image for Jen.
1,300 reviews2 followers
March 29, 2020
An incredible, emotionally provoking story

“Life throws a hell of a lot of surprises at you. And things you could never, ever predict can change your life forever.”
+ • + • + • +

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** POTENTIAL SPOILER ALERT **
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One event can be so profound &,, significant that it claims, influences & determines every essential aspect of who you are & what your future life is. This is Joi's life, not defined by her desires & dreams, but defined by moments & memories as a teenager.
Profile Image for Jocelyn Boffman green.
98 reviews4 followers
February 5, 2017
Amazing

This book was so emotional. I've apparently have been sleeping on this a author and her work. The characters were realistic, and development was to the T. The twist and turns kept me wanting more and more. Joi was a character with such a story that goes untold. The author not only showed that love is real, but also that women are often the ones who bring trouble into the marriage. Although there were some mistakes, the story still flowed and kept my attention. Great job author.


15 reviews
September 14, 2017
My life 7 the sun shine

You made me cry . .I still lover and miss her....I am a lesbian been out a long time..being lesbian has not been easy with family & human & gay folkes.
This read hit home on so many different emotions all I know is finding me the many me ' s that live in me..I LOVE THIS READ..do a part 2....I want to know more about her joi life...and her daughter . ..
18 reviews3 followers
January 18, 2015
Good read

I went outside of my comfort zone reading this book. Not typically a genre that I would read from. Overall, the story was was good. Pretty much about a woman trying to find herself and come to terms with her sexuality.
Profile Image for Jae.
44 reviews1 follower
January 18, 2015
Wow, Wow, Wow

This book ended nothing like I expected......It kind of started off like your typical married woman sleeps with gay friend, but as the story evolved, it became much more than that.....It is a beautifully written story!
Profile Image for Danielle Bigsby.
Author 25 books21 followers
October 3, 2016
A great book!!! The first of it's kind that I have read in a long time. Very entertaining and enlightening. I never saw the ending coming but I love how well the story was told. Can't wait to read the next installment.
Profile Image for Nee.
308 reviews67 followers
January 17, 2014
This book was a awesome read! Read it ppl! ;)
Profile Image for LaTonya M..
101 reviews2 followers
June 30, 2024



On a girl's getaway, Joi discovers she is attracted to LaToya, Bradshaw. Except there's one problem, Joi is married to the “perfect husband”.

This is the first book I've read by Oliva Renne Wallace and I've enjoyed it. This book was written in a way that made you feel like you were having drinks with your girls. The only complaint I have is the daughter, Lexie hearing her parents' lovemaking and always bringing it up casually was weird, inappropriate, and unnecessary. It gave nothing to the plot so I was confused about why on more than one account readers were reminded a 17-year-old teenager can hear her parents having sex & oh constantly calling them “nasty”. I wanted to give this book a 4-star but now that I thought about it something about that doesn't sit right and is bothering my spirit. I may check out more books by this author I need time to think.
Profile Image for Diane Rembert.
1,269 reviews42 followers
June 17, 2022
Joi McIntosh is a happily married who found herself attracted to a family member of her close friend. What started as a platonic friendship, eventually became a full-fledged affair. She tried to find balance, until…

Latoya Bradshaw is a successful entrepreneur, who moved to Atlanta in search of a new start. She didn't expect to find herself in a situationship with a married woman. When her past comes calling, the result is tragic.

This is my first read by the author, and I enjoyed it so much, that I immediately went to the sequel. The character development was on point and the plot was very intriguing. I highly recommend this 💎💎💎💎💎 read.
Profile Image for Bridget.
69 reviews1 follower
June 13, 2020
Oh my!

I’m so glad that I found these books!

I search for books by people of color about queer people of color and I hit the jackpot here. Thank you for putting pen to page and telling this story.

The thing that I like about romance novels is truth that lies in the fiction. The truth of attraction and the truth of obstacles to overcome. This author has truth land mines through out this book. I’m glad I can go right into ‘Foolish Pursuits’ after this novel. I’m caught up...
Profile Image for Y O.
41 reviews1 follower
July 20, 2020
Painfully Loving

This book resonated with me on so many levels. Young secret love that ultimately led to so much pain physically and emotionally. The love that healed the broken heart and helped piece it back together. Broken trust that severed the healing love to open up old wounds and a new discovery of one’s true self. This was written beautifully and I can’t wait to read more.
Profile Image for Melanin Seduction.
15 reviews9 followers
July 15, 2018
I really enjoyed this book I was on the edge of my seat in every chapter it felt so real can’t wait to read more books you will never be disappointed 😘
Profile Image for Elane M.
456 reviews5 followers
October 3, 2019
A intriguing story

I hated to see this story end with joi not being with Anthony I thought they were so good together but we all know that you have to follow your heart
8 reviews
March 2, 2022
An action packed love story. I laughed, cried and was on the edge of my seat reading this exciting story. Please keep writing about these two beautiful lovers.
78 reviews
January 13, 2023
Excellent

I really enjoyed this book because it had everything you could relate to in some ways or another. It had enough spice and emotional issues you could relate to.
1 review
October 28, 2023
great book

I love this book this is like my second time reading it and it gets better each time I read it
Profile Image for Lisa.
27 reviews1 follower
July 6, 2024
um, this one was actually entertaining and fun to read. honestly, the sequel was so bad i wanted to dock this a star.
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews

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