Redbone

by T. Styles

Where, oh where, have Farahs roommates all gone?When Farah Cotton places a classified ad stating, Cute redbone female looking to share a luxury apartment with another redbone female, many women apply. One look at the lush apartment in Washington, D.C., and every fly girl around wants a chance to call Platinum Lofts her new home. The moment Farah lays eyes on Lesa Carmine, a pretty young woman with an active lifestyle and a sunny disposition, she knows shes found the perfect girl for her ultimate plan. The two become fast friendsuntil Farah becomes intrusive and then her siblings move in, violating Lesa's privacy. Farah seems dangerous when she's around them, and Lesa attempts to sever ties without paying rent. Feeling overcome with blinding rage, Farah finds all kinds of ways to seek revenge. From poisoning to spreading vicious lies, she makes it known that she doesnt take Lesas brush-off lightly. When Lesa snoops around in Farahs past and discovers who she really is, she makes a grave mistake, one that could jeopardize her life. Brace yourselves, because just when you think you have it figured out, youll realize you dont.

Genres: African American, Abuse, Urban

ebook

First published December 27, 2011

About the author

Styles is the award Winning CEO of The Cartel Publications - an international, independent publishing house. She also owns Cartel Urban Cinema, an independent film production company. To date T. Styles has written 76 original novels under various pen names. Her novels have been published under her own house as well as Kensington and St. Martins.

Her screenplay “Concrete Beach”, reached the semifinals round for the Academy Nicholl Fellowship, a screenwriting competition, hosted by The Academy Of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences (Oscars). In addition, her other screenplay “Blurred”, reached the top 15%, validating what her fans already know...that T. Styles knows the art of storytelling.

Styles’ publishing house, The Cartel Publications, is the face of today's urban fiction and street fiction industries. In both the digital and print world, the Cartel represents the best her generation has to offer in African American literature. She has aptly been dubbed "Urban Fiction Empress" and "Literary Master".

Styles is multifaceted and facilitates her popular seminar "How To Write A Novel In 30 Days", using her non-fiction novel of the same title. Styles consults authors and publishing houses on what it takes to achieve success and longevity in the book industry, using the Cartel as a guide.

She has been featured in The Washington Post, The Baltimore Sun, Essence Magazine, Don Diva Magazine, Oprah Winfrey's Network and Urban Book Source. She has been awarded Author Of The Year by AAMBC and was voted Most Underrated Author by The Urban Book Source.

Reviews

[Mary · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm a huge T. Styles fan but i can honestly say i wasn't a big fan of this book. Parts of it dragged on and on. I began to wonder if I even cared what happened to the characters. Farah went from a quiet meek child to a monster. I will say the entire Cotton family is crazy and needed some mental help.

[Vette · Rating 4 out of 5]

At first I was like WTH is my favorite author doing with this story. (I just can't)! As I continue to read on I see how everything is falling in place. You must b a fan of T. STYLES to enjoy her crazy, sick, twisted, WTH is she writing story line. It is a bit different but, kept u like this is not real so u must read on. Is the story done is there a pt2 who knows?

[Monique · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well I cant adequately describe the levels of drama in this book and can easily preface this review with this advice: Make sure you have the time to devote to this thick page turner because you will not want to stop reading..This book was crazy and wild in so many ways but in a sneaky, educated way there is also a fascinating exploration into the belittling and degrading belief of some that the lighter the skin the better..the theme of redbones and light skinned girls is addressed heavily throughout and in some instances makes you think...If there are twenty guys in the room would fifteen of them go for the lightest one thinking she's the prettiest? Intriguing but ultimately so silly, guys like girls period LOL and I did like the Willie Lynch mention, such a destructive practice ..Anyway so the book focuses on weird, sickly, lonely and vindictive Farah Cotton, the lightest member of her twisted and violent family as she struggles to find herself..Farah's life is anything but a fairytale living with her parents, two sisters and brother, five people who want nothing more of life then to hurt others, they are evil. Living a life of forced violence, fights, insults, and abuse scarred Farah of course, but deep in her heart Farah continues to believe she is not like her family..However as her grandmother warns if she does not live right and from her heart she will fall victim to the same fate..And as all old wise women usually are, she is absolutely correct. Farah becomes everything she hated and turns cold, murderous, manipulative and evil as her rare blood disease and panic attacks leave her desperate for friends, and she develops an obsessive penchant for lying and a conscience that allows her to do anything to keep living her lies, no matter what..The twists and turns of this book are unbelievable and there are times when you literally read with your mouth open but you cant stop reading, the silliness, insanity, bloodshed and freaknasty is addictive and really hard to explain to others so save yourself embarrassment LOL..Honestly my favorite character was Chloe, yeah she was a hot, freaky mess but she was confident, bold and consistent throughout and I liked her spunk..As stated the book was definitely readable however the ending will just anger you, everything is left unfinished and after all you just read it would be great to get closure, looks like a part two somewhere and I will read it..Sigh, oh well was a great fast paced but lengthy read based in my current residence of DC to make reading fun for a while..

[L. Drake · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am giving this book 5 stars because in all honesty, it was good. I don't want to rate T.Styles against her other books because this one is so unlike those. This book is its own book in its own right and therefore must stand alone to be judged. The concept of this young woman, Farah having so many issues was a good concept. I can understand why her mind and perception of the world would be skewed. Farah's character development was very good, however I felt she never really grew. She grew into a monster and that is where she stayed. She never attempted to get any better, didnt appear to be capable of love, and had no remorse for anything. She was a certifiablle sociopath and she stayed one.

I did like the character of Slade and his brothers, The Baker Boys. Their introduction to the story was quite a turning point for me because they were interesting, loyal, and for the most part "good" guys. Slade of course was a helluva man, and though he does bad things for the survival of his family, I still look at him as a good character. And not only good, but a caring character. I feel sorry for him that he has come to care for Farah, because as much as for his sake I wish that she would change and learn to value the life of others and respect love for another person, I don't think that is possible. She is damaged and I wouldnt wish her on the Slade character for anything. I do hope Slade finds someone else to love who ISNT Farah.

All in all, this was a good book. I can't say im down with the things T.Styles had Farah doing. As an author myself, I can appreciate characters acting out in crazy ways but some things are even too sick for me to comprehend. The feces didnt bother me. The blood, on the other hand, did greatly. The thought of it made me want to vomit. For T. Styles to provoke such a response from me, I'd say she was very talented.

5 Stars for the sheer will to write a very different yet engaging book. And though I like her other books better, I look forward to reading the sequel of this book.

[Charlene Richardson · Rating 1 out of 5]

I just finished reading Redbone and I am so disappointed. When I read the synopsis I just knew I was going to love this story and I am a huge fan of T.Styles's work. The book started off okay and I really liked the way she brought to light the light skinned vs dark skinned issue that is often brought to our attention by media and especially rappers. That was until she wore it out. It seemed that Farah was mentioning the word "redbone" every couple of sentences. And I am used to T.Styles's weirdness and sometimes she has disgusting scenes, but some of the scenes in Redbone were just over the top. I didn't connect with any of the characters and out of 484 pages I still didn't understand the point of the book. There was no conclusion. Farah's explanations are very vague, people are coming up missing and we are left to assume what is happening to them. The Cotton's were already weird enough, but once you meet The Baker Brothers you are like what is going on here. I can see from the ending that there is going to be a sequel to this book, but I just really hope she gets it right with the second one. Sometimes the weird scenes can be a little over the top.

[Carla · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was very excited to read " Redbone" by T. Styles. I preordered it weeks before the release date. Redbone is the story of Farah Cotton, a young woman who's suffered through rejection all because of her skin.Not only is she lighter than all the other members of her family but she also suffers from a debilitating skin disease.Her childhood, along with her demented family, affects the person she turns into as an adult and all I can say is watch out!
Redbone was not what I was expecting. The Synopsis read like it was going to be similar to " The Roommate" or " Single White Female" which could be further from the truth. In my opinion, the synopsis didn't match the book at all. The story was long and some of the dialogue was not needed. I found some of the characters to be underdeveloped and even not needed. The skin disease aspect of the story was very interesting. I put this book down a few times but eventually finished it. All in all, it was a diffrent kind of read for me.

~Black Faithful Sister and Brothers Book Club~

[Monique · Rating 3 out of 5]

Totally not what I thought it was going to be...I so wish I could unread so of it. So wild, strange and demented...read at your own risk. I wish someone would have warned me as I would have stayed away. I gave it 3 stars becuase the story was unique and I couldn't guess the end but it makes me scared to go out at night. Hope T. Styles goes back to what i know she writes well...real urban lit becuase this was straight up crazy.

[Beautifulma · Rating 1 out of 5]

*Not Fiction...more like demented fantasy* This book was very, very weird and has me slightly questioning the mental state of the author. A lot of detail went into describing things that didn't need some much description (Farah's dump while on the phone) and a lot of things that could have used better explaining seemed to be skipped over. How many murders and drug dealers you stole from can one person run from?

[E · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was a flop. People told me T styles was a good writer so I got this book & it was all over the place & ended stupidly. The synopsis of the book doesn't even go with the story & its no type if closer at the end of the book. A waist of money & time.

[reneeNaDaCherry · Rating 5 out of 5]

We got the Baker boys from MS cooming to DC and Slade Baker falling under Farah Cotton's spell. Her siblings, Mia, Chloe and Shadow are deadly killers who do it for sport. The parents, Ashur and Brownie, taught them everything they know about making bodies disappear. And now Mama Ella Baker is in town and lookiing for her boys, notably Knox. Pure fun, pure gangsta...lol.

No at all what I expected to be 📚. But, none the less, it's one intriging story. It's a series, y'all. Urban fiction storytelling with a twist that only author P. Styles can bring.

6/19/2022.

[Mia L. · Rating 5 out of 5]

My God was this a page turner! I was beyond annoyed by the light skin vs dark skin factor and for the life of me couldn't understand how someone could want to be someone else so bad. Even though we don't like to talk about it this is actually going on in the world around us today. The media has shown you what they THINK YOU should look like that's why all you see now is skin bleaching, silicon injections, waist trainers, & highly priced imported weave. Not knowing real love from a child can honestly cause psychological trauma and even though Farrah and the rest of the Cotton family are clearly deranged in this fiction urban drama it's sad to say there are alot of Farrahs running around the world today. I just hope they aren't closet serial killers and blood drinkers. :\

I'm on to book 2. Great read!

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay what just happened. Lol like I said before and know it feel like I'm left hanging. I have so many questions about this book I don't even know where to begin. Is Farah dead or what about the Baker brothers and their mother? What happen to Shadow and Mia? Did Randy kill Audio and Chloe? Like I said alot of questions.

[Rhonda · Rating 5 out of 5]

omg I wish I had more stars... I hope T. Styles wont leave us hanging... this book is absolutely amazing although Im not surprised coming from the author of the shyt list series....my only question is when can we expect part 2?!?!

[Steph Bookworm · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like I have been saying its a dark story but I was interested in finding out what ms redbone will get herself into. The storyline did start to have me going to sleep then it picked up. Iam going to find out what will happen in book two.

[K Nikki Waden · Rating 4 out of 5]

The mind of TStyles is something to be examined,this book was not her usual banger it was long,but readable and as always crazy as hell.It was more like a 3.5 star for me.

[Kim · Rating 1 out of 5]

Didn't make it through the prologue.

[Terri · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was a mess!

[Kristi · Rating 4 out of 5]

T. Styles is ALWAYS hard to put down!!

Welp! She’s gotten me caught up in another series! This book didn’t take off from page 1, but by the time I was about 10-15 pages in, I was hooked. The crazy secret that comes out in this book, I did not see coming! Definitely an exciting read. Styles is a great storyteller and I look forward to getting into book 2 of this series.

[Dione Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story began ok..But then went quickly quickly crazy. There are too many characters tied into this.. Too many folks missing..Lesa?? What happened with her?? The Baker Boys..Their Mom..Farah bonkers..The Cotton Kids Father A Closeted Gay/Bisexual Man.and a Partridge in a Pear tree..mannn..On to part 2..

[L Harris · Rating 2 out of 5]

I continued to read Red Bone, thinking it would eventually come together and make sense...I've since finished the book. Yet, I feel confused, because I am Still waiting for things to come together and make sense, provide some sort of closure or a definitive ending...

[Arnitra L]

This was actually a good book. I hated that it was so much talk about light skin and dark skin. I did love the insight on a different disease. I wish they would have told more about the family but I'm reading the fold now. Just now getting the chance to leave a comment all in all great read!!

[Kendra Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story line was a crazy! Farrah is so manipulative, and she can't keep her lies straight. Early on in the book I knew the Cotton's were crazy but I didn't know they were crazy, crazy! This is definitely a good read. I can't wait to read the 2nd book.

[Joy McGuire · Rating 5 out of 5]

These characters in this book got to be some of the worse ppl I read/heard about..... From Brownie to Farah and the other children. But the kids was messed up in the head from the beginning due Brownie and some of Ashur too...... 🤪😜

[Nakia Savoy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book needs 20 stars. This is a definite must read. On to part 2...... 20 stars

[Yepitsjen · Rating 1 out of 5]

I couldn't finish this, either.

[Sherelie Clark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Crazy

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

This author never disappoints. Can't wait to read book 2.

[Elania Cook-Cooper · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this in 2015 was a good read

[S · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoy this author’s writing style. Everything so far that I have read by her was good to me. On to part 2.

[Monique · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was pretty good. I listened to it on Audible for free (which is always great). It was a long book and I didn’t realize it was a part of a series. Still debating on listening to part 2.