Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob

by Raven St. Pierre

Librarian's Note: this is an alternate cover edition for ASIN B00I5VFS1M.

Selfish? Greedy? A little bit dishonest? Yes, Shanelle Harper can be all of those things and then some, but deep down she’s just looking for what every woman’s looking for – real, honest-to-goodness love – the kind that makes the rough road getting there seem worthwhile.
Sometimes Shanelle will be the woman you love to hate, while other times she’ll be the woman you hate to love. Either way, with the unbearably sexy Sinclair brothers living right next door, who can blame her for the little white-lies? Then again…..it’s the big lies that come back to haunt her……
The sudden death of Shanelle’s father lures her back to the small town she thought she escaped years ago. Returning to Barrow County, Georgia means living under her mother’s roof again, although only to help make ends meet. Frustrated and seeking comfort following her loss, Shanelle quickly falls back into an old habit she thought she kicked years ago – a neighbor by the name of Abraham Lorenzo Sinclair, more affectionately known as “Zo”. Realizing that her feelings for him are practically woven into her DNA, Shan throws caution to the wind and jumps in headfirst – no matter how many warnings and signals her intuition has fired off.
The next six years of Shanelle’s life are a whirlwind of sex, lies, and betrayals that will leave your mind reeling from one enthralling chapter to the next. Family secrets, scandalous affairs, and enough sexual heat to ignite a fire……Shanelle’s emotionally-charged story has it all.
In the end, will Zo turn out to be the love of Shan’s life? Her biggest regret? Or will she find love and affection in the arms of someone who neither she nor Zo would’ve ever expected?

Kindle Edition

First published January 30, 2014

About the author

Raven is the author of several interracial and African-American romances, including her debut series, "Free Falling" books 1 - 3, "Red Sun", and "Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob". Since early on, she has found writing to be her creative outlet of choice, although she did not complete her first full-length novel until 2009. She has a Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, but currently works from home, mostly writing, but also building her own Virtual Assistant business. If you're interested in learning more about Raven's upcoming works, there are a number of ways to find her and to stay in touch!

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TWITTER: @RavenStPierre

Reviews

[Sandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book so much! I stayed up to 2am just to finish it. I understand that this book might not be everyone's cup of tea because the MC was flawed and they might not be able to relate to her. But, I felt that having a flawed MC made the story feel real. Cuz, let's face it nobody's perfect and we all do things that we're not proud of at one time or another in our lives. I loved Shan as a character/person, but I hated the things she did in the name of love. Raven St Pierre wrote this book from various character POVs which helped me to understand and empathize with all the characters. Which is kinda crazy because they all were 50 shades of f#$@'d up! I would called this a coming of age story with a "black goldilocks" twist. It was a great book and I'd recommend it to open-minded people.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

First off let me say Raven is an amazing author. I've read all of her books and put Red Sun in my top favorites. I enjoyed the complicated storyline in this book. It was very different from your happily ever after and I'm okay with that because real life isn't always sugar snaps and gum drops but I did feel that Shan was a flawed character who made excuses...too many. I felt bad for Isaac because I felt that Shan was the cause for his breakdown. yeah some men aren't that intuitive but I feel that her selfishness was just straight ridiculous. I wanted more from Isaac but his downfall was necessary but somewhat blindsided me.
Her selfishness ruined lives and that floored me but hey it made for good drama and a damn crazy storyline that will leave you either shaking your head, mouth open or just like holy....that was something else. either way it was a great story no matter how crazy Shan drove me

[--karen Green-berry · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely love this author's gift as a storyteller. Shanelle Harper is a complicated young lady whose search for some one to love her has taken an unusual path. As a child she was in love with the older Sinclair son, after that relationship failed she then moved on to the other two brothers. The description had me curious and I was prepared to dislike her but after reliving her path through the author's amazing ability, I couldn't help but feel all those emotions with her. This is the second book I've read by this author and I truly love her style.

[Brandon · Rating 4 out of 5]

OK so im going to be honest... I DID NOT LIKE THE ENDING TO THIS BOOK! I hated everything about the main character and couldnt suspend my belief that she was, in any way, the heroine of her own story. If anything, she was the ultimate villian. The description is true "AT times shes the person you LOVE to hate, and other times, SHES THE PERSON YOU LOVE TO HATE".

That being said, 4 Stars goes to Raven for her writing and the way she spins a story that is intriguing and complex. I have never opened a book, disliked the main character on so many levels, and CONTINUED to read it through to the end... but Raven somehow managed to make that happen! All in all a very good, sensual, sexy read... just not a satisfying one for anyone with a moral compass of ANY kind.

EVERYTHING BELOW THIS SENTENCE IS CHOCK FULL O SPOLIERS! YOU HATH BEEN WARNED!

Ok so, Shanelle is a girl just moved back home to Georgia after the unexpected death of her father. Her relationship with her mother is strained without her father there to act as a buffer between them and so she seeks solace in Abraham "Zo" SInclair, the eldest of three brothers she grew up with next door and has loved all her life. And while this is something she has always wanted (a relationship with Zo), she cant help feel like maybe the man she has loved all her life doesnt feel her sentiments. Shes caught in between a rock and a hard place as her relationship is steamy as it is tumultuous. With Zo treating her like just ANOTHER girl, Shan is left feeling a little heartbroken.

Enter Isaac, the middle brother. While him and Shan have always had a mutual friendly dislike for one another, he cant help but feel for Shan as he had no delusions as to whom his brother Zo is. While Shan is licking her wounds and sticking by a guy she knows isnt good for her, Isaac is doing all he can to help her through it AND the drama she is going through with her home life, including helping Shan move in with his girlfrend. Soon Shan starts to look at Isaac as more than just a lifeline and sparks begin to fly between them whenever their significant others arent around. Shan starts to think that while her heart has always been with ZO, she has clearly invested her interest in the wrong Sinclair brother, and soon, makes it her personal business to right that wrong, no matter who or what will become collateral damage along the way.

5 years pass in the blink of an eye and shockingly, Shan sees that sometimes getting exactly what you want isnt all its cracked up to be. She loves Isaac (or so she claims) but her life and her relationship with him is no longer satisfying. Add the fact that Mrs. Sinclair, her soon to be mnother in law, is suffering from early onset Alzheimers, and Shans patience, love, and realtionship is wearing thin. Re- enter Zo! Back from Detroit and more mature and handsome than ever. Shan cant help but start to feel the embers of old feelings (cause no one ever forgets their first) and Isaac cant help but feel the threat heavy in the air. It doesnt take long for Shans eyes, hands, and heart start wandering (old habits die hard) while Isaac's sanity at his fiance's behavior seems to be doing the same. Shan is debating the benefits of a possible future with her fist love when a glance at the youngest Sinclair brother, sparks a flame of desire in her that neither Zo or Isaac have been able to ignite.

Jacob is young, successful, and no longer the little boy Shan used to babysit. No... hes full grown and ready to show the future Mrs. Sinclair who she really should have invested her time in. As Shan tries to have her cake, eat it, and have MORE cake, Isaac begins a slow downward spiral that has him acting less like the hero Shan once knew him to be, and more like the villian she desperatly needs to escape. Everything comes to a very ugly and almost violent head, and at the books end, Shan finally decides who and what is best for her.

Question: Was I the ONLY person who felt that Shan didnt deserve a happy ending? Anyone else? Anyone?

To me, Shan is a horrible, terrible, not good at all, really bad, BAD human being. Snotty, selfish, with an almost insane sense of entitlement that causes her to view people less as human beings with feelings much like her and more as obsticles to step over to get what she wants, collateral damage as she claws her way to satisfy her every desire. Imagine Scarlett O' Hara's ruthlessness, with Varuca Salt's sense of entitlement. But at least THOSE people had excuses to their behavior (Scarlet doing what needed to be done to literally survive, and Varuca being an overindulged child) Shan's only excuse? Shes "always done things for other people" and now is the time for focus on her. No girl... you are just a selfish life ruiner.... YOU RUIN PEOPLES LIVES!

So you find out that your father wasnt your birth father.... BIG DEAL! Fathers are NOT the men that create you physially, they are the men who create you emotionally and spiritually. Sure you dont sahre a DNA strand... you share spirits though... and thats a bond that I would much rather have. Take it from someone who has Daddy issues themselves, you DONT get a pass to being an life ruiner because your mother lied to you. And for as strongly as you dislike your mother... you seem to have turned out to be someone much worse than her. So she stepped out on your father like he did her and oops you came along. At least your mother owned up to her treachery... something you NEVER do without hurling your bullshit justification for it all like a fireproof blanket!

You want ZO, then you want Issac. You steal him from a girl that really loved him and whom he loved till YOU showed up, whine to him that you want only him since his brother is no longer enough, convince his now ex gf to get an abortion because YOU dont want to deal/ compete with a baby momma, get bored 5 years later when you are EXACTLY where you lied, stole, and fought so hard to be, RE-hook up with Zo cause you never forget your first and you aint feeling Isaac anymore just cause, then when you cant decide between door 1 and 2, you opt for door number 3 aka Baby Sinclair? WHAT!?!?! This girl catches feelings faster than a toddler catches a cold at daycare and to say that she runs hot one minute and cold the next is like saying hell is hot and rain is wet... an absolute truth that cannot be denied.

Did Isaac start to mentally derail? Absolutely. Did I see a clear correlation between his fiances lies, deceit, infidelity and selfishness and him becoming mentally unhinged to the point of recklessness? YUP. Even Zo went through a metamorphisis, from being a total tool to becoming a decent guy, only to have to all come undone thanks to Shan and her crap. So... two grown ass men, brothers in both blood and bond, become monsters and shells of the good men they used to be... and we arent going to look at the common denominator? We're just going to chaulk it up to THEM being the problem instead of the woman who casued that?

I read this entire book waiting for Shan to get her comeuppance... because the principles of karma, fate, the butterfly effect, the bible, every story known to mankind says that good triumphs over bad and yet.... it doesnt! I found myself wishing that the Sinclair brothers had a sister JUST for the purpose of beating Shans ass for all her treachery! But alas... that wasnt in the cards (or the book, I should say). She doesnt even get so much as a twisted ankle which I a super surprised at since she spends a ton of time running back and forth between houses to sleep with whomever is in them. She gets everything she wants... a happy marraige, a fresh start in a new city, a baby... and she just had to ruin 3 peoples lives to do it.

I would honestly like to see where she is in another 5 years... cause if the book was any indicator, she will probably be bored with her life with Jacob and exhausted from the demands of being a mother and probably banging a friend of his on the kitchen counter while her kid naps and her husband is at work.

Again, a good read... just an unsatisfyng ending for folks who think that a bad person doesnt deserve a happy ending.

[Robyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I tried keeping an open mind about this story but after a while, all I could do was shake my head. The one word that kept coming to mind as I read this book was SELFISH. Every character in this book (with the exception of Bridget) was selfish. I gave it four stars because it kept my attention to the end but I was so disappointed by the main characters behavior (especially Shan). None of them deserved a HEA but it was still a pretty good book. I will remain a fan of Raven St. Pierre...