God Still Don't Like Ugly

God Don't Like Ugly #2

by Mary Monroe

In this haunting and powerful new novel, national bestselling author Mary Monroe revisits Annette Goode, Rhoda Nelson, and the other unforgettable characters from God Don't Like Ugly.

After a five-year separation, Annette is ready to take tentative steps to re-establish her friendship with Rhoda, but has her troubled girlhood companion come to terms with her past?

Genres: Fiction, African American, Historical Fiction, Drama, Urban, Audiobook, Adult

331 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2003

About the author

I am the third child of Alabama sharecroppers and the first and only member of my family to finish high school. I never attended college or any writing classes. I taught myself how to write and started writing short stories around age four. I spent the first part of my life in Alabama and Ohio and moved to Richmond, California in 1973. I have lived in Oakland since 1984.

My first novel THE UPPER ROOM was published by St. Martin's Press in 1985 and was widely reviewed throughout the U.S. and in Great Britain. An excerpt is included in Terry McMillan's anthology BREAKING ICE. I endured fifteen years and hundreds of more rejection letters before I landed a contract for my second novel, GOD DON'T LIKE UGLY. It was published in October 2000 by Kensington Books. GOD DON'T PLAY is my seventh novel to be published, and it landed me a spot on the prestigious New York Times Bestsellers list for the first time! My eighth novel, "BORROW TROUBLE," was released December 2006. My ninth novel, DELIVER ME FROM EVIL, was released September 2007 and my tenth novel, SHE HAD IT COMING, was released in September 2008, and my eleventh novel THE COMPANY WE KEEP, will be released March 2009.

I won the Oakland Pen Award for Best Fiction of the Year in 2001 for GOD DON'T LIKE UGLY. I won the Best Southern Author Award for GONNA LAY DOWN MY BURDENS, in 2004.

I am divorced, I love to travel, I love to mingle with other authors, and I love to read anything by Ernest Gaines, Stephen King, Alice Walker, and James Patterson. I still write seven days a week and I get most of my ideas from current events, the people around me, but most of my material is autobiographical.

Reviews

[Danita Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the continuation of Annette Goode and the rest of the gang you had in the first book with some newcomers. Secrets were kept and then came out. Bonds were made, and some rekindled. love was discovered. With that said, what a ride. A ride that proves you can't keep a good, strong, black, beautiful woman down.

[Lynecia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read The first book, "God Don't Like Ugly" a few years back and was thrilled when I got the chance to read the sequel. Monroe recaps everything from the first book so those who aren't familiar with the prequel can enjoy it.

In the 2nd part of Annette's journey we meet her estranged father and new half-siblings. We also experience her up-and-down love life, with her childhood friend Pee Wee, and her fiance Jerome Cunningham. Annette still battles her skeletons of low self-esteem, and the ghosts from her past: her childhood abuser Mr. Boatwright, her days as a prostitute and her murderous friend Rhoda.

Monroe writes in her usual engaging, HUMOROUS tone, that will have you bustin' a gut and crying all at once.For those of us who are fans of the first book will enjoy watching Annette grow, face her demons, and come into her own, as well as....Well read the book!

[Alissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the first book, God Don't Like Ugly. After I finished it, I needed more and purchased God Still Don't Like Ugly. I was disappointed with the second book. About 50% of it is a recap of the first one.

[Lulu · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was kinda disappointed with this one. I felt like the majority of this book was a rehash from the first story and it didn't really pick up until the last 25%. I'm gonna continue making my way through the series. :)

[LaRhonda · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's official! I'm not a fan of this author! Her writing style was over-bearing & exhausting. This book was better than the 1st one...however; I still wasn't crazy about it. The book did close the gaps left open in the 1st book; therefore I will not be reading the other books in the series. Annette really bothered the mess out of me. I had enough!
I will say that it’s still a book worth reading.

[Mahoghani 23 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Once I started reading, I couldn't put down. The book spoke volumes of how we, women of color, keep secrets and withstand things that we are not proud of doing but we did to survive. It's been a while since I read the first book in the series but it all came easily back to me because the author brought different scenarios from the previous book into the story without "re-hashing" the previous story, in-depth, as some writers do.

This book deals with family, friends, children (black & bi-racial), molestation, racism, love, and secrets. Annette is one of the main characters and she narrates the story with humor, honesty, sarcasm, anger, and most of all regrets. It's about her life and what happened after her daddy left Gussie Mae, her mom, and Annette to start a life with another woman; a white woman during the period of segregation.

The author weaves throughout the story with the ease and finesse of a skilled artisan. She brings the characters to life and their activities very believable. She deals with things that are happening everyday (rape, molestation, murder...) methodically and intersects them throughout the book. Her writing implies that we, humans, are determining what love should look like, how it should be instead of allowing it to happen.

This book is a good book for middle-aged book clubs & maybe clubs with 25 year olds and above.

[CDC · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a nice closure to the first book. It was a little too neatly wrapped up for me but overall a good book - I like Ms Monroe's writing. The negative: the main character annoyed me, I found it hard to believe much of the aftermath of P.'s story and I wish we could have had more of Rhoda's story.

[Dorel · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I received this book for my 2016 birthday I was interested in reading this book from the title. This is the 2nd book I by Mary Monroe. This book's story line was really good. Some parts of this story broke my heart. I really liked how this story showed Annette's strength. I was very happy Annette. I was very happy Pee Wee. My heart broke & I was happy for Muh Dear. My heart broke for Rhoda. I love the titles of GOD DON'T LIKE UGLY & GOD STILL DON'T LIKE UGLY.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

MARY MONROE COULD EASILY be one of MY FAVORITE AUTHIRS! I read God Don't like ugly a few days ago and totally enjoyed it. The next book was even better! I loved the way Anettes life came to circle. I especilly liked the way the author brought out thrle good and bad to life with its ups and down. Excellent Read!

[Kamai · Rating 2 out of 5]

I got lost when I started reading this book because it did not start off where the first one ended. It was okay but don't hold your breathe waiting on the same excitement from the first novel because you wont get it

[Siobhon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not sure if I'm just tired of the same " I was abused as a child " urban story lines but I felt that the book was drawn out and predictable. I think it's time I switch to mystery books. If anyone has read a good one let me know.

[April · Rating 1 out of 5]

Did not like this book at all. I feel that she went on and on in this book.

[Tamela · Rating 4 out of 5]

I finished this book yesterday. Let's just say that the book tied up all the loses ends for the lead character;Annette. Happy ending for her.

[Rushbug23 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book. I listened to it (audiobook) and the reader was great she gave the book the personality and attitude it deserved which made this book a very easy "read"/listen :-)

[Alana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Im glad Annette started to finally starting to confess things rather than dwell in them, because it was really starting to get on my nerves

[nissa_ ☆ · Rating 4 out of 5]

My final rating: 4.3

Goodreads rating: 4

It’s very calm and very “slice of life” feel from the last book. The last book had some hard hitting stuff but this book was more. . .better in a way. I smiled much more in this book than the last. It seemed like the series could end now but I have 4 more books to go through.

Full review here: https://open.substack.com/pub/nissath...

[J · Rating 4 out of 5]

(FROM JACKET)Growing up, Annette Goode thought all men were as low-down as the father who deserted her and her mother for another woman. And she saw little to prove otherwise. There was Mr. Boatwright, the boarder who abused her for years-until her best friend Rhoda murdered him. And what about the men she slept with to earn the money she needed to run away from her life? None of them was exactly the picture of chivalry. But now, after decades of soul searching-and mountains of heartache-Annette has reunited with the father she never really knew. She's severed all ties with the dangerously unstable Rhoda. And finally her real life has started to take shape. Or so she thinks...

Things start to fall apart at-of all places-Annette's own pre-wedding celebration, where a guest reveals that the beautiful bride-to-be once turned tricks for a living. When her fiance pulls a disappearing act, Annette reunites with Pee Wee Davis-the man who has been her on-again, off-again sweetheart since childhood. It's not a great life, but it's a pretty good one.

Yet for years, Annette has been holding the secret of her ex-friend Rhoda's murderous past deep in her heart. She knows it's a burden that will torment her until she can put the past to rest. So when Rhoda suddenly walks back into her life, Annette must decide what she should believe-and what she can forgive-as she tries to salvage the one relationship that she just can't seem to let go...

[Lauren Hidden · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book takes over a few years after God Don't Like Ugly leaves off. Annette, off on her own, tries to carve out a life for herself and wrestle the demons from her past. Returning to her hometown, she rekindles past relationships, begins a relationship with her dad who abandoned her long ago, and she and her mom learn that he wasn’t entirely a bad guy. This novel, much like the first one, deals with heavy issues—childhood abuse, parental abandonment, prostitution, obesity, etc., but it also is one of those novels that makes you think. Rarely are people or events entirely good or bad, and maybe we should be less closed-minded and more quick to forgive. Though this book did rehash some of the events from the first one, it also gave nice closure to the story. Like most sequels, I didn’t like it quite as well as the first one, but it was still a very good book. Read God Don’t Like Ugly first, and then this one.

[Jeri · Rating 2 out of 5]

not sure why I got this, except as the sequel I was intrigued with the characters. After years of having no contact with her father, Annette reaches out to him. She and her father begin corresponding, and she finally makes the trip from Ohio to Miami for a visit. Annette's relationships with men have been disappointing. When she meets Jerome, she finally has a man who wants and loves her. When his uncle reveals to the family at their pre-wedding celebration that she sold her body, her past catches up with her and her future changes. Heartbroken and saddened, she seeks comfort from her childhood friend, Pee Wee Davis. She has also been tormented by the secrets of murder at the hands of her unstable friend, Rhoda. So after years of not speaking to one another they reconnect. Annette has to wrestle with the truth and with friendship and love to decide what is best for her. Don't think I'll read any more of Monroe, however.

[Monique · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay so finished part two of Mary Monroe's books even though part one didnt grab me and believe me I didnt want to but am actually not too mad I did..In this one she tries to move forward, let go of old demons and the past and move on with love, respect and honesty but things keep trippin her up..add in a abducted, raped and murdered five year old, a ruined engagement, a pregnancy, an unlikely wedding and lots of retelling of the original story..reading part one is not a prerequisite to this one as they rehash the whole book throughout the story. Okay so this one was admittedly better than the first book but not a favorite, recommended to those who like reading human soap operas and unbelievable funny situations.

[Ashrob123 · Rating 2 out of 5]

The sequel to God Don't Like Ugly. In parts of the book I found myself intrigued and in others just bored. The main character wanders through her life like the author wanders through the book, aimlessly. I finished because I wanted to see what would happen to the people but it was not as engaging as the first novel.

[Tamiya]

So far this book is about how this woman don;tlike her wieght and she excerics sometimes but, it don't work and she been haveing that same wieght since she was little. and she know this lady and she died because of her wieght and she was trying to loss it but, when she did the push ups she had died. i really like this book.

[Gale · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rhoda and Annette are still up to their bad life and shenanigans. Rhoda is a bad influence on Annette who is trying to get her life together. Annette want to leave the life she is living and can think of only one way to do it (for now). This book was also good but I got tired of the road the author chose to go down which doesn't mean it was bad, it just wasn't for me.

[Chella · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't enjoy this book like I did with the first one. One thing that drove me crazy was that the author litterally repeated what happened in book1 for numerous pages. Honestly what was the point of reading book 1? The story line follows Annette, a plus sized black woman in the 80's still confronted with racism. Now an adult, she struggles with sins of the past and forgiveness.

[Kiwi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book. I read this book way before I read the first one. The author did a really good job on filling the reader in on what happened in the first book so that wasn't really a problem. I read this book in between reading other books so I probably read this book more times than I can count. It's that good!

[Oh Breen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the 2nd part to God dont like ugly, it was also good but not as great as the 1st one.

Wow! so here I am 11 years later, reading this book again. I am kind of excited to see if my review changes.

[Carrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed God Still Don't Like Ugly. Everytime I put it down, I couldn't wait to get back to it! I just love Annette Goode. In a lot of ways, she kinda reminds me of myself. She seems like someone I could be really good friends with. This book has really good drama in it!

[Kamilah · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really didn't like any of the books she wrote that I have read. I don't know what compelled me to even continue to read the books. They deal with a harsh subject and it seems like all she writes about is misery. I just didn't enjoy the stories.

[Peta · Rating 5 out of 5]

The retelling made me nervous for the sequel, but once that was over, everything that happened next made up for the beginning. It was awesome! The perfect ending to a sequel. It's official, I'm a big Mary Monroe fan.

[Lachelle René ~Reading: It does the body good!~ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the book although I felt myself wanting to strangle the main character at times. At times it felt like there was no hope in the book at all. I'm glad I pushed through. Great read. Thank you Mary.