Going from the golden child to the black sheep of the family is a bitter pill for Bianca to swallow, but eventually she becomes immune to what her family thinks of her. Besides, she has Caesar, her Latin knight in shining armor, to show her the unconditional love she craves. New to Virginia, Caesar doesn’t know much about Bianca, but she makes it a point to tell him everything—well, almost everything—there is to tell about her reputation before the streets get to talking. Even then, Caesar's love for Bianca never wavers, making her feel worthy of love no matter who she used to be. Unbeknownst to Bianca, Caesar has a questionable past himself. Only Caesar’s family in Miami knows the truth, and since he’s estranged from them, Bianca has no way of finding out. When that one secret Bianca fails to tell Caesar is exposed, a chain of events forces Bianca out of Virginia and into the heat of Miami. Caesar may not have wanted Bianca to get to know his family, but he has no say in it now. Bianca felt like nobody in Virginia, but in Miami, she’s hell bent on becoming a boss. She tries her hand at dealing drugs on a small scale, but she’s quickly shut down by Miami’s biggest boss. When sparks begin to fly between them, can Bianca sweet talk the man in charge into partnering with her, or will she get burned by Miami's heat?
After Nikki Turner read The Coldest Winter Ever by Sistah Souljah she was dismayed that there weren't other books like it. "I wanted to write the kinds of books I wanted to read," said the bestselling author, whose 2002 debut novel, A Hustler's Wife, would go on to sell more than a few 100,000 copies. While Nikki Turner's first two novels were published by a small publishing house in the Midwest, in 2004 she signed a 2-book deal with One World, an imprint of Ballantine Books, which is part of The Random House Publishing Group. After publishing the first book under that deal, The Glamorous Life in 2005 as well as a short story collection edited by Nikki, Street Chronicles: Tales from da Hood, One World quickly signed Nikki up for three more Nikki Turner Original novels and negotiated a deal with her for her own book line, Nikki Turner Presents. "I want to give new authors the same kind of opportunity I was given," said Nikki. "I want to produce authors who will be household names."
This was an interesting. I do think the ending was a little rushed. It seemed like as soon as it got good it ended. I really wanted to know how more things unfolded. I think I will read more books in this series to see how they become connected.
A FEW YEARS AGO I READ THIS INSTALLMENT FIRST, DESPITE MY EXPECTING THE SUBJECT MATTER TO BE ABOUT ONE THING IT BECAME TWO DIFFERENT BOOKS IN ONE. WHEN I READ WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUNG BIANCA AT THE HANDS OF HER OWN UNCLE & HIS HOOD N*GGA BOYS I KNEW THIS HAD NIKKI TURNER'S HANDS ALL OVER IT. NOT SAYING THAT I'M NOT A FAN OF MS. TURNER'S, BUT I'VE READ HER STORIES & SOMETHING ALWAYS SEEMS TO GO OFF THE RAILS A BIT IN THE LINE OF THE STORY. IT STARTED OFF WHEN BIANCA WAS VIOLATED BY HER UNCLE PEANUT & FRIENDS IN THE BASEMENT OF HER GRANDMOTHER'S HOUSE, IMPREGNATED BY ONE OF THEM(GUESS WHICH ONE..VERY VERY SICK) BERATED BY HER MOTHER & GRANDMOTHER FOR BEING YOUNG, UNWED, & PREGNANT EVEN THOUGH IT WAS NOT HER FAULT THAT SHE WAS UNMONITORED BY HER MOTHER & GRANDMOTHER AGAINST HER GRANDMA'S TRIFLING ASS SON, HAD THE BABY WHEN THE UNCLE GOT A GOOD LOOK AT A VERY TELLING FEATURE ON THE BABY (POINTED EARS RESEMBLED THE SAME AS UNCLE PEANUT'S EARS) HE GRABBED THE BABY & DISPOSED OF HIS SON/GRAND NEPHEW IN THE HOUSE SEWER SYSTEM & BIANCA WAS BLAMED FOR WHAT HAPPENED TO THE BABY. BIANCA VANISHED TO MIAMI MET SOMEONE WHO DIDN'T SEEM ......ALL THE WAY RIGHT, HE FOUND OUT WHAT SHE WAS RUNNING FROM & ENCOURAGED HER TO GIVE HERSELF UP TO THE POLICE IF THEY KNEW THAT SHE WASN'T GUILTY OF THE TRAGICALLY SADISTIC ACT THAT OCCURRED WITH HER CHILD. BUT HE FOUND HIMSELF IN A BAD WAY FOR HIS TROUBLES. THIS CARL WEBER'S KINGPINS: MIAMI WOULD HAVE BEEN BETTER IF THE ONE OR THE OTHER STORY HAD BEEN PRESENTED-NOT BOTH. I DID NOT LIKE THE BOOK DUE TO THE EVENTS THAT TRANSPIRED TO BIANCA AT THE HANDS OF HER OWN UNCLE. I THOUGHT THAT KINGPINS: CHICAGO INSTALLMENT WOULD'VE BEEN BETTER, BUT....(SIGHS).
Bianca is running. Running from the dark pain and secrets of her skeletons from the past. To take her mind off of the ugly truth is Caesar, the one and only man she has ever loved.
Considering her harsh upbringing and void of affection from her family, due to an unwanted teenage pregnancy, finding someone who accepted who she was meant the world and some to her. However, Caesar didn't know everything about her. Still, the past is only what has happened and not who she is. And so eventually, she reveals the truth to Caesar. With everyone seemingly against her, he is the one person she expected understanding from. However he then gives her advice to turn herself in for a crime she did not commit. With all the odds against her, she flees abruptly from her hometown and flies into the tense heat of Miami where she meets a string of people which sets up a brutal string of events for her. The plot itself was interesting enough however my only critiques are the book progressed really slowly, with inadequate mystery. I love to question, why did he do this, why did she say that, who is that.. And I just didn't get that from this book. I feel like the author could have made something transpire more for Bianca, because she was so passionate about her ambitions, I would have loved to see them play out or at least focus closely on her dealings for Fitz. The characters could have been tied tigther together, though Caesar's secret and Bianca's secret are connected and revealed at the end, but overall, an alright read.
I am a fan of Carl Weber, he is an excellent writer. However, I have mixed reviews on this book. This book started of off slow. Once I got into the book, it ended. This book is the typical hard life and a broken heart story. I don't like the way the book ended. I would love to see Bianca and Fitz make it but the book leaves you hanging. You don't know if Fitz lives or dies. She never gets to confront Caesar. Why would their father trust an empire to a woman he barely knows. The book left to many unanswered questions. It would have been a good book if it was more about the kingpin and not about the heartache and sorrows of a beautiful woman(typical book) I give it a 4 because this story has potential. Once Bianca got to Miami the story picked up. I just want another book to close the story.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Omg this book was off the hook from the first page. I really enjoyed this book. It started off slow and baby when it picked up it was something serious. The way Nikki told the story you were sure to fall in love with the characters. I can't wait to read part 2. This was a 5 star banger for sure.
This was a good book,other than the beginning being confusing. Bianca endure a lot of pain in her life, but when she met Fitz all that seemed to change. Then to find out who he was, was a game changer. Love the ending although it left you wondering what's next.
I listened to this on Audible. The narrator did a good job. I enjoyed the characters and their backstory. The pace was moderate, the structure was clear and the plot twist worked well and was believable. Bianca was a resilient character.
I just couldn't get into this one. I stopped reading when Bianca got to Miami. Maybe I'll pick up another time. This Kingpin series just isn't doing it for me.
From the title I thought the book I thought it was going to be about something different. Very slow. I listened to it in audio and I stopped it so many times cause it was so slow and unexciting. Don’t think it should’ve been apart of the kingpin series could’ve been a different book and I couldn’t wait til it was over
This story line was all over the place. It seemed rushed in some parts and dragged on others. Some characters were introduced and later disappeared from the story. If this is any indication of what the series is going to be like, they could have kept it. I don’t even know if I want to see if the next book is improvement.
I absolutely need the sequel to this story, AS SOON AS POSSIBLE! The ending was very suspenseful (sitting on the edge of the couch, suspenseful); the overall storyline was amazing and the characters were very interesting and compelling! I can truly see this as a LifeTime movie! I definitely recommend this story!!!
This Book should've had a different Title. The ending was Quite Unsatisfying. The In & Out appearances of certain Characters(The Girl that Set Bianca Up) The Whole Gang Rape scene.. No get back or anything with Her Uncle.. No admitting to being wrong & COLORSTRUCK by that HORRIBLE GRANDMOTHER Or Her Mother.. Then the ending?? REALLY?? Now She's About to be a Hustler.. smdh Just smh..
It was an interesting read, but it was missing too many details. While I enjoyed reading, I had too many questions by the end of the book. The ending was also rushed and way too coincidental.