The Banks Sisters

Banks Sisters #1

by Nikki Turner

New York Times bestselling author Nikki Turner returns with her most spellbinding story to Meet the Banks sisters—Simone, Bunny, Tallhya, and Ginger. The four beauties are living under the same roof by force, but they can’t stand each other. Their only common denominator is their loving grandmother, Me-Ma. When she’s not at work trying to make ends meet, she’s home with her girls, trying to keep them from killing each other.

Tragedy strikes when Me-Ma has a heart attack at church. The sisters are shocked to discover that Me-Ma left the house and all her money to the church. Now the pastor wants them out, unless they can come up with the money to buy the house from him. To make matters worse, Bunny already owes over a hundred thousand dollars to a very dangerous man.

How can four broke women, each with their own mountain of problems, come up with enough money to save the family’s home—and save Bunny’s life? They devise a plan that could have them rolling in plenty of dough—as long as they can stay one step ahead of the law enforcement that’s on the lookout for a group of bank robbers who have burst onto the scene.

Genres: Urban, African American

432 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published February 24, 2015

About the author

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."

(Taken from author's website)

Reviews

[Tamara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book, and can’t wait to read book #2.

[KayBee's Bookshelf · Rating 2 out of 5]

Skimmed the surface of potential

I listened to the book and the narrator's performance was good so any grammatical errors were not experienced. This book had a strong opening, but didn’t sustain that momentum. Whenever an infusion of drama or cruelty was needed, Marjorie & Deidre would surface. I think there was some missed potential with those 2 characters. The sisters themselves were interesting. Their individual story lines as they were setup had a great deal of potential for drama, action and overall development. They were just not completely developed is the feel I got. The author is a talented one and she set the bar high with some of her other works so when one or two fall short fans are disappointed and take it personally ..go figure..i'll listen to book 2 to see how this wraps up. I'm hoping it is not drawn out further

One thing that stuck out, maybe it' s minor or maybe I missed how it was explained away. Tayllah won a million dollar lotto and chose payments so she could receive a monthly(I'm assuming the author meant yearly) check. How was she broke IF she received a monthly check? Wouldn't she only be "broke" until the next month if her husband cleared out their bank accounts?

[Kendra Carter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kinda reminds me of set it off

[Ella · Rating 5 out of 5]

great but not as good as girls in da hood

[Ivy Beverly · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.8 ⭐️s. It was good debating whether or not I should read the rest of the series

[Tynoshia Richardson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I give this book 5 stars. But I have one question, who robs a bank, throws money in the air, celebrates and leave the front door unlocked. SMH…..And yes I am heading straight to book 2 right now! Lol

[Nikkia Chante’ · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a good listen but it’s giving Set it Off Vibes. There mom is a mess and needs to be dealt with. . On to book 2.

[Jenee Rager · Rating 2 out of 5]

I usually love Nikki Turner, and can't put down her books (especially the Hustler's Wife series) but this one is just off. The plot line is intriguing and I feel like it could have been something special, but the writing style is completely different that I've read from her. It's almost like Ms. Turner wrote an outline, and then allowed a ghost writer to finish the story, and they just didn't do it justice.

Anyway, the four Banks sisters are close as sisters can be. They are raised by their grandma after their deadbeat mom keeps dropping them off. Each has a different father, that with the exception of Simone's dad, was not involved in their lives at all. The start coming when Simone's father dies, and they keep coming as the book moves forward. The ending sets up the second book in the series and goes from there.

[Sylvia D.Jacobs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh what a Trip out 📖 Book gotta read part 2 3&4 if they have it I hop they are page turners too!!🧐🤨😉

This was an amazing 😉 📖 book with some great 👍🏽 characters with some unique issues.
I’m reminded about the story from rags to riches...
But in this case back to rags again smh 🤦🏽‍♀️
I really appreciate the different things happening that kept me turning pages.
This story is truly a page turner and I know that I will began to read the next book 📖 part 2 I’ve already purchase it...
This book 📖 is a trip!!!
I am excited 😆 to see what is gonna happen next???
What is SiSi Bonny and the other Banks Sisters got up?
And that Preacher and that momma is truly a mess!! 🤦🏽‍♀️😤😖

[LaTasha Nelson · Rating 4 out of 5]

In a nutshell this book was good!! While I was reading it I imagined several different possible endings, however, they were all wrong! 🤣

I really hope that the next book in this series is better edited because I had a tough time with all the misspellings, missing words, and incomplete sentences! There were actually a few times that I had to reread sections because I genuinely couldn't understand what was happening grammatically on those pages!😒

To put it simply, my overall reading experience of this book felt like I was watching a low-budget Tubi production, with a great storyline but horrible acting and editing.😩

I am FULLY aware that I can be very lenient with my book ratings and I would have honestly rated this one a little higher, but the blatant grammatical and typographical errors almost had me DNF this book before I was even halfway through it!!

Babyyyy!! This storyline was sooo good that I couldn’t stop reading it, therefore, please KNOW that I’m definitely reading the next book in this series regardless of what could grammatically lie ahead of me because at this point, I am 100% invested!!

🤭😏

[Schertevear Watkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Story Was Executed Well!

The author of this story did her thing! Great writing and all the characters came to life as if they were on screen before you. This story was about three siblings- Simone, Bunny, Tallhya, and Ginger who lived comfortable lives in the middle of a world of crime and misfortune. But it was as if, in unison, they all suffered a sudden loss of financial stability and accustomed lifestyles. Facing financial hardship, uncertainty, and grief, the sisters concocted a risky plan to secure their future. Would they pull it off or would they fail? You won’t stop reading until you know.

[Gisele (Book Baddie) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wanted to like this one but wasn’t my cup of tea!!

She started off with potential as an audiobook and fizzled out for me. I missed all the grammatical errors reported and clearly never corrected in what appears to be 7 years so didn’t have that complaint.

This was a collection of some of the most simpleton women ever from the evilest damn mother ever!! Why bring the money for distribution at all just because they got the police to get the gangster. Why rob banks at all while Deidre is around and haven’t dealt with the Pastor. To be so educated and yet so dumb is annoying. I almost didn’t finish and will not be re-upping for a second dose!

[Renita · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Nikki Turner and the way she brings characters to life. The drama of the Bank sisters are worth reading about

[Chris Jackson · Rating 2 out of 5]

the back cover of this book said the sisters couldn’t stand each other and the grandmother was what held them together or else they would kill each other. while she did hold them together, it felt like the sisters actually loved one another and rode for one another. there were so. so many. holes in this book.

it was sorta all over the place. i feel like i’ve read books from nikki turner before, but this, this one wasn’t it...

and then there are sequels? nah. it was hard enough to get through this one. and i had time.

[Miranda · Rating 1 out of 5]

The four Banks sisters have fallen on hard times. With love, loss, and danger all wrapped into one, they try to survive their Richmond inner city.

One star, mostly because of the horrible editing. The book is nearly unreadable with the spelling and grammar errors. Also, I'm just not a fan of books where doom and gloom is the only message. I needed a big win here and I just felt like nothing went right for the girls. Personally, I would have liked to see less information about their material things and more about who they are as people.

[Porsha · Rating 4 out of 5]

My review in 6 words: Set It Off in a book!

The book started with action and I thought “okay she not wasting time”. It is literally Set it Off the movie in book form but the characters have more of a backstory but same gist. Money is tight and people do what they have to. I gave the book 4 stars because of minor discrepancies such as character name changes. Example: In the beginning of the book, Me Ma’s name was Mildred but at the end of the book her name is Marietta. Same thing with Detective Dugan, his name changed from Mark Dugan to Chase Dugan.

[Pam Mclaughlin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this as part of a reading challenge, which included the genre urban fiction. It is the story of a family hit with a series of disasters that threaten their livelihoods, and their lives. The Banks sisters come up with a daring and dangerous plan to save themselves. There is a lot of swearing in this book; there were not just f-bombs, there were f-nukes, carpeting the plot from beginning to end. Once it gets going, the pace is breakneck. It wasn't my usual thing, and yet I was invested enough in the characters that I checked out the second book in the series. Worth a look.

[Michelle Gaines · Rating 5 out of 5]

Surprised

The characters and story line kept me very interested and intrigued to read what was going to happen next. When both the leading men got murdered this was surprising. I figured at least one would survive. The sister's pulled off the bank robbery the set up even worked and low and behold their no good, unfit mother took their money WHAT! I'm in a hurry to purchase the next sequel. This is a must read.

[Sabrena Hildreth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read, keep you wanting to read more....

It had a good twist to it at the end and made me anxious after each chapter as to what the Banks Sisters would do after each obstacles... I'm going to read it with my book club soon.
It also reminded me of Set it Off, but not so sad, because people did die, just not the Bank Sisters who executed a plan, like their grandmother had advised them of.

[Líka · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was good! They don’t make books like this no more. I really wish they bring back old school writing like this!

Everything these days are too fast and too freaked out. This book had a really nice plot and build up. Not too much violence or sexual scenes that make me want to skip through pages.

I listened to the audio book and was pleased that although it was one narrator they did a good job.

[Celina Y. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this book although it did remind me of my favorite movie...Set it off. The Bank sisters can't catch a break. I'm ready to dive into part 2 to see what happens with these sisters and Ginger lol.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great read! Admittedly it has a lot more swearing and colorful language than I generally go for but the writing was excellent and the characters were interesting. I’m really looking forward to the next installment.

[Teresa Delgado · Rating 5 out of 5]

Omg the end of this books has me so anxious for part 2 now! It was a lot going on in this book and some of the chapters had me ready to scream like noooooooo! I have to see what happens now to the Bank sisters!

[Andrew Baskin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review of the Banks Sisters

It's an interesting book, but the plot is not complex. The major problem is the editing. It is an understatement to say that this is poorly edited. Obviously, the author did not use Grammarly!

[Kimberly OutspokenMom · Rating 1 out of 5]

I stop reading after the first chapter , felt like I was reading a knock off version of set it off. Too predictable

[Terri-Ale Sanders · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too similar to Set It Off

[Natasha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ughhh

This was the longest reading.. I hate the way this book is told .. Told in narrative form and had I known I wouldn't have bought the series

[Valenciya Lyons · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was great. There's so many twists and turns. Now I have to get part 2 and 3!!

[~CharlieAngel~ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy Come, Easy Go!
Talk About #Karma...
The Ending Had Me Shocked...
After All They Had To Go Through, Just To Have It Taken Away, Again! SMH!!!
#WhatGoesAroundComesBackAround

[Kimberly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book! Very thrilling and exciting to read.