You don't have to read Ms. Poole's other books in this "series" to enjoy His Last Name. But if you're like me and need to read a story from the beginning, the other books that precede this one are A Rich Man's Baby, What's His Is Mine, and Pretty Girls in the VIP.
In this book, three characters are familiar to readers: Adrienne, Zakiya, and Shanice. Adrienne is broke once again after her epic fail in the last book, Zakiya is still trying to manage life as the significant other of an NBA player, and Shanice appears to be doing well as a men's magazine model, but she wants more and still has feelings for Zakiya's husband Jabril.
Two new characters enter the scene: Monique, a once-struggling teen mom who raises her basketball star son to NBA stardom, and Tiffany who leaves her former NFL star hubby when the money runs out to chase the NFL player-turned movie star-boyfriend she left behind in college.
It's the same story as the other three books, women (except maybe Monique) who would rather obtain or maintain financial security through a man instead of through their own hard work. Adrienne annoyed me the most because she has an education but would rather lie, cheat, and scheme on a man to live on easy street instead.
I loathed Tiffany because she was shallow and entitled.
I liked Zakiya, but I still think she suffered from low self-esteem because I had the sense that she was constantly looking for approval. She does make some decisions that made me believe that she was growing up.
I could relate to Monique because I once was a broke single mom and that does something to you, but Monique went off the deep end.
I liked Shanice's hustle, but lost some respect for her when she left an extremely financially stable guy who treated her well to chase after Jabril. Again. I thought she would have left him alone after the last book.
A point of contention in this book: a character is gay and the author trots out the old "I'm gay because (insert trusted male adult here) molested me" cliche. I did like how the author did recognize that being African-American and gay is still not fully acceptable in society like it is for others and that was the motivation for this character to keep his sexuality a secret.
The book was a fast-paced, breezy read and the ending leaves the door open for another installment of the adventures of all five women, but if the series continues, it would more than likely feature Adrienne, Shanice, and Zakiya.