Bad Behavior

by Kiki Swinson, Noire

NINE LIVES
KIKI SWINSON
Wild-card Aiden. Dead-shot Ava. Efficient, fast, and brutal, this notorious brother-sister hit team grew up abused, unwanted—and in lethal tune with each other. Killing nine targets in ten days will be their biggest score yet. But as Ava sets up their final target, she falls hard for him and a chance at a normal life. And that's a betrayal she may not live to regret . . .
 
THE CRUSHED ICE CLIQUE
NOIRE
At first all ghetto princesses Honore and Cucci want is quick cash-flow. But after sexing jewelry distributor Slimy Sam and learning his illegal tricks of the trade, they assemble a crack team of thieves for one dazzling scam. Replacing diamonds with fakes and selling the reshaped real deal on the black market is making them crazy-rich. But when Sam double-crosses them, these diamond divas must survive to steal another day . . .
 
“Treachery, betrayal, and revenge add to the twists and turns and lots of drama in this book. Loved it! Can’t wait until the sequel comes out.”
—RT Book Reviews , 4 Stars on Kiki Swinson’s The Score
 
“Noire has created one of the liveliest urban fiction series headed by a most memorable protagonist. Fans will get a hoot out of the biting insults and dark humor marking practically every page.”
— Library Journal STARRED REVIEW on Noire’s Stone Cold Liar

256 pages, Paperback

Published December 26, 2017

About the author

Kiki Swinson was born and raised in Portsmouth, Virginia. She discovered her flair for writing after completing her first novel, Mad Shambles, while serving a five-year sentence at a federal prison.
After being released in December 1996, Kiki later went on to self-publish Mad Shambles. Her passion for writing didn't stop there. Writing feverishly into the wee hours of the night, she completed her second novel, Wifey, which was published by Melodrama Publishing. After the success of Wifey, Kiki penned the sequels I'm Still Wifey and Life After Wifey, as well as The Candy Shop and A Sticky Situation.

Reviews

[Tim · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm tired of stories of violence and drugs. 4 of 10 stars

[Tia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nine Lives can be extended into a fabulous full length novel. It was that good, but because only novella and the ending was cut super short, I can only rate 3 stars. My mind saw things playing out much differently. I can envision many more scenarios for the story and characters.

Why brother so obsessed with sister?
Boyfriend never shows up at all
Why all of a sudden scared of brother?
More explanation of brothers demise to straight killer
More backstory about childhood
Mother just thrown in, mention, at end
Why giving sis all money? Then state don't want to die after saying didn't care in beginning.
Caring sister turns raw at very end.

If ever Ms. Swinson writes this in full length or extends I'll be all over it, sister's story perhaps with backstory from previous events.

[Natasha · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'd give story #1 4 stars and story #2 2.5 stars technically. I even waited awhile between to hopefully avoid being on a high from one and feeling let down by the other just because it has a different flow so to speak. I don't mind some erotic content within a story but I wasn't ready for it to begin that way and have so much sexual content in it because I was still living in the moment of the previous story. It caught me off guard. Also it was a little silly, characters names and dialogue. I don't mind that either but I was expecting the story to carry the same vibe as the preceding story. I listened to this on audio and didn't feel pulled in as much with story #2. I think it would have worked better if the 2 had the same tone, either both have silly/humorous content or both be more serious.

[Kenya · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was so excited when I received the advanced reader's edition of this book. I enjoy books by Noire and this is my first time reading anything by KiKi Swinson. This book contains two novellas with characters that definitely exhibit bad behaviors. In "Nine Lives", I felt the relationship between the brother and sister was very weird. There were several eyebrow raising moments for me. In "The Crushed Ice Clique", these ladies were willing to do anything to get money. I feel that both of these novellas would be great as full novels. There are a lot of unanswered questions and loose ends to tie up. Maybe there will be a second part *crosses fingers*. Great job to both of the authors.

Kenya E
Soul Sistahs Book Club

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nine Lives
Twins Aiden and Ava were very close but when he went to jail he changed. He didn't Ava want Ava to have a boyfriend like he was obsessed with her. The only way for her to have was to get rid of brother it was her only way out.
The Crushecd Diamond Clique
Honore and Cucci Momma went from making marks being blackmailed to murder and working their way into the diamond industry. Honore being the smart one wanted to take over and started a all girl crew but will everything go as planned or will the girls end up dead that's what Joel Samuelson is planning.

[Natashia Crawford · Rating 3 out of 5]

Story #1 was really good. I was noticing how Aiden was acting and how Ava wanted her independence from her brother basically. She realized what kind of life she wanted to have in my opinion. Aiden was so nonchalant and definitely didn’t care about anything but his sister (which was kind of scary) and not even himself. I enjoyed this story though. Awesome and Gritty.

Story #2 I didn’t like as much. I am a fan of Noire but for some reason this story didn’t have me interested. It was like a chore to read.

Over all rating is 3 stars although story #1 gets 4

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked both stories enough. I'm a big fan of Noire's. Her story was a bit of a departure from her usual full length books. But, still enjoyable.
Kiki's was... The best part was the ending. Not in an LOL kind of way.
Throughout the story I was getting irritated with the way newly freed Aiden kept treating his sister Ava. Like his wife. Trying to control her and, behaving like some sort of weird jealous husband.
So the twist in the very last sentences was the best part.

[Vnunez-Ms_luv2read · Rating 3 out of 5]

Noire and Kiki Swinson are two of my favorite african american authors. I was very excited to receive this book. It was an ok read. The stories were just a bit far-fetched to me. I will continue to support these authors, but this book just did not do it for me. Thanks to NetGalley,the author and the publisher for the ARC of this book in return for my honest review.

[Dr. Nic Reads · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did not like the ending of the 2nd story. There was no closure. There must be a plan to continue the story somehow...the first story was okay. I have so many questions. I guess that is the issue with novellas. There is not enough details to leave the reader feeling satisfied.

[Natalie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first part of the book I did not enjoy at all time jumped in huge increments in-between chapters and it just wasn't a well rounded story. Not a lot of detail. Honestly I almost gave it 1 star. But the second story was a lot better and I enjoyed it. Also, there is only 237 pages in this book.

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cool

First story kept my interest. Second took me a while to get into. Overall it was a good book to read.

[Punkin · Rating 1 out of 5]

I wasn't impressed with either story

[David Kinley · Rating 3 out of 5]

It lived up to its title.

[Sheryl Boyce · Rating 4 out of 5]

Two good stories in one book from two of my favorite authors.

[Keisha‼️ · Rating 2 out of 5]

First story was okay but the second one was trash. Noire is one of my favorites authors so I was expecting more.

[Drenna Gurl · Rating 4 out of 5]

While I enjoy both authors, the stories in this book moved a little slow for me. The drama was there but it lacked something. Good stories just not what I was really ezpecting

[felicia miller · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don’t have any words for this!!!

[Karen Bourne-Douglas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Two great reads... but seriously guys you leave me hanging again.

[Heather · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was forced to give this book a star. Free tip of the day: DO NOT waste your time.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like the first story but the second no.

[HoneyButterfly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I only read Nine Lives by Kiki Swinson. This story was ok, as always with a short story it left me wanting more. But over all the book was ok.