Ethic

Ethic #1

by Ashley Antoinette

Ethic has power, but love has always been evasive. After ordering the hit that mistakenly killed the love of his life, Ethic is haunted with guilt and he refuses to love again. Focused on being a better man and keeping his family safe, he is raising three children, one of which is a defiant teenaged girl, Morgan. No matter how hard he tries to keep Morgan away from the streets, she is determined to defy him. When Morgan finds herself in a vulnerable position, Ethic is pulled back into the deadly game where he was once king. In this explosive spin-off to Ashley Antoinette's, Moth to a Flame, you will fall in love with Ezra Okafor aka Ethic as he gambles on love and in the streets, in hopes that this time he will win.

Genres: Romance, Audiobook, Urban, Fiction, African American, Drama, African American Romance

276 pages, Paperback

Published March 11, 2018

About the author

ASHLEY ANTOINETTE COLEMAN is one of the most successful female writers of her time. The feminine half of the popular married duo, Ashley and JaQuavis, she has co-written over 40 novels, including the bestselling Cartel series. Several of her titles have hit The New York Times bestsellers list, but she is most widely regarded for her continuing racy saga, The Prada Plan. Born in Flint, MI, she was bred with an innate street sense that she uses as motivation in her crime filled writings.

Picking up a deal with publishing powerhouse St. Martin's Press while simultaneously inking deals at Warner Brothers Studios and NBC/Universal, Ashley shows no signs of slowing down. She is currently hard at work on a new book series and two television pilots.

To keep up with everything Ashley Antoinette follow her...
twitter @novelista
Instagram @ashleyantoinette

Reviews

[trina (kenan ross’ wife) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this series is going to be my new guilty pleasure and I am not ashamed

[Danita Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

Took me some time with all that is going on in my life at the moment. I actually finished this book Wednesday. It was a damn good read. Ashley has never disappointed me. Thank you ms. Ashley 4 doing a damn good job. And it's more 2 come from this series.

[Drenna Gurl · Rating 5 out of 5]

All the emotions...

Ashley Antoinette took every emotion in my soul and put them on the pages of this book! I laughed, I cried, I felt pleasure and pain, happiness and sadness all while reading this book! Ethic was everything. A provider, protector, flawed, evil if you will but most importantly he was human. How could you not love a man like that?

Messiah.... Lil daddy was a breath of fresh air! I love how he is portrayed in this book! He reminds me of a young Ethic with his own little twist.

All the characters meshed really well. I loved seeing how the kids, Morgan, Bella, and lil Easy are growing into their own personalities. This was the type of book that made me remember why I fell in love with reading.

[Bookishrealm · Rating 4 out of 5]

Honestly, if there is one thing that I know Ashley can do, it’s write a compelling novel. Ethic is the follow up to Moth to a Flame which was a wild reading experience for me. Readers have the opportunity to follow some of the same characters from that storyline like Ethic and Morgan. This is a novel that will make you happy, frustrate you, thrill you, break your heart and more. While some of the plot elements were a little on the wild side, I would say that the character development is on point. There was a connection that I felt to Ethic and truly empathized with his life experiences. He doesn’t always make the best decisions but I know that he always has the best intentions. Reading from Morgan’s perspective as a dominant character in this novel was also interesting. She’s deaf and struggles a lot with her identity in the context of the other characters. Readers may find that she appears to be similar to Raven in some ways, but quite honestly she does develop a persona and life of her own. I enjoyed the back and forth between her and Messiah. I’m not exactly sure where that relationship is headed but it’ll be a fun one to watch develop through the course of the series.

Overall, this was a good installment to the overall series. I’m hoping that Ethic eventually does get a much deserved break because throughout it the entirety of this book, I felt like he just kept losing. I want him to get that happily ever after but for right now it just seems unachievable. If you’re looking for a fast paced, thrilling, and dynamic series, I would definitely recommend checking this out.

Content Warnings: death, rape on page, violence, drug use, discrimination because of disability

[SheaButtahBookhead · Rating 1 out of 5]

Dnf!

This was a hard no for me. A deaf 17 year old girl is lusting after a 25yr old man (who struggles to resist her🙄). She’s sneaking into clubs, drinking, doing drugs, and gets set up by her “friend” to lose her virginity while said friend broadcast’s it on FB live (which she isn’t even aware of because she’s deaf) then gets assaulted in a run down hotel (in detail with no trigger warning)😑… all by chapter 3. NOPE!

[Shalandra · Rating 1 out of 5]

I love Ashley Antoinette, but I had to stop reading. Why does she play on this underage child and hood boy scenario? Ima pass on this series.

[OhhSlimmm · Rating 5 out of 5]

My husband

Ethic!!!!!!! Omg can my man catch a break!! I’ve been waiting on Ethic story for years and he finally got his story. Even though Ethic did what he did I still love him and I want him and Alani to work out. Morgan and her insecurities had me feeling so sorry for her I wish she would’ve embraced her disability more. Messiah will be my next boo lol j/p I see Ethic in him so much. Love the jewels Ashley dropped throughout the book about black queens I’m so excited about this book and can’t wait for part 2

[Plove · Rating 5 out of 5]

I Need more

Omg..... Ethic Ethic Ethic Ethic Ethic Ethic Ethic Ethic Ethic Ethic Ethic Ethic Ethic Ethic Ethic Ethic Ethic Ethic Ethic Ethic Ethic Ethic Ethic Ethic Ethic Ethic Ethic Ethic Ethic Ethic Ethic Ethic Ethic Ethic Ethic Ethic Ethic Ethic Ethic Ethic Ethic Ethic Ethic.... WHEN WILL HE BE HAPPY 😞

[K2 · Rating 3 out of 5]

CrazyGood pt.2.....Pros: Better than Moth to a Flame, I like Morgan & Messiah, Extremely Good writing, Mostly, and I still Mostly like Ethic. Cons: Horrible writing at some points & Repetitiveness which made Mi ponder about my star rating, Too Much Back & Forth, and changes to Morgan that we are suppose to just be like oh ok but no I really was like oh ok no & then whatever🤷🏽‍♀️

[LaToya Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this two years ago, but Rashawnda inspired me to give the audio a listen and I have been transported back to Ethic Land (I love it here). This time around, it's amazing how my feelings have changed towards a few of the characters.
During my first read, Alani worked every nerve that I had but this time I saw her as a woman with a tremendous amount of grief. Imagine having your greatest love also be the source of your deepest pain. I felt for her.
Morgan Atkins - I don't know if anyone disliked her more than me. She was giving Raven 2.0 and I just could NOT. This time, I give her so much grace. She lost everyone and just wanted to belong and be seen/heard. Add the trauma she experienced in this book and well ... what do you expect? She's a young woman trying to find her way.
Messiah, my Messiah. I have always been Team Messiah BUT did I have my blinders on when I read this the first time? He played way too many manipulative games with Morgan. I believe that he does love her, but he has so much trauma of his own - the situation is just toxic.
Ethic Okafor is still very much giving my man, my man, my man. That will never change.

[Kim’s Kindle Reads. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am speechless. This was intensely good. Idk if I love or hate ethic. I’m reading book II immediately 😩 all hell is about to break loose.

[Flip The Script Ldn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my gosh this book! I was really questioning my moral compass. Are somethings justifiable considering the circumstance that made you do the defying act?
One thing I can say fate can be cruel & life has a way of making you face your actions right on.

Ethic & Alani.. damn I am probably one of the only people who isn’t rooting for them as a couple. They should just leave it alone tbh. I am rooting for Ethic to find love in general, its just annoying thats its Alani considering the current situation.

Morgan & Messiah… i’m invested lol. Now that’s something I’m interested in seeing how it unfolds. A lot has happened to Morgan and he’s been there at every turn, the conflict, the crossing of boundaries, the tension, oof!

As usual it is a very heavy book so take breaks if needed.

Dolce though , girl STAND UP.
& lastly, this Nish girl deserved a b*llet long time ago!!! I reallllly hope Morgan learns from Raven’s mistakes, please!!!!!

Ethic as a dad though ❤️

Fave character: Ethic 🫶🏾
Least Fave Character: Nish
Fluff rating: 💕💕
Emotional rating: 😢😢😢😢😢
Smut rating: 🌶️🌶️

[Monica **can't read fast enough**]

DNF-no rating. I listened to two hours of the audiobook before I had to throw in the towel. I couldn't take the narrator anymore and I'm not sure if reading the book for myself will make a difference so I probably won't give it another go.

[Kyla · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

Ezra Okafor (Ethic) is a street legend and no stranger to loss. After his daughter is assaulted, he’s out for revenge. While avenging his daughter’s virtue he accidentally kills a little girl. Riddled with guilt, Ethic is drawn to the little girls mother and falls in love with her.

FIRST… Nish is the worst kind of person, an enemy disguised as a friend. She is just an all around grimy person. Hopefully Morgan will start to see her own worth and fight that young lady 😬 instead of continuing to ignore her bad behavior.

I honestly liked Ethic and Alani and i was being very delusional and thought maybe she would never find out what he did. It bugged me that Ethic was so against Messiah and Morgan being together, like you technically aren’t out of the game either and you’re haphazardly entertaining Alani. It just came across very self righteous and hypocritical.

The book is very sad and honestly i just wanted Alani to catch a break. She just kept getting knocked down, so I’m rooting for her.

[Maya B · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of those books that starts out slow and then turns into a real page turner. Its been years since I read book one and I cant remember any of these characters. I am ready for the next book in this series

[Anayah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Omg. That was insane. 😭 this took me on an emotional roller coaster.

[Ms.Blkbelle Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was an emotional roller coaster for me. It shows how love can make the strongest the weakest. It was not one boring word in this book.😅In my opinion threw all of Ethics flaws he has good intentions, he is a good man and honest man. But for some reason he is attracted to damaged women.I don’t understand why someone with his strength and intelligence could be attracted to those type of women. I can understand Alani, but I will never understand his attraction to Raven. Sorry not sorry. Maybe he has a hero complex. 🤔I’m glad of his revelation💡 of Raven. But this book was crazy. Morgan is so naive but I guess it’s expected from a sheltered 18 year old. (I have to keep reminding myself that they’re young) I really hope that she snaps out of it because she can’t seem to recognize real. But I do love that she is deaf and is one of main characters in the book. I love reading from her perspective of the world. Im worried about Messiah’s choices…
I was so shocked at the ending😅. Make sure after you read this book, you have Ethic II because you will want to continue reading. I need to know everybody’s fate.

Trigger Warning: rape, drugs, murder, gang violence, colorism, sex,vulgar language

*I did roll my eyes on some topics because some things were so shallow/cringe, but I have to remember that these topics are prevalent in the black community.*

[S · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, wow, wow!!!

You know you are reading a good book when you can picture everything that is happening in your head. Family over everything is the code that Ethic lives by and he will stop at nothing to protect his. I can’t wait for part II.

[Deena · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve procrastinated reading this book for many years. I’ve been an avid reader of Mrs. Ashley Antoinette and her husband Jaquavis Coleman since Diary of a street diva. We were all born in the grimey streets of Flint, Michigan and we went to rival high schools. I will always support those that were able to make it out. On to the review…Ethic is my guy! Obviously he’s endured so much with the loss of Raven and his run in with Disaya “Ya Ya” Morgan in the Proda Plan, he’s just a wounded father trying to navigate his way through life. I do feel as if it was terrible how he mistakenly murdered Alani’s daughter, but I am surprised that he told her. I thought that he wouldn’t but I could see how he couldn’t take that particular secret to his grave, with his growing love for Alani. I love Alani’s character, however her resilience I couldn’t not have with so many losses. Morgan is the character that I dislike the most, her unintelligent decisions caused of the turmoil. If she would had just taken her tail home that night, she wouldn’t had been raped and Luca and Alani’s brother and daughter wouldn’t had been murdered. It was an entire domino effect because she wanted to make Messiah jealous. I do respect Messiah trying to stay away from Morgan on Ethics behalf, but I hate how he went behind his back anyway to be with Morgan. However, it seems to be another Raven and Ethic thing all over again. I am not sure how I feel about Messiah’s character as of yet but on to part 2!

[Rae | My Cousin’s Book Club]

DNF at 26%

I tried to give this a chance because I’ve heard so many people raving about this series. But if this is how it starts I just can’t.
I’m starting to realize that urban fiction probably isn’t for me. The writing to me was bad. Audio narrator was OK but nothing could’ve made me stick to this story any longer. Morgan came across as naive and yet somehow she annoyed me the most. Messiah was blah and Ethic seemed like he was contradicting himself the entire time.
The language used to describe a lot of the scenes also had me rolling my eyes so often I just couldn’t sit through this.

TW: brutal r*pe, violence, death

[Bookish Baddie ♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I felt every single emotion there is to feel throughout this whole book. I laughed, cried .. I was even completely broken dyhm? Ethic is still my husband .. I want him to get his happily ever after so bad. He's everything and he doesn't deserve all that he's dealt.

Messiah and Morgan got this give some, take some, back and forth going on and for some reason I love EVERYTHING about it. Diving into Ethic 2 head first!

[Tianna 𐙚 · Rating 5 out of 5]

BABYYYYYY I am tooo stunned to speak rn 😭

[Jailai · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ok so the first part of the book didn’t have me going and I almost put it down. But let me say when Alani came around boy did this book turn around for me. Alani was a little too easy though, she needed to move with more caution in my opinion.
Ethic was skeptical to her in the beginning but he also saved her so I get it. But to know what he did to her daughter my my my! That’s all I’m going to say 🥲.
Poor Morgan is just lost in this world for real.
Messiah is a typical dope boy that think he owns this poor baby. But to know her homegirl tried to push up on him had me like BISHHHHH W

[TheBookJunkie · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars. Omg! I have no words. Like what!!!! From the beginning to the end, it was a true page turner and even just the ending alone. *sigh* my emotions and mind are allllll over the place.

[Kris Book Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

4⭐️ - The only word that comes to mind for this story is distraught, but I’m eager to see where it all leads.

[Andrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

I laughed I cried I was mad. I wish I could find a man that loves like ethic.

[Alysia · Rating 4 out of 5]

That is one hell of a cliffhanger. I got Book 2 minutes later just to see how this mess is going to play out. Whew, Lord! My nerves. My emotions!

[Sandra (Book Loves) Atueyi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Understandable

Ethic by Ashley Antoinette is a interesting story. Ashley does a good job. It’s well written and it’s page turner.

Ethic is a totally different person than other characters. He’s a humble and amazing person but he’s definitely protecting for his family. That’s why I like about him. Morgan is a totally different than Raven from Moth of a Flame. My heart goes to Alani because she has been through lot in her lives.

I’ll definitely continue to support and read more from this author.

Good Read
Sandra (Book Loves) A.

[Byron Washington · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yep!!!

Ethic just cannot stop falling for damaged women!!! This plot tore my guts up. You know the foul deed from the beginning so you spend a whole book waiting for the shoe to drop, and when it does it's cataclysmic!!! What next?!? I can hardly wait to find out!!!

Buy it, read it and enjoy!!!👍🏾🔥👍🏾🔥👍🏾🔥👍🏾🔥👍🏾🔥

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Read!!
Ashley never disappoint love the characters. This book had me on a emotional roller coaster one minute smiling next tears. Great job Ash can't wait for part 2