Hoe Stroll

by Octavia Grant

If there was a photo beside the phrase ‘Rags to Riches’ former prostitute Brandi Jamaal is who you would see. After being rescued from a physical altercation and marrying the millionaire that saved her life, Brandi still doesn’t know how to leave her unscrupulous behavior in the past. Even though her husband gives her everything she needs, wants, and desires; Brandi doesn’t want to be a wife. She wants to be a wealthy widow. With the help of her boyfriend Myles, they create a fail-proof plan to get her husband out of the picture. But Brandi never counted on Myles being as shady as her.

104 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 6, 2019

About the author

Octavia Grant discovered her passion for creative writing in 2002 during her junior year at Georgetown High School in Georgetown, South Carolina. She began writing professionally in 2016 and, two years later, took full ownership of her literary career by becoming an independent author. A bestselling black thriller author and the bestselling author of Cutthroat, Octavia has penned more than 30 novels known for their psychological depth and gripping suspense.
Her work and voice have earned national recognition, including speaking on the Thrilling Tales Author Panel at ESSENCE Fest, Thriller Panelist at National Book Club Conference (NBCC), interview with Narrator iiKane, literary reviewer and film commentator Tamara Walker of Tam Telling Tales, and features in WYB Lifestyle, VoyageJacksonville, Canvas Rebel, and Bold Journey. She has also been honored as one of 160 Black Women in Horror and received multiple accolades for her psychological thriller novella Dear Vicky, including the Black Girls Who Write It’s Lit Award for Best Black Mystery/Suspense, the Audio in Black North Star Award, and the AAMBC Award for Mystery/Thriller Book of the Year.
In addition to these achievements, Octavia has been named Best Thriller/Suspense Horror Author by the Literary Gem Awards and Best Female Author by the Get Caught Up Podcast. Her storytelling continues to push boundaries within the thriller genre, centering bold narratives that captivate, challenge, and resonate with readers worldwide.

Reviews

[Rashawnda · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was soooooooo damn good and the ending was worth 5 stars alone!!! Brandi had a really rough life!! I mean whew!! After mistaken identity claimed the life of her father and brother she was left in the care of her egg donor only to be presented with the daily reminder that she hated her. If she wasn’t verbally abusive, she was physically abusive and to make matters worse, her v card was bargained so that her egg donor could have a warm body in her bed!

Brandi definitely got her revenge but this did not make her life any easier until a day of turning tricks landed her in a deadly situation! You would think that after being rescued by billionaire Hassan, all of her nightmares would’ve become dreams but Brandi developed such a disdain for life and those around her that she thought she was smarter than the average only to realize she was in for a life wayyyy worse than what she grew up with!

Baby when this story started turning it was tumbling and I could barely hold on for dear life 😆😆 I couldn’t even feel bad for Brandi when Karma said “tag, you’re it” I knew she was going to get hers but I wasn’t ready for just how good the getting was 😩😩😩!!

Yall gotta check this one out!!! Sooooo good! 4.5 ⭐️!!!

[Jahda · Rating 4 out of 5]

You reap what you sow…. Karma is a boomerang and came to collect when it came to Brandi ungrateful ass.

[reading mom · Rating 4 out of 5]

MY BABY.. those tables turnt so fast for her. When somebody tells you something you better listen baby! I’m gonna sign Octavia up for therapy

[Toya Davis-Stokley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Now Miss Grant! 😮 The beginning of this read almost took me out! The way my heart went out to Brandi and how she was being mistreated! 🥹 💔 My girl did what she had to do to get those foul ass folks off of her! 🤷🏿‍♀️ Ending up on the streets and tricking, had become her life. She seemed to not care about anything, even her own health and wellbeing. 😢 When she is rescued from that hideous situation, and gets wifed up by a millionaire, things can only go up for Brandi right? Wrong!! This ungrateful heifer still wanted to act like she was in the gutter in designer threads! 👀🙄 Brandi had ample time, opportunity, and money to deal with the issues from her childhood. But she chose to ish on everyone around her, thinking she knew every damn thang!! 😤 Sis, how did you think you could sneak around like that, and not get caught up???? 🤬

We have always heard that karma is a bitch, but chile.... Brandi's karma came strutting through like Naomi Campbell in sky high Louboutin's!! 🤣 She thought her husband Haasan was a lame, and the whole time he was playing the long game! Checkmate! Myles damn, I ain't see that coming! But Brent whew..... he said he was coming for you! Game over! 😮 I was not prepared for the way this read dragged me, tossed me in the air, and walked the hell away!! 👀😮🤯 Read 👏🏿This!!!

[⌞giselle⌝ · Rating 4 out of 5]

wicked ways will catch up to ya! Brandi was a victim of her circumstances, but somehow my empathy couldn't reach her. just like her "bestie" Rasheeda said, you live & you LEARN from your past! do better ho! this was A LOT but I thoroughly ate up every base detail. Octavia, girl, are you okay?? your writing is addictive & layered but DAMN!

[Ari · Rating 5 out of 5]

You know what... the beginning of this book had me side eyeing Octavia real bad lmaoo

But aye, karma is something else fr cause yikes!! The ending was everything and she deserved everything she got idc idc idc!!

[JazzReads · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is wild and crazy. The start and end of the book had my mouth open. This book is really wild.

[Wind · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wasn’t sure what I wanted to rate this book so I settled on 4🌟 but I’m still unsure. First off trigger warning!!! The book started off making me cry for Brandi and ended with me saying well I guess you reap what you sow. After I finished the book I was screaming I was rooting for you Brandi but you were just stupid and couldn’t just love that man and be a good wife. I guess once a hoe always a hoe in Brandi’s case. She did everyone who cared about her dirty. I can’t even feel sorry for how things ended. I need therapy.

[Dannie · Rating 5 out of 5]

play with fire

Babbbyyyyyyyyy this 104 book took me through it okay! I’m sure we all felt bad for Brandi in the beginning because no child deserves to be treated that way… Her mother was TRASH and she ended up getting exactly what she deserved.. She got a second chance but that still wasn’t enough for her…. She wanted it ALL and ended up ain’t NONE 🫠 Brandi ended up being just like the person she despised the most… Like the saying goes “you lay down with dogs … you get up with flees”

[Crystal (Melanatedreader) Forte' · Rating 4 out of 5]

what goes around comes around

The spinster tail of what happens when you are too greedy and don’t appreciate a blessing when you see one

[Sammi · Rating 5 out of 5]

The ENDINGGGGG!!!!!

[Doretha Bradley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Greedy and Ungrateful

Brandi literally looked the golden gift horse in the mouth and threw it all back at it. Yes what Charlene and Melvin did to her was horrifyingly wrong, but I would think that would make her all the more grateful and loyal to Hasaan for looking beyond the predicament she was left in to become someone great. I cannot feel sorry for her. Excellent read!

[Ollie Moss · Rating 4 out of 5]

Karma
You best believe that Karma (Hinduism identifies karma as the relationship between a person's mental or physical action and the consequences following that action. It also signifies the consequences of all the actions of a person in their current and previous lives and the chain of cause and effect in morality.) is real in any form that it comes back to you. And for Brandi karma came back to bite her in the worst possible way. Brandi’s very existence in life was hard fought. From her childhood to her adulthood life. She had a chance to have a good outcome from her childhood, but she just could not let go of her circumstances and believe that she was worth the life she had acquired.

[Lourdes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Listen…when will we learn that Karma is a force that can not be dodged or bargained with. Brandi is a broken girl who only knows how to survive. She thinks by always having the upper hand and not trusting people, that she can escape her fate. Unfortunately, she thought she was winning a game that she didn’t even know the rules to completely. Brandi is not satisfied by with what she has, so she thinks she can have more. Usually greedy people dont always get what they want but what they may deserve. Be careful of the games you play and the people you hurt.

[Kiarra · Rating 3 out of 5]

She does it again! I’m going to be honest this was a funny one. All of Octavia Grant’s books are hilarious and messy but this one had me cackling. Obviously I love when she writes an unlikeable narrator because it makes the story so much more fun to read. Her books always get me out of a reading slump and this one did the same. Brandi may be actually one of her worse characters I’ve read so far. She is an absolute MESS and I was eating up every single page of this book.

[Pat Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Now that's Karma

Wow, this was Karma magnified, intensified and justified. Brandi should have used some of those millions on therapy and maybe she would have appreciated being saved from the hoe stroll. Instead, she chose to bite the hand that fed her, scheme, lie and cheat. How could she not think Karma would come for her? Good story, even though quite racy, so beware.

[Olivia Rainbow · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great storyline

I was really impressed with Hoe Stroll. Karma is indeed a mess and Bradi got her fair share of it. I just don't understand though...she had EVERYTHING AND SHE WANTED MORE . I gave this book 4 stars because of the editing. This book kept me up at night and and reading it every where I went!!!

[Gemini Rule · Rating 5 out of 5]

Karma

Well Brandi was a street whore after she killed her mom and the mom boyfriend who she thought was her uncle for raping her. Saved off the streets by a multi millionaire only to start fucking her brother(unknowingly) trying to plot his death and wound up set up by husband and brother. Then caught AIDs by the white trick that her husband saved her from.

[Eric Shanrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Karma don't mess around

I finished this book in one day cause it was so hard to put down. The prose had me hooked on every line with how sassy it was. Brandi is a truly vile protagonist who uses people as pawns so she can get what she wants and doesn't care who gets hurt. Thankfully, karma bites her hard by the end.

[Toni C. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brandi had such a tragic upbringing and she could have had an amazing redemption arch but she blew it so badddddd. She thought she was smarter and faster than karma but she was humbled greatly. Back on the streets, AIDS infested, drug addict, stinking coochie again when she was literally a millionaire. She lets greed cloud her judgement and that’s why she ended up back where she started.

[Tina Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really loved this book... the characters were so very well developed and the story flowed so freely... Brandi got just what she deserved karma is a bitch that nobody wants to play with... this is a good read for anyone who is looking for a good read....

[Carlos Dancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good book.

This was a lot to process! She really messed over an opportunity to remain in a good space the rest of her life. I actually figured halfway through the book that karma was going to come back and get her lol.

[Kristina Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

You know how everything comes 'full circle' ?? It absolutely does in this book. Brandi had sooo many chances, but she just kept on. Myles was a whole plot twist I was NOT expecting. Karma came back and got her good, well deserved.

[Benjamin Jennings · Rating 5 out of 5]

What did I just read! 🤯 Girl, read it!!!

This book grabbed me by the nipples and took me on a ride I'll never forget. I'm mad the book wasn't longer. Tiffany def got what she deserved, I couldn't even feel bad for her. Octavia, girl. This was soooooo goodt!

[TellsOfABibliophile · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rags to Riches… Riches to Rags…

Whew 😮‍💨… Brandi had a tough life but when she met Hassan he changed her life for the better. Her greediness and ego caused her great karma. She really fumbled and I can’t even feel sorry for her. Good read.

[Connie L · Rating 5 out of 5]

WILD

Omg God… when they say payback is a MF it’s so true. This book started out so good and ended even better. I wish she could have gotten herself together and listened to her friends.

[Charlene Blue · Rating 5 out of 5]

Karma!!!!!!

Karma slapped her in the face so hard!!! My mouth stayed open the last 10 pages! I never would've guessed the Myles situation. Wow!

[Teniene · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was soo good ! I couldn't put it down , I wish this wasn't a standalone ! Karma is real ! Great read !

[Revina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it

Payback is a bitch. She deserved everything she got. Why would u do your husband like that after he helped get you cleaned.

[Deidre · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a mess be careful of who you cross because you might need then later what a read!