What do you think?
Rate this book
Justified
BLACK AND BLUE by DE'NESHA DIAMOND In one shattering night, Charlie Warren’s fiancé is killed, she is attacked—and then framed as part of a police cover-up. Five years later, with nothing to lose, Charlie is free and vengefully exposing their operation, provoking their enemies—and turning the officers against each other. But when a detective gets way too close, Charlie has to decide between getting ultimate justice . . . or going down in a brutal crossfire of betrayal. PSEUDO by BRIANA COLE To elude an abusive ex, Kennedy stole several other women's identities. Many new—and luxurious—lives later, she’s one of the best con artists in the world. But now one of those women is dead—and Kennedy is in the crosshairs. She’ll need to pull off one crucial, flawless deception before a merciless adversary takes her, and her glamorous unreal life, out for good.
337 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 28, 2021
6 people are currently reading
66 people want to read
About the author
De'nesha Diamond
31 books356 followers National bestselling author De’nesha Diamond burst onto the scene as the co-author of the gritty Desperate Hoodwives tales. The Essence magazine recommended series has taken the street-lit game by storm and paved a brand new path for the edgy Memphis native. Understanding that there is a fine line between glorifying thug life and telling it like it is, De’nesha Diamond spins cautionary tales inspired by personal experience and the heartbreaking stories that make our nightly news. In the end, she aims to deliver hope, even if sometimes there are no rides in the golden sunset.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
October 20, 2023
Two short stories that were very good!! First time reading a book De'nesha Diamond (may she SIP🙏🏾). I will definitely read more from her. I've read a few of Briana Cole's book and have enjoyed them.
April 12, 2023
So much information & I still want to know more
October 5, 2022
One of the things I liked best about this book is that it was really 2 novellas under 1 cover. Black and Blue is the first story by the late, great De’Nesha Diamond. Charlie gets crossed up after witnessing a murder and is sent to prison, but when she gets out, she serves up platters of revenge. (I’m sad that this will be the last work by De’Nesha Diamond, she is truly missed!)
In Pseudo, Kennedy’s abusive ex forces her to take the only way out, she runs away. Kennedy’s made a clean getaway and is living her best life. How? By stealing other women’s identities. What could possibly go wrong? One of the women is murdered. This story had me sitting on the edge of my chair, trying to figure out how Kennedy will get out of this tangled mess she created for herself. Lots of plot twists and turns.
Overall, I really liked the book. I would have loved to see each story fleshed out into their own books. I’d give this book 5 stars for creativity, plot, and suspense. I’d recommend it to anyone who wants a quick fulfilling read.
Thank you to Dafina, Kensington and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance copy of the book, this review is my own honest personal opinion.
In Pseudo, Kennedy’s abusive ex forces her to take the only way out, she runs away. Kennedy’s made a clean getaway and is living her best life. How? By stealing other women’s identities. What could possibly go wrong? One of the women is murdered. This story had me sitting on the edge of my chair, trying to figure out how Kennedy will get out of this tangled mess she created for herself. Lots of plot twists and turns.
Overall, I really liked the book. I would have loved to see each story fleshed out into their own books. I’d give this book 5 stars for creativity, plot, and suspense. I’d recommend it to anyone who wants a quick fulfilling read.
Thank you to Dafina, Kensington and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance copy of the book, this review is my own honest personal opinion.
August 25, 2021
I'm not really sure why these 2 stories were published together. Different authors and pretty different stories.
Black and Blue: 3 Stars. I really liked this story. It was very interesting and it was hard to put down. The only problem I had was I felt it was doing too much. There were too many characters and storyline so they couldn't really be fleshed out. This would have really benefited as a stand alone with about 100 more pages.
Pseudo: low 2 stars. This was a mess. The overall plot was so tangled in the mess of the rest of the story that I was confused for most of it. The pacing was inconsistent and the characters were wicked flat. The "twist" came out of no where and not in a good way. Most of the time I was just asking myself, "what am I reading?"
Black and Blue: 3 Stars. I really liked this story. It was very interesting and it was hard to put down. The only problem I had was I felt it was doing too much. There were too many characters and storyline so they couldn't really be fleshed out. This would have really benefited as a stand alone with about 100 more pages.
Pseudo: low 2 stars. This was a mess. The overall plot was so tangled in the mess of the rest of the story that I was confused for most of it. The pacing was inconsistent and the characters were wicked flat. The "twist" came out of no where and not in a good way. Most of the time I was just asking myself, "what am I reading?"
November 9, 2021
I first want to thank NetGalley and Publisher and Dafina for ARC copy. This was a Phenomenal anthology in the first story you have ( Black and Blue) By the late De' nesha Diamond.. Her you have Charlie Jean Warren returning home from the Military and just got a surprise proposal from Henny her long time Boyfriend, she is so happy and then Tragedy strikes that changes Charlie life for every.. Vic Caruso and crew was Scum low life did like them at all. And I knew from the start Ramsey could not be trusted. BLACK And BLUE had me siting on edge of my chair, The twist and turns action was on point. This was excellent read. After reading this story makes me want to go back reread her Divas series we lost a Phenomenal Author.
Pseudo By Brianna Cole
Whew child this one started out with a bang, I really didn't know people made a career doin the things Kennedy and Benji's was up to. The twist and turns was crazy poor Washington mothers all ways knows best. I wish Kennedy and would stop playing game and just open up to each other how they really feel. Baby I was not ready for that ending can't wait for more I highly recommend this excellent Novel.
Pseudo By Brianna Cole
Whew child this one started out with a bang, I really didn't know people made a career doin the things Kennedy and Benji's was up to. The twist and turns was crazy poor Washington mothers all ways knows best. I wish Kennedy and would stop playing game and just open up to each other how they really feel. Baby I was not ready for that ending can't wait for more I highly recommend this excellent Novel.
September 25, 2021
I received an ARC from the publisher and am voluntarily posting a review.
“Black and Blue” by De’Nesha Diamond has some good bones, but I think it suffers a bit in execution. There’s a lot going on with multiple perspectives, and it was hard to really become invested in any in particular. I did generally like the main thread of Charlie getting vengeance after being crossed, and appreciated that it wasn’t afraid to commit to the messiness and intensity of the situation, even if I wanted the story overall to be fleshed out.
“Pseudo” by Briana Cole is the less complex and elaborate of the two, so while I did wish it was a bit longer as well, I also felt this one was much better executed. It’s once again rather twisted, and it’s definitely not a book to go into if you need to like the characters. Kennedy does some not-so-great things in the name of self-preservation, but I could understand her justification for it, even if I didn’t agree with it. I also really liked seeing the plot play out, especially with her ex and see that come to fruition.
“Black and Blue” by De’Nesha Diamond has some good bones, but I think it suffers a bit in execution. There’s a lot going on with multiple perspectives, and it was hard to really become invested in any in particular. I did generally like the main thread of Charlie getting vengeance after being crossed, and appreciated that it wasn’t afraid to commit to the messiness and intensity of the situation, even if I wanted the story overall to be fleshed out.
“Pseudo” by Briana Cole is the less complex and elaborate of the two, so while I did wish it was a bit longer as well, I also felt this one was much better executed. It’s once again rather twisted, and it’s definitely not a book to go into if you need to like the characters. Kennedy does some not-so-great things in the name of self-preservation, but I could understand her justification for it, even if I didn’t agree with it. I also really liked seeing the plot play out, especially with her ex and see that come to fruition.
January 16, 2022
Two amazing short stories combined into one book that by the end of both will leave you breathless, in shock and in awe. In De'nesha's story, a woman gets sent to jail after watching her boyfriend killed and exacts revenge when she get's out. There were twists and turns in that story that I was not expecting.
In Briana's story, a woman uses a stolen identity to get what she wants, but when that woman winds up dead, she might have bitten off more than the originally thought. This story was off the chain in a good way, and I definitely need a follow up for that one, with the way that that book ended.
Both stories were great and fast page turners. Excellent job done by both
In Briana's story, a woman uses a stolen identity to get what she wants, but when that woman winds up dead, she might have bitten off more than the originally thought. This story was off the chain in a good way, and I definitely need a follow up for that one, with the way that that book ended.
Both stories were great and fast page turners. Excellent job done by both
Read
May 22, 2024I only read Briana's Cole's Psuedo story in this book.
Nothing at all could have prepared me for the very ending. This story along was a great short story. It would have been nice for her to continue the story as it was started in Psuedo. As I have read the other books in the series, they do not follow this short story.
However, if someone is interested in this short story as a stand alone. It was good.
Nothing at all could have prepared me for the very ending. This story along was a great short story. It would have been nice for her to continue the story as it was started in Psuedo. As I have read the other books in the series, they do not follow this short story.
However, if someone is interested in this short story as a stand alone. It was good.
April 23, 2022
What a hidden gem! I really enjoyed this one! Both authors did their thing with their pens! Sadly this was De'nesha Diamond's last book. Briana Cole killed it on the second part! Can't wait to watch the movie off the novel either! I'm looking forward to her future work since I'm a die hard fan of her craft.
May 10, 2022
Great book until I got to the Pseudo portion written by Briana Cole. This story was just so jumbled, confusing, tried to use shock value at the end but it was not enough to make me like anything about the story. I disliked all the characters especially Kennedy. I found myself wishing she would be murdered and I hope Washington does murder her in a follow up that I will never read.
October 27, 2021
The first book was good, the second book was ok, not really a fan of different stories in a book by different authors. Loved both of them. Rest in Peace, De'nesha Diamond.
March 16, 2022
3.5 stars for the first story. It's a typical engaging De'nesha Diamond. One that will have you turning the pages. I was sad to learn of her passing.
I DNF the second one. I tried.
I DNF the second one. I tried.
March 30, 2023
O M G!!!!
It wasn't like Behind Her Lies but it was a good thriller! I think this might be my new genre! Loved it!!!
It wasn't like Behind Her Lies but it was a good thriller! I think this might be my new genre! Loved it!!!
January 14, 2022
4 star. Maybe a 3.5. Somehow I ran into this book while searching for a new thriller on Libby. I listened to the audiobook which I absolutely believe impacted my ability to get into this book as well as follow along in the beginning. I lost track of some of the characters a few times bc the author went back and forth between using first and last names of characters. I know that would have been easier to follow on paper. Additionally, I found myself distracted by the person reading the audiobook and all the cursing. These things made it hard for me to get interested in the book until about halfway through. I’m glad I pushed through though as I really enjoyed it overall and especially the last half. The plot, dialogue and action was believable which is a major improvement from the last two books I’ve read (both Lisa Scottoline). I didn’t find myself saying “You’ve got to be kidding” or “Yeah, that wouldn’t happen.” Or “Why is that character even involved in this chapter?” There were twists I didn’t see coming. There was great action and a completely believable ending. Definitely looking into more of this author’s work.
November 7, 2021
A mysterious traffic stop leads to a tragic accident, and Charlie is determined to seek revenge. It’s thought provoking and very engaging. This is the author’s last gift to her readers, and it is amazing!
✨
Kennedy is on the run from an abusive ex, and does it by stealing the identity of other women. Everything is going as planned…until one of the women is murdered.
I highly recommend this 💎💎💎💎💎. This collaboration between De’Nesha Diamond and @bcoleauthor is one that I didn’t know I needed until I started reading it.
✨
Kennedy is on the run from an abusive ex, and does it by stealing the identity of other women. Everything is going as planned…until one of the women is murdered.
I highly recommend this 💎💎💎💎💎. This collaboration between De’Nesha Diamond and @bcoleauthor is one that I didn’t know I needed until I started reading it.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews