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The Neighbors #3
Across the Way
In this captivating Depression-era set novel by New York Times bestselling author Mary Monroe, two couples find their grudges endangering more than their Alabama small towns deceptive peace When good-time couple Milton and Yvonne Hamilton moved one house over from the respectable-but-restless Odell and Joyce Watson, it was a fast friendship of shared secretsand secret jealousies and betrayals. Their alliance was bound to crash and burn, but the Hamiltons wont quite let the flame die out, even after scandalous accusations get them arrested Odell would do anything to be free of his bootlegging, blackmailing, money extorting neighbors and recover the peacefuland financially prosperouslife he and Joyce once had. But Milton and Yvonne seem to always bounce back from bad luck, and this time theyve returned angrier, and greedier, than ever. Determined to get what Odell owes them, the Hamiltons have a big surprise for Joyce too, one that shows how far they will go to get revenge Now pushed past his breaking point, Odell is sure hes got a foolproof plan to end the scheming once and for all. But it soon spirals into lies, shattering violence, and permanent damage that will roil their tranquil community, and alter his and Joyces world forever
1 pages, Audio CD
Published May 15, 2020
621 people are currently reading
688 people want to read
About the author
Mary Monroe
61 books2,703 followersI am the third child of Alabama sharecroppers and the first and only member of my family to finish high school. I never attended college or any writing classes. I taught myself how to write and started writing short stories around age four. I spent the first part of my life in Alabama and Ohio and moved to Richmond, California in 1973. I have lived in Oakland since 1984.
My first novel THE UPPER ROOM was published by St. Martin's Press in 1985 and was widely reviewed throughout the U.S. and in Great Britain. An excerpt is included in Terry McMillan's anthology BREAKING ICE. I endured fifteen years and hundreds of more rejection letters before I landed a contract for my second novel, GOD DON'T LIKE UGLY. It was published in October 2000 by Kensington Books. GOD DON'T PLAY is my seventh novel to be published, and it landed me a spot on the prestigious New York Times Bestsellers list for the first time! My eighth novel, "BORROW TROUBLE," was released December 2006. My ninth novel, DELIVER ME FROM EVIL, was released September 2007 and my tenth novel, SHE HAD IT COMING, was released in September 2008, and my eleventh novel THE COMPANY WE KEEP, will be released March 2009.
I won the Oakland Pen Award for Best Fiction of the Year in 2001 for GOD DON'T LIKE UGLY. I won the Best Southern Author Award for GONNA LAY DOWN MY BURDENS, in 2004.
I am divorced, I love to travel, I love to mingle with other authors, and I love to read anything by Ernest Gaines, Stephen King, Alice Walker, and James Patterson. I still write seven days a week and I get most of my ideas from current events, the people around me, but most of my material is autobiographical.
My first novel THE UPPER ROOM was published by St. Martin's Press in 1985 and was widely reviewed throughout the U.S. and in Great Britain. An excerpt is included in Terry McMillan's anthology BREAKING ICE. I endured fifteen years and hundreds of more rejection letters before I landed a contract for my second novel, GOD DON'T LIKE UGLY. It was published in October 2000 by Kensington Books. GOD DON'T PLAY is my seventh novel to be published, and it landed me a spot on the prestigious New York Times Bestsellers list for the first time! My eighth novel, "BORROW TROUBLE," was released December 2006. My ninth novel, DELIVER ME FROM EVIL, was released September 2007 and my tenth novel, SHE HAD IT COMING, was released in September 2008, and my eleventh novel THE COMPANY WE KEEP, will be released March 2009.
I won the Oakland Pen Award for Best Fiction of the Year in 2001 for GOD DON'T LIKE UGLY. I won the Best Southern Author Award for GONNA LAY DOWN MY BURDENS, in 2004.
I am divorced, I love to travel, I love to mingle with other authors, and I love to read anything by Ernest Gaines, Stephen King, Alice Walker, and James Patterson. I still write seven days a week and I get most of my ideas from current events, the people around me, but most of my material is autobiographical.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 223 reviews
May 20, 2020
Across the Way by Mary Monroe is the third and final book in her The Neighbors series. The novel is set in the late 1930’s and is told through the alternating points of viewpoints of the main couples, the Hamiltons and the Watsons.
Milton and Yvonne Hamilton are fun-loving, down on their luck bootleggers. They’ve moved one house over from the prosperous, straight-laced Watsons, Odell and Joyce. The disparate couples become friends. Everything would be perfect but for secrets, jealousy, betrayal and revenge.
As usual, Ms. Monroe has done an excellent job and Across the Way is another triumph to add to her repertoire. Enough backstory is provided for the book to read as a standalone. The grammar and dialogue are perfect for the time period and the characters. The characters are vibrant but so flawed they must be real. The ending is truly jaw-dropping. I enjoyed this novel from start to finish and was sad to see the series end. I rate it 5 out of 5 stars and recommend it to anyone who enjoys historical fiction.
My thanks to Kensington Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book. However the opinions expressed in this review are 100% mine and mine alone.
Milton and Yvonne Hamilton are fun-loving, down on their luck bootleggers. They’ve moved one house over from the prosperous, straight-laced Watsons, Odell and Joyce. The disparate couples become friends. Everything would be perfect but for secrets, jealousy, betrayal and revenge.
As usual, Ms. Monroe has done an excellent job and Across the Way is another triumph to add to her repertoire. Enough backstory is provided for the book to read as a standalone. The grammar and dialogue are perfect for the time period and the characters. The characters are vibrant but so flawed they must be real. The ending is truly jaw-dropping. I enjoyed this novel from start to finish and was sad to see the series end. I rate it 5 out of 5 stars and recommend it to anyone who enjoys historical fiction.
My thanks to Kensington Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book. However the opinions expressed in this review are 100% mine and mine alone.
August 25, 2020
A great way to end the trilogy
May 10, 2024
The series was stretched out over 3 books so the climaxes felt misplaced and rushed. The ending was worth the reading.
April 30, 2020
So good! I couldn't get into her first two books in the series, but this one didn't disappoint! This took place in the 1940s and it's sad to say that this stuff still happens in 2020. (SPOILER ALERT) I am glad there was a happy ending. A happy ending to me is when the main characters get their revenge!
It was funny how everyone wanted to kill each other and really funny when Odell asked, " What kind of superhuman devils was I dealing with?" Lol. This is just like the Mary Monroe writing style I'm used to, but unfortunately haven't seen from her in awhile. Thanks for the good read!
It was funny how everyone wanted to kill each other and really funny when Odell asked, " What kind of superhuman devils was I dealing with?" Lol. This is just like the Mary Monroe writing style I'm used to, but unfortunately haven't seen from her in awhile. Thanks for the good read!
June 28, 2021
3.5 stars rounded up
This was a trip.
I loved it
This was a trip.
I loved it
June 14, 2022
Milton and Yvonne Hamilton live next door to Odell and Joyce Watson in Branson. Milton and Yvonne have a checked past, and are now bootleggers. Odell manages Yvonne’s father’s grocery store, they look to have the perfect life and this makes their friends the Hamilton’s jealous!
When Milton and Yvonne are taken in for questioning by the police, they’re furious and determined to find out who filed the false report? When they discover it was their so called friend Odell Watson, they want to make him pay and set about taking him down.
Odell is leading a double life, he’s not the model citizen or husband Joyce thinks he is and the Hamilton’s use this to blackmail him. Odell gets tired of how he’s being treated, he comes up with a plan, it’s a disaster and it backfires. Joyce is the innocent victim in this crazy game of blackmail and deceit.
I received a copy of Across the Way by Mary Monroe from NetGalley and Kensington Books and it’s the third book in The Neighbors Series. It’s hard to keep a secret, greed and violence destroys three lives in this story and Joyce wises up! Three and a half stars from me, and I wish I had read the first two books in the trilogy.
https://karrenreadsbooks.blogspot.com/
When Milton and Yvonne are taken in for questioning by the police, they’re furious and determined to find out who filed the false report? When they discover it was their so called friend Odell Watson, they want to make him pay and set about taking him down.
Odell is leading a double life, he’s not the model citizen or husband Joyce thinks he is and the Hamilton’s use this to blackmail him. Odell gets tired of how he’s being treated, he comes up with a plan, it’s a disaster and it backfires. Joyce is the innocent victim in this crazy game of blackmail and deceit.
I received a copy of Across the Way by Mary Monroe from NetGalley and Kensington Books and it’s the third book in The Neighbors Series. It’s hard to keep a secret, greed and violence destroys three lives in this story and Joyce wises up! Three and a half stars from me, and I wish I had read the first two books in the trilogy.
https://karrenreadsbooks.blogspot.com/
April 5, 2020
Update Below
I will update this review up or down upon going back but what I can say is I am already frustrated. I was waiting for this book, hoping for better for the end of the series. If you see my review for the prior 2 books in this series, I really enjoyed the first one, the 2nd one was so redundant of the first, blackmail, rinse, cower, repeat, it was very annoying( by the way, these are not spoilers as in the description of book one it says blackmail). So I made it to chapter 5, Milton, of this book, book 3 and it is quite LITERALLY more of the same, blackmail, cower, repeat. I cant stand it! I feel like ive read the same book 3 times and its not enjoyable. I mean down to the setting!! Milton goes to Odells office, blackmail, give in, repeat. We couldnt even get him blackmailing him somewhere else in town? I have done this with only maybe 2 books before but after seeing how this was going I skipped to the epilogue. Im glad to see how it ended and that alone is the only reason Im going to struggle my way through the rest of the book to see HOW it ended the way it did. I like to finish what I started anyway, so I more than likely would have completed this series but man if you want redundancy and the same scenario over and over and over, over 3 whole books, this is series for you.
Update: I have finished and Im going to leave it at a solid 3 because of the aforementioned. If you are as annoyed with I am of the rinse and repeat scenario of the second book forward (though I must mention the 2nd half of book one was only not annoying bc it was fresh and we the reader didnt know where it was leading but its the same scenario too) , please skip to chapter 37 Milton in this final of series to get to the end and what happened. The first 36 are LITERALLY just the same as the 1st and 2nd as I mentioned above. If you want to skip the weekly blackmail, chapter 37 is where you want to start to read to get to the finale of this series
I will update this review up or down upon going back but what I can say is I am already frustrated. I was waiting for this book, hoping for better for the end of the series. If you see my review for the prior 2 books in this series, I really enjoyed the first one, the 2nd one was so redundant of the first, blackmail, rinse, cower, repeat, it was very annoying( by the way, these are not spoilers as in the description of book one it says blackmail). So I made it to chapter 5, Milton, of this book, book 3 and it is quite LITERALLY more of the same, blackmail, cower, repeat. I cant stand it! I feel like ive read the same book 3 times and its not enjoyable. I mean down to the setting!! Milton goes to Odells office, blackmail, give in, repeat. We couldnt even get him blackmailing him somewhere else in town? I have done this with only maybe 2 books before but after seeing how this was going I skipped to the epilogue. Im glad to see how it ended and that alone is the only reason Im going to struggle my way through the rest of the book to see HOW it ended the way it did. I like to finish what I started anyway, so I more than likely would have completed this series but man if you want redundancy and the same scenario over and over and over, over 3 whole books, this is series for you.
Update: I have finished and Im going to leave it at a solid 3 because of the aforementioned. If you are as annoyed with I am of the rinse and repeat scenario of the second book forward (though I must mention the 2nd half of book one was only not annoying bc it was fresh and we the reader didnt know where it was leading but its the same scenario too) , please skip to chapter 37 Milton in this final of series to get to the end and what happened. The first 36 are LITERALLY just the same as the 1st and 2nd as I mentioned above. If you want to skip the weekly blackmail, chapter 37 is where you want to start to read to get to the finale of this series
April 24, 2020
This is the third and final book in the series, and I have to say I felt this was the best one. The couples Milton and Yvonne, Joyce and Odell are still neighbors, but a lot of drama happens and secrets revealed, and I was not expecting it to end like it did. I'm still shocked at what happened. What a surprising and fitting end to this series.
I received a copy of this book via netgalley and am voluntarily leaving a review
I received a copy of this book via netgalley and am voluntarily leaving a review
September 20, 2023
I never expected the ending! Most of the main characters are shady and brazen. It felt uncomfortable hearing some of their thoughts.
March 30, 2020
I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Across the Way is the conclusion to The Neighbors trilogy, and what an end it is! While in some places it does continue with the leisurely, yet suspenseful pace of the first two, there is a lot of action at last, as tensions come to a head between the titular neighbors due to the secrets and blackmail.
And while Milton, Yvonne, and especially Odell have always been shady or scummy, I enjoyed seeing them try to thwart each other, especially when things finally came to a head, fulfilling a promise that had been in place over the course of the series.
And while Joyce has her flaws, I sympathized with her, her somewhat controversial choice in the midst of it, and her conflicting emotions in the aftermath of it all regarding the actions and motives of all three of them. And she finally gets her confrontation with Betty Jean, and while it did not come about in the context I was expecting, I enjoyed it.
This book makes all the drama, repetition, and slow pacing worth it, as it delivers the perfect conclusion with exactly what each of the central characters deserves. If you love books about unlikable characters and nefarious deeds, pick up this series!
Across the Way is the conclusion to The Neighbors trilogy, and what an end it is! While in some places it does continue with the leisurely, yet suspenseful pace of the first two, there is a lot of action at last, as tensions come to a head between the titular neighbors due to the secrets and blackmail.
And while Milton, Yvonne, and especially Odell have always been shady or scummy, I enjoyed seeing them try to thwart each other, especially when things finally came to a head, fulfilling a promise that had been in place over the course of the series.
And while Joyce has her flaws, I sympathized with her, her somewhat controversial choice in the midst of it, and her conflicting emotions in the aftermath of it all regarding the actions and motives of all three of them. And she finally gets her confrontation with Betty Jean, and while it did not come about in the context I was expecting, I enjoyed it.
This book makes all the drama, repetition, and slow pacing worth it, as it delivers the perfect conclusion with exactly what each of the central characters deserves. If you love books about unlikable characters and nefarious deeds, pick up this series!
May 25, 2020
Utilizing colloquialisms that our elderly used to say to us coming from the South. Using broom straws instead of toothpicks to clean your teeth with. Walking in the woods where lizards and weevils hide in the bushes. Standing upside down for ten minutes after you finish your business to get pregnant. Having a local voodoo woman give you a potion to increase the stamina in your sperm count.
Definition of a jook joint: a place where folks could drink and have a good time. The Watson’s served much better free snacks. We lived in a house with an indoor toilet, not like the other ones they used outhouses. We always had better records for our guests to dance to. We lured a heap of our customers away from other bootleggers, which was the reason they hated us now.
A fun slow read continuing and ending Mary Monroe's historical storyline.
Definition of a jook joint: a place where folks could drink and have a good time. The Watson’s served much better free snacks. We lived in a house with an indoor toilet, not like the other ones they used outhouses. We always had better records for our guests to dance to. We lured a heap of our customers away from other bootleggers, which was the reason they hated us now.
A fun slow read continuing and ending Mary Monroe's historical storyline.
April 9, 2020
Who's the fool now?
Joyce loved Odell so much that she trusted everything he said. Odell was a low down dirty person and he got what he deserved. He was living two lives, evil man.
Milton was no good, always trying to get over on Odell and anyone else he can.
Yvonne deserved so much better than Milton. She was a pretty girl and should have had a better life. Milton was her downfall.
Great book Me. Mary Monroe👏👏👏👏👍🏿👍🏿
Joyce loved Odell so much that she trusted everything he said. Odell was a low down dirty person and he got what he deserved. He was living two lives, evil man.
Milton was no good, always trying to get over on Odell and anyone else he can.
Yvonne deserved so much better than Milton. She was a pretty girl and should have had a better life. Milton was her downfall.
Great book Me. Mary Monroe👏👏👏👏👍🏿👍🏿
September 1, 2020
This series was very difficult to read. I am a lover of the authors books but I just felt she had nothing so to stretch a series out was ridiculous. I only read the three because I committed myself to reading them all.
June 19, 2020
This is the final book in the Neighbors series. I am sad that the series has ended but the book did not disappoint. My favorite characters, Milton and Yvonne Hamilton, are still at it and perhaps they were in too deep. The story picks up after their release from jail for false charges that were brought against them. Now they are in more debt after their arrest and needing money to pay back a loan. Upstanding neighbors Odell and Joyce Watson continue to live their carefree life. I can’t remember how I felt about Odell in the previous books but I definitely don’t like his character in this book. The way he continues to lie to his wife and her family is very foul.
Milton and Yvonne are always together in their ideas and plans. That’s one reason why they are my favorite characters because in their marriage they are a team and have each others back. I think they took advantage of an opportunity by blackmailing Odell and even though it was wrong I don’t think they deserved what they got for being greedy. I was hoping they would wise up and stop with the money scams. It seemed like the more money they could get the more they wasted. I appreciate that they did try to help Joyce but their plan took a different turn. I didn’t care for Joyce’s character because she thought she was better than others, but I guess she couldn’t help it since its part of her upbringing. She was gullible and naive to the wool Odell had over her eyes. I felt sorry for her and understood her defense in speaking so harshly to Milton and especially Yvonne since Yvonne is pretty and had children something that Joyce lacked. Even though I didn’t care for Joyce I wanted her to question Odell, at least see through his lies or something to show she had some ‘girl power’.
The story ends up closing all loose ends and the ending was a surprise that I didn’t see coming. I enjoyed the characters, the story and I hope the author has more enjoyable series like this.
This is a series that I highly recommend to those that enjoy southern drama.
Milton and Yvonne are always together in their ideas and plans. That’s one reason why they are my favorite characters because in their marriage they are a team and have each others back. I think they took advantage of an opportunity by blackmailing Odell and even though it was wrong I don’t think they deserved what they got for being greedy. I was hoping they would wise up and stop with the money scams. It seemed like the more money they could get the more they wasted. I appreciate that they did try to help Joyce but their plan took a different turn. I didn’t care for Joyce’s character because she thought she was better than others, but I guess she couldn’t help it since its part of her upbringing. She was gullible and naive to the wool Odell had over her eyes. I felt sorry for her and understood her defense in speaking so harshly to Milton and especially Yvonne since Yvonne is pretty and had children something that Joyce lacked. Even though I didn’t care for Joyce I wanted her to question Odell, at least see through his lies or something to show she had some ‘girl power’.
The story ends up closing all loose ends and the ending was a surprise that I didn’t see coming. I enjoyed the characters, the story and I hope the author has more enjoyable series like this.
This is a series that I highly recommend to those that enjoy southern drama.
June 14, 2020
I was so excited to read the last installment of the series. I am a big fan of Mary Monroe's writing, and I think she's a wonderful storyteller. Still, this story was a little disappointing for me. In the last installment of the series, the story was a bit bland. The characters seem stuck with no real development. I felt three-fourths of the story was going back talking about the last two books of the series, It starts to pick up at around page 200 finally. I can't believe Joyce was so naïve about her husband ( I take that back yes I can). An individual character has a tragedy that I wish didn't happen. Because I wanted Joyce to go through with her feeling's and have peace and realized she had a toxic marriage and friends. And then you have the married couple Milton and Yvonne the neighbors (if you see your shadows on the wall and they look like monsters you should realize you have a problem). They were just worthless, and conniving, and always wanted a handout people just supposed to give them money. The ending was ok for me; I was happy for Joyce. I just wanted more from the characters.
April 3, 2020
Blah
About 70% of the book was familiar to the first two books and seemed to be repeating the same storyline over and over the storyline doesn’t seem to change until you get to the last couple of chapters the main characters in the book were easy to manipulate and Yvonne and Milton were Greedy and annoying I love Mary Monroe as an Author This Series was not her best work at all it was interesting in some parts but I kept feeling like every chapter was deja vu
About 70% of the book was familiar to the first two books and seemed to be repeating the same storyline over and over the storyline doesn’t seem to change until you get to the last couple of chapters the main characters in the book were easy to manipulate and Yvonne and Milton were Greedy and annoying I love Mary Monroe as an Author This Series was not her best work at all it was interesting in some parts but I kept feeling like every chapter was deja vu
March 1, 2020
This was a good ending to a good series. Lots of drama and issues that were dealt with. The ending was a bit of a shocker but a perfect ending. Do not sleep on this 3 book series. Thanks to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for the arc of this book in return for my honest review. Receiving the book in this manner had no bearing on this review.
June 24, 2020
Great read! Read all 3 and was eager to read each one! So glad to see this ending!! It was full of intrigue, drama, and history about the era. Some things never change, like greed, love and forgiveness.
August 19, 2020
Just Ok
I only read this book because I wanted to finish the Neighbors series. This was definitely not a intriguing book and the story line was redundant in my opinion.
I only read this book because I wanted to finish the Neighbors series. This was definitely not a intriguing book and the story line was redundant in my opinion.
November 17, 2023
Ridiculous
December 31, 2020
I received this eBook from the publisher via NetGalley.com, in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.
This is the 3rd book in a series where the story revisited the small town of Branson, Alabama in 1939. The story alternates between Milton and Yvonne Hamilton, and Odell and Joyce Watson, neighbors to one another. Everyone has secrets.
Mary Monroe referenced several things relating to the time period in which the story takes place. One thing I learned about was what “spoonbread” is; a moist cornmeal-based dish prevalent in parts of the Southern United States. It became popular around the turn of the 20th century and has been a mainstay in Virginia and Kentucky kitchens ever since. Although named a "bread", spoonbread is closer in consistency and taste to many savory puddings. This was a fascinating fact for a northerner like me.
This novel was very repetitive in order to refresh the characters and the scenarios in play from the first two novels in the series. The story became very interesting and climatic to me around chapter 37. I was surprised with the outcome and conclusion. otherwise, this was a great end to the series!
This is the 3rd book in a series where the story revisited the small town of Branson, Alabama in 1939. The story alternates between Milton and Yvonne Hamilton, and Odell and Joyce Watson, neighbors to one another. Everyone has secrets.
Mary Monroe referenced several things relating to the time period in which the story takes place. One thing I learned about was what “spoonbread” is; a moist cornmeal-based dish prevalent in parts of the Southern United States. It became popular around the turn of the 20th century and has been a mainstay in Virginia and Kentucky kitchens ever since. Although named a "bread", spoonbread is closer in consistency and taste to many savory puddings. This was a fascinating fact for a northerner like me.
This novel was very repetitive in order to refresh the characters and the scenarios in play from the first two novels in the series. The story became very interesting and climatic to me around chapter 37. I was surprised with the outcome and conclusion. otherwise, this was a great end to the series!
January 1, 2021
An Explosive Conclusion To The Series
Monroe delivers a jaw dropping ending to The Neighbors Series with this title. It was a little disturbing to see Milton and Yvonne’s character disintegrate into such revolting criminals, satisfying to see Odell get his just desserts, and bittersweet to witness Joyce finally open her eyes.
Monroe delivers a jaw dropping ending to The Neighbors Series with this title. It was a little disturbing to see Milton and Yvonne’s character disintegrate into such revolting criminals, satisfying to see Odell get his just desserts, and bittersweet to witness Joyce finally open her eyes.
January 18, 2023
My goodness! Those last few chapters! Mary Monroe has done it again!
January 31, 2022
I loved this series! It was pure far fetched, laugh out loud entertainment. I’m sad to be finished with it. Perfect ending for the series.
September 21, 2020
All Three Book
This series truly met my expectations. The plots, scenes, a content were realistic. Captivating, and well-written. I could barely put the books to cook because I was so enthralled and eager to see what would happen next, The end was better than I imagined. Yes, it was wholehearted to sleep while the body was lying in another room, but betrayal can cause one to develop a bitter heart for awhile. You, Mary Monroe, are a superb and dynamic writer. Thanks for my 4 day journey with bootleggers, hillbillies, and judgemental Christians. It is 1:30 a, m. and I am satisfied enough to sleep like Joyce💮
This series truly met my expectations. The plots, scenes, a content were realistic. Captivating, and well-written. I could barely put the books to cook because I was so enthralled and eager to see what would happen next, The end was better than I imagined. Yes, it was wholehearted to sleep while the body was lying in another room, but betrayal can cause one to develop a bitter heart for awhile. You, Mary Monroe, are a superb and dynamic writer. Thanks for my 4 day journey with bootleggers, hillbillies, and judgemental Christians. It is 1:30 a, m. and I am satisfied enough to sleep like Joyce💮
September 16, 2020
I read this in one sitting...started after work and just finished after midnight. WOW. Probably Mary Monroe's best. I wanted to take off one star, however, because of the shift from being a comedic tale to a violent one towards the end. The violence was shocking after such an almost light-hearted, funny feel up to that point. But the very end was still satisfying so I give it five stars. I have been reading Mary Monroe for many years and must still give her her props! She only gets better.
May 26, 2020
Across the Way (Neighbors #3)
Here at the AAMBC, we were excited to read a familiar Author, Across the Way by Mary Monroe. Having previously read Mary Monroe’s work, we were more than ready to see a continuation of her Neighbors series.
Across the Way began in November of 1939, in Branson, Alabama with the local bootleggers getting out of jail for a trumped-up charge. The premise of this story started when Milton stated that he knew that he and his wife Yvonne had a lot of enemies. Though, they never expected “one to stoop so low enough to finger us with a made-up story about a crime that could get them lynched or sent back to prison for life.”Across the Way is a story that involves several people in a middle-class neighborhood. The storyline tells the story about jealousy, envy, lies, covered up secrets, and blackmail.
Across the Way was an easy read, slow-paced, entertaining, and charming. This book is highly recommended if you are into historical African American fiction. My only gripe was the bulk of the storyline began during the middle of the book. My rating was a 4/5.
TL; DR
The Good: An easy read that invokes the familiarity of the southern African-American culture.
The Bad: The majority of the storyline started in the middle of the book.
Is It Worth Buying: Yes, reading about past generations and how the entertainment they endured during the Depression Era is captivating.
Rating:4/5
March 10, 2020
Received from Net Gallery and this is my review for this 1930's couples who are supposed to be the best of friends and the worse of enemies, but as time goes on you have drama,greed,trusts broken friendships. This is Alabama and you feel the friendship,then you dont! The adventures and drama that these two couples go through it comes across very well. First time reading this author's writing and I did enjoyed the story where I will read more of her works! This story takes you to places you didn't know you were going,the emotions come across the pages so very well ,it suits each character,you do feel them. You will begin to know each of these people and they will be a part of you where you will not forget very easily! As you go through the story you are so surprised by the ending! You don't see that coming!! Very much enjoyed the story and it's a "Must Read" book! This is the 3rd book in this series but it's ok if you have read this first,I'm going back to read the other two so I really know this story! I may have missed it but it would have been nice if I had known it was a series cause I would have read the first two books first!
April 10, 2020
Wow! What a way to go! You kneel on people, take and take and in the end, you lose.
As we know from Book 2, Milton and Yvonne gets put in jail when someone (and the culprit is revealed here) calls in to say a white girl is raped at their establishment. They get put in jail, Willie Frank's uncle gets them out but want his money back. So they pinch harder on guess who? Odell, and by now Odell's tired and want out.
What I can't understand is why didn't they approach the others they deal with. Odell wasn't the only one with money. I didn't care for Milton cause he let greed put him in a place he shouldn't have went to depression or not. He lucked up on Yvonne, but he at the same time, he was limited in his thinking, himself. Odell lucked up but he screwed it up royally. He was no better than Milton. Yvonne became a casualty by following behind Milton. But to her credit, she tried to think ahead but Milton couldn't see past his own crap. Joyce, who thought she had it going on got pulled down a LOT of pegs by what happened. I felt a little more sorry (not much)but even in retrospect, she had to realize her part in this.
As we know from Book 2, Milton and Yvonne gets put in jail when someone (and the culprit is revealed here) calls in to say a white girl is raped at their establishment. They get put in jail, Willie Frank's uncle gets them out but want his money back. So they pinch harder on guess who? Odell, and by now Odell's tired and want out.
What I can't understand is why didn't they approach the others they deal with. Odell wasn't the only one with money. I didn't care for Milton cause he let greed put him in a place he shouldn't have went to depression or not. He lucked up on Yvonne, but he at the same time, he was limited in his thinking, himself. Odell lucked up but he screwed it up royally. He was no better than Milton. Yvonne became a casualty by following behind Milton. But to her credit, she tried to think ahead but Milton couldn't see past his own crap. Joyce, who thought she had it going on got pulled down a LOT of pegs by what happened. I felt a little more sorry (not much)but even in retrospect, she had to realize her part in this.
April 8, 2020
Mary Monroe, did it again. She picked up where she left off, from the other books, One House Over and Over the Fence. Milton and Yvonne are back on their scamming, especially Odell. Odell, what a man....he squeezed his ass into Joyce's life, by lying and keeping up an image. Little did she know her "perfect" husband was living a double life, with a whole family in another town every weekend, taking from her parents store and their account. I never would have thought Odell would go to the extremes to cover up his lies, but then again...I shouldn't have expected any less. Boy oh boy, ones image is everything, especially to men, they can't stand a bruised ego or will let their pride get in the way of everything. This book is everything. Somebody and something finally shut Joyce up, I hate that it was her own husband. You know the saying "watch the company you keep". And when your lies catch up to you. I wonder what's the next series for Mary Monroe, I know it's gonna be good.
#book12of2020 #bookworm #whatsnext #highlyrecommended
#book12of2020 #bookworm #whatsnext #highlyrecommended
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