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Distraction

by J.L. Campbell (Goodreads Author)

4.3 of 5 stars 4.30 · rating details · 23 ratings · 17 reviews

Three Jamaican women walk a tightrope of decisions when their lives are derailed by blackmail, deceit and infidelity.

JUSTINE CHARLES, sensible and self-contained, battles an addiction which could destroy her marriage, reputation, and relationship with her daughter.

DIONNE JONES, an aggressive go-getter, takes risks that cut a trail of devastation through her family and bus...more

Kindle Edition, 320 pages

Published June 4th 2012 by Little Prince Publishing

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Jun 15, 2012 Courtney Vail rated it 5 of 5 stars

I have read a couple of J.L. Campbell's books before, Hardward and Contraband, and I'm always amazed at her ability to create flawed characters who come out likeable. Even though you may want to smack them in the head at times, you end up rooting for them to become the better people you just know they can be. And it is always interesting and fun to take that journey to see if the rise up to your expectations or if they fail.

Distraction plunks readers into the middle of the treacherous paths thr...more

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Jan 20, 2013 Molly Ringle added it

J.L. Campbell is an excellent writer, and proves it in this novel, where she takes some difficult and sometimes taboo themes (adultery, addictions, domestic abuse, sexually transmitted diseases) and writes with beauty and compassion about them. My heart went out to these three women and their lovers and families, who live through an exciting soap opera of problems as this novel develops. Though this is "women's fiction" rather than "romance"--because the romance genre often doesn't dare touch sa...more

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Aug 15, 2012 Bish Denham rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction

Joy did warn those of us who volunteered to review her book that the subject matter was hard. And it is. I'm giving it three stars because it's not kind of stuff I generally read. The story and writing are fine (though I did get lost a few times in the flash-backs.) It is a strong story, about three strong, smart women. Don't let the Jamaican dialect fool you.

Each of them has huge issues to over-come. Despite the fact that there were many times I didn't like the choices they made, I kept rooting...more

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Apr 25, 2013 Maria rated it 5 of 5 stars

DISTRACTION by J L Campbell is a quality fiction read which drew me in with it's engaging characters and storyline and didn't let me go till the very end. Set in contemporary Jamaica, it is the story of three smart, gutsy women. Justine, Kyra and Dionne.This trio has passed the twenties and all are mothers and all between 35 and 40. They are, however, experiencing upheavals in their personal lives. How they cope and what they do will leave you spellbound.

Justine, a character with whom I empathis...more DISTRACTION by J L Campbell is a quality fiction read which drew me in with it's engaging characters and storyline and didn't let me go till the very end. Set in contemporary Jamaica, it is the story of three smart, gutsy women. Justine, Kyra and Dionne.This trio has passed the twenties and all are mothers and all between 35 and 40. They are, however, experiencing upheavals in their personal lives. How they cope and what they do will leave you spellbound.

Justine, a character with whom I empathised, is in a dead marriage, where her husband just shuts her out. Neglect in marriage is a form of abuse and Justine is truly a sufferer. She falls in love with the larger than life musician Xavier McKellop, but pays a heavy price in guilt. As she watches Xavier playing his guitar at Sunday Mass, she knows she has to end this affair. Dionne is married to a patient and gentle man Clay, but finds him deficient as a provider. Her longing for financial security has her stepping out of her marriage and getting involved with someone else. She soon finds she's bitten off more than she can chew. Kyra has been used and abused by Warren, a born loser. She longs to kick Warren out of her life and start again with a more stable, reliable partner. But Warren won't be dismissed so easily.

No one can help you out of your difficulties but yourself. And perhaps the support of a good friend who will really listen to and empathise with what you're suffering. This isn't so much a novel as an exploration of love and friendship. It's a really interesting study on what women really want out of a relationship with a man. Great sex? Yes, definitely, who would say no to that? But more than that, there is a need for true companionship, support and love. Not just sex, but real, committed love. Not to mention security, both emotional and financial. Yet there are relationships going on which don't have all these components. The truth is, nobody gets everything. It seems to me that these women did a tremendous job of supporting each other and this is the best part of the story. They help each other find their own answers as they struggle through the vicissitudes of life.

If you like quality women's fiction, you'll love this.

I'm very much looking forward to reading further into this story in the follow up volume, RETRIBUTION.(less)

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Dec 30, 2012 Delaney Diamond rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: general-fiction, womens-fiction

This novel had a little bit of everything. It told the stories of three best friends. One of the nice features of the book was the Jamaican proverbs at the beginning of each chapter. I also liked how I got the point of view of each of the friends.

Infidelity was rampant in this novel and so was other poor decision-making. I simply couldn’t put it down because I wanted to see how the stories played out.

DIONNE had me on pins and needles with her affair to a man who afforded her the financial wealt...more

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Jun 30, 2012 Medeia Sharif rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2012

DISTRACTION follows the lives of three friends, Justine, Kyra, and Dionne. Justine is cheating on her husband, who has become emotionally cold and secretive with her. Kyra keeps allowing her on-again, off-again boyfriend into her life; he’s a moocher who won’t let her go, even when she finds the real deal in another man. For the sake of business, Dionne has an affair that threatens to ruin her solid family.

This novel deals with friendship, family, motherhood, infidelity, domestic abuse, and sexu...more

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Aug 07, 2012 Beverly Diehl rated it 4 of 5 stars

If you can't travel to Jamaica with a suitcase, traveling in your imagination is the next best thing. Hot and sexy lovers Justine and Xavier steam up the pages, but unfortunately, they happen to be married to other people. Justine's husband Milton is keeping more than a few secrets of his own, some of which involve Kyra's loser boyfriend that she just can't seem to cut loose. Then there's Dionne, who's willing do whatever it takes to get ahead.

These are not "nice" women, these are INTERESTING wo...more

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Sep 04, 2012 Nick Wilford rated it 4 of 5 stars

The characterisation in this book is excellent. It's been said in other reviews, but the author has done an amazing job of portraying people who do things that may not be right, but you're still rooting for their lives to take a better course. The three main female characters are all complex and the interplay between them is often hilarious. The Jamaican setting is very evident, which is helped by the colourful proverbs at the start of each chapter. It gives a laid-back feel which contrasts nice...more

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Oct 09, 2012 Michael Offutt rated it 4 of 5 stars

SPOILER ALERT: READ NO FURTHER IF YOU HATE HEARING PLOT DETAILS. Oh what can I say about "Distraction" that won't make me come across as judgmental because of the subject matter? First off, I want to say that J.L. Campbell (or Joy as some may know her), is a great writer. She has paid meticulous attention to providing what I think is a genuine representation of Jamaican culture in this book. And "Distraction" is a physically beautiful novel, providing Jamaican proverbs at the top of each chapter...more SPOILER ALERT: READ NO FURTHER IF YOU HATE HEARING PLOT DETAILS. Oh what can I say about "Distraction" that won't make me come across as judgmental because of the subject matter? First off, I want to say that J.L. Campbell (or Joy as some may know her), is a great writer. She has paid meticulous attention to providing what I think is a genuine representation of Jamaican culture in this book. And "Distraction" is a physically beautiful novel, providing Jamaican proverbs at the top of each chapter and a corresponding translation as the accent may be difficult for non-native peoples to understand. Additionally, the book has wonderful prose and in my reading, I don't think I spotted a single error. Also, each chapter is graced with a silhouette of palm trees. How can one not be pleased with palm trees?

"Distraction" is a book that follows the lives of three very interesting but destructive women. Their names are Kyra, Justine, and Dionne. And when I say "destructive" what I mean is this: they are liars, cheats, and victims who make choices that are a little difficult to get through without squirming. I had an impulse to invite them into a room, sit them down, and then stand before them on a soap box to make them accountable for all the things that they are doing while others chanted "preach on brotha!" in the background.

Kyra has trouble with an abusive man named Warren. He's a deadbeat that insists on sucking her dry of all monetary resources, on basically raping her, of trying to sabotage everything in her life, and on top of all that, he's a criminal. He's a pretty dispicable character in just having those qualities. I kind of question why Joy also decided to make him bi-sexual and then use that as a tool to paint another man, Milton, in a really unsavory light (Warren and Milton have been doing it, but more on that in just a bit). And of course, the fact that Milton is hiding a same sex attraction from his wife leads to his impotency in bed (well he's not attracted to girls) and to the willingness to destroy his family's financial security by giving Warren TONS of money for his silence. All this says to me is that in backwards Jamaica, two guys kissing is a fate worse than death. And if this is true, I guess I won't be visiting Jamaica anytime soon DESPITE my love of palm trees and my respect for Usain Bolt.

So Milton's wife is of course, one of the three women named Justine. And by the way, she's an adulterer. So it's not like her lies are any better than Milton's. And then we have Dionne who's also a liar, having an affair with a guy that's basically a stalker by the name of Alex. But she must be attracted to stalkers because her husband has serious trust issues, answering her phone, calling her to make sure he knows where she is, etc. But I guess he has reasons for having trust issues...his wife really is sleeping around. I hate the fact that Clayton is basically clueless. You'd think that at least one man in this book wouldn't be a complete douchebag. But that doesn't happen. Oh and Alex, he's a rapist on top of being a stalker...so yeah.

Did I like "Distraction"? Yes, I did like it. But these characters are not good people. Are they real? Probably. I think there's a huge dose of reality in these books and toward the end, a statement that people still believe WRONGLY that AIDS is a deadly disease. AIDS is not fatal anymore. That may be a news flash for some people, but we have drugs now that do perfectly well in controlling this disease. I have a friend with AIDS, and he's a successful college professor in a happy relationship and has no problems in living a great life.

If "Distraction" is a slice of life of what it is to be Jamaican then all I can say is, "Jamaica needs a better public education system." I would recommend this book to anyone that might be attracted to stories where characters make destructive decisions. For example, if you liked "Closer" with Natalie Portman and Jude Law, then you'll probably like "Distraction." For the record, after I got done with "Closer" I secretly wished that all those characters had gotten crushed under a bus.

I give four stars out of five simply because there were parts of this book that clearly irritated me about the characters. But aside from that, it's a great, page-turning if not emotionally frustrating read. And if you like hot but sensual sex scenes, Joy accomplishes that better than just about anyone I've read. her amazing skills made me feel like I was there in the character's skin, enjoying the naughtiness of every single action.(less)

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Jun 18, 2012 Clarissa Draper rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: other-literature

JL Campbell is one of my favourite authors. She's from Jamaica and all of her books takes us into the Jamaican culture. This book is no exception.

You meet three women in this novel, each with their own sets of DISTRACTIONS, each of them threatening to take over their lives and ruin their families.

Justine is having issues in her marriage, her husband comes home very distant and although Justine knows something is bothering him, she can't get him to open up. So, she starts a relationship with a m...more

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Jun 26, 2012 Linda Ulleseit rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: adult-fiction

The women in this book are definitely distracted from their families and their work. The strongest relationship in the book is the one between the three friends. These are not the typical novel heroines. They are flawed like we all are; they have trouble making the right decision and suffer for their inability to do the right thing. Nonetheless I found myself liking them and rooting for everything to turn out.

I very much enjoyed the Jamaican setting and colorful proverbs sprinkled throughout thi...more

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Oct 30, 2012 Jessica Chambers rated it 5 of 5 stars

This is a brilliantly-written novel about three very different women, their enduring friendship, and how they support one another through the tough times in their lives. Romance, illicit affairs, family conflict … this story has it all. The author certainly deals with some difficult issues, from adultery and addiction, to domestic violence and sexually transmitted diseases, but she handles them with the compassion and sensitivity I’ve come to so admire in her writing. Though I’ve never been to J...more

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Jul 22, 2012 Ann rated it 4 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed the characters in this novel. I found I really couldn't but it down and read it in two sittings. I just had to know what next for each of these ladies. I found the writing very realistic and felt I really knew the characters when it came to an end. I was left wanting more on Justine(aka Tina) and Xavier (aka Xave). I hope the rest of their story will be told.

I found this author when a goodreads friend marked another of her books to read. After reading the excerpts for this nov...more

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Oct 02, 2012 Sheena-kay Graham rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: indie, contemporary, jamaica, first-reads, ebooks

When J.L. Campbell sent me a an e-copy of Distraction I was so excited. Not only had I finally found a local author blogger but I also got a free copy of her novel. J.L. Campbell is the author of books like Contraband, Dissolution and several more. Distraction follows three females who are close friends and have to navigate life in Jamaica while married or in relationships. Readers meet Justine, Dionne and Kyra and the novel lets us see life through both their own perspectives as well as how the...more

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Sep 18, 2012 Julie Flanders rated it 5 of 5 stars

Distraction is the story of three friends, Kyra, Justine, and Dionne. All three women make questionable decisions that could wreck havoc in their lives, and the paths they are on drive the tension in the story. Campbell does an excellent job of writing believable characters who are people we can empathize with, and I felt like I knew all three of the women as I read the book. I think the friendship among the three will strike a chord with female readers who have been through ups and downs with l...more

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Mar 07, 2013 Misha Gericke rated it 3 of 5 stars

Difficult subject to read about, but the plotlines had me involved. Overall, the story is actually four-star material. The only reason why I didn't score it as such is that I found it really difficult to resonate with the characters, since I've never been married etc. and therefore the three ladies couldn't really resonate with me.

Still, I'll definitely read more stories from J.L. Campbell.

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Jan 27, 2013 Orsayor rated it 3 of 5 stars

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May 14, 2013 Sharon marked it as to-read

Shelves: must-reads

May 13, 2013 Alicia rated it 3 of 5 stars

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About J.L. Campbell

J.L. Campbell lives in sunny Jamaica, where she is always on the lookout for story-making material. She is the author of Contraband, Dissolution, Distraction, Don't Get Mad...Get Even, Giving up the Dream and Hardware (pen name Jayda McTyson).

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