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Nothing But the Rent
Four African American women who had formed a tight friendship in college but then drifted apart after graduation renew their bond again one fateful weekend
- GenresFiction
Mass Market Paperback
First published April 1, 1998
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
January 15, 2011
Been there, read this....If you've read Waiting to Exhale, then you've read this book. Next!
April 21, 2012
had this book for year and still enjoy eading it from time to time.
July 20, 2009
A fun book about love and friendship. Hilarious, very enjoyable!
June 27, 2024
Nothing But The Rent
I think I can make this review shorter than the long one I wrote. To sum this one up 4 friends go out town to their friend’s wedding (Gayle, Cynthia, Roxanne, and Monique). From the beginning of the trip to the end, it’s not good. Angie’s grandmother is religious, her mother is controlling, the church is too small, there are a lot of cancellations, the rehearsal place is cheap, the food at the reception is skimpy. But they all get through it and go back to their separate lives.
Gayle works at a bank. She had other plans but over time she kind of got stuck working there. There’s a guy there named Reggie that likes to come around her and flirt with her but she pushes it off because she’s not confident. So, all the hints he throws at her she blows them off. Numerous times he invites her to have lunch with him. Every single time she declines and finds an excuse why she can’t. So one day he invites her to o on a date with him. Gayle accepts the invite but practically has an anxiety attack over it. Gayle's parents are separated, but we can’t really tell because her father is always over there. He’s (of course) an alcoholic, but throughout the book, he tries to convince his family he’s gotten better (something else we also can’t tell because when he’s on a page he’s arguing with Gayle’s mother). On the night of her date, she ends up canceling because he and her mother get into another one of their fights and it upsets her mother so much she has a dizzy spell. Reggie is cool about it, but Gayle. Reggie is cool with it, but Gayle avoids him after this. So, one day he shows up in her office with a picnic basket. He gives her the news that he’ll be working in the Chicago office. It’s obvious that he wants Gayle to say she’ll miss him, but she can’t. After this, her friends start to notice how burnt out Gayle is so they go on a vacation. Gayle ends up sloppy drink and passes out in a restaurant. After they get back, he realizes Reggie will be coming back she finds out her mother has taken her father back. Something she can’t accept. She realizes that Reggie will be coming back so she greets him with a picnic lunch. This time she’s able to say she misses him and invites him to go apartment-looking with her.
Monique has a society mom and she feels like what she does is never got enough. She’s pressing her to go back to school and get a higher degree because she thinks she’s not happy. When in actuality *she’s* the one not happy with Monique’s life. While at one of her mother’s events she runs into her ex Tyson. We find out that she and Tyson were engaged but she called the wedding off with him because of pressure from her mother. (Although she never stopped loving him). She didn’t really date anyone else after this. He did but didn’t find anyone that he felt the same way about. He went to school and studied to be a gynecologist. At this event, they argue over him coming back home. There’s another event in the book (also pushed on Monique by her mother) that they see each other. But overall at the end of the book, on the flight home, Monique realizes that she does miss him and is scared that he won’t take her back (and of hurting him again) but she’ll reach out to him on the way home and take her chances.
Roxanne meets an attractive man at an after-work event named Marus. He pays her attention all evening and gives her his card. When she calls him a few days later, he acts distracted and uninterested. After this, they start to date and become closer. The sex is great but that’s all they do. Marcus doesn’t like to do anything else but go for walks and work. He doesn’t take her on dates. When they make dates he frequently stands her up and when they hang out it’s always over his place. Roxanne finally gets fed up with this. Only to find out he sees her as a friend and she’s on a list of a few others he’s seeing. She cuts him off (tho he’s clueless and doesn’t quite get it). At the end of the book, (after the trip) she comes home to find he’s been blowing her phone and then he insists he has to see her. Only to tell her he’s found the love of his life (whose nothing like the woman he says he wanted). So she kicks him out.
Cynthia was the thick girlfriend that everyone said had a pretty face but just needed to lose some weight. After going on a date she made through the personals and having the guy be rude to her all throughout by bringing up health and the importance of exercising and dieting, she takes him up on it. She starts going to the gym and soon is down two dress sizes. She meets a guy at the gym named Anthony that sends her flowers. Cynthia starts to date Anthony (and later we learn he buys her expensive things and workout equipment). There are signs that Cynthia’s starving herself but her friends don’t see it. Roxanne walks into her bathroom and it’s stunk up. When they go to the beach she only has a lettuce sandwich. When they go out to eat earlier she barely has anything. They notice her obsessive exercising but don’t really think too much of it. Only that she looks good. She brags to them about her new man and shows them pictures of them on vacation. Only to run into his wife and kids at the beach. Cynthia surprises them all by admitting she knew about it, but she just didn’t care. Later on in the middle of the night, Cynthia gets sick and winds up in the hospital because of anorexia. Later, her parents and Roxanne stay with her until she’s able to get back on her feet.
My Thoughts:
Overall, I just thought this book was SAD! It shows the lengths women will go through to have a man. Dangerous dieting. Accepting bs that we don’t (shouldn’t) have to put up with for far too long. Settling. Praying. All of it makes me mad because in a lot of cases, it’s not us but we put ourselves through so much because of their hangs ups.
Like Cynthia (whose story was the most relevant to me). 1. Had Cynthia just loved HERSELF enough to accept herself the way she was? And there was nothing wrong with her wanting to be in better shape but FOR HERSELF that would have been FINE! Look at Lzzo. I don’t always agree with some of her outfit choices but that woman LOVES what she has and don’t care what no damn body has to say about it. AND she HAS a man. My mother watches this reality show and on it was a woman that weighed 300 pounds and SHE had a man. So that tells me that there ARE men who like thick women. There are men who like OBESE women. You should NOT have to kill yourself by starving yourself to get NO DAMN BODY. And what’s the saddest thing to me is that I could relate to this character the most because (and this makes me cringe) I found myself in this situation. Not with a married person but with a person that wasn’t exactly single. By this point, I was burnt out too. I was like SCREW IT. I’m TIRED! I’m tired of looking. I’m tired of praying. You don’t seem to hear me anyway. This person is here. They give me time. They give me attention. They even wanted to introduce me *to* the person they were with (which freaked me out and I was like uh no thank you). As long as *I* got there time it was ALL GOOD. But, as time passed I started to have a higher respect for myself and I started to see in SO MANY ways this person wasn’t who I needed so they became less and less. It’s SO EASY to develop this kind of mentality when you’re a single woman. Because the truth is (no matter what they try to make us believe) NO there is NOT someone out there for everyone. THAT IS A LIE! Or maybe there is but unfortunately some of us just will not find that person in this lifetime.
I really did feel bad for all these women. I felt bad for Roxanne because. As I said earlier, as women sometimes we can give all the chances in the world for men to get it right. But at the end of the day, it makes us weak because how will men ever learn if we just keep brushing off and excusing the thoughtless things they do. If reminds me of a cousin I have that was supposed to go out with this guy only he forgot about the date. So she showed up at the movies and ended up going alone. Instead of saying “Oh ok you forgot. I know what else you can forget.” She went *back* out with him. My point is if someone thinks they can get away with something with no consequences they’ll continue to play you like that. So, how can we expect to be treated with more respect if we just accept any ol thing people dish out for us to take? But then on the flip side, we feel like we have to accept this kind of thing So I guess in general I’m sad and pissed that women, in general, go through this because there just aren’t enough good men for us each to have one.
I was happy for Gayle. Again, I was in this situation but unlike Gayle I was dumb. I let what I saw on the outside (that wasn’t desirable to me at the time) cloud my vision. I wasn’t courageous enough to just take a chance. Had I done that it would lead to something great and I never got a second chance Tho we did to this day remain the greatest of friends. Even today I know that I’d probably be like Gayle and have something great staring me right in the face but I’d probably brush it off because of doubts and fears so I did understand but I’m glad at least one of these ladies' stories went in a good direction.
Same thought with Monique. I have a feeling that it won’t be any problem tho getting Tyson back. So a half of a happy ending isn’t bad.
Rating: 7
I think I can make this review shorter than the long one I wrote. To sum this one up 4 friends go out town to their friend’s wedding (Gayle, Cynthia, Roxanne, and Monique). From the beginning of the trip to the end, it’s not good. Angie’s grandmother is religious, her mother is controlling, the church is too small, there are a lot of cancellations, the rehearsal place is cheap, the food at the reception is skimpy. But they all get through it and go back to their separate lives.
Gayle works at a bank. She had other plans but over time she kind of got stuck working there. There’s a guy there named Reggie that likes to come around her and flirt with her but she pushes it off because she’s not confident. So, all the hints he throws at her she blows them off. Numerous times he invites her to have lunch with him. Every single time she declines and finds an excuse why she can’t. So one day he invites her to o on a date with him. Gayle accepts the invite but practically has an anxiety attack over it. Gayle's parents are separated, but we can’t really tell because her father is always over there. He’s (of course) an alcoholic, but throughout the book, he tries to convince his family he’s gotten better (something else we also can’t tell because when he’s on a page he’s arguing with Gayle’s mother). On the night of her date, she ends up canceling because he and her mother get into another one of their fights and it upsets her mother so much she has a dizzy spell. Reggie is cool about it, but Gayle. Reggie is cool with it, but Gayle avoids him after this. So, one day he shows up in her office with a picnic basket. He gives her the news that he’ll be working in the Chicago office. It’s obvious that he wants Gayle to say she’ll miss him, but she can’t. After this, her friends start to notice how burnt out Gayle is so they go on a vacation. Gayle ends up sloppy drink and passes out in a restaurant. After they get back, he realizes Reggie will be coming back she finds out her mother has taken her father back. Something she can’t accept. She realizes that Reggie will be coming back so she greets him with a picnic lunch. This time she’s able to say she misses him and invites him to go apartment-looking with her.
Monique has a society mom and she feels like what she does is never got enough. She’s pressing her to go back to school and get a higher degree because she thinks she’s not happy. When in actuality *she’s* the one not happy with Monique’s life. While at one of her mother’s events she runs into her ex Tyson. We find out that she and Tyson were engaged but she called the wedding off with him because of pressure from her mother. (Although she never stopped loving him). She didn’t really date anyone else after this. He did but didn’t find anyone that he felt the same way about. He went to school and studied to be a gynecologist. At this event, they argue over him coming back home. There’s another event in the book (also pushed on Monique by her mother) that they see each other. But overall at the end of the book, on the flight home, Monique realizes that she does miss him and is scared that he won’t take her back (and of hurting him again) but she’ll reach out to him on the way home and take her chances.
Roxanne meets an attractive man at an after-work event named Marus. He pays her attention all evening and gives her his card. When she calls him a few days later, he acts distracted and uninterested. After this, they start to date and become closer. The sex is great but that’s all they do. Marcus doesn’t like to do anything else but go for walks and work. He doesn’t take her on dates. When they make dates he frequently stands her up and when they hang out it’s always over his place. Roxanne finally gets fed up with this. Only to find out he sees her as a friend and she’s on a list of a few others he’s seeing. She cuts him off (tho he’s clueless and doesn’t quite get it). At the end of the book, (after the trip) she comes home to find he’s been blowing her phone and then he insists he has to see her. Only to tell her he’s found the love of his life (whose nothing like the woman he says he wanted). So she kicks him out.
Cynthia was the thick girlfriend that everyone said had a pretty face but just needed to lose some weight. After going on a date she made through the personals and having the guy be rude to her all throughout by bringing up health and the importance of exercising and dieting, she takes him up on it. She starts going to the gym and soon is down two dress sizes. She meets a guy at the gym named Anthony that sends her flowers. Cynthia starts to date Anthony (and later we learn he buys her expensive things and workout equipment). There are signs that Cynthia’s starving herself but her friends don’t see it. Roxanne walks into her bathroom and it’s stunk up. When they go to the beach she only has a lettuce sandwich. When they go out to eat earlier she barely has anything. They notice her obsessive exercising but don’t really think too much of it. Only that she looks good. She brags to them about her new man and shows them pictures of them on vacation. Only to run into his wife and kids at the beach. Cynthia surprises them all by admitting she knew about it, but she just didn’t care. Later on in the middle of the night, Cynthia gets sick and winds up in the hospital because of anorexia. Later, her parents and Roxanne stay with her until she’s able to get back on her feet.
My Thoughts:
Overall, I just thought this book was SAD! It shows the lengths women will go through to have a man. Dangerous dieting. Accepting bs that we don’t (shouldn’t) have to put up with for far too long. Settling. Praying. All of it makes me mad because in a lot of cases, it’s not us but we put ourselves through so much because of their hangs ups.
Like Cynthia (whose story was the most relevant to me). 1. Had Cynthia just loved HERSELF enough to accept herself the way she was? And there was nothing wrong with her wanting to be in better shape but FOR HERSELF that would have been FINE! Look at Lzzo. I don’t always agree with some of her outfit choices but that woman LOVES what she has and don’t care what no damn body has to say about it. AND she HAS a man. My mother watches this reality show and on it was a woman that weighed 300 pounds and SHE had a man. So that tells me that there ARE men who like thick women. There are men who like OBESE women. You should NOT have to kill yourself by starving yourself to get NO DAMN BODY. And what’s the saddest thing to me is that I could relate to this character the most because (and this makes me cringe) I found myself in this situation. Not with a married person but with a person that wasn’t exactly single. By this point, I was burnt out too. I was like SCREW IT. I’m TIRED! I’m tired of looking. I’m tired of praying. You don’t seem to hear me anyway. This person is here. They give me time. They give me attention. They even wanted to introduce me *to* the person they were with (which freaked me out and I was like uh no thank you). As long as *I* got there time it was ALL GOOD. But, as time passed I started to have a higher respect for myself and I started to see in SO MANY ways this person wasn’t who I needed so they became less and less. It’s SO EASY to develop this kind of mentality when you’re a single woman. Because the truth is (no matter what they try to make us believe) NO there is NOT someone out there for everyone. THAT IS A LIE! Or maybe there is but unfortunately some of us just will not find that person in this lifetime.
I really did feel bad for all these women. I felt bad for Roxanne because. As I said earlier, as women sometimes we can give all the chances in the world for men to get it right. But at the end of the day, it makes us weak because how will men ever learn if we just keep brushing off and excusing the thoughtless things they do. If reminds me of a cousin I have that was supposed to go out with this guy only he forgot about the date. So she showed up at the movies and ended up going alone. Instead of saying “Oh ok you forgot. I know what else you can forget.” She went *back* out with him. My point is if someone thinks they can get away with something with no consequences they’ll continue to play you like that. So, how can we expect to be treated with more respect if we just accept any ol thing people dish out for us to take? But then on the flip side, we feel like we have to accept this kind of thing So I guess in general I’m sad and pissed that women, in general, go through this because there just aren’t enough good men for us each to have one.
I was happy for Gayle. Again, I was in this situation but unlike Gayle I was dumb. I let what I saw on the outside (that wasn’t desirable to me at the time) cloud my vision. I wasn’t courageous enough to just take a chance. Had I done that it would lead to something great and I never got a second chance Tho we did to this day remain the greatest of friends. Even today I know that I’d probably be like Gayle and have something great staring me right in the face but I’d probably brush it off because of doubts and fears so I did understand but I’m glad at least one of these ladies' stories went in a good direction.
Same thought with Monique. I have a feeling that it won’t be any problem tho getting Tyson back. So a half of a happy ending isn’t bad.
Rating: 7
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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