I must say that this one made me go back and forth with my rating and finally I think what cinched it for me was the explanation in the back of the book. The book is clearly about Gunplay and Letavia as the title suggests. They cross paths 5 years prior in a brief albeit intense encounter. Upon his release from jail they happen to cross paths again and it is as if the chemistry that they both felt 5 years before was still there. They start this relationship that is in and of itself fraught with absolute chaos and drama. But underneath all of that there is a quiet intensity that seems to be ever present whenever they interact with one another. Letavia was not your typical damsel in distress in need of rescue.(THANK GAWD) She actually is a strong woman holding things down for her grandmother, sister, and disabled little brother. She consistently puts the needs of her loved ones before her own truly showing us what type of character Ms. Sterling and Mr. Sullivan created. Gunplay was a pill that was a little difficult to swallow and hence my reasoning for going back and forth with this book. For all intents and purposes Gunplay just isn't a good guy. He sells drugs without remorse, he makes questionable decisions when it comes to the woman he claims to love, and he feels absolutely no compunction what so ever about putting his hands on a female that hits him. But beneath that goon-like facade that he portrays to the world he has a heart. Nothing makes this more evidently clear than when we see the way that he deals with Letavia's brother, Peanut. He could have joined the ranks of everyone around them and not taken notice of him or even belittled him for something that he had no control over but instead he attempted to give the young man some confidence and help him feel better about himself. Quisha had to be the baby mama from the fiery pits of hell. She took disloyalty to an all time high and the fact that she was delusional to boot, proved to be an extremely deadly combination. All in all whether I wanted to like Gunplay or not or whether I thought that some of the decisions Letavia made as a result of being with him were wise, I can't say that I didn't enjoy the story that these eloquent storytellers were able to weave together. Whether you agree with the lifestyle or even the actions of the characters you can't discount that once you immerse yourself into the tale you don't want to come up for air until the very end. Now what I was eluding to before about going back and forth with my ranking. I agree with some of the other reviewers who indicated that the prologue didn't match up with the ending but after reading Ms. Sterling's note I understood the direction that they were taking the story. Gunplay wouldn't(at least in my opinion) have been humanized enough for us if we hadn't seen the struggles that he had gone through. We needed to see him in the worst light possible(which is what was depicted in the prologue) and then we were able to see him in vulnerable situations where he actually did wear his heart on his sleeve. To me they are building up to allow us to see how he became as hardened as he did and as a result of situations and circumstances it led him to that fateful night that we have yet to see play out in its entirety. So with all of that being said, GREAT JOB Ms. Sterling and Mr. Sullivan!! Kudos to you both!! I can't wait to read part two.