Ivy's Twisted Vine

The Agosto Family #1

by Latrivia S. Nelson

Memphis, TN is buzzing over a sex scandal that could upset one of the city's oldest black political families, and it is all centered around one woman - Ivy Winters. Ivy Winters is a college queen on the rise to becoming the next big thing to hit the Memphis marketing industry. All she has to do is finish her last year of college with top honors and plan the biggest wedding event of the year, before she's off to being Mrs. Grey Henderson. Her five-year plan is working out smoothly until her fianc¿ dumps her. In utter despair, she falls into the arms of another man and ends up pregnant by either the love of her life or the man of her dreams.Grey Henderson knows what he wants and gets it. Labeled the most eligible bachelor in Memphis, secured by riches and power, and son to the most hated and loved Mayor the city has ever seen, his only goal is to become the next Congressman of District 17. But like many men, Grey is a slave to sex. Marriage to Ivy would win the seat, but his desire to continue as a single man creates waves when he breaks off their engagement only to discover he wants her back. Italian lover, Lt. Nicola Agosto is one of Memphis' top cops. Living life on the edge and sleeping around is a past time he enjoys when he's not serving as the Mayor's henchman. Operation Paycheck is a opportunity that will put his specialized unit in the forefront of a huge movement. However, all his plans come to a halt when he possibly gets Ivy pregnant. Now, not only does he have to face the Henderson family, but he also has to face his love for Ivy.

Genres: Interracial Romance, Romance, Contemporary Romance, Contemporary, Erotica, College

616 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

Latrivia S. Nelson (Latrivia Welch) is the author of Ivy's Twisted Vine (the largest modern interracial romance novel in its genre) and Dmitry's Closet, President of Nelson Pressed, Inc. (small marketing firm that strategically promotes self-published authors) and Public Relations Senior Specialist for the award-winning, highly-acclaimed firm, The Carter Malone Group (the largest female Public Relations firm in Memphis).

Nelson graduated from LeMoyne-Owen College (Memphis, TN) with honors obtaining a Bachelors Degree in business administration with a concentration in management (2003), Strayer University (Washington, DC) obtaining her MBA with a concentration in marketing (2007) and is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in Criminal Justice at Capella University with a concentration in organized crime.

As an observer of life, Nelson has enjoyed the numerous opportunities afforded her and writes about the wonderful and interesting people and places that she has encountered in her novels. She has been highlighted in Ebony Magazine, Elite Magazine (Memphis, TN), RSVP Magazine (Memphis, TN), the Commercial Appeal Newspaper (Memphis, TN) and numerous online publications.

Ivy's Twisted Vine first debuted in February of 2008 and has since been featured by over 500 bookstores, book clubs, individual reviewers, online publications and blogs. It has sold thousands of copies in the states and has become very popular in Europe and Japan.

Nelson is the proud mother of two beautiful children (Jordan and Tierra) and the wife of decorated US Marine (Retired) Adam Nelson. They live in suburbs of Memphis.

Go to www.latrivianelson.com , www.dmitryscloset.com , and/or www.dmitrysroyalflush.com to learn more.

Reviews

[Alicia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was actually a pretty good story, but my gosh, the editing on this book (Kindle edition) is horrific. The grammar, word usage and spelling are shameful. Character names are changed from one paragraph to the next indicating the author may have wanted to change the name of a character, but forgot to go back and do a search to make sure the use was consistent.

The main characters are quite interesting and the story is a good one...very realistic. The dialogue reveals the characters as mature, sensitive adults rather than caricatures and it's this sensitive telling of the story that kept me reading the book.

I feel that the poor editing of the novel shows a real disrespect for the reader. I know I would have enjoyed the story a lot more were it not necessary to re-read sentences with grammatical errors to determine the intent of phrase. It was not one of my more pleasurable reading experiences.

[Tqwana · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this book b/c I've heard nothing but great things about it. I wish I agreed with all the wonderful reviews, but I don't. I think the author is a great story teller, but the story was so incredibly flawed.
This suffered from poor editing or no editing at all. The grammatical errors were so icredibly distracting. There were sentences everywhere that just didn't make any sense at all. Santo was vexed by the women? Um, that means annoyed. Just didn't work. It was overly repetetive also. I kept thinking "you just said that two times before in the same paragraph". The abrupt changes in POV... the lack of contractions made the dialogue sound stilted and unnatural. The inconsistencies with names was bothersome. Pyshco Kelly became Layla. Mattock was with Dr. Dana, but later its Amber. Call me nitpicky, but things like that take me out of the narrative. Maybe it was just the ebook version, though. Hopefully.
But what really killed this book for me was the portrayal of the characters themselves. What was the moral of the story: Don't marry the lying, manipulative, cheating asshole only if someone else offers to marry you in his place? I felt for Ivy initially, when I thought she was just young and naive. But she crossed the line into just plain stupid.
And Grey did NOT deserve the reader's (or the writer's) sympathy in any way. This is man that cheated on his fiancee for the entirety of their relationship, but he gets applauded for sticking by her when she got pregnant, AFTER he broke up with her. Seriously??!! He deserved his comeuppance, not a seat in Congress. Its like reading a Greek tragedy; you're supposed to get a feeling of catharsis at the end, and I didn't get that. I was still waiting for Ivy to grow a back bone and kick his ass, not cheer for his victory. All the other characters talked to her about standing up for herself and being independent and that never happened. How many times did she apologize to Grey when it should've been the other way around? And she should've been the one begging Nicola to marry her. Somewhere in this story, she needed to be single and grow up.

[Kio Mendosa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read Ivy's Twisted Vine over and over. I'm a cop in Memphis and while some of her technical terms could have been a little better, she hit the MPD right on the head. I know ten guys who fit the bill of Nicola. And I know about 40 that fit Brooks. Grey was easy too. There are some political families here that I'm sure read that book and wondered if she knew their boys. You have to be on the inside to write a book like this. Many of the things that she talked about are well known only if you live it everyday. It is just good to read about cops in a good light, talk about our issues and address our hang ups with love and I speak as a woman on this. My friends and I passed this book around over and over and we went to all of her events. She is really talented and it really suprised me that she wasn't a cop. I did think though that she reminded me some what of Ivy. That part was interesting to me. I'm just going to say to buy the book and read it. I'm a big fan of hers.

[Nikol · Rating 1 out of 5]

Im about to just give up reading this book. There are so many grammar errors that even i could spot them and thats just sad. The contradictions in the book were so amazing that they were even in the same paragraph, how can you not notice that? Im amazed by the high reviews on this book when you just take that into consideration. Then there are the characters, they are so ridiculous and are nothing to brag about. The characters are just a bunch of mental cases with identity issues that one way or another managed to find each other on this vast world. I will try to finish the book but i already know that its just going to keep going down hill from here. I rather just find something to read online and stop ratings from dictating what good.
*update*
So i finished the book it did not go down hill like i expected it to, sort of. This book was a slap in the face to womanhood. Ivy is the worst example of how a succesful and centered woman should be, thought the author tried to lead us otherwise. Thru the whole book Ivy is constantly apologizing to Grey, forgiving him for his attitude, and pracing him. Grey was the lowest of possible man on this earth but got praced and rewarded on every turn. In all honesty the only character in this book that gets any props is Nicola. Every other character in this book makes me want to scream. The only reason this book gets 2 stars on my book is because of Nikola and because... i dont think theres anything more than that.

[Americana · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an amazing book. I purchased it on Authorhouse site and read the e-book at work (shh!) I shared it with a cubicle buddy of mine and it broke the ice for us to start a relationship even though we are from different races. I can truly say that this book changed my life. It was not hard to read and it felt like watching a movie. I started my own little book club with the cute blonde haired boy that has us in knots for her second book. I hope that everyone enjoyed it as much as I did.

Americana Jones
Dallas, TX

[Csummerrein01 · Rating 4 out of 5]

this is a very talented new writer

[Beth Evant · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have to say that Latrivia one of my favorite authors so I may be biased in my review. I have read all of the Medlov books more than twice. I love her writing style. Her characters speak to me.:)

I do not know why I had not read this book. I purchased it in January 2013 and it has been sitting on my Kindle. I read the World in Reverse and decided that I wanted to know more about Ivy and Agosto's story. Since it was Ms. Nelson's first book, I didn't expect too much. But I was WRONG. I loved this story. Some people have complained about grammatical errors. Latrivia's writing is so easy for me to read that I do not even notice the grammatical errors. Ivy's Twisted Vine is long, but I really couldn't tell because I was engrossed in the story and didn't want it to end. I want to thank Latrivia for giving us a full length book and not splitting it up into 10 series.

This is the story of Ivy Winters, Nicola Agosto and Grey. Ivy spent most of her time in the book annoying me and making me frustrated. Ivy is a prim and proper black woman who had a relationship with an aspiring politician, Grey. Grey's family is one of the elite in Memphis. He is a DOG!! He loves women and has no business being in a relationship, but he thinks being with Ivy will enhance his political life. When he breaks up with Ivy for a week or so she sleep with Nicola. It's the first time she had ever done such a thing, she is practically a virgin - not really but close. Nicola is a handsome Italian policeman. I LOVE Nicola and I felt bad for him because he got strung along most of the book. Ivy finds herself pregnant and does not know who the father is. So, both men have to wait until the baby is born to see who the babies and Ivy belong to. Whew, it was an intense story. Not only did we get to know Ivy, Nicola and Grey, but Latrivia introduced us to some other characters that I enjoyed getting to know.

Another good one by Latrivia Nelson. Now I'm trying to move on to another author, but I can't keep my mind from wondering back to Ivy and Nicola. lol

[Bibi · Rating 2 out of 5]

It has become a recurring theme with IR books for the female- usually POC- protagonist to be portrayed as this paragon of virtue/grace/beauty/intelligence..... yada yada yada. This book was no exception and was filled with absurd things such as:

1. Ivy (who is 21 BTW) could afford a corvette or something equally, if not more, expensive

2. Ivy could afford top name brands and couture

3. She was valedictorian, got a top paying job (at 21?), had not one but two babies yet was back at work 6 weeks later. Yeah, right.

4. Never took the time to bond with her babies (she just bounced them around between her parents, her lover, her fiancee and God knows who else) This was so laughably preposterous and as any new mother would tell you, utterly unbelievable. And oh, she also had time to hit the treadmill and had snapped back to pre-pregnancy weight without once breaking a sweat. LOL. Good luck with that.

I understand this is fiction and authors are allowed to take liberties; however, there are fundamentals that are incontrovertible. For instance, pregnancies have a gestation between 36 to 40 weeks. So, would it be acceptable to take liberties where the female protagonist could have a healthy, fully developed baby within a 20-week gestation just because the author wields the mighty pen? I think not.

And therein lies my problem with this book.

Latrivia infused Ivy with exaggerated qualities to the point Ivy became a caricature. Once I understood this was how the author intended to arc Ivy's character, I became uninterested and read the book merely to pass time.

[Charmer (Whatcha Reading) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I should have read this book before The Medlov Crime Family series; wished I'd a known that. Because I already knew who she ended up with, but I got to know Ivy and Nicola. There were times that I just wanted to shake the shit out of Ivy. She really had me smh at her, and I couldn't stand Grey's fine ass. She was way to trustin and naive; I would've followed Grey at some point. Nicola could grab me and rough it up alil(hehehe), and I love me some dimples. Good story.

[AKA · Rating 1 out of 5]

I wanted to hate Ivy, but I couldn't because she was never "real". I never got into her story or her self inflicted drama because she was flat and I was always aware of the author.

This book was just plain awful. I managed to finish it, but I kept fantasizing about giving it negative stars or giving one star reviews to every author with the last name Nelson. I borrowed this and I still want money back.

[Cyndi Bryant · Rating 4 out of 5]

3 1/2 stars....Twisted indeed. Sluggish in parts but overall I nice effort. I really go into the characters. Now I want to read the next. Which will be when??? Who knows but this was a very promising start.

[Libby Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a large book but easy to read. I enjoyed the character development and the commitment to keeping readers unsure to the very end.

[Aleshia · Rating 5 out of 5]

So good that I read it three times. Awesome!!!

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Twisted As Can Be

Good gravy but this story had more twists and turns that a bowl of spaghetti! Ivy was confused and immature and a bit annoying. She was content to follow Grey's lead like a mindless automaton. Grey was a low down, dirty, whoring pig and throw in an arrogant prick.

Nicola was a serious man whore. His arrogance was tinged with sexy and a beautiful face. He is a beast in his job but has some demons.

The story was told with a steady pace but they typos and name switches were a distraction and were enough that it cost one star. I enjoyed this story and can't wait to read the second tale of the Agostos. Well written Latrivia.

[Jay DeMoir · Rating 3 out of 5]

A really solid story! It started off rather slow, but quickly picked up and once it started rolling, the action just increased. Such a scandalous and realistic tale, but glad it was told.

[Merlene Dunbar · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was one of those books where real life shit went down. An example of where a man is being selfish and possessive and the woman getting caught in-between his selfishness and her classification of 'being in love'. Now I have always considered myself a very straight forward person when it comes to anything dealing with my personal life so when I read this book my mind was so boggled at the time if Ivy was standing right in front of me I would have been fixin' to slap what little black she had in her out of her. I would think any smart girl would agree with my opinion on this. You have been together with a guy for a long time, he has been your first in practically every aspect of your life so in girl language that fool has to marry you. Then one day he just becomes bored because he got tired of pelau so he threw you out for a little European cuisine. So you cry a little, you drink alot and then you party out the heartache. Take in mind people I didn't say go and give away the food to the homeless because you were in a giving mood. Anyway, while partying you just happen to connect with someone on a refreshing level, you go with it, there is really nothing holding you back. I mean the only thing that changed in the ending of your relationship was just that so starting something new isn't really a problem. So you happen to make out a little with this guy and then you cover all your bases at another time, still there is no problem. The problem only arises when said fool realizes he is allergic to European cuisine and decides pelau is always gonna settle his stomach and comes crawling back to you with 'I'm sorry's and please forgive me's' and you throw all your new developments out the window and a little of your self respect and take him back. This is where the characteristic of every and all known black woman comes into play. She gets pregnant, doesn't know the daddy, strings them along because she can't make up her mind, chooses out of selfishness, regrets her choice later, betters herself out of jealousy of the one she didn't choose and then recognises the error of her ways. I am no editor nor am I a writer but what I can say is even though these interracial novels are written by mostly black women I can conclude that they don't realise they are actually portraying black women as the desperate characters in all of their novels and this book kind of solidified that for me. I mean Ivy was suppose to be that girl with big dreams and a good head on her shoulders. Yet she sleeps with a guy for one night and gets knocked up because she FORGOT TO MAKE THE FOOL WEAR A CONDOM! Really? People get prizes for writing such dribble?

[Leslie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read the original version about a year ago and gave it 4 stars. At the time, I deducted 1 star for the horrible lack of editing. I purchased the redux hoping to enjoy the story with the typos and inconsistencies removed. Well, no luck. I just wasted my money. I could not find any changes or enhancements to the storyline. It is outrageous for the never ending typos and grammatical errors to still be in this book. Also, the same inconsistencies are there. Kelly becomes Layla in the next paragraph. At some point, Madison, Ivy's father gets out of a limo with Grey and his brothers and friends, which would never happen. But, later arrives to the same destination with Sadie, Ivy's mom. Come on!!! This is a redux!!! It should have been perfection after years of reading over her first story. I'm convinced that Mrs. Nelson dictates her books and sends it off to the printer without proof reading. I know she is proud to own a publishing company but she needs to hire an editor or fire the one she has. She is a wonderful, masterful storyteller. I am a big fan of her amazing stories and characters but when I have to edit while reading it takes so much away from the story. I can't forgive the lack of editing in a redux. Still love the story even if I wanted to wring Ivy's neck and drop kick Grey a few times. You have to care about characters to feel this way. As for Nicola, what can I say?!? He was the perfect flawed hero.

[Leslie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this story. Ivy was aggravating at times, but there are many women just like her who turn a blind eye and believe everything their man tells them. Basically, she asks her man if he's been cheating on her. He says no, so issue resolved. For some, the simple denial is law. Crazy, but very real. Grey is like most handsome and, more importantly, young powerful men. He's the "villain" yet you understand his motivation and actually like him most of the time... even when he's scheming. He's being pressured into marriage before he is ready, so he is acting out. Nicola is flawed and yet his character really has the best arc of the story. Not to mention his hotness. The side characters are well developed and add humor, insight, and heart to the storyline. There are multiple love stories happening simultaneously which helped fill out the plot. I would have given it 5 stars but the editing was cringe worthy throughout the entire book to the point of distraction. Despite that, this is a great new author who can really tell an epic story. Bravo! Also, I understand that the book will be soon re-released without any editing problems. We'll see. Her subsequent books get better and better, but editing continues to be an issue.

[Elise-Pinterest+Goodreads=The Perfect Book Boyfriend · Rating 3 out of 5]

I generally love LN stories and this one is no exception. The story is about college senior Ivy. She has her whole life planned with boring politically inclined Grey Henderson when fate interrupts with Nicola Agosta. The story is great until right around the end. The drama was dragged out too long. The climax should have come long before it did. Get on with it already!!! I don't know if this book is before Dmitry's closet, however, Agosta is a character in that story as well, which I read first. It is odd to see the other side of the story. In Dmitry's closet, Dmitry is a gangster and you really don't want him to get caught, and Agosta is a police officer. However, in this story, you really are cheering for the police. A nice twist. In all, this was well written story, despite typical ebook editing errors, which I do not hold against the author. I am learning to pick my battles. I would rather read a good book with some editing problems, than a well edited book with weak characters and a poor plot. A good read and I would definitely loan it to a friend. TTFN-Sandy.

[Terease · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent

[Areil · Rating 1 out of 5]

Too much of everything for me. Too much sleeping around. Unprotected. Confusion. IDK. Not for me.

[Chichi · Rating 1 out of 5]

-0 Star

This is the most stupid book I've read in a long time, possibly my entire life. It reads like it was written by a self-hating black man, but turns out it's just a male centered self-hating black woman -utterly disappointing.

I hated every single character in this book. Ivy, Nicola, Grey, Trina, Brooke, Santos, Emerald, ALL OF THEM. I honestly blame myself for actually reading this foolishness after the warnings from a few reviews. The terrible writing errors wasn't deterrent enough for me, I thought maybe regardless of that the drama will make it somewhat worthwhile but NO. The 'drama' was really a bunch of idiots lying and acting like animals lacking self-control. Honestly, I believed this book was rigged to have anything above a 3 star overall rating, someone has to be lying here.

All the male characters are trash, philandering whores who never in the whole 616 pages of this book ever have to face the consequences of their actions. And the women are docile idiots, who just let the men behave however they like.

I honestly don't know who disgusted me more in Nicola and Grey (the f-ing names just annoy me). They are such opportunistic, hypocritical liars. In their respective POVs they claim to care so much about Ivy and other things that are just never ever reflected in their actual words or actions.

Nicola is constantly thinking about how much e "loves' Ivy even while sleeping with other women, even when they haven't even had up to a handful of tangible conversations, he thinks it and thinks about how 'vulnerable' he is with her, meanwhile the girl is constantly utterly clueless, partially due to her own simple mindedness over all, but also due his supposed vulnerability simply being a farce. He says that he's tired of chasing her meanwhile I don't see one incident of him doing that after he sleeps with her that first time.

Speaking of the female characters, I got the impression that they were simply allergic to singleness. Like they would die if they had to exist without a man. That had to be why 2 months after losing her partner, Trina is married to a man who had a divorce 2 weeks before he got with her. And why the same day that Ivy is supposed to marry a man that she knew from the first chapter wasn't in love with her, she chooses to marry a whole other man who hadn't even really put himself out there to her emotionally until like a week before her farce of a wedding.

Everyone in this book is just stupid and when I read books like this, I can't help but think of what type of author would write this and what type of publisher will pick up this nonsense.

The way race was discussed in this book disgusted me. The overemphasis on the non-black and light skinned female characters beauty (especially when praising their features which has some proximity to whiteness) disgusted me. Except, finding out that the author is a dark skinned black woman confused me. My guess is Ivy in this book is supposed to represent her. The way Ivy's beauty is described is the one exception when it touches on the appearance of the darker skinned female characters. Almost as if she's an outlier for her demographic, newsflash: SHE ISN'T.

The only physical description constantly harped on in this book in regards to eyes are the blue eyes of the female non-black characters. The author must really hate her brown eyes.

This book constantly reminded me of my biggest pet peeve when it comes to male relationships, and not even just their friendships. The way they will protect each other's secret even while one of them is doing the most vile things, its honestly so disgusting. Santos, Nicola's twin, cheats on his wife who cannot have kids and this is brushed off as normal. Grey cheats on Ivy till the very end and never suffers the consequences of his actions; as a matter of fact the fool has the audacity to try to call off the wedding after a night with 2 women during his bachelor's party. No consequence, NOTHING.

This author really just hated all her female characters too. Ivy is supposedly this saint who was vilified for sleeping with someone else while on break from her toxic relationship, meanwhile in the real world, the same dude would have given her at least a handful of STDs with the number of times he had cheated. Disgusting.

The more I write this, the angrier I get at myself for sacrificing my sleep for this foolish book. I'm just going to leave this here now, but I will never read another book by this shitty author.

[sjoyce · Rating 3 out of 5]

Contain Some Spoilers!

I read this book for the first time two years ago. After rereading Dmitry's Closet I wanted to know more about Nicola Agosto. I knew that he was the main character in The World in Reverse, and was interested in reading that book. I was reminded that he was in this book, so I reread it. The storyline in this book was very interesting. As in most of Ms. Welch's book, the errors were inexcusable.

Most men in the book were disgusting in that outside work, sex was all they engaged in with different sexual partners. A couple of the women were just as bad, especially Trina, Ivy's best friend. Grey, Ivy's fiance, was the worst. He was a serial cheater and constantly lied to Ivy about it. Everyone in Memphis knew he cheated on Ivy except her. Unbelievable! He also abused Ivy emotionally. I don't understand why she put up with it. Grey's father was the mayor and his family was wealthy. Her parents, though divorced, were good examples of how a lady should be treated. They were just as wealthy and Ivy didn't need him for wealth or social status.

Why Ivy had sex with Nicola is unimaginable. Grey was her only sexual partner and she was with him for five years. Grey broke off their engagement which caused her untold emotional distress. Still, after being warned that Nicola was a dog, she immediately had sex with him after one date. Three days later, she and Grey made up and she had unprotected sex with him. Of course, she became pregnant and had no idea if the father was Grey or Nicola. Then the drama began. She told both of them and Grey still planned to marry her. Nicola just wanted to be part of his children lives - yes, she was pregnant with twins. That gave Grey a reason to continue to cheat and blue about it. Nicola was a handsome, wealthy, well known, highly respected policeman and could have any woman he wanted and often did. How he fell in love with Ivy, having no other relationship with her, is beyond belief.

Ivy's parents were wonderful and lovable. Nicola's parents were incredibly non judgemental and accepting without knowing if the babies were their grandchildren. Grey's parents were despicable. His mother disliked Ivy and thought Grey was too good for her. However, his father still wanted Ivy and Grey to marry. It was politically expedient. No one knew who the father was and wouldn't know until after the babies' birth.

The wedding plans continued. Nicola and Grey took turns accompanying her to her doctor's visits. The more you knew Grey, the more you disliked him and his family. The more you knew Nicola, the more you understood his behavior and the more you loved him. Ivy, seemingly loved by everyone except her future in laws, had few redeeming qualities. She wanted to have her cake and to eat it also.

The drama is unending in the book but it is worth reading. As much sex as the characters had, it was not descriptive nor graphic. The storyline kept you reading through your utter disbelief with the actions of some characters. I will read The World In Reverse and hope Ivy has matured and is worthy of Nicola and his family.

[Nycskpe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow, great book

Another WOW for MS. Nelson. I enjoy readding longer books with lots of details and lots of chaqracters. this book had it, the characters were really intresting and great chemistry.
However, thery were some disturbing aspects throughout. most specifically the over all acceptance of male infidility. I do not rate this book negativly on that as for the most part it is true, as evidences by the socially acceptance of "Women as sex objects!"
I thought Ms Nelson really addressed the truths that are out there.
In addition, Ivy; though raised to be a strong woman with excellent parental figures appeared to be a very weak & insecure woman. This book also made me wonder why/how this happens.
I gave a rating of 4 when it shoul be a 4.5 because, it was a great read butthere were times when the author really drug out some of the supporting situations. Though, it did make me ponder the issues along with helping me to not absolutely hate the opposing characters.
I have to say!! well done and I hope more women read this book and obtain some very valuable insites.

[Connie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this book was such a good soap opera. It was more of a written soap opera than an erotica but it was enchanting because there were no clear heroes that was squeaky clean on either side of the fence. Ivy Winters was a young woman with a clear plan for her life and knew the road map to get there complete with a fiancee. Her fiancee, Grey Henderson wasn't so sure, but in came Lt. Nicola Agosto and showed Ivy there was more to the world than her plans. I loved the story as it gave me memories of daytime soaps and everyone is sleeping with everyone and everyone has the winners of who they believe that Ivy is best suited. You could see the love of both men in their own way for Ivy, but one was deceitful in his love while the other was aloof. The stories of the minor characters of Ivy's brother, her parents, and her best friend all made the story a bit richer as their lives intersected with Ivy and the other characters in some way.

[morganblake · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whew-what a roller-coaster! I first read this in 2016. It was a great book then and even better this time. This book is full of twists and turns. At times it's frustrating but poignant all at the same time. We watch the evolution of Ivy from a young idealistic girl into a savvy woman ready to take life by the horns. I loved Nicola and felt for him once it became clear that he truly loved Ivy. Her relationship with Grey was frustrating. I understood her attachment but it was clear that she wasn't living up to her full potential with him. The drama in this story was riveting. I couldn't put this book down. I am a huge fan of Ms. Nelson (Welch) and anxiously wait for her stories. She's a one-click author for me and always delivers. Great read and highly recommend it!

[Tameka · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would have given the book maximum stars if it weren't for two things. The first being the excessive amount of typos. There were sentences that just didn't make any sense, esp. when the wrong character names were being used. We all make mistakes but this was just excessive considering I read the "Redux" version. The second thing that bothers me about this book is Grey! I just don't understand how she could give him a happy ending when I just wanted him to get hit by a train! With that said I really enjoyed this book and I plan on starting book two today. S/N where is Highness Two? I'm really ready for more of the lonely heart series.

[Tijuanna Ruffin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such A Good Story

This is a favorite book of mines that I reread every so often. And I still love Nicola and Ivy. I never cared much for Grey and that still hasn't changed. I did find myself bothered by Ivy and how she easily accepted the bad treatment from Grey. The way Gey talked to Ivy and treated her and how she stuck with him and said she loved him was hard to swallow. I understand what Ivy needed but I just wish she and Nicola would have communicated better. I liked the family members and how they were supportive while still sharing their feelings. As many times as I've read this book, I will always love it.

[Vivian Byfield · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good

A really good read. Good storytelling, could not put this book down. The pages turned themselves, you will not be disappointed. I recommend.

[ChiQuito · Rating 4 out of 5]

I concur with all the other reviewers. The editing and grammatical errors could have been fixed. However, it was a great story and it was one I thoroughly enjoyed.