Or turn you into a soulless psychotic sociopathic megalomaniac.
In Love on a Two Way Street, New York Times bestselling author J.L. King tells a story about the rise and fall of Juice (James Lamar Kennedy). In this novel, Mr. King addresses taboo subjects like sexual abuse, drug abuse, defining sexual orientation, and life on the down low. There is also a sprinkling of steamy sex scenes here and there. (In my opinion, you really cannot go wrong with steamy sex scenes.)
Despite growing up with a drug addicted mother and being sexually abused by her boyfriend, Juice worked his way up to become one of the most powerful music moguls in the business and has the woman of his dreams on his arm. His crowning achievement was the creation of the Seven Figures, an exclusive club which promised its members the power to achieve their professional goals and the freedom to satiate their most hidden desires.
You would think working your way up from the bottom would make you appreciative of the things you have and the people who love you. Not Juice. He becomes so drunk with power, he is transformed into a monster that will lie, cheat, and kill to maintain his carefully created image. In the beginning, I really was rooting for Juice to succeed. By the end of the book, I was cheering when he finally got what was coming to him. (And I do not mean the “in my head” kind but the “startling the people around me” kind.)
The novel was interesting and a quick read. My only issue was the sheer number of characters in it. After finishing the novel, I believe that more than half of these characters could have been left out and would not have been missed.
For those who would like to give this novel a try, here are the characters you may want to keep an eye on:
Juice (James Lamar Kennedy): The cold-hearted [expletive deleted] main character
Bones (Andre Bonner): Juice’s best friend and protector
Brianna Banks: Juice’s sexy talented fiancée
Carl Braxton: Member of the Seven Figures club
Jacob Braxton: Carl’s stepson
Mortimer Zane: Juice’s mentor/no strings attached lover
Enjoy!
