Queen Bee by Danielle Lewis

• Rating: 3 out of 5
• Recommend: Maybe (I mean that in the kindest way. It wasn't for me, but may be for you.)
• Release date: April 7, 2017
• Triggers: none
• Read time: 2 days
• Genre: Urban Fiction
• Book recommendation from a friend of the writer.

Blurb: (Courtesy of Goodreads):

Ivy Parrish had always taken care of herself, never questioning anything and never asking anyone for help. At nineteen, she was kicked out of her home, onto the streets to fend for herself. She never expected to come across Derek Harris, one of the most dangerous and notorious gangbangers in Atlanta. When Ivy finds that Derek had a Robin Hood complex to his ever growing mystery, she becomes infatuated, and eventually, falls madly in love with him and becomes, as he affectionately liked to call her, his Queen.

Though as their love seems to blossom, sadly, Derek is no longer among the living and Ivy’s kingdom has seemed to shatter. Ivy now must find the strength she thought she lost when she is now, not only mourning the love of her life, but also taking care of their three-year-old son, Drew, whom she remains to claim as her world

It is through a surprising twist that she finds herself not just Derek Harris’s Queen of the streets, but as Ivy, herself, and it’s through the budding love of Julian Harris–Derek’s cousin and only other relative. He is determined to prove to her that he could love her and treat her how she should be treated, but will she yield to finding a new love or keep her loyalties to the one that she lost?

Through, grief, anger, love, confusion, and fear, Ivy Parrish not only demands to find herself again, but to love herself fiercely and unapologetically, and when Ivy demands it of herself, she expects the same attentiveness from others.

After all, She is the Queen.

****

I wasn't going to review this. I actually told the young lady that sent me a request for the book review that I was not sure if the writer wanted me to do it. Honestly, I gave up on Urban Fiction after not being able to stomach so many grammatical errors. Same was true with reading this book. The redeeming qualities were that the story-line was not terribly bad. But I just wish that more writers in the Urban Fiction community would take their time. Know the difference between "to" and "too". Know the proper structure of dialogue. And, my biggest pet pet peeve, know that the phrase is "I couldn't care less"!!! 

It saddens me that I have not much nice to say about this story. There was a point in the book where she may have went back to add more and the story just was not adding up. Or the flow was not right. Something was off about it. Her timeline wasn't adding up. There was names mixed up. I just want to ask if she reread this story or had beta readers who would be honest with her about her work? There were several points where she could have ended it and I would have been more than happy with the ending. I just hope, if she decides to publish more, that she takes her time with the story. Worry over the edits. Stress herself out over it. Read and reread lines. If they don't sound right, rewrite it.

Writing is no easy feat. I appalled Lewis for the effort. But I wish I listened to that side of me that screamed for me not to agree to review this. A small part of me hoped that it would make me want to read more Urban Fiction in the future.

Queen Bee can be purchased on Amazon  *Free for Kindle Unlimited Members*