Secrets of a Side Bitch (Books 1-5) by Jessica N. Watkins
A Review By: SS
From Book One:
He's beautiful, with gray eyes, tall, chocolate...and he's worth fighting for.
Meet Omari, a gorgeous, hardworking 28-year-old man from the South Side of Chicago. No matter how hard he works at his job at UPS, it is never enough to take care of himself and his long-term girlfriend. After continuous pressure from his older cousin, Ching, Omari finally trades in busting his ass for working under Ching, hustling three major blocks on the West Side.
All is good as Omari juggles work and the drug game - until Ching involves him in the murder of someone who ends up being the governor's nephew. As he dodges homicide detectives, Omari is also trying to dodge getting caught between two loves. He's been committed to Aeysha for seven years but is falling more each day for Simone, an older, more established woman who is at his beck and call.
After years of playing the side chick, Simone finally finds love that she thinks is all her own. Just as she settles in to loving Omari, she finds out about Aeysha, and her desperate mind begins to plot how to finally win her man. Simone's best friend, Tammy, thinks Simone is crazy, and she herself is running from an obsessed ex-boyfriend who is persistent in trying to kill her. Tammy lives in hiding for months as she asks herself this burning question: How can a man love a woman with the same hands that he is willing to kill her with?
As the murder investigation leads to arrests, the walls come down on these lovers. Murder, sex, and indictments lead to unforeseen tragedy and unexpected love.
Review Notes:
Audio Book Publication Year: 2016-2019
An installment in a Series? Complete Series
Narrator (s): Cary Hite, Nicole Small
In this series, readers are introduced to one of the most deceitful and conniving characters ever…Simone Campbell. Simone stopped at nothing to get what she wanted, especially when it came to securing a man. Once she tired of being the “side bitch,” there was no limit to the lengths she would go, NO LIMIT, to become the number one lady in her man’s life. I was initially concerned with the number of characters in the story, but the characters became more developed as the story progressed. These stories were filled with drama and plot twists that helped each book become a page turner. Book One did not start off strong for me, but as I was drawn deeper into the lives of Simone, Omari, and others, I had to know what would happen next. I was pleased that each book was better than the preceding book in the series.
I enjoyed all the drama that was weaved throughout each storyline. There were a lot of characters introduced throughout this series, each with their own set of problems. I liked how the author tied all the loose ends together at the end of the series.
The male narrator (Cary Hite) often sounded like he was reading. His narration didn’t really flow, in my opinion. His emotions seemed forced. He did seem to improve slightly by the end of the series. There also were a lot of stereotypes throughout the storylines. That was a bit of a turnoff for me.
Reading Recommendation? Yes!
Rating: 4 (It’s lit!)
Content Warnings? Human or animal loss, Physical abuse/violence, Sexual abuse/violence
