Review of Fifty Shades of Jungle Fever by L.V. Lewis

RATING: 5 stars

Oh this book killed me (in a good way of course). Not sure what i was expecting with a parody book, let alone a parody book of my most favorite and what i consider the granddaddy of them all, “Fifty Shades of Grey”. I was saying in my head, “the author better not make Christian looks like some creep or I will be sending a very unpleasant email to this chick.” So I started and from the very first line: 

“Pursing my lips in frustration, I brush my hair back and tame it with the last bit of gel left in the jar. Damn my weave is Jacked!”

I just knew this was one book I was going to enjoy and not want to put down.

“Fifty Shades of Jungle Fever” by L.V. Lewis has the female herione, Keisha and friend Jada wanting to start their own record label. In order to make this happen they need a major backing from a person with the means and the money. So conviently, Jada is unable to attend so Keisha, being uncomfortable with formal business, has to step up and go to bat for her company. That’s where she meets the engimatic and dominating presence of Tristan White. After going tit for tat with each other and a steamy first encounter, Keisha is left reeling! Running out on their meeting she knows she has blown their chance for making this dream into a reality. Tristan doesn’t back down or forget about Keisha. The bottom line is....HE WANTS HER. And even though she’s fighting it, she wants him too. Floggers, spanks and all.

What I loved:

Storyline- yes its based off of FSOG, but it became its own story and flowed very smoothly. The plot pulled me in and just didnt want to let me go.

Dialogue- this book could of been full of stereotypes and degrading offenses, but it didn’t fully go there. Some of the stereotypes that people may consider offensive truly wasn’t. I thought the dialgoue was just witty and comical when it needed to be.

Interracial relationships- now i’ve read many New Adult novels, but none with minorities as the main characters, which can be disheartening, but I digress. I was happy to see the story revolve around a black woman and a white man and their relationship together. I hardly see it in books or movies, so it was refreshing to read here. Since i’m black and my hubby is of Irish/Italian descent, I did relate a bit. This is just me, but I always been attracted to white men and like Keisha did in the book, got the stares from other black people that would say, “why can’t you give a black man a chance?” Well I did and I decided to go for cream in my coffee instead. What do you want me to tell you? You truly can’t choose who you fall in love with. That is definitely what Keisha learns here.

Keisha- 10x better than Ana. I’m sorry but Ana just annoyed me. Keisha on the other hand was just a fun character. A bit rachet at times, but still had a maturity that Ana took a very long time to establish. I just loved her.

Dislikes:

Tristan- Definitely no Christan Grey, but still sexy and charming in his own way. I did find however that he was very cold and at times lacked emotion. In FSOG, once CG started to get to know Ana you know those protective walls were starting to crumble. Tristan, on the otherhand, just didn’t know where he stood with her. Those two were very sexual but i just felt there should of been more coming from him. Hopefully i will get to know more about Tristan in the 2nd book. He is too much of a mystery for my liking.

That f%!?$ing ending- I swear I thought I was throwing something with how it ended. Thank God this book had the 1st chapter of ‘Exit Strategy’ or Ms. Lewis would be receiving a very mean email from me.

Even though I had 2 dislikes I am still giving it a 5 out of 5. This book was funny, with the right amount of social commentary and wit. Please read this book and the follow up,”Exit Strategy”, which is out now. Go, Go, Go! For those that know me, would I steer you wrong?!

I was given a complimentary copy of Fifty Shades of Jungle Fever by the publisher via NetGalley in exchanged for a honest review.

-Lynne