Oh my goodness! I had no idea what to expect from Carl Weber's Black Hamptons, and I definitely got more than I'd bargained for..., but it was definitely riveting!

My daughter and I go to Sag Harbor several times a year, it's only a little over an hour's drive from where I live. The town has so much charm, and there's a unique vibe to it. If you ever have a chance to visit the east end of Long Island, NY, make sure you take the time to stop there.

The story is really nicely written, but the extra star this novel earned from me is due to the marvelous performances by the narrators: Ace Bentley, Chante Ellison, Dylan Ford, Ebony Mendez, and Michael Rishawn. Fantastic! They truly brought this tale to life.

An amazing cast of characters, most of whom behave badly most of the time, Black Hamptons was jaw-dropping good fun.

There is a lot going on in this book. It seems to be written for the sole purpose of being a television show (which it is). There are so many characters and it is hard to follow especially in the beginning. With so many moving parts its hard to focus. I was sure that this was not going to be my cup of tea, but about halfway through the books narrows down the amount of characters that are being focused on and the story starts to come through. By the time the story get really good, its over and on so many cliffhangers that I need the sequel to know what happens. This is a series that I would gladly continue as long as the focus came along with the book. Old Money vs. New Money in a world where money and power matter. The Brittons vs. the Johnsons for who will receive a coveted piece of land. There are many players and who will come up on top and who will be destroyed.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher through netgalley.com. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I can see why this was made into a BET series as the book reads more like a screen play. I could see all the sexy Britton boys swaggering around the Hamptons like they own the place. It felt very much like a soap opera and is definitely part of a series as it ends on a cliff hanger.

The Brittons have been in the Hamptons for years, they own the local bank and their matriarch is a stone cold bitch. She runs the family on threats, bribes and some unsavory maneuvers. The Johnsons are new money and have only been in the Hamptons for 5 years. They don't always feel they fit in and families like the Britons often look down on them.

When a piece of land comes up for sale both the Brittons and the Johnsons have their eyes set on it and a vicious battle ensues. New money vs. old money in an epic showdown. There are twists and turns I didn't see coming and I was terribly disgusted with how the whole Britton family cowers to the matriarch. Grown men, forced into marriages, denied who they want to spend time with and catered to when they do something she approves of. I didn't see them as strong I started to see them as weak minded fools who are so invested in their luxuries they couldn't fathom going against their mother.

The Johnsons are self made, and while the sister in law gives me a bad taste in the beginning she seems to come around somewhere in between. I'm not sure what they have in store for her but she could be a good asset in the future.

Overall I felt this was well written and while it did get too dramatic for me at times it kept me engaged enough to finish and want more.

Okay… so this was a prefect book for the end of summer! It has drama, craziness, and really rich black folk!

LIKES:
1) Black people doing for themselves! It was so refreshing to see that crazy rich Black people are the same as crazy rich Asians and white folks!
2) Hampton setting, I love when books are set locally
3) Full cast audiobook

DISLIKES:
1) I can’t believe I’m saying this but the epilogue. Actually the ending of the epilogue. That was too abrupt and open ended. It really made me lower the rating
2) This is on BET+ so I can’t watch it and that really makes me upset!

Big thank you to RBMedia and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review! It comes out today!!!

I requested Black Hamptons based on the description and title. As a fan of beach settings, and knowing the wealth on the Hamptons, this one was an obvious summer choice. Turns out, doesn’t matter the color of the people, money equals power and entitlement and this book covered it all.

Old money Britton family vs. relatively new to the fabled summer playground family Johnsons with a battle over a plot of land each wants to own. The characters were at times very annoying based solely on the attitude because the top 1% have it all. Most enjoyable, however, was the use of a slew of narrators to voice the tale. Frequently you will find two readers who present dueling sides of a story, but this felt more like a full on stage performance with a five talented voices. Very unique and kept me listening.

At just around 10 hours for the audio book, this was a nice two day listen that didn’t require a lot of effort and passed the time.

A well written, wear read tale that is as old as time. The uber rich (1 percenters) believing their money allows them to believe the rules do not apply to them, believe that they can do whatever they want and their money and power will buy their way out of any “issues: that may occur, do not care who they take down along the way, In fact, they revel in causing others pain to get what they want. In essence, their moral compass is broken and they are proud of themselves for mowing people down. Old money vs new money, elitism, the wealthy trying to get their way while they are dealing with a moral upright police sergeant who just wants to live his life, do his job but the law and raise his son in the peace and quiet of the beautiful Hamptons. They take aim at him and anyone who gets in their way. Lots of twists and turns. It's a retelling of a centuries old issue of the haves and have nots.

When I was an adolescent, I enjoyed reading fiction and nonfiction about America's Gilded Age, "robber barons," and High Society's Newport foibles. For me, this was as far distant from my experience as say, the court of Henry the VIII, or the characters in the TV drama "Dallas." But the very distance of the abyss inspires intrigue. In BLACK HAMPTONS, Carl Weber delineates "how the One Percent lives," only these aren't the WASP High Society of the Gilded Age: these are wealthy (extremely) and very elitist and inclusive African-Americans, suddenly finding themes at odds with "New Money" (Tech baron) and a Black police sergeant whose moral code is far higher and more apparent than the "wealth and background is everything " upper class elitism of the Black Hamptons "ruling class."