I like some drama in my reading but to be honest this series just got on my nerves after a while. Admittedly, I wanted to see how life turned out for Tab as a single mother but I didn't care for this one either. The drama continues. The first book was the better of the 3. The back and forth in the relationship with Tab and Mark just got old. She is too grown to be dealing with some of this stuff.

Felt like it was repeating a lot from the previous two books. I love the covers and the concepts but the execution left me wanting more.

I thought this series was really great but sadly I didn't love the conclusion. I loved Tabby's grandmother and I think the first book was stronger with her, especially since I feel like the focus on friendships wasn't as emphasized in the later books. It did feel very back and forth but I do feel like we got to see character development.

PS the cover artist did an AMAZING job!

This was by far the best book in the series. In the end I was happy about the outcome and choice Tab made but i do feel like much of the book was inner monologues and made-up scenarios. Many of them could have been solved with having a simple conversation. I could excuse it a few times, but even in the end she still won’t speak up and someone else must force her hand to do something. I think the best take away was to celebrate womanhood in its entirety such as friends, career, businesses, and even motherhood. There was a lot in the book, and it does make you want to look at another person to see where they are coming form and if the words they say are what they really meant. Other than that, I would have hoped to see Tab grow more. All in all, I enjoyed this

Thank you Netgalley for an advance Black Girls Must Have It All by Jayne Allen. #BlackGirlsMustHaveItAll #NetGalley
https://www.netgalley.com/catalog/book/274064

Thanks to NetGalley for a copy in exchange for an honest review. My students loved books one and two so I had to jump on the bandwagon and check out this book. This trilogy was okay. It was an easy read and the narrator was awesome. I honestly feel like it could’ve been two books or maybe even one because of how drawn out most of the storylines were. I wanted more from Alexis and Laila’s stories, but it was all about indecisive Tabby. I did resonate with her the most in this book because she was navigating motherhood and a career and I totally get it. I just wanted more from the book.

Tabitha Walker is back for the final installment of the Black Girls Must Die Exhausted series. While I have enjoyed the story, Tabitha was exhausting. Through it all, she never did seem to own her own story. She was never brave enough to fully set boundaries or be fully comfortable in her own skin. All Black girls don’t have complexes and for goodness sake can we be women now?

I am so sorry to say this but we did not need this damn book. It was just filler and it honestly made me upset with some people when I could have left off with good vibes for the characters.

First of all, the cover art on each of these books has been beautiful so kudos to the artist.

I really loved the growth we saw from Tabitha in the second book as she fought to be authentically herself in her career as a news anchor while balancing her impending motherhood status that looked much different than what she anticipated.

But I think this was a case of not needing this to be a three book series.

With this final installment, Tabby is struggling with being a new mom and trying to figure out what her future looks like at the news station and what her future looks like with her daughters father, her ex-boyfriend Marc. I couldn't relate to a lot of her struggles and couldn't connect with either her or Marc for most of this book, causing me to skim and flip through some pages just to get to the end. I feel like a lot of important plot lines, like her relationships with her friends and her dad/stepsisters weren't fully explored. I was hopeful for a strong conclusion to this series but I am kind of just happy its over!

I’ll post my full review soon. Special thanks to the author & publisher for my advanced copy.

Rating 3.5

What a relatable book if you are a working mom! Allen does a wonderful job making the weight of Tabby's decisions palpable. I especially loved the older, wiser characters, as we all need those types of folks in our lives. I had no idea it was part of a series. Definitely fine as a stand alone read!

In book 3 of this trilogy, we see Tabitha coming to grips with being a new mother. Betweens friends, work, her love life and motherhood, Tabitha is fighting to not become overwhelmed.
I enjoyed this final book.
I was happy with the ending. We finally see Tabitha owning that she can have it all and be great.

Thank you Harper Perennial and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I didn’t finish this read and it actually hurts that I didn’t. As much as I like and admire the author, I think it’s because I couldn’t connect to the characters anymore. This was mostly about (what I read) Tabitha navigating motherhood and I couldn’t relate.

I did enjoy Jayne Allen’s first two books of the series. I would still recommend this book to those who are learning to navigate and balance motherhood, friendship, and work.

Overall, I enjoyed reading this one. Tabby Walker is a very relatable character.. Forever the romantic, I wasn't really happy with the relationship decision she made about Marc. Halfway through this book, I realized I was reading the last book in this series. After reading this one, I am now intrigued by the other books in this series. Allen did an excellent job telling Tabby's story. I especially loved her interactions with her girlfriends.

This book was a little slower but it really dug into identity & sacrifice. Of what it’s like to be a new mom & having to endure the stress of how your decisions impact a tiny human. All while making things up and constantly feeling like you’re doing it wrong.

It’s also about not forgetting to lose yourself after entering motherhood. And the sacrifices that go with that. It takes a village to raise a child. But it also takes a village to go through life. A reminder to always ask for help.

Tabitha and her dramatics are back! I was interested to see how she handled motherhood and in true fashion it was a lot. I loved the cover but I really wanted Marc and his mother to go away! Nice conclusion to the story

The finale in this trilogy felt really lack luster to me. I didn’t really enjoy the book until the last 10 chapters and I felt like the ending was too wrapped up in a bow and could have been a major storyline throughout the book. My favorite characters were missing. I wish I would have loved this like I did the first book in this trilogy but I just felt like there was things missing from this plot.

I love this series so much. Tabby is one of the most endearing characters I’ve ever gotten to know through reading. I loved touching down into her world again. This book mainly explores Tabby’s life as a new mother. But as always, she’s also juggling friendships, family, career, and doing what’s right even if it’s challenging. If you’ve read the first two books in this series, I’m certain you will enjoy this one, as well!

I loved the first book in this series, Black Girls Must Die Exhausted, liked the second book, Black Girls Must Be Magic, and adored this finale to the series.

It’s about time we had more stories about Black female friendship that aren’t focused just on trauma, but that focus on real life stuff - things like job promotions, childcare issues, complicated relationships,etc. I was so invested in the lives of these three women; I rooted for them, wanted to shake them a few times to wake them up, oohed and aahed over some choices, but was constantly entertained and intrigued by the plot line and character relationships.

Some powerful conversations about race occur as well, another reminder that Black women have an uphill battle, battles that others are not expected or made to fight, reminders of a privilege gifted, or not, at birth due to race, socioeconomic levels, and generational history. Loved the authentic, honest way these issues are dealt with in these books.

It’s time to put more of these stories on Bestseller lists!

My Reaction: A wonderful ending to a very necessary book series!

Jayne Allen strikes again with the final installment to the Black Girls Must Die Exhausted series: Black Girls Must Have It All. In it, we welcome back favorites Tabby, Ms. Gretchen, Andouele, Lexi, Lah, Lisa and even the arrival of miracle baby Evie.

I wanted so badly for this series to end with a proverbial bang and so I was shocked to see the first part (near quarter) of the book given to recap. It slowed down the usual flow of the book but I am so glad that I kept reading because by mid-way through, it picked up beautifully.

There was a huge emphasis on Tabby's new role as mother and her incessant attempts at finding her own footing in that space. Which no doubt, continues to resonate with me. She's still grappling with who she is while trying to unburden herself from who the world tells her she needs to be. In the end though, when she's forced to decide her future, she learns it is ultimately her choice. Realizing that while she has to make the ultimate choice alone she comes to know that she has a strong support system who will back her and her decisions and comes out the victor. She chooses herself and further highlights this notion that "Self is wealth."

Thank you Netgalley, Harper Perennial, and Jayne Allen for providing an ARC of Black Girls Must Have It All, in exchange for my honest review.

As the last installment of this trilogy, I eagerly approached this book in hopes that Tabby's character would evolve or there would be new tension or friction to make me appreciate Tabby and her evolution. Overall, the MC Tabitha (Tabby) did not effectively carry out the task of becoming remarkable. Her character was a bit flat and did not grow much from the 1st book. It would have been great for this character to make some decisions on her own, but the entire novel was spent with Tabby soliciting the advise from others to make decisions for her own life.

I enjoyed one of the secondary characters, Ms. Gretchen as she was whitty, and providing Tabby with insight without judging. The rest of the characters were a bit unstable, and failed to successfully carry out the plot. Perhaps this book could have been summarized and at the end of the first or second book.

Though I respect and appreciate the author's craft, I could tell she is an attorney, as components of the book seemed more like a deposition. This book fell short of the bar that was raised after reading the 1st and even 2nd book. I believe if more was done with other characters the book would have ended the trilogy with fireworks.

I will support any work this author publishes and recommend others read this book, especially if the other two books were read. Perhaps I spent too much time comparing it to the 1st book.

I am truly thankful to have read this book and look forward to reading Ms. Allen's work in the furture.