I can’t believe I’ve put off this book for over six years.😳 I quickly became completely invested in Olivia’s quest for answers and revenge. I felt her emotions. Thank goodness she had her outspoken quick witted friend Mona. Mona got to the point and asked the right questions.

When it came to Bernard. I just knew his backstory with Lorraine wouldn’t be a simple one. When more details were given about the relationship things were not adding up. Bernard was greedy, selfish and spineless. He let greed cloud every judgment. He was reckless with the lives of everyone in his path.

How did that woman stay with him? No one is that desperate. When all the sordid dirty details come to light you can’t even feel sorry for her. I was shaking my head saying heck-to-the-NO!

Poor Kendall. He really got it the worst because he was blindsided by what was revealed to him. I felt his pain the most. He wanted authenticity. He wanted love. He wanted to be seen and Olivia delivered.

Jerry is the real tragedy in this story. How easily the rich dismiss the real needs of the poor. I was bothered 😕

Cliche takeaway... “Everything that glitters isn’t gold” Money doesn’t buy happiness. It buys things and sometimes people.

ReShonda is known for her ability to write good reads and A Family Affair didn't disappoint.

I was given an ARC from Gallery Books via Netgalley

Although this is a story that’s been told many times it’s written with such feeling and depth, such compassion and great realistic characters that I didn’t mind at all reading it.

Having never read anything by this author before it was nice to find an author that I thought I could keep an eye on for the future as she writes with passion.

Enjoyed the read

A Family Affair – Reshonda Tate Billingsley
Rating: 3.5 Divaz Starz
Synopsis: The secrets in a mother’s past that turn her daughter’s life upside down—by
revealing the family she never knew existed.
Her dream of studying dance at Juilliard is within reach, but Olivia Dawson turns down the
opportunity, choosing instead to stay with her ailing mother in the Houston projects where
they barely make ends meet. Lorraine Dawson is Olivia’s whole world, and now Olivia insists
on being there for her. But when Lorraine learns Olivia is sacrificing college for her sake, her
heartache triggers a series of shattering events that results in Olivia discovering her father,
a man she was told had died years ago. But he is alive and well—and he’s the powerful CEO
of one of the country’s richest corporations.
With her best friend urging her to claim a much-deserved chunk of Bernard Wells’ fortune,
Olivia seeks out his Los Angeles mansion. But it’s not money she wants—its answers: Why
did he abandon Lorraine when Olivia was three years old? Why did they suffer in poverty
while he gave his “real” wife and son a life of luxury? Opening up the past, however, is more
complicated than Olivia—or Bernard—expected, and the pain of yesterday’s sins must be
confronted before true healing and a bright tomorrow can begin.
Review: A Family Affair was my book by Ms. Billingsley and it was an enlightening read.
In this story we meet Lorraine and Olivia Dawson and Lorraine and the hard times they
have fallen on because of a past indiscretion on Lorraine’s part. Once Lorraine discovers
Olivia’s acceptance letter to Julliard and realized they did not have the funds to cover
schooling. Lorraine decides it is time that she face her past and demand Olivia’s birthright.
As the synopsis states these two women face a series of shattering events that leads to a
deathbed confession and spirals Olivia’s world out of control. Olivia makes up her mind to
find her father and demand answers. Upon discovering who her father is actually alive,
Olivia sets the wheels in motion to enact revenge. As she arrives in Los Angeles, Bernard is
still concerned with how Olivia’s presence will affect is wife and son. More secrets and lies
unfold until a momentous event causes Bernard to now evaluate and realize the
ramifications of how secrets can utterly destroy and shape a person’s existence.
Ms. Billingsley did a great job with character development where the characters will pull
several emotions from readers from wanting to smack Bernard for his warped thinking and
sending a hit man to take out Bernard’s wife Adele. The characters worked well in the story
however, readers will more than likely still have a dislike for the Well’s couple. The story
moved and flowed very well as well as dealt with realistic issues. The setting of the book
was appropriate for the plot and made for a good read.

Deborah A. Fortner
Urban Divaz Reviews