But wasn’t really surprised that jasmine stepped back and let things happen the way they did. I think it was how she felt about her daughter, Jacqui, the kidnapping, and the thought that it was happening again. The emotions there said that she would NEVER let anything jeopardize her family unit, if she could help it.

My Answers:

1. I have not read any previous works. I wasn’t too surprised, but was well entertained by their antics. Although I hadn’t read the previous books, I could tell that they weren’t going to stay grounded – lol.

2. In the beginning I felt that too much was going on between Jasmine and Rachel and said to myself, “Watch there’s gonna be a third person to break things up and neither one of them is going to get it!” I was shocked that it was Cecilia. I didn’t see that one coming. However, along the way I felt that Jasmine would the first lady. To me, she was the strongest and better equipped socially, to be a true first lady.

3. My favorite would have been Jasmine. Rachel was just too much, over the top for me. I never truly trusted Mae Francis and to be honest I still don’t. LOL. But Jasmine’s strength showed through, that even if Mae Francis had something up her sleeve for her, she would have been able to hold her ground. Cecilia didn’t impress me much. Esp. when it came out, or started to come out, that she had a past no different than our warring First Ladies. I saw her as a righteous pompous older religious woman who choose to hide behind ‘the word’ than to truly be herself.

4. I thought they were somewhat weak, esp. Lester Adams. Hosea seemed to have little more of a back bone when dealing with his wife. It would have been interesting to see Hosea win with Jasmine by his side, and THEN they found our about the merger and all the dirt connected to Pastor Griffith. I would have liked to see exactly how they dealt with that situation. I could see Jasmine trying to fix it herself, but ultimately finding herself in a situation to have to share with Hosea and they work together. I think Hosea has a dark side where he could get as low and conniving as Jasmine, and just might surprise us at being better at it than her.

In my vote for the teams I choose both. Mainly because both served a purpose of satisfying in me certain needs. Jasmine was the one more mature and sophisticated, in her drama. However, even if we’ve never been, Rachel satisfies that “Getting Gully with It” that we might imagine ourselves doing if ever we were brave enough to act out.

1. Have you read the previous books featuring Jasmine & Rachel? If not, did their antics surprise you? If so, did you think they would revert back to their old ways or stay grounded where they left off in the last books?

I have read all of VCM’s books with Jasmine, but not so with RTB’s books with Rachel. So, yes I did go and read them before this chat. Rachel’s back story almost pulled me to her team at one time, but I sticking with Jasmine. These two characters got me looking at all the First Ladies I run into now. I keep wondering if they have experienced the life through the Jasmine/Rachel way.

2. Going into the book, who did you think would be victorious as ABC First Lady and as you read the book did your opinion change, did it stay the same, or did it flip flop from scene to scene?

I actually thought that Jasmine would win as ABC First Lady. But when Rachel found out about Cecelia and teamed with Jasmine I started thinking that she (Rachel) would become the First Lady.

3. Did you have a favorite out of the two or did Mae Francis & Cecilia throw a wrench in things? Explain.

These two threw a serious wrench in things. I was so caught up in Jasmine and Rachel and their interaction, I didn’t see Cecilia lurking in the background until she struck. Mae Francis…my kinda woman, she either has or can get the goods on anybody. Danger waiting to happen…next book ought to be really smoking.

4. As for the men…what did you think of them?

Lester…well, he was hen pecked. But Hosea…got it going on. He exuded power and strength. But both men seemed to have a really good handle on who they married.

2. Going into the book, who did you think would be victorious as ABC First Lady and as you read the book did your opinion change, did it stay the same, or did it flip flop from scene to scene?
A. Yes, it changed several times from chapter to chapter.

3. Did you have a favorite out of the two or did Mae Francis & Cecilia throw a wrench in things? Explain.
A. Cecilia is a sly old fox, she gave both Jasmine and Rachel enough rope , and then pulled it tight in the end. Mae Frances , I really don’t trust now, she knows too much about every one she is a gun just waiting to go off and whom ever is in the path look out.

4. As for the men…what did you think of them? A. Hosea and Lester were will to accept what God gave them understand they were both able to to do the job. Pastor is a snake in the grass, he has some untold secrets.

Ladies, I enjoyed waiting on thee next one. Rachael you did good, but I am still a team Jasmine fan. I really hate you ladies did not get to Jacksonville, or Savannah cause I would have been in the place.

1. I have only read the books featuring Jasmine. I will have to go back and read the ones featuring Rachel. She is quite a character. I do think that they will make some small changes but no…if challenged, they will certainly pull out all of the stops to get what they want.

2. I figured that they would cancel each other out or somebody would get killed. I always figured that somebody was playing them against each other but at first I wasn’t sure whom.

3. Since I had read all about Jasmine, I was into her at first but Cecelia was so slick that it threw me for a loop.

4. I felt sorry for Lester. He seemed to be so ‘hen pecked’ by Rachel. I kept wondering if he was going to pull a trick out of his hat but no…he was just trying to be the best husband that he could be. I liked Hosea. He stayed focused. The fact that the is still with Jasmine after all fo the stunts that she has pulled just shows you how much he loves her.

All in all ladies an excellent book…very well written.

Yes; I’ve read all of ReShonda’s books and thought I had read all of Victoria’s, but in reading this book, I realized that I missed Lady Jasmine and Sins of the Mother. I will be picking those up soon to catch up on what I missed.

2. Going into the book, who did you think would be victorious as ABC First Lady and as you read the book did your opinion change, did it stay the same, or did it flip flop from scene to scene?

I thought that Jasmine would win at the beginning, but by the middle, I thought that something was going to happen to cause neither of the women to become First Lady. I didn’t trust Cecelia, but I wasn’t expecting her to go for the elected position.

3. Did you have a favorite out of the two or did Mae Francis & Cecilia throw a wrench in things? Explain.

I don’t have a favorite between the two. I haven’t chosen a team yet! Mae Francis is bbbaaaddd is all I can say.

4. As for the men…what did you think of them?

I really like Hosea. Lester seems sweet but he just seems a little on the weak side.

And I agree with the men. Still find myself wondering what Mr. Earl had going on…

Yes, I have read all of both sets, and enjoyed each of them, and no, I was not surprised they reverted back to their old ways, but I was disappointed with how fast they did it. How they acted is why I have a problem with so-called “Christians.”

2. Going into the book, who did you think would be victorious as ABC First Lady and as you read the book did your opinion change, did it stay the same, or did it flip flop from scene to scene?

Honestly, I thought Jasmine would mop the floor with Rachel. I didn’t think Rachel would stand a chance. But right from the gate, Rachel was on a mission when she cancelled the car and hotel. From that moment on, I was flipping the tablet and sneaking ready at work. LOL Then I was flip-flopping with who was going to win, especially after the stripper showed up, but then when they had the jewelery store incident, I knew Rachel was going to do something awful. However, like others have said, I would have gotten more than one punch in. No one would have known she was knocked out because I would have been on her faster than white on rice. What Jasmine did was wrong, but how could another mother put someone through that again.

3. Did you have a favorite out of the two or did Mae Francis & Cecilia throw a wrench in things? Explain.

Unfortunately, I took Cecilia at face value. I thought she was what she appeared to be. (Guess I was reading too fast to pick that up!) I was shocked when she threw her hat in the ring, and then when I heard how she had been plotting with that preacher and his hooker wife, it all made sense. As for Mae Francis, for a minute I thought she had her own agenda in that she was going to make Jasmine pay for how she treated her when Jacqui got kidnapped and Jasmine stopped speaking to her and blamed her for the kidnapping. I STILL want a prequel book about Mae Frances. You know she was a CIA operative and worked as a femme fatale to get and pass international secrets. Y’all knew that, right? Why do you think she knows everybody??? You know Lena Horne couldn’t stand her for trying to steal her husband. Y’all didn’t know? Oh shoot, maybe I wasn’t ‘pose to tell that, huh?

4. As for the men…what did you think of them?

The only really interesting male was dude who was trying to manipulate everything. The husband were mainly non-entities, other than trying to control their out of control wives.

By and large, I enjoyed the book, found the writing to be absolutely seamless, entertaining and very creative. I can’t wait for the next installment!

Also, what about Coco? I kinda forgot about her and didn’t think she was so devious as to hook up with Cecilia. I actually kinda wrote her off after her husband lost to Hosea.