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(More customer reviews)Scheming doesn't pay. This is the lesson that Rashid Smith has never learned. Rashid is a 23 year old, inner-city gay male who knows what he wants and how to get it, which basically means by any way possible. However, Rashid soon realizes that the one thing he really wants most in life is the love of a good man.
The lust of Rashid's life is Troy. I use the word lust and not love intentionally. Rashid thinks he's in love with Troy, but it doesn't keep him from jumping into bed with a long-time crush. He will do anything to keep Troy from not finding out, including murder. Rashid lives in the fast lifestyle of gay Philadelphia where he participates in unprotected sex with various partners and schemes for fast money. He lives in a world of self-doubt and insecurity and only wants someone to love him. After the breakup with Troy, Rashid meets Calvin, an 18 year old high school student, who brings the love that Rashid so desperately desires. Calvin comes with baggage which includes baby mama drama and sexual liaisons with different partners.
Smoking Cigarettes was well-intentioned and character driven. The plot had many twists and turns with dramatic flair. The flow of the story was hard to follow at times because there were just too many characters to keep up with. I found myself flipping back and forth throughout the story because new characters were constantly being introduced. It was as if I was reading a tabloid story rather than a novel. Hall tried to portray a realistic gay lifestyle, but it confused the plot and the reader. Many of the supporting characters could have been eliminated. With that aside, I liked Rashid's story. He was similar to Winter from the Coldest Winter Ever. Rashid and Winter were both connivers and schemers who suffered from self-doubt and insecurity. Their lives were filled with constant drama and brand-new schemes on every page. Rashid's life was a new drama every time I turned the page. He was on an unending search for a new audience to entertain. Rashid's underlying insecurity sparked deep depression and never-ending questions of self-worth. The bouts of depression he endured were throughout the story. He just couldn't figure out that he was his own worst enemy.
Reviewed by Richell Winchester
for The RAWSISTAZ™ Reviewers
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Â"Finally, a gritty black on black love story.Reginald's writing is dynamic and suspenseful."-Brenda L. Thomas, Essence bestselling author of Threesome, Fourplay, and The Velvet Rope.ThereÂ's an old saying that one night of passion can lead to a lifetime of pain.RashadÂ's mother could not have said it better.Enter the world of Rashad Smith, a twenty-three year old, inner city, gay male who knows what he wants but doesnÂ't know how to get it.After deceiving his lover Troy and engaging in a thrilling sexual escapade with his long time crush Paul, he would stop at nothing for Paul to keep their rendezvous a secret.But when Rashad turns to his psychotic brother for help, he finds himself entangled in a horrific web that not even he can escape. Living in a world of depression, unprotected sex, fast money, and murder, Rashad will do whatever it takes to find love and happiness.After meeting Calvin, a fifteen-year-old high school student, Rashad begins to pick up the broken pieces of his life not knowing that the love or at the very least the lust for Calvin is ruining him.Rashad learns that the man of his dreams has deceived him by partaking in more than just sex--threesomes on Fridays and foursomes for Sunday morning breakfast. From heartbreak to plastic surgery, Rashad will make sure that no matter what happens he will come out on top.But will his dreadful past come to haunt him in the end?Follow this sexy, fast-paced novel as a young manÂ's life spirals downward to his doom.From the first sentence to the shocking conclusion, Smoking Cigarettes will have your mind overwhelmed with nonstop drama.
