Playing with the Hand I Was Dealt

The main character, Natalie, reminds me of Nora in Ibsen's "Doll House" because she tries hard to fit into everybody else's world. Author, Nikki Jenkins created an easily identifiable character. I felt so nervous for Natalie because she was trying so hard to live a life that she always wanted instead of acknowledging the regular life that she led. We can all find see somebody that we know while reading this book. Natalie is a good woman trying to convince herself that her man deserves her. The other characters such as Leslie, Andrea and Dreama are very distinct and they are a lively group. I found myself angry, frustrated and even appalled by some of their antics. There is an air of culture and class woven into the lives of the characters and I found it very refreshing. There are lessons for all women and men who love women within the pages, as well. I enjoyed ready this character-based debut and I hope that a sequel drops in the future. I recommend that you buy a copy.

Because of our natural instinct to be caregivers, many women fall into the role of being the doormat for all kinds of treatment from the people who rely on us. This natural instinct has a way of making us feel we should solve all of life's problems for our friends and family members while sadly leaving our own needs unattended. Such is the life of Natalie Kelley in PLAYING WITH THE HAND I WAS DEALT. Taking a gamble on her high school sweetheart, Natalie married Anderson knowing he had a problem with infidelity and self-centeredness. Her mother, using the term loosely, was only a shell of a woman providing little in the area of motherly affection and concern. Her sister, Andrea, became addicted to drugs due to the dysfunction in their family. Her friend, Leslie, is desperately looking for a sperm donor to stop her biological clock from blowing up. Natalie tries to be the stabilizer in each of these relationships, despite her needs, until she is forced to face the facts--these are grown people who should be accountable to themselves. PLAYING WITH THE HAND I WAS DEALT takes a brief look into a life that could possibly define any woman you know. She is the caregiver, the nurturer, the psychologist, the therapist, the mom, the lover, and the forgiver. Nikki Jenkins did an excellent job of portraying these roles in her main character and showing the dependant roles of the secondary characters. She accomplishes this over a three-day period using flashbacks as the means of bringing the readers up to snuff. The flashbacks were somewhat distracting to me due to the frequency of them; however, the author's writing style is what captures my attention. I believe this is a good first effort, and Jenkins is a new author to watch. Reviewed by Brenda M. Lisbon of The RAWSISTAZ(tm) Reviewers