You Only Get Better: An Anthology

I have read works by each of the featured authors but , by far, Connie Briscoe comes out as the winner. She is also the winner of the best short story featured here. Her story of "The Perfect Life" has a nice humanistic quality about it that you can relate to. It was smooth and right to the point. It was refreshing and the best reason to purchase this anthology. Lolita Files, can sometimes be hard to get into and I don't find much solace in her work and this one continues in the same vein. "Three For The Road" was just odd and unbelievable. I couldn't connect with this one at all. Anita Bunkley, "This Time Around" was a bit surprising but it is nothing that I can even relate to. It was a tad out of touch for me and rather boring. Most of us don't live or befriend such characters.

Connie Briscoe's "The Perfect Life"- True what Tonya and Aaron did to Maxine was low down, but Maxine after 20 something years you're still holding a grudge against them. I say they did you a favor, you've got your husband and kids, move on girlfriend, move on. Lolita Files' "Three For The Road"- Adam took the cowardly way out to end his marriage to Lilibelle, but she found someone better in Chance Landry. The part of the story where she and Chance are having dinner and after a few drinks start singing songs from the Flintstones was so funny to me. Anita Bunkley's "This Time Around"- Danika you go girl for working your way to the top of that male dominated company, with your makeover now you're fierce. Why did you take Raymond back? He may do what he did to you again. I enjoyed this anthology.

4.5 rating THE PERFECT LIFE by Connie Briscoe Maxine Davis has had it with her boring marriage and smart mouth teenagers. Even the neighborhood they live in is dull. Maxine misses the early days of their marriage - when they went out of their ways to please each other. A phone call from her mother brings the shocking news of her aunt's death and brings her face to face with her cousin and best friend Tonya. They haven't spoken to each other in twenty years - not since Tonya stole Maxine's fiancé Aaron. What will it take for Maxine to see that she has THE PERFECT LIFE with Curtis? Connie Briscoe brings to mind just how easy it is to take the people in your life for granted. Maxine's anger and resentment that she's allowed to fester over the years has blinded her to how truly blessed she is with her simple family. THREE FOR THE ROAD by Lolita Files Lillibelle Goldman's world is forever changed by the events of 9/11. Not because she lost a loved one, but because that's the day her husband chose to tell her that he's found someone else and wants out of their twenty-five year marriage. Newly divorced and with the kids away at college, Lilli decides to do something she's only dreamed of - visit Las Vegas. She packs up her car and heads out only to have it stall out on the side of the road during a rain and hail storm. It's there that she meets Chance and his dog, Yancy, and together they opt to share the adventure. Neither of them is looking for romance, but can they resist the desire that soon broils between them? Lolita Files will have readers smiling with this charmingly poignant tale. While it's sad to read about the demise of Lilli's longtime marriage, I had to admire her for having the guts to take a trip on her own rather than bemoan what could have been. THIS TIME AROUND by Anita Bunkley Anika Redmond has spent many years trying to work her way to the top of a male dominated company where she's been employed for the past twenty-two years. She came to work for Cranstar after the collapse of her marriage and put any hopes she may have had for marriage firmly out of her mind. With a little encouragement from her friend and neighbor, Ming, Anika submits an entry into a competition. The prize? A complete makeover from a popular television program called `A New You.' She's stunned when she receives the phone call that she has been selected as one of the winners of the make over. Will it help her get the job of her dreams? Of course not. What it will do is bolster her sagging spirits and make her feel like a whole new woman with a promising future ahead of her and maybe she'll discover that she does indeed have a happy ending lurking just around the next corner. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this story. When I first read that Anika was going to undergo an extreme makeover I was stunned. Then as I read further into the story I realized that the make over didn't change who she is or her position in the compan

For that time between hot flashes and social security when women are in emotional limbo, YOU ONLY GET BETTER, an anthology, by three bestselling authors is on point. 'The Perfect Life' by Connie Briscoe Maxine has hated her cousin Tonya, who was her best friend, for 25 years. Weeks before graduating from college Tonya stole her fiancé and they have not spoken since. Sadly, Maxine has allowed the past to interfere with her outlook on her life with her husband. Still wallowing in self-pity, the death of Tonya's mother gives her a chance to revisit the past. Maxine attends the funeral, confronts her cousin, and Tonya apologizes. Can Maxine forgive her and embrace the good life she is now living or will she continue to short change herself? 'Three for the Road' by Lolita Files As the horrific events of 9/11 is changing how America lives, Lilibelle's husband, of over 25 years, uses this time to invoke his own disaster. In Arizona at a convention, he tells her he is never coming home; he loves someone else. Always indulged by her parents, and then by her husband, Lili is devastated. She's alone for the first time in her life, but surprisingly she does not wilt, instead she metamorphoses. She heads for Las Vegas, meets a newly divorced man traveling with his dog and finds her footing. This chance meeting may be just the catalyst she needs to jumpstart her life. 'This Time Around' by Anita Bunkley Danika has been divorced from her domineering husband for 25 years; he left because she was "too independent". She has since worked her way up in a male-dominated company. As soon as she is promoted, she has to take a newly acquired company and cut the staff by half. Is this a golden opportunity? The company is run by her controlling ex-husband, now widowed with two teenagers. Danika is the last person he wants to see especially under the current circumstances. With a complete physical makeover Danika exudes a jaunty confidence, but is she prepared to see her 'ex' and can she handle her first assignment without reviving the ghosts from their pasts? YOU ONLY GET BETTER is for women of all ages, but it may be special for those who have reached 'that' plateau. The three novellas are sassy, uplifting and real. Reviewed by aNN of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers

This is "chick lit" about the older crowd--if you call late 40s-early 50s the older crowd. Three bestselling authors tell three separate stories about women nearing 50 and in life-changing situations. The Perfect Life -- Connie Briscoe (New York Times) Teacher Maxine Davis has hated her childhood best friend (and cousin) because 25 years ago Tonya stole her fiancÇe. Hateful and unforgiving, the death of Tonya's mother gives Maxine a chance to look back to that fateful time. Maxine's mother cajoles her into going to the funeral. Cousin Tonya apologizes. Can Maxine ever forgive and again be part of Tonya's life? Could you? Three for the Road -- Lolita Files (Essence and Blackboard) New Yorker Lilibelle's shocking divorced comes on 9-1-1 when she locates her doctor husband in Arizona at a convention, and demands he come home because she is terrified. On that fateful day, he tells her he is never coming home; he loves someone else. Lili had always been indulged by her parents, and then by him. She is now alone in her empty nest. Travel with her across the country (sort of alone) on her trip to discovery, and a chance meeting with a newly divorced man. Can Lili let go of her need for control--and find love? This Time Around -- Anita Bunkley (Blackboard) Danika Redmond's single life came after her divorce--he couldn't handle her independence. Everyone he ever loved abandoned him--so he decided to leave her before she left him. She has worked her way up in a male-dominated corporation. When she is promoted, her first assignment is to go to a newly acquired company and cut the staff by half--run by her controlling ex-husband, now widowed with two teenager. He doesn't handle the fact that she is now "his boss" and could fire him. Will she be successful with this first important assignment? Will they get back together? Minimally important to the story is the fact that the authors and the women in their stories are all African-Americans. I agree, "These fascinating women discover that life, love and everything else gets better with age!" Armchair Interviews says: The read was fun and done quickly--in order to find out how each one handled that new life.