Making it Real is the latest installment Synithia Williams’s Henderson family series. In this installment Roger “Kareem” Henderson has been out of prison for the last five years and is on the road to starting life over. He has opened a barbershop and has bigger plans to open a high-end gentleman’s salon. With his prison record, he knows it will be difficult to realize his dream unless he makes connections with the society he rejected prior to prison. His chance comes in an unexpected source, his recently hired female barber, Patrice “Neecie” Baldwin. Neecie has her own secrets, but when she is called home for a family event, she asks Kareem to pose as her fiancé for the event and if he agrees she will introduce him to a few “well-connected relatives” to implement his business plan. Little do these two realize that the more time they spend together, their attraction comes to the forefront and they are unable to resist each other. Will Kareem and Neecie allow their relationship to become real or let outside forces keep them apart? Readers will need to pick up a copy of Making it Real to find out.
I really enjoyed Kareem and Neecie’s journey. Each had secrets they were afraid to reveal and were leery of trusting each other. Kareem believed he would never overcome his feelings of guilt, while Neecie battled family pressure and needed to find herself. When the duo showed up at Neecie’s parents’ home, her family is not very welcoming of their relationship and felt Kareem was a thug and up to no good. This made for an enlightening story and to see Kareem and Neecie’s growth was good. They both needed to forgive themselves before they could truly love each other.
Overall this was a good read.
-Reviewed by Deborah
