Dating Games [Hardcover]

The book starts off with Livvy Rogers, single mother of two twin girls; Hennesey and Alize, yes the wild combination of two liquors. And that's just the beginning. Livvy is a hard working, underappreciated nurse's aid who has a strong desire to someday be a nurse herself. She wants to give her two teenage daughters a better life than what she had growing up, if only she can get herself together first, and stop falling into bed with the wrong men and for all the wrong reasons. Livvy tries to instill in her girls the value they hold within themselves, but it's hard for them to see her side of things when they don't understand why she doesn't have that same strength to make her own life better.

The story also opens up to the lives of these two twin girls who are dramatically different in their own right. The oldest of the two siblings is Hennesey, a straight A, straight-laced bookworm, who spends her free time being her mother's biggest cheerleader. She's dressed in baggy clothes, glasses, and all of the other things that would hide a beautiful young woman underneath. Her focus is school. She's planning on becoming a doctor as she prepares to head off to college. Boys and falling in love are the two things least on her list, until she runs into a ruff neck, braid wearing older guy name Rafe;and not only does she shed that soft school girl image, she opens herself up to love.

And love. That's the one thing that fast and sassy Alize acts like she isn't looking for. She so hell bent on being the finest thing in every man's life that she doesn't even think about the consequences of the wild activities she's involving herself in. She's willing to use her body and her looks to get exactly what she wants, and if playing sexual games with Smoke, a notorious and brutal drug dealer will thicken up the pockets of her tight hip-hugger jeans, she's down for the challenge. But when that moment comes and more than her life is at jeopardy, Alize finds herself wishing she never headed down that dark road to begin with.

This book was a serious page-turner. I felt like I personally knew these people. I laughed, yelled, and cried with these characters. RM Johnson made me Fall In Love with each and every one of them. And even when the book was over, I found myself wanting to know what was going on in the lives of these unforgettable characters. I'm still wondering.

I'm telling you, Dating Games is hot...and the characters will leave you drunk with pleasure and no doubt wanting more. Can we please say sequel? ; )

K. Renee

Hennessy's love interest Rafe is a recent parolee who is set on cleaning his life up and staying away from those people who could affect his probation. Unfortunately, his parole officer has set him up with a job working with his old buddy Smoke, who appears to be legit on the surface but is still involved in illicit activity.

R.M. Johnson does a superb job in developing his characters so that each one comes across as being a uniquely memorable individual. He also manages to elicit sympathy for his characters, tossing them into unbelievable situations that leaves the reader praying that things will work out. When the lives of these characters criss cross, this novel takes on the type of climactic ending only seen in a thriller. R.M. Johnson does not disappoint in creating conflict and setting about taking the reader on a journey that will change each of the character's lives forever.

Reviewed by Tee C. Royal
of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers

The action sparkles and pops while reading about the adventures and attitudes of Alize, a hoochie mama with a mouth that takes no prisoners. If she feels it, she's gonna say it, and at times, it's a delight to watch her energetic self in action. Hennesey, smart and ambitious, has her own problems to solve when she meets a guy who is trying to gain her admiration.

For the first part of the book, the story does a lot of build up as other minor yet critical characters are introduced. By the last third of the novel, the action and intensity may have you gripping the pages to see what happens next. RM Johnson takes these characters and puts them through all kinds of conflict, causing them to discover the importance of family, trust, sacrifice, and commitment. The novel is as good as my favorite Love Frustration, and should be embraced and enjoyed by his many fans.