Forgive Me: A Novel (Zane Presents) Paperback – February 11, 2014

I Love all Zane books

Years have passed and so much has changed in the lives of Aruba, James, Victoria, Winston, Tawatha and their friends.Aruba is on the mend after tragedy has struck too close to home for comfort. Knowing that she’d need more familial support than her life in California could offer, she makes her way back to Georgia. A once flourishing, thriving, beautiful, successful woman, Aruba has been reduced to being a tenant in the dark world of depression.After losing his family and hitting financial rock bottom, James has finally manned up and become the person Aruba always knew he could be. Too bad he was a day late and a dollar short. He has everything a man could ever want, except the woman who holds his heartstrings.On a technicality, Tawatha has been released from prison for the horrendous murder of her children. Now is the time to show her estranged family, friends and herself just how far she’s come at making changes in her life.Victoria is a whole new woman. Changed in ways that only deep hurt can bring, she’s nothing like the selfish, narcissistic, mean woman of yesteryear. Now if she can only lay the past to rest and allow the demons to rest once and for all, she just may find a second chance at happiness.Aunjanue has grown up to be a beautiful, intelligent, gifted young lady, despite all the trauma she’s lived through in her young age. All is going well for when her mother is released from prison. This sends her entire life spiraling.There was so much going on in this story in a very good way. I love the depth of the characters, their growth, their frailties and humanness. I love that Stacy Campbell is not afraid to delve into deep issues in her writing and allows her characters to mature. This was a much more emotional story than the first to me, because even in the midst of life going well, sometimes curveballs still spring up to blindside us, reminding us that we are all only human, doing the very best we can at any given time. Characters that had me giving a virtual side eye in book one have garnered my empathy and support in the sequel. Campbell’s characters are so real, they feel like people we see every day. She understands the importance of adding the little details, nuances, thoughts of the characters, and visuals that transports a reader right into the heart of the story, making one feel as if they are walking along story inside the pages of the book. Well done!

Stacy Campbell has done it again. In the follow-up to her debut novel, Dream Girl Awakened, Ms. Campbell takes us on a ride and teaches us a lesson, this time about forgiveness.I waited anxiously for this sequel because I was eager to find out the fate of Tawatha, Victoria, and Aruba. I was expecting to read page after page of the drama that drove Dream Girl Awakened; what I got was so much more. I love that Ms. Campbell expanded the story to include not just the goings-on of those characters, but she delved more into the lives of the supporting characters and made this reader fall in love with her writing style all over again. The story held me captive from the beginning and it broke my heart when it ended.I highly recommend this book. Eagerly looking forward to whatever is next on the horizon for Ms. Campbell!

Usually a sequel leaves so much to be desired from the original but this was a very well written sequel to Dream Girl Awakened. It brought closure to Victoria, Aruba, Lasheera, Jamilah, and Tawatha, the characters in book 1. And it brought additional drama with Tawatha’s daughter, Aunjanue. The title, Forgive Me, is very appropriate to the content in the book because the characters had to reach out to those who hurt them in book 1 to seek forgiveness, to forgive, and renew friendships. I highly recommend.

I read the first book from Ms. Campbell and was excited to read this one. The story line picked up where the first book left off. She did an excellent job with picking up and continuing the plot. Although there was an abundance of characters to keep track of, the story flowed smoothly from beginning to end and kept me engaged.Barbara Joe Williams, author of First Class Love

This book is about how important it is to forgive others even when the pain is so great. This book is a sequel to another book and how carrying out stuff that people have done to you can be a burden. It is important to always have a clean heart and a forgiving spirit.

This book was amazing. A little confusing with all the different characters, but after you get past the first few chapters you'll get the hang of things. I loved the plot twist and story line.

Loved the flow of the story. Went back and read Dream Girl Awakened before reading this continuation of the story.