LOVE, LIES AND BASKETBALL – BOOK REVIEW

Author: Rita Rashad
Format: Paperback -352 pages
Publication Date – December 2011
Publisher: Inkwell Diaries and Press In the midst of March Madness, while cheering for my favorite women’s basketball teams, I decided to revisit a new novel by Rita Rashad. This is her second creative work in a trilogy that she calls “love series”. Her book, Love, Lies and Basketball details the intimate life and loves of three main characters. Ms. Rashad's first book was, Love At Half-Court and the final book due out this summer is, Love Don't Cry. The reader is thrust into the fast paced world of Kendra Michael, a star WNBA player, her life partner Simone and her best friend, Pete. Kendra loves Simone but struggles with honesty, an untamed ego and lust. Those traits cloud her judgment while leading her down a rocky path of self-destruction. In the meantime, Simone adores Kendra but is fed up with her constant cheating. Last but not least, we meet Pete. He struggles with his own issues of sexuality and child abuse, on his quest to find a man that loves him unconditionally and is not afraid of commitment. However, Pete’s “down low” lover is using him to satisfy his craving for men. And this shadowy person believes that what’s done in the dark should stay in the dark until his secret is discovered accidentally.
Ms. Rashad slam dunks the reader with characters that are genuine. For example, when Kendra is enticed by a “Nia Long look-alike” named Shelby, we can envision her in all of her smooth bronze beauty. The dialogue flows easily and naturally like a cascading waterfall.
This is not a gay love story. It is a universal story about love, forgiveness and the temptations that come from being in the limelight of professional women’s basketball. In addition, the author explores the acceptance of the gay lifestyle in the black community. And she emphasizes the love of self,